Greencastle-Antrim holds off Northern York

By Ben Destefan

GREENCASTLE -- If nothing else, they should soon be comfortable playing in close games.

After beating James Buchanan in the final seconds last Thursday, Greencastle-Antrim was locked in another tight contest Monday evening against Northern York, trailing early before maintaining a slim margin in the closing moments of the fourth. Ultimately, the Blue Devils were able to stave off the Polar Bears for a 45-40 Mid-Penn Colonial Division girls’ basketball victory, improving to 3-1 on the young season.

“I’m really proud of these girls,” G-A head coach Mike Rhine said. “They really haven’t been in a lot of these situations so we’re learning on the fly. Winning is obviously a plus and we’re getting contributions from everyone.”

Back-to-back jumpers by Lydia Crist and Ashley True pushed G-A’s lead to 11 early in the fourth quarter, serving as the largest margin of the night. Then, compounded by Greencastle’s Madison Sweitzer fouling out, Northern began chipping away to eventually make it a one-possession game with two minutes remaining.

Working the clock, Ashley Noblit found Jordan Yeager for a huge bucket to extend the Blue Devils’ advantage to 42-38. After the sides exchanged free throws, Northern had a few decent looks as time ticked down before Noblit launched an outlet pass to Crist, who then dished to Yeager underneath for the game-sealing lay in.

“We’re looking for desire, effort and attitude, that’s been our motto,” Rhine said. “If they go out there and give us everything they have, that’s all we can ask for. We’re learning and we’ll be better down the road having been in these close games.”

The game featured several momentum swings, with Northern leading 12-10 at the end of the first before a 9-0 run by the Blue Devils put Greencastle ahead by three at the break. A pair of makes by Crist kept G-A in front in the third prior to four consecutive points from Sweitzer giving the Blue Devils a decent cushion heading to the fourth.

Seven different girls scored for Greencastle, led by Crist with 10 points. Yeager followed with nine points while Noblit recorded six points, eight rebounds and five assists. Sweitzer notched seven points while McKenna Rakaczewski registered five points and eight boards.

Kyra Gerber had a nice night for the Polar Bears, finishing with a game-high 16 points. Katie Ryan added 10 for Northern.

Greencastle returns to action on Wednesday at home against Boiling Springs.