Greencastle-Antrim defeats James Buchanan on special night

By Ben Destefan

GREENCASTLE – It was a special evening capped by a much-needed victory.

Having lost four in a row, the Greencastle-Antrim girls’ basketball team ended its slide with a 52-44 win over James Buchanan on Wednesday, complementing a night dedicated to helping fellow Blue Devil Emma Strait. A player on the G-A girls’ seventh-grade team, Strait has been recently diagnosed with leukemia, influencing community members to rally in support. Shirts were sold sporting the hashtag #EMMASTRONG on the back while a one-shot fundraiser was held during halftime to help Emma and her family with medical costs.

“It was just a really nice night with the support for Emma and her family,” G-A head coach Mike Rhine said. “We had a great turnout and we were able to get a win. As coaches we just want our girls to be confident and having fun playing this game. When you’re losing a couple in a row, that’s tough. It’s definitely nice to get a win.”

Lydia Crist continued her strong scoring pace, netting a career-high 21 points to lead the Blue Devils. McKenna Rakaczewski added 13 points in the win, also serving as a career high.

The duo headlined a pivotal surge in the second quarter which dramatically switched the momentum. Trailing 22-17, a pair of 3′s by Crist surrounded a deep make from Rakaczewski, culminating in a 9-2 run and a 26-24 lead. The cushion grew to 32-27 by the break before a decisive third quarter put the game out of reach.

The Blue Devils (7-8) outscored the Rockets 13-4 in the frame, sending Greencastle to the fourth with a 45-31 advantage. JB did make things interesting down the stretch, cutting its deficit to 48-42 before buckets by Rakaczewski and Ashley Noblit sealed the victory.

“Defensively we’ve been playing well, we just haven’t been putting the ball in the basket,” Rhine said. “To score some points and finish one off, it feels good. We’ll enjoy this one, I’m happy for the girls.”

Noblit finished with nine points while Crist recorded seven steals for the Blue Devils.

Cass Martin and Maggie Strawoet both scored 10 points to lead the Rockets.