Freshman Haley Noblit, Greencastle-Antrim hand Big Spring first basketball loss

 

By Eric Eppler

 

 

NEWVILLE -- Greencastle-Antrim showed up to Friday’s girls basketball showdown at Big Spring with several intentions.

 

No. 1 was to scuttle the Bulldogs’ undefeated record and, as a result, regain its residency at the top of the Mid-Penn Colonial Division.

 

A little twist in execution helped the Blue Devils acheive both.

 

Speedy guard Haley Noblit scored a game-high 14 points but it was Mike Rhine’s defense that stole the show Friday as Greencastle-Antrim notched a 37-33 win. The Blue Devils (6-1, 5-1) did take advantage of 14 first-half turnovers by the host Bulldogs and opened a 19-9 advantage.

 

However, Big Spring, paced by Laney Noreika’s double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, deployed its own defensive push in the final 16 minutes, using a 10-0 third quarter run to pull within one possession on several occasions.

 

The last came with 42 seconds left via Emilee Sullivan’s 3-pointer from the right wing.

 

Fifteen seconds later, a Lauren Pool free throw induced the final score. Each side hit five 3-pointers on the night, but the teams combined for 40 attempts from beyond the arc.

 

Sayge Wilhide checked in with 9 points for G-A, which rebounded from last week’s 42-38 division loss to Shippensburg.

 

 

STARS

While Big Spring was struggling behind 14 turnovers in the opening half -- The Blue Devils surprised the hosts with a 1-3-1 zone -- Noblit was taking charge on G-A’s offensive end.

 

The freshman guard netted all 6 of the Blue Devils’ points in the first quarter and landed her second triple soon after to chase Big Spring (5-1, 3-1) into a 10-point deficit at the break.

 

Denied the interior throughout the first half, Big Spring finally got Noreika going in the post. That also opened some kick out lanes, resulting in 3-pointers by Aleya Eisenberg and Diana Kepner during a 10-0 surge that pulled Big Spring within 24-21 late in the third.

 

Midway through the fourth, Wilhide’s 3-pointer was huge in getting G-A up 34-27. The Devils survived from there but Big Spring didn’t exactly go away.

 

 

GAME-WINNING MOMENT

Following Sullivan’s big 3-pointer with 42 seconds to play, Big Spring turned over the Devils and had a chance to tie. Noreika, however, couldn’t coax in a pair of tough leaners near the bucet and Pool secured the second-chance miss and was fouled.

 

 

THEY SAID IT

“Honestly, they are a good defensive team and they put a lot of pressure on us. They are longer than us and maybe we’re a little quicker, but they are longer than us. They are well coached and disciplined and they know what they are doing. They wore us down, so I’m proud of my kids in the way they kept fighting and kept sticking it in there.” -- Blue Devils coach Mike Rhine

 

“They brought out a 1-3-1 defense that we had yet to see them throw out this season, so it really spread us out. I think the different look caused us to panic a little bit and we threw the ball around. It made us rush and do things that we weren’t used to doing. We needed to get the ball into the post, specifically the high post, and I think you saw that more in the second half. We struggled with it early.” -- Big Spring coach Randy Jones