G-A girls spring upset win over Bethlehem Catholic

By Ed Gotwals on 3/9/22

 

BETHLEHEM — Greencastle-Antrim entered Wednesday night’s PIAA Class 5A girls first-round basketball game as a big underdog.

 

But the Blue Devils flummoxed District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic with a tough defense and some seriously clutch play down the stretch and pulled out an impressive 46-42 road victory over the Golden Hawks.

 

Lauren Pool

 

Greencastle (22-4) will play in the second round Saturday vs. defending state champion Cardinal O’Hara (12-15), which beat Bishop Shanahan 52-32 on Wednesday, with site and time yet to be determined.

 

“It was an amazing night,” G-A coach Mike Rhine said. “We had a three-hour bus trip (the Blue Devils had been home for four straight playoff games), it was not our regular routine, and Bethlehem Catholic had a lot those PIAA banners in their gym.

 

“But Haley Noblit was totally locked in from the start (9 points in the first quarter) and she set the tone for us. We were ahead 11-5 after one quarter and I couldn’t have dreamed of that kind of start.”

 

Actually, Greencastle never trailed at any point in the game. The best the Hawks could manage was a 40-40 tie with 1:56 left. But Mia Libby stripped a Bethlehem Catholic guard near half court on their next possession, tipped the ball to herself and scored on a layup.

 

After a defensive stop, Rylee Henson was fouled on the rebound and made both foul shots to give her team a four-point lead with 13 seconds to go. Bethlehem Catholic scored a bucket and fouled Libby again, and she made both shots to ice the win. G-A was 6-for-8 from the line in the final quarter.

 

Rhine said, “Our biggest challenge was they are really good on defense and they are constantly changing their defense. So we didn’t try to run any set plays. We practiced for two days on just playing a motion-style offense so we could counter what they did. And the girls did a great job with that. One of their radio guys said that (Bethlehem Catholic) didn’t turn us over as many times and they usually do, and he said they turned it over to us a lot more than usual.”

 

Noblit finished with 18 points to lead Greencastle. Lauren Pool scored 11 and Libby had 10. Libby had 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 3 steals, and Henson added 2 assists and 3 boards.

 

Pool had a great fourth quarter with 8 points and she contributed 13 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

 

“Pool had not played great for the first three quarters, and we told her we really needed her in the fourth,” Rhine said. “We went to her over and over in the fourth and she came through.”

 

For Bethlehem Catholic, which finished 19-8, Yarian Fernandez scored 10 points.

 

Rhine said, “There were a ton of athletes on the court — it was fast-paced and loud and so much fun to be a part of.”