Blue Devil girls never trail in Dist. 3 championship game

By Ed Gotwals on 3/2/23

 

 

HERSHEY — Not surprisingly, the girls on Greencastle-Antrim’s basketball team admitted to being nervous before the start of the District 3 Class 5A championship game.

 

But all it took was Rylee Henson dropping in a long 3-pointer from the top of the key on the Blue Devils’ first possession to ease that tension.

 

G-A blew out to an 11-0 lead and went on to capture a 44-30 victory over York Suburban at Giant Center on Thursday afternoon and earn the school’s second district title in girls basketball.

 

The Blue Devils (23-2) will have more than a week off until playing in the first round of the PIAA Tournament on Saturday, March 11.

 

“Oh, yeah, it felt good hitting that first one,” Henson said.

 

Haley Noblit, who led Greencastle with 19 points, said, “It was big

getting out to that lead. We were able to play with a little bit less pressure on us, and that allowed us to just play our game. That was a big shot by Rylee.”

 

Henson (11 points) also converted a three-point play, Mia Libby made a steal and layup and Noblit cashed in a three to produce the 11-0 lead. At the other end, the Trojans were called for two offensive fouls and turned the ball over two other times.

 

“Making our shots and taking charges — that was a good formula to start the game,” Greencastle coach Mike Rhine said. “It set the stage for us to be aggressive.”

 

York Suburban (18-9) was handicapped by the loss of starting guard Alyssa Dougherty, who suffered an injury in the semifinal game. The Trojans played well enough to prevent G-A from ever building a lead bigger than the 14-point final score, but didn’t have enough firepower to get any closer than 7 points.

 

Suburban mainly had to rely on Janay Rissmiller driving to her left and Lydia Powers driving to the right. They did enough to keep the Trojans within shouting distance, but G-A clogged up the lanes better as the game wore on.

 

Rhine said, “When I was walking down the hallway at halftime, before I ever got in the locker room, I heard Mia telling everybody what they had to do to stop No. 12 (Powers) from driving.”

 

Powers did not score a basket in the second half.

 

G-A forward Shaina Overcash said, “I was trying to play where I could get over and be on the help side.”

 

“We knew they were going to keep driving, but I thought we protected the paint a little more,” Libby said.

 

Suburban got within 25-17 early in the third on two free throws by Powers. Then Libby streaked through the defense for a fast-break layup. Rissmiller answered with a drive, but then Noblit got hot, knocking down 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, and finishing with a layup to restore an 11-point margin.

The lead was never less than 10 again.

 

Rhine said the work of Overcash and Ainsley Swindell (6 points) inside was a big factor.

 

“They’ve battled inside against bigger players all year and did well today again,” Rhine said.

 

Swindell said, “We weren’t really looking to score inside, but a couple times the rebound just fell into my hands and I was able to put it in.”

 

Greencastle used its ballhandling and passing to play keep-away for much of the final quarter and was able to soak in the district title without any drama.

 

“We (the seniors) have been working for four years for this,” Henson said. “Couldn’t have asked for a better story ending.”

 

Rhine said, “I’ve been blessed to have these players — they are the perfect combination of skill, speed and determination. They are winners, and their families push them and support them.”

 

NOTES: The Blue Devils made only 3 turnovers, while forcing 13 … The G-A defense was strong enough that York Suburban shot only 31 times … Noblit was 8-for-10 at the foul line … Rissmiller led the Trojans with 11 points … Greencastle’s all-time record in district playoff games is 15-22.