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Delone Catholic wins lopsided affair over Brandywine Heights


MCSHERRYSTOWN >> While Delone Catholic head coach Gerry Eckenrode was pleased that his team won, that was about all he was happy about Friday evening.

Eckenrode was not thrilled with the Squirettes' effort on the defensive end in their 75-52 victory over Brandywine Heights in the quarterfinals of the District 3 Class AA girls basketball tournament Friday night.

"Brandywine came to play. They played well and they played hard," Eckenrode said. "That said, I was displeased with how we played. We didn't play with enough effort and I told the girls after the game that this wasn't nearly good enough if they want to win a district championship. I was more pleased with how we played in a loss to West York last week than how we played tonight."

Delone (21-5) advances to the semifinals where it will take on third-seeded Camp Hill, a 60-39 winner over Biglerville, on Monday at Dallastown at 6 p.m.

The underdog Bullets came to play right from the start and held the advantage late in the first quarter and again early in the second quarter. A Lizzie Leiby 3-pointer with 6:06 left in the half gave the visitors another lead, 17-15.

The Squirettes took the lead on Maddie Comly's 3-pointer with 5:33 to go until the break, and eventually went ahead 38-28 thanks to a 7-1 run just before intermission. A Fairleigh Dickinson University recruit, Comly scored 16 points in the opening half.

Comly, who finished with a game-high 31 points, scored Delone's first 13 points of the third quarter as the hosts opened up a 51-37 advantage midway through the frame. She finished with seven boards and four helpers and shot 12-of-19 from the field.

From there, Karley Coleman took over the scoring duties for the Squirettes. The sophomore put in 10 of her career-high 14 points in the final three minutes of the third quarter and Delone led 61-41 heading for the final stanza.

"I thought all year that Karley was capable of doing what she did tonight and it finally came out," Eckenrode said. "She gave us a lift in the third quarter."

Brandywine (14-10) got as close as 61-46 when Deanna Daddona sank a pair of free throws with 6:53 to go. Daddona finished the game with a team-high 21 points. Her 1,253 career points mark new school record for Brandywine.

Despite allowing 52 points, the Delone defense held the Bullets to 13-of-39 (33 percent) shooting and forced 21 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Squirettes shot 31-of-67 (46 percent) from the field and turned the ball over 15 times.

In addition to Comly and Coleman, Jill Novak cracked double figures for the winners as she posted 15 points and eight boards.

Leiby pocketed 17 points for the Bullets.

Delone Catholic 75, Brandywine Heights 52

Brandywine Heights (52)

Missy Seabourne 0 0-0 0, Hannah Fenstermacher 0 1-2 1, Erica Winegardner 0 0-0 0, Deanna Daddona 5 8-12 21, Sara Hoffman 0 0-0 0, Erika Delong 1 0-0 3, Caylee Lasko 0 0-0 0, Nora Harrison 3 2-2 8, Lizzie Leiby 4 6-8 17, Megan Miller 0 2-2 2.

Totals — 13 19-26 52.

Delone Catholic (75)

Maddie Comly 12 4-4 31, Libby Singleton 0 0-0 0, Katie Laughman 1 0-0 2, Jill Novak 5 5-5 15, Ally Shipley 3 1-1 7, Elise Knobloch 1 0-0 2, Audrey Eser 0 0-0 0, Catie Apgar 1 0-0 2, Amanda Adams 1 0-0 2, Karley Coleman 7 0-0 14, Alyssa Alberghini 0 0-0 0, Ashley Miller 0 0-0 0.

Totals — 31 10-10 75.

Brandywine12161311—52Delone15232314—75

3-point goals — BH 7 (Daddona 3, Leiby 3, Delong), DC 3 (Comly 3).