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Bankos: Role players will make the difference


The matchup that everyone will be paying attention to during Friday's Class AA girls' basketball state championship game will be York Catholic's Kady Schrann against Villa Maria's Kayla McBride, a McDonald's All-American and Notre Dame commit.

York Catholic coach Kevin Bankos said that may not be where the game is won or lost.

"The kids that are making the difference this time of year are the role players," Bankos said. "I think that's what it's going to come down to again: How do our role players respond versus how do their roles players respond."

One of Villa's biggest strengths is its deep bench. The Victors go nine deep with their lineup, and many of those reserves boast big-game experience. Villa's bench is also bolstered by freshman forward Karlee McBride, who is averaging 8.1 points per game this season.

"The difference there is, their role players are experienced," Bankos said. "We're going to gain experience with our roles players because some of them weren't there last year."

Some of York Catholic's success this season can be attributed to the development of its three sophomore starters. Guards Rachel Forjan (8.5 ppg) and Karli McFatridge (4.5 ppg) and forward Carly Marks (4.2 ppg) have all developed throughout the season. The Irish will need strong games from all three if they're to have a chance Friday.

"I told them going into the Delone game, you're a sophomore by class but you're not a sophomore on the court anymore," Bankos said. "That sounds cliché, but really its not necessarily true with everybody. But I'm proud of our sophomore because they've established themselves."