York Catholic uses 'Delone' to stop ... Delone?

If that title seems confusing ... well, it is.

Let's go back to the second half of Thursday's District 3-AA girls' basketball title game. York Catholic and Delone Catholic were locked in a tight, see-saw contest, during the Fighting Irish's eventual, 49-42 victory. York Catholic had employed a man-to-man defense throughout the first half with positive results. But in the third quarter, Squirettes star Sierra Moore began to find the range on her jump shot. And Delone seemed to be grabbing momentum.

So York Catholic switched up its defense to a set it designed specifically for the Squirettes.

A defense it calls, fittingly, "Delone."

"I can’t tell you what it is, because I don’t know what it is," York Catholic coach Kevin Bankos said. "We created it for them."

From what we can gather, "Delone" is a 3-2, matchup zone, designed to constantly keep track of where Moore goes. York Catholic adjusts its alignment, based on where the Duke recruit sets up.

Beyond that, Bankos wasn't going any further.

"I’m not going to tell you what it is, because we got to play them again," the coach joked, referring to the possibility of the teams meeting in the PIAA playoffs.

In any event, the switch seemed to throw off Delone -- the team, that is. The Squirettes missed their first eight shot attempts of the fourth quarter. Their first field goal came on a Moore lay-up with 57 seconds to play. Overall, Delone finished 2-for-15 in the frame, including a 1-for-5 shooting performance by Moore.

"I think we played good defense in the zone," said York Catholic's Morgan Klunk, who supplied 20 points and 12 rebounds. "I think we knew where the players and where the shooters were."

"We gotta knock down shots," Delone coach Gerry Eckenrode added. "You hate to have it come down to shooting."

Delone's struggles allowed York Catholic to overcome seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, including four straight to open the frame. But the Irish got just enough offense -- thanks to Klunk, Karli McFatridge (10 points) and reserve Zaenna Echevarria, whose five-points off the bench held fuel a 7-0 York Catholic run to take a 42-36 lead.

Delone's 7-of-16 performance from the foul line on the night didn't help its cause, either.

But as Bankos referenced, there is still a chance these two could see each other again later this month.

Which means we may not have seen the last of Delone -- both the team and the defense.