G-A girls, Chambersburg boys defend tourney titles
GIRLS
Championship, Greencastle 42, Waynesboro 35: After a back-and-forth opening 12 minutes, Greencastle-Antrim finally found its stride and went on a 17-point run spanning the second and third quarters.
Although Waynesboro (1-1) attempted to climb back in it with a run of its own, it wasn't enough. For the fourth year in a row, G-A (2-0) won the Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament championship.
"I think we came out star-stunned that Greencastle was on the floor," 'Boro senior Chelsea Cover said. "We see Greencastle and some kids on our team are just like, 'Oh, my God.' Our offense wasn't moving like we were (Friday night), and our defense let up when they started scoring."
Greencastle's Jenay Faulkner, who was named the tournament MVP, finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She needs 16 more points to break the girls school scoring record.
Morgan Wagaman scored six points and had five rebounds, and Lydia Crist contributed a pair of 3-pointers.
"Our kids are still really young; we are going to have to learn how to piece things together," G-A coach Mike Rhine said. "This weekend, a majority of my kids played a lot of minutes, but we came through when we had to. Jenay was sensational, and I thought Morgan and Lydia did an outstanding job switching the guard screens out."
Consolation, Chambersburg 62, James Buchanan 51: The Chambersburg Lady Trojans defeated James Buchanan 62-51 behind a strong offensive performance from Gabriel Lecuona in the consolation game of the Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans had a much better start than their two-point first quarter they produced in their opener Friday.
“We played a lot better today at the start of the game,” Chambersburg coach Barry Purvis said, “The game was nip-and-tuck there for the first whole half.”
The second half was a different story as the Trojans got rolling thanks to Lecuona, a sophomore guard. Lecuona exploded in the second half, scoring eight points in the third and eight of the Trojans' last 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Much of the damage that Lecuona dealt to the Rockets was in transition, where she aggressively drove to the hoop and picked up fouls.
“I just really wanted to win, so I stayed aggressive late in the game and I shot with confidence,” Lecuona said.
Lecuona went 4-6 from the line and hit four 3-pointers, finishing with 26 points, while forward Taylor Vrabel scored 12.
The Rockets were led by Rachel Martin’s 14 points, and Cass Martin who had 12.
"I’m pleased; obviously we wanted to win, but I’m not disappointed in their effort at all,” James Buchanan coach Jenny Lauthers said, “We had our opportunities, but unfortunately missed them.”
By Noah Shatzer
BOYS
Championship, Chambersburg 48, Waynesboro 34: Much like in the victory for Greencastle's girls team, Chambersburg used a long scoring run in the second quarter to build up a lead Waynesboro could never chip away at.
Defensively, the Trojans (2-0), who have won the Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament three years in a row, looked impossible to beat. At one point during the game, the Indians (1-1) were shooting a mere 11 percent from the field. For the game, Waynesboro shot 11-for-45 (24.4%).
"They're pretty good defensively, and it starts with that, so credit where credit is due," Indians coach Tom Hoffman said. "Combined with the fact that we just weren't hitting - it got better, but against a good team, you can't shoot that poorly."
Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said, "The guys have worked extremely hard, and it's been a process. Two years ago, we didn't play very good man-to-man defense. Last year was a little better, and this year, the understanding is even better."
Once again, Chambersburg got a fine scoring spread. Cole Christian led the way with 14 points, and ByShawn Mincie added 13. Cade Whitfield was just one point and one rebound away from a double-double, and Joel Torres came off the bench to score six.
Consolation, Greencastle 67, James Buchanan 34: Greencastle-Antrim got its first win of the season Saturday evening when the Blue Devils beat James Buchanan 67-34 in the consolation game of the Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament.
Led in scoring by Ian Gelsinger (17) and Casey Hoover (16), G-A came out hot in the first half, leading 39-17 at the break. A combination of excellent ball movement along with an overwhelming full-court press was the key for the Blue Devils.
“You hate to simplify it that much, but when you make shots, good things will happen," Greencastle coach Rick Lewis said. "Casey got us going early and we played well from there. We used our match-up zone mostly yesterday. Today I wanted to get everybody engaged and get their feet moving early (with the press) because we might have to do that against teams more often - we want to get our guys in a rhythm early.”
The idea to come out pressing turned out to be a good move. Greencastle was able to create several early turnovers that transitioned into easy baskets, moved the ball very well and kept the game at a high pace. It was the first win for Lewis.
“A nice team victory and it really felt good to get a lot of players in the game," Lewis said. "I’m not above saying it - I was a little tight last night; I think we all were. This win means a lot.”
The Rockets were led in scoring by senior guard Jared Pine with 14 points.
By Kevin Reiber
