Beyond the Arc: Mellott, Mottern say goodbye

Fulton County has been lucky to have two of District 5's best girls basketball players playing right under their nose for the last four years. And even luckier to have the opportunity to enjoy one of the area's biggest rivalries featuring the two standouts going head-to-head.

But Thursday, McConnellsburg's Bronwyne Mellott and Southern Fulton's Olivia Mottern said goodbye to their on-the-court-enemy in the best way they knew how - in the most intense SF-McConnellsburg girls basketball game yet.

Since McConnellsburg's move to 2A, the teams can no longer meet in the postseason to repeat last year's all-Fulton County District 5 final, but Mottern thinks that may be for the best.

"I know for both teams, we are probably both like, 'OK, that's it, now we can focus on the teams in our playoff brackets,'" Mottern said. "But it's definitely going to be weird not playing (Bronwyne) anymore. Me and her have played against each other since we were in fourth grade, and starting in seventh grade we actually played AAU together, so we've played with each other and against each other and we have a really special relationship. We are friends off the court, but definitely enemies on."

4-peat: The Greencatle-Antrim girls basketball team earned its fourth consecutive Mid Penn Colonial Division title on Tuesday with a 47-35 win over Shippensburg after what looked to be a rocky road for the Lady Blue Devils at the beginning of the season.

With the improving Colonial Division, and some of the inexperience on the G-A roster, predicting Greencastle to go 12-0 in the division back in December could have won you a few bucks in Vegas.

But as the season progressed, so did the team's youth, and now the Blue Devils sit patiently waiting for the District 3 tournament to start.

District 3 rankings: Now less than a week before the District 3 cutoff, two Franklin County teams are still in the hunt, while one has only improved its district standing.

Last week Greencastle-Antrim was ranked ninth in District 3 Class 5A, and has since moved up to No. 7. If the rankings remain the same, the Lady Blue Devils will face No. 10 West York in the first round of the district tournament.

Waynesboro's girls are just one spot out of playoff contention, sitting at 13th in 6A with two games left after Friday's loss to Greencastle. Shippensburg is also battling for a playoff spot with a pair of games remaining after Friday's win over James Buchanan. The Lady Hounds are ranked 17th in 5A with the top 16 teams making it to the postseason.