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PIAA girls hoops: Greencastle vs. Gwynedd Mercy


Empty. Refresh. Still empty.

Rinse, and repeat.

This is the cycle Greencastle-Antrim girls basketball coach Mike Rhine has being going through with his Hudl inbox for the last several days.

As of Monday evening, less than 48 hours from tip-off of the Blue Devils' second-round PIAA Class AAA hoops game, Rhine still hadn't seen film of his upcoming opponent, Gwynedd-Mercy.

"I sent out six requests for video today, and no one has responded," Rhine said. "A lot of people are done with basketball, so they're not even checking their Hudl accounts. It's very difficult to get information. But I do know that they are deep; I know that they're fast; and I know they can apply a lot of pressure defensively."

Greencastle (24-3) will face Gwynedd-Mercy at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Milton Hershey.

Here's what we do know about the Monarchs (24-4). They are the No. 1 seed out of District 1, and they have 11 players listed on their roster on MaxPreps.

The good news for G-A is that size-wise, it should be a good matchup. Gwynedd-Mercy's tallest player, Mary Claire Casey, is listed at 6-foot-0, and it has a trio of 5-10 girls, but it certainly won't be as overwhelming for Greencastle as some other opponents.

"It's not going to be figuring out how to stop tall girls, but how to deal with pressure and a deep bench with a lot of speed and defense that's in your face," Rhine said. "They're going to be really good. They're going to all look like Jenay (Faulkner) - tall, fast and quick."

Faulkner, measuring in at 5-11, has led the Blue Devils all season and is averaging 19.8 points per game, while Hannah Crist is right behind with 16.5 ppg.

One thing is for sure - Greencastle cannot afford the slow start it had in the first round against Scranton Prep. The Blue Devils needed every second of the clock to muster a 43-42 comeback, while the Monarchs came out on fire, racking up an 18-0 lead before defeating Bonner-Prendergast by more than 20.

"Honestly to me, it comes down to how well we defend and rebound because you have to do those things all the time," Rhine said. "There are going to be dry spells. That's the life of a jump-shooting team, but if we can hold them to nothing on one shot, it's not so bad. When they're making and we're not, it feels like we're getting crushed."

Regardless of the potential uphill battle, Rhine knows that in the playoffs, anything's possible.

"With the team we have now, I don't know if anyone predicted us to be this far," Rhine said. "Our kids are very tough and very aggressive, and they play very good defense. They're not always the stars, either. Ashley True had six offensive rebounds (on Saturday), which gives our scorers another opportunity at a 3-pointer.

"I think the team that wins is the one that doesn't get too high or too low. Thirty-two minutes is a long time."

Blue Devils-Monarchs at a glance

Game data: 3-3 Greencastle-Antrim vs. 1-1 Gwynedd-Mercy ... Wednesday, at Milton Hershey, 6 ... PIAA Class AAA second round game

Media: Follow @liziarbogast and @LindseySquints on Twitter for updates ... Webcast on midpennbroadcasting.com.

Teams: The Blue Devils are 24-3 after squeaking out a victory over Scranton Prep in the first round ... Gwynedd Mercy (24-4) defeated its first-round opponent, 58-31.

P.O. pick: Monarchs by 7.