Delone Catholic breezes past Linden Hall
Catie Apgar couldn't seem to miss.
The Delone Catholic sophomore took shots on four consecutive possessions in the second quarter of the Squirettes district playoff game against Linden Hall on Friday and made all four. Not typically one of Delone Catholic's top scorers, the 6-foot-3 forward tallied eight points in less than two minutes.
"I don't think I've ever done that before," Apgar said. "I don't know, I didn't think about it. After that first shot I got more confidence."
It was that kind of night for Delone, which breezed to a 68-22 home win over the Lions in the quarterfinals of the District 3 Class AA playoffs. The Squirettes (18-6) will play Camp Hill in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Monday at Dallastown High School.
Very few things went wrong for the Squirettes on Friday, as they led by 27 at halftime and 44 at the end of the third quarter. It was such a dominant performance that a mercy rule, which enables a running clock, took affect late in the third quarter as soon as the Squirettes went up by 40.
Delone head coach Gerry Eckinrode said that while he thought there was "potential" for the game to be a blowout, he didn't expect it to be that lopsided.
"I watched (Linden Hall) on film, and I thought we were definitely the better team but you don't know until you start playing," Eckenrode said. "We're playing nine people right now, and all of them are capable defenders and offensive players."
It was Delone's second-highest scoring total of the season, behind only a 75-point performance against Biglerville on Jan. 21. Ten different Squirettes scored on Friday with Ally Shipley, Lilly Singleton and Apgar all reaching double digits.
While Shipley led the team with 14 points, it was Apgar who received most of the attention. The sophomore scored 10 points in the first half and finished with 12.
"We've never seen (Apgar) do that, that was crazy," Shipley said. "We were all going crazy. The fact that she was finishing the way she was, we need her to keep that up. She has so much potential but she gets in her own head. I feel like tonight is going to be a big deal for her."
With Delone having not played in nine days since its loss to Red Lion in the YAIAA semifinals on Feb. 10, Eckenrode said it wouldn't have been surprising if the Squirettes came out flat. While they did only score 11 points in the first quarter, they exploded with a 13-2 run to open the second.
With the semifinals taking place Monday, the Squirettes are hoping the shorter layoff and momentum from Friday help them get off to a fast start against top-seeded Camp Hill.
"When you go through a period where you don't play as many games, you get nervous because you just want to play again," Shipley said. "Coming out of here with that big of a win is a confidence booster."
Linden Hall (22)
Adewole 0 1-2 1, Makinde 1 0-0 2, McCloud 1 1-2 4, Chhodon 1 1-2 4, Miller 3 1-2 9, Phillips 1 0-0 2, Parker 0 0-0 0, Thorpe 0 0-0 0. Totals — 7 4-8 22.
Delone Catholic (68)
Ally Shipley 5 3-4 14, Lilly Singleton 3 5-7 11, Catie Apgar 6 0-0 12, Laughman 2 1-2 5, Knoblach 1 0-0 2, Zumbrum 4 1-4 9, Vingsen 2 0-0 5, Anderson 1 2-3 4, Miller 1 0-0 3, Martin 1 0-0 3, Wagaman 0 0-0 0, Wildasin 0 0-0 0, Lorenzo-Garcia 0 0-0 0. Totals — 26 12-20 68.
Linden Hall _ 3 _ 5 _ 7 _ 7 _ — _ 22
Delone Catholic _ 11 _ 24 _ 24 _ 9 _ — _ 68
3-point goals — Delone Catholic 4 (Shipley, Vingsen, Miller, Martin) Linden Hall 4 (Miller 2, Chhodon, McCloud).