GIRLS: Greencastle holds off hosts to win title

HUMMELSTOWN - Winning the championship at the Lower Dauphin Holiday Tournament on Wednesday night did not come easy for Greencastle-Antrim.

Even though the Blue Devils led 22-9 at halftime, the host Falcons made it a struggle.

But G-A played strong defense throughout and Hannah Crist dropped in a pair of timely 3-pointers in the fourth period to quell LD's comeback hopes in a 35-25 victory.

Greencastle coach Mike Rhine said, "I told the girls in the locker room before the game that I know they can beat the kind of teams we've already beaten, but I wanted to know if we could beat a good team, one that traditionally plays really good defense, and on their home court. And we got off to a beautiful start, so give the girls credit."

The Blue Devils (8-1) played some excellent defense of their own and bolted out to a 13-3 lead after one quarter, and held their 13-point lead at halftime. Lower Dauphin (7-3) reduced the deficit to eight in the fourth quarter, but Crist drilled her longballs to erase any doubt about the outcome.

"She hit two huge threes," Rhine said, "just real daggers. The last one was with around two minutes left and put us back up 11."

Crist finished with 16 points and had four 3-pointers. Jenay Faulkner added 11 points - her lowest total of the season by six. But Faulkner also had 12 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots, while Meghan Hirneisen contributed 10 rebounds.

Rhine said, "Ashley True played a sensational game. She gave us five points and made a lot of really good decisions.

"We watched LD last night and they are strong. We didn't know exactly what to expect from our girls, but they did a great, great job. Their defense really puts a lot of pressure on you, and we had some turnovers, but we figured it out as we went. And our defense played really well, too. (Assistant) Bill Monn is doing a great job working with our defense and it's making a difference."

Greencastle 35, Lower Dauphin 25 

Greencastle (35)

Hannah Crist 6 0-0 16, Morgan Wagaman 0 0-1 0, Jenay Faulkner 5 0-0 11, Meghan Hirneisen 1 1-4 3, Ashley True 2 1-1 5, Madison Sweitzer 0 0-0 0, Lydia Crist 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 2-6 35..

Lower Dauphin (25)

Schwenger 3 0-0 7, Friederich 1 0-0 2, Leader 1 1-4 3, Abraham 1 0-0 2, Gibbs 2 1-4 5, Malinen 2 0-1 6. Totals — 13 2-9 25.

Greencastle _ 13 _ 9 _ 4 _ 9 _ — _ 35

L.Dauphin _ 3 _ 6 _ 4 _ 12 _ — _ 25

3-point goals — GA 5 (H.Crist 4, Faulkner), LD 3 (Malinen 2, Schwenger).