P.O. Female Athlete of the Week: Morgan Wagaman

There's no question that the Greencastle-Antrim girls basketball team has cultivated a reputation for pulling off a few SportsCenter Top 10 Play moments on a nightly basis. 

And their most famous - defensive rebound, cross-court pass for a layup - is something of a blast from the past, with Jenay Faulkner passing to Morgan Wagaman down the court - like they did five years ago while playing middle school ball. 

Wagaman has stepped into the team's "running" role as a senior, filling the shoes of former G-A stars on the way to becoming one herself. 

"Morgan is a killer," Greencastle coach Mike Rhine said. "She is awesome defensively, especially. I would not want to be anywhere near her on the court if she was guarding me. It would make for a really long night. She's physical, fast, she does not foul and she's a real pest and a nuisance when she's guarding you." 

Last week Wagaman held opponent's leading scorers to a total of 15 points, while splitting her time on offense, racking up 41 total points through three games. She put up a career-high 18 points versus Northeastern - good enough to be named the P.O. Female Athlete of the Week.

On any given night, Faulkner is the focus of any opposing team, but with a player like Wagaman on her side, some of the pressure is off. 

"I definitely think it's really important for me to take some pressure off of Jenay," Wagaman said. "Obviously, Jenay is an amazing basketball player, but she can't do everything by herself, so we all need to help her whenever she needs it." 

"We have Jenay, but with Morgan in the mix I think we have two special defensive players," Rhine said. "We tell Morgan, 'You're on their best player,' and it's impossible to get the ball when she's guarding you."

Traditionally, Greencastle has been the kind of team to knock opponents down early, and coast the rest of the way to victory, but with consistent scorers becoming few and far between on the G-A roster, the landscape has changed for the Blue Devils on the court. But with Wagaman's increased scoring, Saturday's 60-18 win over Northeastern looked more like a typical Greencastle result of recent years. 

"I definitely think our defense is important this year," Wagaman said. "Obviously scoring points wins games, but also defense wins games, too. I think our offense and defense has improved. We all work really hard, and I think everyone has improved in some type of way."

Morgan Wagaman, Greencastle-Antrim

Sport: Basketball

Grade: Senior

Position: Guard

Height: 5-foot-3

Parents: Doug and Julie Wagaman

Other interests: Wagaman also plays softball for Greencastle and is a member of Young Life.

Favorite team: Duke basketball

Surprising fact: She traveled to Sydney, Australia with the People to People Student Ambassador program. 

Statistics: Wagaman helped the Lady Blue Devils to a pair of Mid Penn Colonial Division wins last week as Greencastle remains the only undefeated team in MPC play ... She racked up a career-high 18 points against Northeastern, 14 versus Big Spring, and added nine more against Shippensburg.