GREENCASTLE — Hershey had an imposing back line of players that were 6-foot-2, 6-foot and 6-foot, which created a challenge for the Greencastle-Antrim girls basketball team.

Rylee Henson

But the Blue Devils worked a game plan to near perfection, keeping the game at a faster pace for the majority of the time, and closed out a 46-32 victory in a District 3 Class 5A first-round playoff game Tuesday night at the Greencastle gym.

“It was a great crowd, so it was easy to be excited to play,” G-A coach Mike Rhine said. “And we got nice contributions from everybody.”

No. 3 seed Greencastle (19-3) now plays in the quarterfinal round on Friday night, hosting No. 6 Lower Dauphin (14-9), which defeated West Perry 46-36 on Tuesday. The win Tuesday also guarantees G-A a spot in the PIAA Tournament. Hershey was eliminated with a 10-13 record.

Rylee Henson led the Blue Devils in scoring with 12 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Mia Libby had 11 points, plus 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Haley Noblit chipped in 10 points, 6 assists and 5 steals, and Lauren Pool had 9 points and ripped down 13 rebounds.

The Trojans scored the first five points of the game, but Greencastle then posted the next nine points and never trailed again.

G-A led 27-19 at halftime, then Henson dropped in a pair of 3-pointers and another basket, scoring all of her team’s points in the period, to increase the lead to 35-24.

Rhine said, “Henson really got us rolling in the third quarter. We got that 11-point lead and that allowed us to run some clock. Then they had to come to defend us, and we got the ball inside then and were able to kick it back out for some threes.”

Greencastle came up with 14 steals and turned the ball over only 11 times.

“They are so big and played a 2-3 zone, plus their guards are long, so it was hard to run our normal offense,” Rhine said. “So we switched up our presses and our defense a little and got some turnovers, and got out and ran. When it was a half-court game, they were able to get back in it; when we could run, we stretched the lead and kept our foot on the pedal. The game plan worked and the kids did what we asked of them.”

For Hershey, Mary Cotter scored 12 points on four 3-pointers.

Greencastle 46, Hershey 32
HERSHEY
Lauren Yazinski 1 0-0 3, Anna Coulter 3 1-2 7, India Mayes 1 0-0 2, Julia Zakovitch 1 2-2 4, Mary Cotter 4 0-0 12, Ellie Fasick 2 0-0 4. Totals 12 3-4 32.
GREENCASTLE
Haley Noblit 4 2-4 10, Aubrey Smith 1 0-0 2, Mia Libby 4 1-4 11, Rylee Henson 4 1-4 12, Lauren Pool 3 3-5 9, Shaina Overcash 1 0-0 2, Meadow Gambacurta 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-16 46.
Hershey                    7    12     5     8    —    32
Greencastle            19     8     8    11   —    46
3-point shots — Her 5 (Cotter 4, Yazinski); GA 5 (Henson 3, Libby 2).