HERSHEY — Through the first three-plus quarters, No. 14 Greencastle-Antrim gave No. 3-seeded Milton Hershey all it wanted.
But the Spartans outscored G-A 27-11 in the final 8 minutes to pull away for a 65-47 victory in a District 3 Class 5A first-round girls basketball playoff game in Hershey on Tuesday night.
Liv Carey
The Blue Devils closed out their season with a 13-10 record. Milton Hershey (17-6) plays Cocalico on Friday in a quarterfinal game.
Greencastle coach Scott McKeever said, “Most team’s seasons end with a loss and that’s what happened to us tonight. But it doesn’t take away from how successful the season was.”
The Blue Devils trailed by 6 at halftime (25-19) and were still down only 7 (38-31) to start the fourth period.
However, Milton Hershey, which enjoyed a size advantage, wore Greencastle down on the boards and used a transition offense to take a 6-point lead to 12 quickly and douse G-A’s hopes.
“We fought hard and kept the game at arm’s length until then,” McKeever said.
Callie Izer led Greencastle with 13 points, Liv Carey knocked down four 3-pointers for 12 points and Ellie Bigler also totaled 12 points. Leading scorer Kiersten Swain was held to a season-low 2 points by the Spartans’ defense.
Milton Hershey got 20 points from Aubrie Walker-Smith and 14 from Angelina Momoh.
McKeever said, “I am proud of our girls and I want to say say thanks to our seniors, Callie Izer and Liv Carey, who gave everything they had for four years. They will be missed.
“But I am excited by the growth we had this year and with who returns next year. We are set up for continued success.”
Milton Hershey 65, Greencastle-Antrim 47
GREENCASTLE
Chloe Parks 1 0-0 3, Callie Izer 6 0-2 13, Minnie Gambacurta 0 0-0 0, Leilah Swain 0 0-0 0, Ali Logsdon 0 0-0 0, Jayda Robinson 0 0-0 0, Braelyn Cordell 0 0-0 0, Liv Carey 4 0-0 12, Ellie Bigler 3 5-7 12, Kiersten Swain 1 0-0 2, Alannah Coleman 0 0-0 0, Addie Dietrich 0 0-0 0, Miranda Martin 0 0-0 0, Sophie Fries 2 1-2 5. Totals 17 6-11 47.
MILTON HERSHEY
Difayah Brisbone-Kremer 3 0-0 6, Synclaire Ewell 1 0-0 3, Tatiannah Chandler 6 3-5 16, Angelina Momoh 7 0-0 14, Jayda Anya 1 0-0 2, Journey Wright 1 2-4 4, Aubrie Walker-Smith 10 0-0 20. Totals 29 5-9 65.
Greencastle 10 9 12 11 — 47
Milton Hershey 14 11 13 27 — 65
3-point shots — GA 7 (Carey 4, Parks, Izer, Bigler); MH 2 (Ewell, Chandler).