By Marion Valanoski
HERSHEY -- T.J. Weller chose to dwell on the upside of the Greenwood High School girls' basketball season rather than wallow in sorrow following his team's 51-45 loss Saturday to Delaware County Christian in a battle of district runner-up Class A schools at Hershey Park Arena.
Skeptics did not expect the second-year mentor's squad to be much of a factor this season, but yet here they were battling a Knights team that came in with 21 wins and except for a slow start, took the District 1 squad right down to final minute before a rash of turnovers and Whitney McCloud's four points down the stretch pushed DCCS into the second round against the winner between Old Forge and Benton.
The Wildcats (15-12) opened the contest like they were in a daze, and with 6-3 sophomore center Emily Homan scoring four points inside and controlling the play in the paint at both ends, the Knights found themselves up 10-0 following a 6-0 run fueled by 5-10 junior forward Alexa Weaver and McCloud with two points apiece from the foul line.
Greenwood finally ended its icy shooting when Jenna Nankivell nailed a jump shot with 3:08 left in the opening quarter. After Salene Shaffer converted once from the charity stripe, Autumn Pellman collected back-to-back deuces to cut the deficit to 10-7.
"We started out rocky and fell behind 10-0, but give credit to the girls they never gave up and got right back in it," Weller said. "Their physical size and quickness may have been intimidating at the start."
Homan made her presence felt initially with four blocked shots and five rebounds in the opening stanza, but after Emily Evans scored to put the Knights on top 14-7, the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run to grab the lead 19-14. Andi Matter initiated the rally with a basket and Pellman tallied four points, including the tie-breaking shot, and included in the outburst was one three-pointer each by Maria Rumberger and Marissa Hoffman.
The Knights woke up in the latter stages of the quarter, and with Weaver scoring four points and Homa adding three, the visitors went into halftime with a slim 21-19 edge.
DCCS opened the second half showing off its perimeter attack as McCloud and Carli Neal nailed consecutive treys to extend the advantage to 29-23 but the Wildcats answered with Pellman coming up with four points while Bayley Vohs and Shaffer each added a deuce to stay within a hoop, 29-27.
More importantly, the full-court pressure was disrupting to the point that Homan was not always in position to set up inside and the ball began heading the opposite way thanks to Pellman, Nankivell and Shaffer out front.
McCloud, who finished as the game's high scorer with 17 points, combined with Neal (5) for nine as the Knights went into the final period with a 37-31 lead.
McCloud continued her torrid scoring with four points to open the fourth as the Knights went up 41-33, but the Cats were far from calling it quits. Rumberger playing nothing like a freshman in her initial state playoff game and sandwiched five points, including a 3-pointer, around baskets by Pellman and Nankivell as Greenwood crept to within a single digit, 41-40. Weaver briefly halted the comeback with two from the foul line only to have Rumberger again respond with a jumper that was just shy of being another trey.
The Wildcats regained the advantage one final time when Shaffer worked inside for a layup and Pellman went one-for-two from the charity stripe to put Greenwood up, 45-43.
Unfortunately, all that full court pressure began to take its toll, who were short on the bench, and the Knights suddenly caught their second wind. Homan used her size to score on back-to-back jumpers and a few ill-advised passes turned into miscues DCCS used to convert into points while also effectively working down the clock. McCloud went four-for-five in the final minute to secure the final outcome.
"We had some lazy passes in the fourth quarter and they took advantage," Weller said. Homan finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine blocked shots while forcing the Greenwood shooters to alter their path to the basket. Weaver finished with 10 and McCloud chipped in with seven boards.
The Wildcats were led by Pellman's 13 points and Rumberger pitched in with 12.
