PA. GIRLS BASKETBALL N. Castle tops Hickory for fifth straight win

By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON -- When Hickory and New Castle met Saturday at Buzz Ridl Gymnasium, it was a match-up between two early-season unbeaten girls high school basketball teams.
After 32 minutes of fast-paced basketball, New Castle maintained its unblemished mark with a 52-42 victory over the Hornettes.
"I was very pleased with the effort from my kids," New Castle (5-0) coach Luann Grybowski said. "They hustle and don't quit and they do a good job of fighting on the boards."
The Canes set the early tempo and took control of the game during the opening five minutes, as they ripped off the first 12 points.
Good start is key
"I think [the quick start] was a big key to our winning the game," Grybowski said. "They scored a 3 and a free throw to start the second half and we went into a little lull. Despite that, we ended up outscoring them in the third quarter."
Hickory coach Jeanette Whitehead agreed.
"It was tough playing from behind," Whitehead said. "We knocked on the door a few times, but we just couldn't get in."
Trailing by 11, the Hornettes applied some pressure to begin the second half, and Grybowski was quick to point out that it disrupted the flow of her team's game.
"Pressure gives us a little trouble and we aren't used to that yet," Grybowski said. "We have to get used to it, but right now, we are trying to adjust and try some other people in our lineup. We just made a few bad decisions that opened the door for them."
Although trailing for the entire game, Hickory (4-1) made a couple of runs at the Canes, cutting their deficits from 10 or more points to single digits no less than four times.
"We got behind by as many as 15," Whitehead said. "Although we played a pretty good game after that, we just couldn't close that gap."
Leading the Canes was Joseph with a game-high 18 points, Ashley Wise chipping in with 14.
For Hickory, Sarah Gill led all scorers with 13 points, Gill followed closely by Jodie Geisel with 12.
Playing quality opponents
Both coaches agreed that playing games against quality opponents such as this can only help their squads.
"We wanted to play some quality teams in the preseason and Hickory is definitely a quality team," Grybowski said. "Playing them can only help us because we have three big games coming up in our section [of the WPIAL] and this win can help us as we prepare for those games."
Whitehead said, "The kids played hard right to the end. There is the type of game we need to play to prepare us for league play. Although there are some things we need to take a look at, we did some good things tonight and hopefully we can build on those to help prepare us for the games down the road."