I was supposed to play the role of the traditional print reporter tonight and head out to a high school basketball game, take notes, do interviews, and then write a 500 word story for the newspaper and the web site.
Then my car engine decided it didn't want me to leave the York Daily Record/Sunday News newsroom.
But that's OK, because this gives me the opportunity to try something different and provide you online readers with some supplemental coverage. Since we are live streaming (is that the right term?) the two games at Central York High School here, I can provide running analysis and commentary of the action as it happens. I believe the kids call it live-blogging.
Just keep reloading your page every few minutes. Also, if anybody knows a good mechanic, shoot me an email at smclernon@ydr.com. Anyway, here we go:
Pregame: Delone Catholic is wearing the home white and has got to be considered the favorites in this one. They've only lost twice this season and come into tonight's game as the No. 1 seed from the lower tier (Division III/IV). I haven't seen the Squires at all this season, but from everything I hear, they are a serious force. I have seen Spring Grove twice and they have an ensemble cast that plays intense defense and seems to prefer a scrappy, low-scoring game.
Upset city?: Spring Grove is looking good early, taking an 8-5 lead with 3:19 left in the first quarter. They have hit a pair of big outside shots and seem to be flustering the Delone Catholic defense. Division I/II has always had the reputation of being Red Lion and everybody else, but the Rockets are showing enough early on to suggest that reputation is undeserved.
Delone surge: And the Squires just scored seven straight points to take a 12-8 lead. Spring Grove missed an open jumper from the left elbow at the buzzer to keep the Delone advantage at four points going into the second quarter. It seems like the Squires have found their offense, now they just need to try not to lose it again.
What upset?: I may have gotten a little ahead of myself. Delone continues to excel, increasing its lead to 22-10 midway through the second quarter. The Squires are grabbing rebounds and forcing turnovers on defense and making smart shots and drawing fouls on offense. They are also showing a lot of hustle on both sides of the ball. After a forced turnover, Chelsea Hoffman drew a foul, made the front end of a 1-and-1, missed the second, but forced a tie-up on the rebound to allow Delone to keep the ball, leading to a Courtney Riggs layup. That's how you win basketball games.
Keeping it close: The Rockets are showing plenty of fight, going on a 6-0 run to close the second quarter and make the halftime score 22-16. Spring Grove is scoring off offensive rebounds and making sure this doesn't turn into an early blowout. Their shot selection looked much better, including a 15-footer from Alyssia Gordon that ended up being the final field goal of the half. It looked to me like the Rockets pulled down about twice as many rebounds as the Squires during the last four minutes of the half, which was huge and if they can maintain that dominance on the boards, the Squires are going to have a hard time holding onto that lead.
Halftime: I mentioned above that I had yet to see Delone play this season, but after watching them in the first half tonight I can understand why they finished the regular season with a 20-2 record and beat the three-time defending state champion York Catholic program twice. Between Hoffman, Riggs, Sierra Moore and Jessica Erbe, it looks like the Squires have multiple threats on the court and don't have to rely on only one or two good players. Still, Delone has encountered a tough Spring Grove team tonight and missed a big opportunity to go up by as many as 15 (or at least stay ahead by double-digits) at the half. Spring Grove got its foot in the door and they have the momentum going into the third quarter.
Searching for offense: Neither team had been able to do much scoring this third quarter, each picking up a single field goal to make it 24-18 about midway through the quarter. Spring Grove continues to flex its defensive muscles, with Gordon pulling down defensive rebounds in the post and keeping the Squires from getting good looks. Delone's only basket of the quarter so far came on an offensive rebound by Moore. The Squires have shown they can play pretty strong defense as well, and continue to hold a multiple possession lead. Even so, Spring Grove is showing that you don't want to mess with the Rockets.
Still at six: Grimm hit a short jumper for the Rockets and pumped her fists, cutting the Delone lead to three with 10 second left in the third quarter, but the Squires quickly answered with a 3-pointer (I think it was Hoffman) before the end of the quarter to make the score 30-24 going into the fourth. Delone is making sure the Rockets don't get too close.
Delone starts to pull away: The Squires came through with another big offensive surge like the one that put them up ahead by 12 in the first half, taking a 42-29 lead thanks to multiple buckets by Moore in the paint and outside shots from Arielle Placke and Maria Photiades. When this offense is clicking it looks scary good. Spring Grove made the score 41-32 with 2:40 left on a 3-pointer and continues to get strong play from Gordon, who has to be close to a double-double by now, but will need more over these last 160 seconds.
Gordon delivers: Right on cue, Gordon hit a jumper from the left baseline to make it eight points in a row for the Rockets and cut the Delone lead to 41-37 with 1:13 remaining in the contest. Now they just need a couple defensive stops.
Squires refuse to be stopped: Just like they have been doing the entire game, Delone came through with scores on its next two possessions to pull ahead 45-37 with 41 seconds remaining. Placke hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to eight. Now the Rockets are really in trouble.
No more scoring: Spring Grove couldn't put the ball through the hoop in the final seconds and Delone closed the door, securing a 45-37 victory and moving on to the semifinals. In Tuesday's semifinals, I believe the Squires will face Eastern York, which took down Red Lion. And they may even get a chance to make it three in a row against the defending state champs in the title game, as York Catholic advanced to the semifinals on the other side of the bracket with a victory over undefeated Northeastern. (EDIT: As mentioned in the comments section, York Catholic did beat Delone the first time the two teams met, but the Squires won the most recent meeting. So the Squires will be going for two out of three if the two teams meet in the final.)
Wrap-up: The Squires really impressed me tonight, especially Moore. She looked very good, particularly in the second half, and it's hard to believe she is only a freshman. Even though Moore and the Squires didn't dominate, or even win very convincingly, they showed enough toughness and composure to withstand Spring Grove runs and maintain the lead for all of the second half. It doesn't matter if a team can't pull away for the blowout victory, as long as it can hold off the opponent for the win. Whether it's by one point or 54 points, it still only counts as one victory.
Congrats to Delone, YC, Eastern, and WY.
But get your facts straight, Delone and YC split their regular season games.