RECAP
When Hershey’s girls’ basketball team walked off the court on Dec. 20 after a 33-25 loss to Lower Dauphin, the Trojans were 1-6 overall and scratching their collective heads.
Now, Hershey is one of the hottest teams not only in Mid-Penn Keystone play, but also around District 3.
The Trojans won for the eighth time in nine games on Monday night, beating the approaching Polar vortex with a 48-35 Keystone win over visiting Susquehanna Township.
WATCH REPLAY OF LIVE VIDEO WEBCAST from Hershey's victory
Hershey got back to .500 in the division at 6-6, and improved to 9-7 overall. It trails front-runner Mechanicsburg by five games, but has played major spoiler here lately with wins over Palmyra and Trinity.
Susquehanna Township, which never led Monday, had its 3-game winning streak snapped and slipped to 6-5 in the Keystone and to 8-8 overall.
Like Hershey, the Indians have been relegated to Keystone spoiler. And Hanna will get a chance to throw a major monkey wrench into the race; the Indians play first-place Mechanicsburg on Jan. 27 and again on Jan. 31.
Hershey and Hanna are still thinking postseason; Trojans are 25th in the latest District 3-AAAA power rankings — the top 20 teams qualify — and the Indians are 12th in the latest District 3-AAA power rankings, with the top 18 teams getting a bid.
UPDATED DISTRICT 3 GIRLS' BASKETBALL POWER RANKINGS
ON THE COURT
Dahlia Chroscinski scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Gabby Blackburn had a solid game at the point with 12 points for Hershey, whose lone loss during this hot streak was a 37-21 setback at first-place Mechanicsburg on Jan. 10.
Lena Williams scored 9 points and Tanner Turner-Rush had 7 points and 10 rebounds for Hanna.
Hershey jumped out to a quick 14-4 lead behind Chroscinski, who had 6 points and 4 boards in the first quarter.
Hanna rose to the occasion in the second quarter; Tanner Turner-Rush scored 5 points — including an and-1 — and Janiese Pope and Lexy Sczypta hit 3-pointers for the Indians.
But Hershey led 29-18 at the half.
Bridget Kilgallen keyed the Trojans’ 10-4 third-quarter spurt with a pair of 3s, and Hershey led 39-22 heading into the fourth.
Blackburn hit the second of her two treys and Brianna Leonard had a pair of buckets in the paint to help close it out for Hershey, which had 13 turnovers, while forcing Hanna in to 12 giveaways.
THE DIFFERENCE
Rebounding — by a mile.
Hershey out-boarded Hanna by a whopping 51-23 margin, as Chroscinski had 13 boards, Taylor Grace pulled down 12 boards and Kilgallen grabbed 8 boards for the Trojans, who crashed with authority throughout.
Hershey coach Randy Gambelunghe said his team was out-rebounded on the defensive glass 20-11 on Dec. 18, when Hanna beat Hershey 59-52.
The Trojans turned the tables Monday — on the glass and in the W column.