For a little while on Saturday evening, it appeared the Bishop McDevitt girls basketball team was going to run away with its highly anticipated matchup with visiting Trinity.
The Lady Crusaders came out of the gates on fire and built a 22-11 lead behind 16 first quarter points from star guard Olivia Fasick.
But the Lady Shamrocks didn’t lie down, they fought all the way back and ended up taking McDevitt to the brink before falling 55-49.
Trinity (9-1) upped the defensive intensity in the second quarter and clawed back to within seven at the half.
In the third quarter, it was the Lady Shamrocks turn to throw their best punch. Led by Sunshine McCrae, who tallied nine points the frame, Trinity came all the way back and knotted the score 29-29 mid-way through the third.
With time running down in the quarter, the Lady Shamrocks pulled down a rebound with a chance to take the lead. Instead, Fasick again came up with a big play as she stripped the ball and hit a long runner as time expired to give her team a 40-37 lead after three.
Trinity hung tight and pulled within two at 45-43 with 2:43 remaining, but that’s as close it would get as the Lady Crusaders closed it out at the line to remain undefeated.
The Stars
Fasick was spectacular for the Lady Crusaders. The senior posted a game-high 26 points, including three triples. On the defensive end, she notched a quartet of steals to lead the team.
After a slow start with just six first-half points, McCrae scored 15 after the intermission and was a key cog in keeping the Lady Shamrocks in it down the stretch.
Game-deciding moments
As time ran down in the third quarter, Trinity looked to take the lead for the first time in the game. Instead, Fasick stripped Jaylin Moore and hit an 18-foot runner as the buzzer sounded to extend the Lady Crusaders lead to three.
They said it:
McDevitt coach Kevin Dupes on playing a tough regular season schedule.
“Oh, it’s great. I mean, it gets you ready for the post season and every game so far we’ve been in a dog fight. Every team comes after you every night.”
Dupes on Fasick’s defensive play
“She stepped up big time for us on defense. We preach defense and that’s the way we want to win basketball games. They had size on us, obviously, so we were always trying to get the backside help.”
Trinity 11 9 17 12 – 49
Bishop McDevitt 22 5 13 15 – 55
Trinity (9-1) – McCrae 21, Ingram 10, Trumpy 8, Dorsey 2, Ward 2, Sajer 2, Stevenson 2, Moore 2.
Bishop McDevitt (10-0) – Fasick 26, Keller 13, George 5, Chisholm 4, Johnson 3, Mosten 2, Staub 1, Thomas 1.

HARRISBURG — Bishop McDevitt found itself in a tight game Friday night against a resurgent Mechanicsburg squad. As they’ve done all season, the Crusaders found a way to grind out a victory.
Bishop McDevitt’s unblemished season, which includes a Penn Manor tip-off tournament title and the recently-won Warwick holiday tournament championship, continued Friday with a 45-34 win.
The Crusaders (9-0, 5-0), who have been getting it done on the defensive end during their stellar start to the season, held Mechanicsburg to single-digit quarters in each of the last three periods.
Much-improved Mechanicsburg (7-2, 3-2) had some costly turnovers in the final minutes, which resulted in some empty possessions. The Crusaders took advantage to collect the critical Mid-Penn Keystone division win.
The Stars:
Bishop McDevitt’s Olivia Fasick scored a game-high 17 points. She also blocked a few shots.
Treasure George chipped in with 10 points for the winners.
Logan Nutt and Talia Gilliard each had 10 points for Mechanicsburg. Rylee Everett had eight points.
Game-deciding moments:
Gilliard sunk a pair of free throws to trim Mechanicsburg’s deficit to two with around three minutes to play. Bishop McDevitt, leading 36-34, came back with a pair of 2-point buckets from Fasick and Alexia Thomas to go ahead by six with two minutes to play.
Mechanicsburg then turned the ball over on two straight possessions, and went into foul mode to try and catch the Crusaders. Bishop McDevitt, which closed the game on a 9-0 run, was able to convert from the foul line and ice the win.
They said it:
Bishop McDevitt head coach Kevin Dupes, on what’s led to the early-season success: “We’re playing really good defense. That’s what we concentrate on. We have girls that can score but we wanted them to play better defense. We just don’t want anybody to beat us off the dribble. We’re playing good help defense and we’re trying to shut people down. In the second half they scored 15 points. I think that’s pretty good defense.”
Dupes, on McDevitt’s ability to grind out wins: “Every game we’ve played so far has been a grind. We’re used to it. We just have to keep playing. We practice for these situations in practice all the time. They’re used to playing in that situation.”
Mechanicsburg 10 9 9 6 – 34
Bishop McDevitt 13 6 13 13 – 45
Mechanicsburg (7-2) – Gilliard 10, Nutt 10, Everett 8, M. Schrass 3, A. Schrass 2, Hurst 1
Bishop McDevitt (9-0) – Fasick 17, George 10, Thomas 6, Chisholm 5, Mosten 3, Johnson 2, Keller 2

The high school basketball season is already rolling along, and Pennsylvania’s top players are beginning to emerge.
Here’s a look at PennLive’s central Pa. Fab 5 – a list of the top five players in the midstate for the 2018-19 season.
Following the Fab 5 is a list of five additional players who could crack PennLive’s Fab 5 with big seasons this winter.

Olivia Fasick, Bishop McDevitt
Class: Senior
Position: Guard
Buzz: Fasick is the top player on a skilled Bishop McDevitt squad that has state playoff aspirations again this season. One of the midstate’s premier ball handlers and shooters, Fasick averaged nearly 17 points per game last season. She also makes plays on the defensive end, ranking in the top ten in blocks and steals among Mid-Penn players as a junior.

https://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/01/meet_central_pennsylvanias_fab.html

With 2018 squarely in the rearview, it’s time to jump right into 2019.
The Mid-Penn Conference is home to some of the state’s top female high school athletes. State champions and future Division I players compete in this league.
Here’s a list of 19 girls high school athletes from the Mid-Penn who are sure to make waves in 2019.
Athletes are listed in alphabetical order.

Olivia Fasick, Bishop McDevitt
Class: Senior
Sport(s): Basketball
Buzz: A difference maker on both ends of the court, Fasick is the top player on a talented Bishop McDevitt team. Fasick, a 1,000-point scorer, handles the ball as well as anyone in the midstate.

https://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/01/19_mid-penn_conference_girls_h.html

With wins over Lancaster Mennonite Friday night 62-54 and the Championship game win over Wilson 55-42 the girls are 8-0 and off for a few days. When we get back the hard work will continue and get us ready for a tough stretch of games. Treasure Morrow was named a tournament All Star and Olivia Fasick was named tournament MVP. Congratulations Girls!