Abington saw its season end in the PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals on Friday night when the Ghosts fell to Spring-Ford 50-40. To view game photos, please visit the Photo Gallery.
PLYMOUTH MEETING – Abington spent a memorable postseason reveling in its role of giant killer. The Ghosts’ remarkable run came to an end on Friday night when they fell to defending state champion Spring-Ford 50-40 in a PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal game at Colonial Elementary School.
“This was a great season,” senior captain Michael Harris said. “It was probably my favorite season actually. We made it really far, and even though we lost, I’m proud of the way we played.
“I think everyone did really well. I know next year will be an even better year for them, and I can’t wait to come back and watch them.”
The Ghosts hung tough for the better part of 32 minutes.
“Honestly, I think it boiled down to the little things that Spring-Ford does so well – the 50-50 balls, the offensive rebounds, those kinds of things,” coach Dan Marsh said. “I know you could look at our turnovers and say that we had 23, but they had 24. We turned them over too.
“Our defense was just as good, but what I think it boiled down to were the second-chance points. I think they converted nine offensive rebounds in the first half, 14 overall, and I’m pretty sure they scored on almost every one of those. It killed us. The rebounding, I think, was the difference.”
The Ghosts’ coach has a plan to make sure that doesn’t happen in the future.
“We need to get stronger,” Marsh said. “We have to get in the weight room. We’re a little too slim.
“Those are big, strong senior kids, and we’ve got young, skinny, little kids that have to get in the weight room and get stronger if we want to make a better run next year, which I think this team is certainly capable of.”
The Ghosts found themselves staring at an early 6-0 hole and trailed by as many as nine (15-6) before Deja Rawls and Leah Simmons closed out the frame with back-to-back buckets to trim that deficit to five after one quarter (15-10).
The second quarter featured more turnovers than points as the two teams combined for 19 turnovers and just 10 points. The Rams took a 21-14 lead into the intermission.
“We were prepared for their double teams, but I guess we didn’t do so well with their pressure,” Harris said. “We had a little difficulty finding the open man and a little bit of communication problems as well, and rebounding – we didn’t do so well.
“We realized how important this game was, and everyone hustled on every play. You have to play like it could be your last game, which for us it was.”
The Ghosts trailed by just one (25-24) after Sammy Lochner buried a three-pointer,. The Rams went back on top 31-24 after a putback by Maddie Haney, but Gabby Nolan reeled off five straight points, including a trey, to make it a 31-29 game heading into the final quarter.
The Rams led 35-31 after a Sammy Stipa bucket, but Rawls, who led the Ghosts with 15 points, scored on an impossible drive through traffic to make it a 35-33 game. It was still a two-point game (38-36) after Nolan found Simmons for an easy bucket with 4:25 remaining. The Ghosts would get no closer as the Rams closed out the game with a 12-2 run.
“I definitely think their experience helped in this situation,” Marsh said. “We were obviously tentative, but then once we dug in we were fine.”
The Ghosts closed out their season with a 21-9 record and a state quarterfinal finish. Pretty impressive for a team that was seeded 18th heading into the district tournament.
“The seniors are taking it the hardest because they know they don’t get another chance,” Marsh said. “I don’t think anyone has their head hung low.
“We went out, and we battled today. We battled with the defending state champion, a game we probably could have won if we had done a little better job on the small things. They seem to be okay but obviously disappointed. I’m disappointed but proud at the same time.”
With just one senior in his starting lineup, Marsh was asked about the significance of his team’s postseason run.
“You can’t even put words on it,” he said. “These kids got a taste of what it’s like. They had a great time.
“I know they’re going to be biting at the bit come next September when we start getting back to work. They’ll all do their off-season work, hopefully, to get better, but this kind of run can propel a team for a couple of years, especially next year when we’ll have the senior team on the floor.”
EXTRA SHOTS: Simmons added 12 points for the Ghosts while Nolan had seven. Harris had a big game under the boards with 12. The Rams held a 32-24 advantage in rebounds – 14-8 on the offensive boards.
Spring-Ford 15 6 10 19-50
Abington 10 4 15 11-40
Spring-Ford (50) – Abby Beyer 0 0-0 0; Kaity Dougherty 0 0-0 0; Kali Gill 0 0-0 0; Maddie Haney 1 0-0 2; Molly Hynes 0 3-4 3; Maggie Locke 3 2-2 8; Shelby Mueller 7 4-7 18; Julia Roshelli 1 1-2 3; Amy Roth 0 0-0 0; Sammy Stipa 5 5-7 16; Emily Walker 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 17 15-22 50.
Abington (40) – Bre Bermel 0 0-0 0; Taylor Deal 0 0-0 0; Michael Harris 0 1-2 1; Sammy Lochner 1 2-2 5; Gabby Nolan 3 0-1 7; Joslin Poole 0 0-0 0; Deja Rawls 5 5-8 15; Leah Simmons 4 4-4 12; Gigi Vitelli 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 13 12-17 40.
Three-point goals: Spring-Ford-Stipa; Abington-Lochner, Nolan.
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