McShane Lifts CB South to District Title Game
By: Kate Harman
As Maddie McShane was falling to the floor Wednesday night, she knew it could mean only one of two things – either this moment signaled the end of her appearance in the taut contest or it marked a momentum shift for her Central Bucks South girls’ basketball team.
She hit the hardwood and saw her teammates clapping. That’s when she knew it was the latter, rather than the former.
McShane drew an offensive charge with 30 seconds remaining and grabbed a rebound off a missed free throw with 17 ticks left on the clock, to solidify the 39-36 win for her Titans over Spring-Ford in the District 1 Class 6A semifinal at Bensalem.
“She’s not going to be the person who is our leading scorer every game. She’s not the person where you are going to look at the stat sheet and say, ‘oh my God,’ but she is the person that when you need her, she is going to come up big,” point guard, Alexa Brodie said. “She did that today. That offensive charge she took was huge – just for our momentum and confidence. She pulled that offensive rebound. Of all the plays in the game, I think those really sealed it for us.”
McShane had four fouls late in the contest, when her coaches told the team to be careful on the defensive end. Better to let them get a layup then foul out, they said. But as McShane saw the player for the Rams (24-2) charging down the court she knew she could get there in time.
She did.
And it changed the trajectory of the game.
“I’ve always been the type of person who isn’t a scorer but I know I can get rebounds and give everyone else a chance to do something,” McShane, who also is the catcher for the softball team and goalkeeper for the soccer team, said.
In a game that lacked rhythm for either team, that type of mentality was huge for C.B. South.
“It was tough for us because they kept adjusting defensively,” Haley Meinel, who led all scorers with 16 points, said. “We got in foul trouble but our bench players were huge role players for us and that really heleds us out.”
Knotted at 19 at the half and then at 25 at the end of the third, the Titans (24-3) took turns with Spring-Ford capitalizing on opportunities, but it was eight fourth quarter points from Brodie that helped C.B. South stay in it, even when it looked as though the Rams may take over.
“Not all wins are going to be easy, not all wins are going to be clean but I think it really goes a long way showing we can gut it out in those sloppy games and pull it together in the end,” Brodie said. “I think it showed our perseverance.”
After three straight appearances in the District 1 semifinals, the Titans finally won, advancing to Saturday’s championship game against Souderton.
What’s Brodie think about that?
“All I can say is, third time’s the charm.”
@Ka_Harman
Spring-Ford 8 11 6 11 – 36
Central Bucks South 9 10 6 14 – 39
SF: Abby Goodrich 9, Lucy Olsen 9, Alyssa Yuan 8, Cassie Marte 5, Emily Tiffan 2, Olivia Olsen 2, Rachel Christman 1
CBS: Haley Meinel 16, Alexa Brodie 15, Mackenzie Ehresman 4, Maddie McShane 2, Lindsay Scott 2
Defense Leads the way for Souderton against Garnet Valley
By: Kate Harman
You think you’re in the game.
You are keeping it close.
You get a few key baskets, a stop or two, go on a run. The numbers on the scoreboard start to get closer, the deficit seems within reach. Things are looking up, but there’s a problem.
The problem being the opponent: it’s Souderton
And Souderton doesn’t let challengers all the way back. Souderton doesn’t make game changing mistakes.
Instead, with the contest in single digits, Big Red gets a steal from point guard Tori Dowd, followed by a solid drive from Alana Cardona. Then Kate Connolly gets a decisive block and a lead that was once only seven points becomes 14.
That’s exactly what happened Wednesday night at Bensalem, as Souderton defeated Garnet Valley, 47-30, in a District 1 Class 6A semifinal. The victory earns them a date with Central Bucks South on Saturday, at Temple, to play for the district championship.
“It is so surreal for us,” Cardona, a senior, said. “This has never happened before for us. We’ve never gotten to a championship this big. I think we are in awe of everything and not really celebrating because there’s still one game that’s really important and we want to play hard in that one, too.”
Souderton (25-2) dominated early, jumping out to an 11-2 lead after the first eight minutes of play, but the Jaguars (23-4) charged back, getting timely contributions from Emily McAteer. Cold shooting from the field hurt Souderton but, as usual, it was the tough team defense that provided a cushion, as the group recorded 14 steals.
“[The steals] were really helpful especially in taking that possession away from them and getting ourselves an extra possession,” Connolly, who filled the stat sheet with 8 points, 5 blocks, 7 rebounds, five steals, and four assists, said. “It really kind of built of our momentum. Once one person gets a steal, another person, we are all growing off of that and trying to get another steal and another steal.”
“We missed a few shots but our defense was just insane, as it has been,” Cardona, who scored a game-high of 15, said. “I think we really frustrated them, in a way, even though we were missing our shots it was okay because we weren’t letting them get shots on offense.”
And that’s how it went for 32 minutes, with the smothering defense leading the way.
“If you would have told me that we were going to shoot 2-for-16 from three and we were going to win by 17, I would have told you that you were crazy,” Souderton coach, Lynn Carroll said. “We knew they were going to sit back in a zone and I thought we were going to have to shoot well in order to play well. I was wrong.”
But that what happens when you play Souderton.
Just when it seems like a comeback is possible, they pull away.
@Ka_Harman
Garnet Valley 2 11 8 9 – 30
Souderton 11 11 11 15 – 47
GV: Emily McAteer 12, Brianne Borcky 5, Madi McKee 4, Liesl Dentinger 4, Nicole Barnes 3, Jillian Nagy 2
S: Alana Cardona 15, Megan Walbrandt 11, Kate Connolly 8, Megan Bealer 8, Sami Falencki 3, Tori Dowd 2
- Log in to post comments
