Bob Schaefer isn’t big on milestones, but the Cheltenham coach is big on winning.
On Tuesday night, Schaefer earned win number 675 of an unparalleled coaching career when his top-seeded Lady Panthers defeated Norristown 68-24 in the second round of the District One AAAA Tournament. Appropriately, the Lady Panthers’ were sparked by their defense in the historic win as they limited the Eagles to just five second-half points.
“Our defense just totally took their game away,” Schaefer said.Defense, discipline and determination have been hallmarks of Schaefer-coached teams, and since an 8-12 season in 1981-82, the veteran coach has never had a losing season in 28 years at the helm. The Lady Panthers have won 21 of the last 23 Suburban One League championships, four District One championships and two state titles.
“It’s a sign of a lot of good kids and a lot of hard work by the players and my staff,” he said.
Of greater pride to Schaefer than the 675 wins is the number of 20-win seasons his program has had – 25 altogether.
“Some teams never have a 20-win season,” the Lady Panthers’ coach said.
While it’s a historical day for many teams when they earn a berth in the district playoffs, it will be a historical day only if the Lady Panthers don’t make the post-season – they have advanced to the district tournament for 27 consecutive years. They have been to the state playoffs in 22 of the last 24 years.
Schaefer’s record is a dazzling 675-149, and while most coaches never come close to winning 500 games, the Panthers’ coach has won over 500 more games than he has lost.
“It’s an overall statement of accomplishment of all the coaches and kids who have been part of the program,” Schaefer said. “I’m very proud of it.”
Leading the way for the Lady Panthers in Wednesday’s win were Shayla Felder (18 points), Monet Constant (15 points) and Dayna McCrewell (11 points).
Code Yellow – With its gym packed to capacity and many of the hometown fans wearing yellow, Upper Merion knocked off PAC-10 champion Pottsgrove 32-30 in District One AAA action on Tuesday night.
“It wasn’t an offensive explosion, but a win’s a win in the playoffs,” coach Tom Schurtz said. “We’re playing well. They were a good basketball team. They were certainly one of the hottest teams in the district.”
A key to the win, according to Schurtz, was the Vikings’ suffocating defense.
“We didn’t trail at any point in the game,” he said. “We led by as many as eight, and in a game like that, eight points felt like 20.
“They were very strong defensively. I don’t think there was an uncontested shot in the entire game, but that’s playoff basketball.”
Senior Lisa Ridgeway turned in a glittering 12-point, 14-rebound effort to lead the Vikings. She also held high-scoring Stephanie Schultz to nine points.
“That had to be the hardest nine points she ever had,” Schurtz said. “Lisa was a vocal force on the court. That’s her last home game at Upper Merion, and I felt confident there was no way she was going to let us lose.”
Schurtz credited the fans for once again providing a lift to the home team.
“The gym was completely packed out,” he said. “It was deafening in our gym. I thanked all the kids at school today. Our fans were unbelievable, and that really gave us a boost. That’s why they call it a home court advantage.
“I think that really was the difference. It was two equal teams, and we just got that spark of energy from the home crowd. It was a lot of fun.”
The Vikings will face a 20-2 Springfield (Delco) squad in Friday’s district quarterfinal.
“We’re in no way satisfied,” Schurtz said. “You don’t get to this point with eight teams in the tournament and say, ‘Oh, we’ve done enough.’ We’re going to play a very good team on Friday.”
Getting defensive – Central Bucks East should be forgiven if its players were a bit distracted in Tuesday’s second round game against Perkiomen Valley. The Patriots were without senior Jordan Seiz, who was involved in a car accident on her way to the game.
East’s defensive stopper was projected to play a major role in containing Viking guards Megan Finn and Courtney Formica.
“That kind of took everybody back, but we regrouped,” coach Tom Lonergan said. “After the game, we were quick to find out that Jordan was at home, and she was okay, but it was certainly a scary moment for herself, her family and our team.”
Seiz’s absence forced Lonergan to rethink his team’s defensive strategy.
“We went into the game with full intentions that Finn was going to be covered by Jordan the majority of the time,” he said. “We had to look elsewhere.”
Receiving the nod were Madge Ross, Caitlin Vasey and Kristina Pogue. Ross and Vasey were given the task of defending Finn while Pogue and Vasey were assigned the task of containing Formica. Formica, who has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Clarion, had just one point before leaving the game with an injury late in the third quarter.
“I give a lot of credit to Caitlin Vasey and Kristina Pogue, who did a tremendous job on her,” Lonergan said. “To Perk Valley’s credit, their two post players played probably their best games and had 28 points between them.
“That offset the effort we were able to have on Finn and Formica. Going into the last quarter, they only had one field goal between them. They (Pogue, Vasey and Ross) really stepped up, knowing going in that Jordan was expected to take on that role for the majority of the time.”
Vasey led the Patriots with 16 points in a win that guaranteed East a berth in the state tournament. Last year, for the first time in nine years under Lonergan, the Patriots did not earn a spot in states.
“That was definitely a driving force going into the season,” said Lonergan, whose team is on track to reach all of its goals.
The Patriots were undefeated en route to capturing the Continental Conference crown, and they closed the regular season with a 20-2 record. The Patriots, who were undefeated at home, will face second-seeded Downingtown East in a quarterfinal game on Saturday.
“Both teams are going to play very aggressive man-to-man defense, and I think it’s going to come down to the team that handles that pressure the best and is able to exploit the holes in the defense,” Lonergan said. “There are always holes you try and exploit. It’s a question of whether or not we will be able to exploit them or whether they’re able to exploit the holes we have.”
A team effort – Council Rock North erased any lingering memories of last year’s second round exit from the district tournament at the hands of Methacton with Wednesday night’s convincing 55-36 win over the same Warrior squad.
The third-seeded Indians received contributions from everyone who saw significant minutes. While Sarah Kiely once again led the way with 18 points and 10 rebounds, the junior center had plenty of help. Devin Gold had 10 points while Juliann Fricke had seven points and Lauren Gold and Kelly Scull, six points each. Kate Logan added five to a balanced attack.
“Different people have stepped up every game,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “I’ve gotten more out of kids than I thought I’d get.
“There’s not a kid on this team that I can say right now that I’ve gotten less out of. I think that happens every year. You have expectations of kids – certain kids live up to them and certain kids don’t, but all my kids right now have exceeded by expectations.”
Lauren Gold, only a freshman, came off the bench to not only contribute scoring, but she led the defense with five steals and also handed out 10 assists. Scull, meanwhile, had seven rebounds in what was a consummate team effort for the Indians, who will take on Downingtown West on Saturday.
A disappointing ending – North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire had to like her team’s chances heading into the post-season tournament. Not only were the Maidens – winners of 10 of their last 12 games after a 3-7 start – one of the hottest teams in the tournament, they were facing a Bensalem squad they had defeated 35-26 three weeks earlier.
The Owls certainly didn’t bring any momentum into Saturday’s game. They had not only lost five of eight to close out the regular season, they had lost their final two games to Abington and Council Rock South by a combined 42 points.
The Maidens, however, never could find their stride offensively. They scored just 14 points in the first half – although they still led 14-11 at the intermission – and didn’t do a whole lot better in the second half.
“The first half we were getting a lot of shooting opportunities, but we weren’t making any of them,” said deMarteleire. “We were hitting the offensive boards early, but we had very careless turnovers at the beginning of the game when we were up and we could have really taken charge of the game, but we were real casual with the ball.
“They were getting steals and layups off of them, and that just killed us. We haven’t been that careless with the ball in I don’t know how long. It was very disappointing.”
A winning combination – With five seniors in its starting lineup, Bensalem is an unmistakably veteran team, but in Saturday’s big opening round win over North Penn, the Owls received important contributions from a pair of rookies – sophomores Alexis Nyekan and Alexia Ewing.
A trey by Nyekan trimmed a 12-6 first-half deficit to three – the exact margin the Owls trailed by at the intermission (14-11).
“She is like my little sister,” senior Sharmane Hall said of Nyekan. “In practice, she doesn’t miss a shot. “
In the third quarter, Ewing – who was fouled going back up after an offensive rebound - stepped to the charity stripe and buried a pair of foul shots to put the Owls on top 20-18. Nyekan sank three-of-four from the foul line down the stretch, including the front end of a one-and-one to give the Owls a 28-26 edge. Later, she buried a pair to put the Owls on top 35-28.
“Before we went out there, I brought them in the huddle and told them how much I loved them all,” Hall said. “I said ‘Whatever you have to show me, show me now,’ and they showed it, they both showed it. They’re going to be the face of Bensalem basketball next year, and I’m excited.
“I’m so proud of them.”
Inexperienced Eagles soar – It was a landmark win of sorts when Norristown defeated Upper Dublin 52-46 in an opening round district game last Friday. Not only did it keep the Eagles alive in a berth for a state playoff spot, it also silenced the critics who didn’t give an inexperienced Norristown squad a chance to succeed under first-year coach Ashlee Harrison.
“It means so much to the girls, and it means a ton to me, especially since everybody had so many doubts,” she said. “We had an inexperienced team and an inexperienced coach. What are the odds of something like this happening?
“The truth is they worked extremely hard to get to where they are today. They adapted to a new coach and a new style, and they worked so hard from the beginning of the season until now to prove this is where we belong.
“I’m not surprised. I knew something was there, and they all realized their potential. We couldn’t be happier.”
The Eagles and Flying Cardinals split their two regular season meetings, but behind the strong play in the paint of Natasha Matthews, Mercedes Harris and Brittney Rose, the Eagles won the rubber game between the two SOL American Conference foes.
“That was huge,” Harrison said. “We actually changed quite a few things.
“Defensively, Tasha (Matthews) did a great job on (Danielle) Derr in the first half. (Kristen) Fuery did not score until the second half. Brittney Rose played excellent defense.”
Derr led the Flying Cardinals with 14 points while Fuery had 12 and Nikki Harchut, 10. Harris (16 points) and Matthews (11 points) led the Eagles.
A mighty big task – Cheltenham allowed just five points in the second half of its big win over Norristown in the second round. The Lady Panthers will need to come up with another defensive gem if they hope to defeat West Chester Henderson in a quarterfinal game on Saturday.
The key to stopping Henderson is to limit the touches of standout Shante Evans, who scored 28 points in the win over Abington but had 41 in her team’s win over Spring-Ford.
“My understanding is she’s a very strong forward/center,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “Forty-one points – I don’t care who it is. Scoring 41 points is unheard of. Laura Harper never scored 41 points.”
Cheltenham alum Harper, who recently completed her first season in the WNBA, went on to star for the University of Maryland. Evans is bound for Hofstra.
“We’re going to try and control her,” Schaefer said. “If we’re going to lose, let the other kids beat us.
“Our defense has sharpened up a lot more. She’s going to have to work to get the ball, but they say once she gets the ball around the lane, you’re in trouble.”
Making history – Council Rock South put its name in the record books when it notched the school’s first-ever district win in girls’ basketball when the Golden Hawks defeated Boyertown 49-38 in Saturday’s opening round game. Alex Wheatley (15 points) and Chelsea Allen (13 points) led the way.
On Tuesday, the Hawks fell to fourth-seeded Lower Merion 40-28. The Hawks led 11-7 at the end of one quarter only to watch the Aces go on an 18-6 second-quarter tear. Allen was the only Rock South player in double figures with 10.
Around the SOL – Abington sent Pennridge home for the season in an opening round game last Thursday, downing the Rams 38-27. Emily Leer stole the spotlight with a 25-point, 15-rebound effort. Senior Lindsey Lyons led the Rams with 12 points.
The Ghosts fell to West Chester Henderson 56-47 in a second round contest. Leer led the Ghosts with 21 points.
Wissahickon saw its season end in an opening round 70-44 loss to fifth-seeded Upper Darby. Colleen Hinde paced the Trojans with 13 points.
Quakertown and Chester were deadlocked 11-11 at the end of one quarter of Friday’s opening round contest, but the Clippers outscored the Panthers 19-6 in the second quarter on their way to a 69-48 win. Colleen Gavin (14 points), Kyra Ames (13 points) and Daniella Ciccarone (12 points) led the Panthers.
William Tennent, the tournament’s 32nd seed, put up a good fight but came out on the short end of a 59-46 score to top-seeded Cheltenham in an opening round game on Saturday. Ashley Alden led the Panthers with 16 points and 21 rebounds. Shayla Felder (17 points), Monet Constant (13 points) and Dayna McCrewell (11 points) led the Lady Panthers.
Central Bucks East defeated Continental Conference foe Souderton for the third time in as many games on Saturday, downing the Indians 48-23. Jaime Donovan paced the Patriots with 16 points. No Souderton player had more than five points.
Central Bucks South saw its season end in heartbreaking fashion in an opening round 46-44 loss to Perkiomen Valley. Gab Vass had 11 points and Calla Miller, 10 points, to lead the Titans, who had a chance to win it at the end.
Council Rock North made easy business of Marple Newtown, rolling to an 84-34 rout in an opening round game. Kate Logan led the Indians with 17 points while Juliann Fricke and Sarah Kiely both added 14 points.
Great Valley handed Neshaminy a 46-29 opening round loss. Brianna Weiler led the Redskins with 10 points.
Bensalem put up a fight but came out on the short end of a 50-35 score in its second round game against second-seeded Downingtown East. Sharmane Hall led the Owls with 19 points.
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