North Penn saw its season end when the Maidens fell to Cumberland Valley in Friday’s PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery. To view video highlights by PhillyBurbs.com video journalist Jen Wielgus, please click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nzFAAD1V6E&feature=youtu.be
By Mary Jane Souder
NEW HOLLAND – Vicky Tumasz bravely fielded one question after another in the hallway outside her team’s locker room after North Penn’s 53-36 season-ending loss to Cumberland Valley.
There was a recurring theme when the Maidens’ junior guard tried to put into words what went wrong in Friday night’s PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal game at Garden Spot High School.
“They were just so aggressive on defense, and we couldn’t handle the pressure, so we kept turning the ball over,” Tumasz said of the Eagles. “I feel like we were a little intimidated, and we let it get to our heads, especially since they came out so quick and aggressive. We weren’t prepared for it.”
From the outset, there were signs of trouble for the Maidens, and by the end of the first quarter, the Eagles led 12-4 with Tumasz connecting on North Penn’s only field goal. That came at the 4:55 mark and made it a 5-3 game.
Things went downhill from there as the Maidens managed just one foul shot the remainder of the quarter.
“It was really unfortunate – at the beginning of the game, we were doing things very uncharacteristic, just losing the ball without even being pressured,” North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “They played really well the first half, they played really well the whole game.
Any thoughts that the Maidens would have an easier time against a squad that finished fifth in the District 3 Tournament than they did against District 3 champion Wilson were put to rest when the Eagles opened up a 25-10 lead after a marvelous passing sequence resulted in a bucket in close by freshman Kelly Jekot.
“They shot over 50 percent in the first half,” Tumasz said. “As much as we tried to stop that, we just couldn’t do anything about it.”
If there was a bright spot in the game for the Maidens, it was their 7-2 run to close out the half. It began with a three-point play by Crisler and – after a Jackie Falconer bucket – a reverse layup by Crisler and a Tumasz layup, making it a 27-17 game at halftime.
Crisler scored 12 of the Maidens’ 17 points while Tumasz accounted for the other five. The Eagles were led by the 11-point effort of freshman Kelly Jekot.
“She killed us,” Tumasz said. “She’s a very good athlete. She just dominated us.
“All their post players – they were killing us on the boards too. They were really aggressive. They played a great game. We just couldn’t come up to their level.”
The Maidens had proven three days earlier that they were more than capable of rallying from behind. As a matter of fact, they were staring at an identical 10-point deficit at halftime against Wilson, and they rallied for the win.
But Cumberland Valley wasn’t Wilson.
“They’re too good,” deMarteleire said. “Every time we got down and made a run at them, they would make a big play.
“They’re very, very skilled. They have a lot of weapons. They pass the ball really well, and they play good defense.”
The Eagles established rather quickly in the third quarter that there would be no comebacks, reeling off 10 straight points to go on top 37-17. The Eagles scored on their first possession of the second half on a perfectly-executed backdoor and then turned three consecutive Maiden turnovers into points.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the same magic we had the other night,” deMarteleire said. “Some of our decision-making wasn’t the greatest, but again, they just made plays.
“We’ve had good practices, the kids have been in good spirits. I didn’t think they were too nervous. It’s inexplicable really, but their defense had something to do with it.”
The Maidens – propelled by an enthusiastic student section that never lost faith – trimmed nine points off the Eagles’ lead to make it a 40-29 game at the end of three quarter. Tumasz scored eight points in the quarter to lead the Maidens.
With the student section chanting, ‘We still believe,’ a Maiden comeback didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility, but those cheers faded after the Eagles, sparked by five points from Jackie Falconer, reeled off 10 straight points to go on top 47-29. A special postseason state run was coming to an end.
“They were on top of us from the start,” Tumasz said. “We had to handle the pressure they were giving us, but we couldn’t really do it.
“Wilson is athletic, but they weren’t as aggressive as the team we just played. They were just really aggressive, and we couldn’t handle it.”
The Maidens (24-6) received scoring from just three players. Crisler led all scorers with 19 points while Tumasz added 15. Sophomore Jackie Bilotti added two points. The Eagles, meanwhile, received double-digit efforts from Jackie Falconer (17 points), Jekot (14) and Maddie Torresin (11).
“They’re just a good team,” deMarteleire said. “We had to bring our ‘A’ game tonight, and unfortunately, we didn’t. I just said to the kids – it’s really sad when you have a year like this where we’ve had a lot of positive things – winning a share of the Continental Conference, Lauren Crisler scoring her thousand points, making it past the second round of states and upsetting Wilson. All of these things and then to come out and play like that tonight – it was disappointing.”
CUMBERLAND VALLEY (53) – Taylor Sneidman 1 0-0 3; Jennifer Falconer 1 2-2 4; Meghan Rhoades 0 0-0 0; Jackie Falconer 7 2-2 17; Maddie Torresin 3 5-8 11; Kelly Jekot 6 0-0 14; Alyssa Hinish 2 0-0 4; Morgan Frazier 0 0-0 0; Elizabeth Scott 0 0-0 0; Morgan Baughman 0 0-0 0; Paige Wisehaupt 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 20 9-12 53.
NORTH PENN (36) – Erin Maher 0 0-0 0; Jenn Halcovage 0 0-2 0; Mikaela Giuliani 0 0-0 0; Sierra Simon 0 0-0 0; Lauren Crisler 6 7-11 19; Vicky Tumasz 5 3-3 15; Brianna Cullen 0 0-0 0; Jackie Bilotti 1 0-0 2; Leiana Dean 0 0-0 0; Laura Kane 0 0-0 0; Tehya Daneker 0 0-0; TOTALS 12 10-14 36.
CUMBERLAND VALLEY 12 15 13 13-53
NORTH Penn4 13 12 7-36
Three-point goals: CV-Jekot 2, Ja.Falconer, Sneidman; NP-Tumasz 2.
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