North Penn will take on District 3 champion Wilson West Lawn in Tuesday’s second round of the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament. Check back for a complete game story.
By Mary Jane Souder
North Penn finds itself carrying the torch for the entire SOL.
The lone SOL team still alive in the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament, North Penn is one of just two District One teams still alive. The Maidens will face District 3 champion Wilson in a second round showdown on Tuesday night.
“I think we’re ready,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “Wilson is very good, and they’re going to be a different team than the team we played the other night in a couple of different aspects.
“Wilson is much more disciplined, but Pocono Mountain West had three different players who could hit three’s anywhere anytime. This team doesn’t really do that, but they do press, and their two guards are very athletic, good defenders and playmakers, and they have two good post players. They go eight or nine deep. It will be interesting. My hope is our kids are feeling less pressure and just play basketball.”
The Maidens rebounded from a disappointing showing in their loss to Central Bucks West in the district’s sixth place game to defeat Pocono Mountain West 44-38. deMarteleire liked some of the things she saw in the winning effort.
“On Friday night, we handled adversity,” the Maidens’ coach said. “Once again, we weren’t shooting well in the second half, but not only were we not shooting well (from the field), we weren’t shooting fouls well, and we handled it.
“What we did was we buckled down on defense, got some steals and came up with big rebounds. We weren’t rebounding great in the beginning of the game on Friday night, but in the fourth quarter we did. Erin (Maher) got key offensive rebounds, and Lauren (Crisler) got key defensive rebounds. I’m excited that we handled adversity better than what we did in the district playoffs.”
The two teams will match strength against strength with both teams boasting players with the ability to make things happen in the paint, and both teams place a high emphasis on defense.
“I hope my kids play well,” deMarteleire said. “We had two good days of practice.”
Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Coatesville High School.
(3-1) WILSON vs (1-6) NORTH PENN at Coatesville, March 12, 7:30 p.m.
North Penn
- 12-2 SOL, 23-5 overall
- Co-champs of SOL Continental Conference for the first time since 1996
- 2012 District 1 AAAA runner-up to Spring-Ford
How they got here: The Maidens defeated Upper Merion 47-28 in the opening round of districts and then edged 11th-seeded Souderton 35-34 in a second round game. In the district quarterfinals, the Maidens fell to third-seeded Upper Dublin 42-26 but rebounded to defeat Boyertown 53-45 before falling to Central Bucks West 63-41 in the fifth place game. Lauren Crisler led the Maidens with 19 points while Vicky Tumasz added nine points. In Friday’s opening round, the Maidens defeated District 11 runner-up Pocono Mountain West 44-38. Lauren Crisler led the way with 12 points and 14 rebounds while Vicky Tumasz added 11 points.
Players to watch: Lauren Crisler (15.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG), Vicky Tumasz (11.5 PPG, 38 three-pointers), Mikaela Giuliani (7.0 PPG), Erin Maher (6.2 PPG), Jenn Halcovage (4.5 PPG)
Wilson
- 27-2 overall
- District 3 champions
- Avery Marz, a 5-6 junior guard, was the District 3 Tournament MVP
- Only losses of the season came to Abington Heights (29-23) in the first game of the season and District One champion Spring-Ford (52-43) on Jan. 19
- Earned 63-60 win over PCL champion Cardinal O’Hara on Dec. 15
How they got here: Wilson was the second-seeded team entering the District 3 Tournament. The Bulldogs defeated 18th-seeded Harrisburg 43-33 in an opening round game and then downed seventh-seeded Lampeter-Strasburg 55-34. A 59-57 win over sixth-seeded Central Dauphin East propelled Wilson into the district title game against fourth-seeded Central Dauphin. The Bulldogs defeated Central Dauphin 57-46. Avery Marz led the way with 19 points and four assists. She buried 9-of-10 from the foul line in the last four minutes. Jessica Wallace, a 6-1 forward, added 12 points and 11 rebounds while 5-3 guard Shannon O’Brien contributed 10 points off the bench. Carley Brew, a 5-11 forward, added seven points and eight rebounds and earned a spot on the all-tournament team with Marz. In Friday’s opening round of the state tournament, Wilson trailed Garnet Valley 23-22 heading into the fourth quarter but rallied to earn a 41-34 win. Brew led the way with 14 points.
- Log in to post comments
