Souderton lost to North Allegheny 32-31 in a PIAA 6A semifinal game on Monday night. Photos provided by Donna Longacre.
#7-1 NORTH ALLEGHENY 32, #1-11 SOUDERTON 31
CHAMBERSBURG – An opportunity lost.
That’s certainly what it felt like to Souderton players and coaches when – with less than a second remaining (.9 to be exact) – the Indians were inexplicably whistled for a foul in front of North Allegheny’s bench.
It came on the heels of a Souderton turnover with 7.2 seconds remaining and was called after a clumsy handoff between Brynn Serbin and Rachel Martindale shortly after crossing midcourt. Martindale – who appeared to stumble after she took the ball from her teammate - buried the front end of a one-and-one, missed the second, and the Indians never managed anything resembling a shot. A North Allegheny win was in the books.
But not without controversy.
Before the Indians even left the gym, videos – from various angles - of a foul that was difficult to detect were making their rounds, leaving the Indians wondering what might have been.
Granted, they made their share of mistakes down the stretch, and the Indians, who were saddled with foul woes, might well have lost if the game had gone to overtime.
But no one will ever know for sure.
Just as no one will ever know how different the outcome might have been if the first half had not seen the Indians whistled for eight fouls while the Tigers were called for only two.
“Our main thing was – keep it together, don’t let this get in your head so that they score more points or they get more turnovers from us,” junior Alana Cardona said. “Just being there for each other, picking each other up after you fall because that’s what matters. In the long run, being there for your teammates is the most important thing.”
The Indians – the 11th and final seed from District 1 - put their names in the history books as the first squad in program history to advance to the state tournament and then proceeded to win three games.
"Not too many people thought we were going to be in this position, and once we were in this position, most people thought we were going to lose by 20," the coach Lynn Carroll said. "(In the locker room after the game), I really just wanted to focus on what they've accomplished and how special of a season this has been as opposed to what was taken from us in our eyes.
"What makes it even neater is how much they like each other. When they’re interviewed, they want to talk about their teammates, they don’t want to talk about themselves. They want to deflect, and they mean it.
“I'm so proud of how hard they worked tonight. No matter what was happening, no matter what calls were or weren't being called, they never stopped, they never let up."
From the opening tap, it was clear the Indians were not going to back down to a North Allegheny squad that is ranked first in the state and 22nd in USA Today’s Super 25.
Cardona’s three-pointer spotted the Indians an early 3-0 lead, and it was 5-0 after sophomore Megan Bealer scored a fast break basket just over a minute into the game.
The Tigers came back to knot the score 7-7, but a pair of Cardona foul shots sent the Indians into the second quarter with a two-point lead.
The fouls began to pile up for the Indians with both Cardona and Kate Connolly picking up their second fouls. The Tigers didn’t capitalize on their advantage at the foul line, connecting on just 3-of-9, and the two teams went into halftime deadlocked 18-18.
"In some ways, you never have officials that you necessarily like because they're calling fouls, and they're calling things you don't want to necessarily happen during a game," said Cardona, who watched the final three minutes of the half from the bench. "Our main thing was - play through it, and find the open teammate.
"If they're not going to call a foul, find another way to score, find another way to get to the basket and just be there for your teammates because it's hard when half your team has three or four fouls."
“They did a very good job of keeping their composure,” Carroll said. “Continuing to play tough, aggressive defense and continuing to try and make things happen on offense.”
The Indians trailed 23-20 midway through the third quarter but responded with a 7-0 run that included a pair of Cardona drives – the second a three-point play – sandwiched around a Sami Falencki fast break layup after a Tori Dowd steal.
“I was trying to get them to call something, hoping they would just call it because I knew if you just take it in and it just gets lopped up, they weren’t calling it, so we all had to go hard,” Cardona said.
The Tigers answered, going on top 28-27 after a three-point play by Madelyn Fischer. Kate Connolly buried a pair at the foul line, and after a Tiger turnover, Cardona did the same, putting the Indians on top 31-28 midway through the quarter.
With 2:47 remaining Piper Morningstar sank one-of-two from the foul line to knot the score 31-31. That score stood until Martindale’s game winner.
“It was a tough game,” Connolly said. “They’re a really good team. We were just working as hard as we could on defense and offense.”
Monday’s game featured a spirited Souderton student section and a decidedly partisan Souderton crowd.
“(This) just sparked something in our school,” Cardona said. “You have teachers you’ve never had before, and they come up and they’re like, ‘Good luck in your game. We’re so excited.’
“We have a fan bus with 40 people on it. It’s just exciting to know your school has your back and supports you in everything you do. Our athletic director (Dennis Stanton) came on the bus and he said, ‘You’re making a difference in women’s sports, you’re making a difference in girls’ sports within our school.’ Just knowing there’s always next year and just having our student body backing us up and all of our friends are out there cheering us on – it’s something great, and we all really appreciate it and everything they’ve done. They’re part of the reason we’re winning. They’re right on the court with us.”
“It was so awesome,” Dowd said. “We never expected this. Coming into high school, I would never have expected to be in the final four of a state game, and knowing I’m here with my best friends – we’re so close, and everyone is all in it together.
“We have our student section behind us, travelling with us. Just knowing that support is everywhere – it’s so encouraging and inspiring.”
The Indians – with their entire lineup returning – are already looking forward to next year.
“It’s hard now because everybody’s upset,” Cardona said. “It’s going to put a damper on it knowing other teams are going to state championship and you’re not, but I think the most important thing again is just to be there for your teammates and know that if you’re down or upset – you just have to give them a hug. We have a whole another season of games to play in a couple of months. Just take the time to get better at it and come out next year on fire. Be the team that people want to beat.”
“It’s exciting knowing we have everyone back,” Connolly said. “We got to the final four, and we were in it until the end, so I think that’s a lot of motivation knowing we had our chance. We’re going to work as hard as we can next year.”
Souderton closed out the program’s most successful season with a 22-8 record (8-4 SOL).
"I couldn't be more proud of our girls right now," Carroll said. "They're disappointed, but a month from now, this isn't how they're going to feel. They're going to feel great about this year. The tough part will be tonight and tomorrow.
“We’ll celebrate everything they’ve accomplished at the banquet, but they really have a tremendous amount to be proud of.”
EXTRA POINTS: Cardona led all scorers with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Bealer also had seven rebounds while Connolly had six. Dowd added four rebounds and three steals. “The players off the bench – Sami Falencki and Megan O’Donnell - also (made) huge contributions,” Cardona said. “Megan stepped up in a role she doesn’t usually have to deal with, and she held her composure, and she did a great job at it.”
North Allegheny 7-11-7-7 32
Souderton 9-9-9-4 31
North Allegheny (32) – Audrey Lane 0 0-0 0; Brynn Serbin 0 0-0 0; Courtney Roman 0 0-0 0; Rachel Martindale 3 6-9 13; Piper Morningstar 4 2-6 13; Hailey Zeise 1 0-0 2; Madelyn Fischer 1 2-3 4; Totals 9 10-18 32.
Souderton (31) – Tori Dowd 1 0-1 2; Megan Bealer 1 0-0 2; Alana Cardona 4 7-9 16; Megan Walbrandt 2 0-0 4; Sami Falencki 1 0-0 2; Megan O’Donnell 0 0-0 0; Kate Connolly 1 2-2 5; Totals 10 9-12 31.
3-point field goals: Piper Morningstar 3, Rachel Martindale, Alana Cardona, Kate Connolly.
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