Springfield earned a win to advance in the District One AAA girls’ tournament.
#8 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 52, # 9 POTTSGROVE 46
The Spartans used a big fourth quarter to earn the gutsy come-from-behind win over the visiting Falcons in Tuesday’s district opener. When it was over, coach Bill Krewson pointed to his team’s perseverance and stick-to-it-ness as a key.
“We didn’t falter, we didn’t give in – we just kept playing hard,” the Spartans’ coach said. “They did a great job of keeping us off balance at the offensive end, but we play kind of a funky defense and kept them off balance.
“It was a great team effort. Everyone stepped up and did their part.”
The two teams were deadlocked 8-8 after one quarter, but the Falcons took a 23-17 lead into halftime. Pottsgrove still led 32-28 heading into a final quarter that saw the Spartans close it out with a 24-14 tear.
“We came out after halftime and scored five right away,” Krewson said. “It was back and forth.
“We finally caught them with the press at the end. All game, they did a pretty good job of beating our press and getting the ball up the court. Towards the end, they turned it over a few times, and we made our foul shots at the end of the game.”
For the game, Grace Barraclough was 6-for-10 from the foul line while Molly Dugan was 12-for-19.
“Emily (Giampietro) made a couple of big ones and Mo (Maura Ryan) made a big one,” Krewson said.
A key to the win was the Spartans’ ability to contain high-scoring Diana Randleman, thanks to the standout defensive effort of Siana Wynn.
“She’s a very quick player,” Krewson said of Randleman. “We tried to keep her at bay with Siana Wynn.
“She came up with a couple of big layups at the end of the game too.”
Dugan led the Spartans with 18 points while Barraclough added 13. Giampietro contributed eight, Wynn added seven and Maura Ryan had six points.
“I just want to thank everyone for the support they gave the team,” Krewson said. “We had a decent crowd.
“I especially want to thank Mrs. K (assistant coach Laurie Kristiniak). She does so much of the little stuff that no one sees – all the wonderful things she does to keep things together.”
Springfield (9-13, 6-8 SOL) will travel to Gwynedd Mercy on Friday night for a battle with the top-seeded Monarchs.
Pottsgrove 8-15-9-14 46
Springfield 8-9-11-24 52
Pottsgrove: Diana Randleman 16, Nikki Pond 2, Nikita Harper 2, Jenna Yerger 6, Kyler Conrad 2, Lori Dickinson 9, Molly Galvin 8.
Springfield: Grace Barraclough 13, Molly Dugan 18, Emily Giampietro 8, Maura Ryan 6, Siana Wynn 7.
#6 VILLA MARIA ACADEMY 53, #11 UPPER MORELAND 18
They left with no regrets, knowing their team would benefit from the new experience of playing in the district tournament for the first time in recent memory.
“We left everything on the floor,” senior Jenna Getz said. “To get the experience – it was so loud and so energetic the entire game. Despite the outcome, we’re still happy.”
“It was so different than we’re used to,” senior Julia Gatto added. “I thought it was really exciting.
“I feel like it gave everyone a sense of what they can work for next year.”
Coach Ed Decker viewed Tuesday’s district debut as a building block for the program.
“I told the seniors they were the group that’s changing who we are,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “We haven’t been in the playoffs for something like 15-16 years, and I told them when I got here, ‘We’re going to change the way we are,’ and they were the first group to get to a district playoff game and earn a district playoff game.
“Our record should have been a little better – we threw a couple of games away at the end. I told them upstairs that a few more wins puts us in a better position next year, and that’s the goal – to be in a little better position next year.”
The Hurricanes raced to a 9-0 lead before Julia Gatto put the Bears on the board with a basket. The Golden Bears made it a 12-6 game after back-to-back buckets by Maddie Pisut and Gatto, but a three-pointer by the Hurricanes made it a 15-6 game after one quarter.
The Golden Bears scored just two points in the second quarter and trailed 25-8 at the intermission. They never threatened the rest of the way.
“They came out stronger than we did at first, and we fell to their pressure,” Getz said.
Despite the outcome, Decker is seeing progress.
“We’ve been struggling since I got here,” the Bears’ coach said. “We’ve had some tough years, but we’ve gotten better.
“We’re playing harder, we’re doing some things that they weren’t used to doing. I told them that. I said, ‘This was our goal – to give our young kids like Phoebe (Longstreth) who’s only a freshman and Noelle (Woodman) and Maddie (Pisut), who are juniors that have been going through the process with us – the experience is going to be better for us next year. We have a nice group of kids coming back with a lot of experience, and I look for us to be a lot better next year.”
The Golden Bears (2-12 SOL) closed out the year with a 5-17 record.
Upper Moreland 6-2-6-4 18
Villa Maria Academy 15-10-17-11 53
Upper Moreland: Julia Gatto 6, Maddie Pisut 7, Emily Zanine 2, Noelle Woodman 2.
Villa Maria: Murrin Tague 8, Laura Davis 3, Marielle Picinich 14, Abby Walheim 13, Julia Samar 5, Kiera Broodhurst 4, Piage DeMutis 4, Kyra Smith 2.
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