Fellowship House Conshohocken Tournament
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 31, NORRISTOWN 23
The Golden Hawks, who trailed 8-2 after one quarter, rallied to knot the score 13-13 at halftime and then outscored the Eagles 18-10 in the second half.
“We won a very physical game,” Rock South coach Blair Klumpp said. “The expression ‘winning ugly is better than losing pretty’ or ‘a win is a win’ certainly applies. We were not at our best, but we found a way to come out with a win.
“I was really proud of the poise, toughness and defensive effort we showed. It was the second game in a row where we either matched the physicality or were the more physical team. It was a good physical toughness (test), and we won a lot of effort plays and 50/50’s. We did a pretty good job of clock management at the end and were able to close out the win.”
Hannah Binder’s double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds led the Hawks. She also had three steals. Nicole Blaustein added nine points and three steals. Karissa Smedley added four rebounds, two assists and three steals, and Carley Irvin had three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kim Speiser had two assists and two steals Jenna Culp added a pair of assists.
“Hannah had two big rockets off of a baseline and then a sideline out-of-bounds play,” Klumpp said. “Nicole, Carley, Karissa and Kim were really disruptive defensively. Nicole and Carley were doing a great job early before foul trouble, Jenna did a good job in a flex role, and Kim and Karissa stepped up when those two had fouls.
“I challenged them at halftime to dictate the tempo of the game. We did that, forcing turnovers. We just did not convert at a high percentage, but the girls hung tough and got a win. Hannah responded to a personal challenge with a strong second half. We put ourselves in position to play for a tournament championship and we need to be mentally prepared and ready to go tomorrow.”
Council Rock South (5-3, 1-1 SOL) will face defending tournament champion Lansdale Catholic in Friday’s title game at 7:30 p.m. LC defeated Agnes Irwin 71-33 in the other opening round game.
Norristown 8-5-5-5 23
Council Rock South 2-11-8-10 31
Norristown (23) – Tamara Wright 6, Moise 4, Evans 4, Boyd 7, Janeis 2
Council Rock South (31) – Jenna Culp 4, Nicole Blaustein 9, Hannah Binder 10, Carley Irvin 2, Kim Speiser 2, Karissa Smedley 4.
About the Author
