Pennridge boys & girls basketball teams were winners in Friday night’s non-league openers.
Boys
Non-league
PENNRIDGE 39, QUAKERTOWN 33
Basketball is back, and Dean Behrens, for one, couldn’t be happier.
“It was fun,” the Rams’ veteran coach said. “It was fun to figure out some things and just coach basketball. It was neat we actually had a game.”
It had been a long time between games for the neighboring rivals. For the Rams, March 11 marked the end of their season when they fell to Roman Catholic in a PIAA 6A second round contest. For the Panthers, it had been even longer. Their last outing was Feb. 6.
“We talked about that, and I said, ‘Boys, what a great opportunity that we’re actually doing this,’” Behrens said. “I wasn’t sure we were going to have anything.
Things are a whole lot different than they were last winter as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I thought (Quakertown athletic director) Sylvia (Kalazs) did a great job of setting the gym up for the proper conditions,” Behrens said. “It’s just very different – not using locker rooms. Both teams had to walk kind of far at halftime, but they set it up properly and gave us extra time. The officials did a good job of dealing with the timeouts.
“It wasn’t one of the better games that you’re ever going to see, but both of these teams were trying to play with masks, and I don’t care what anybody says – it’s not easy to do. People can say what they want, and I’m a big believer in wearing masks, but it is very difficult to play in them.”
The two teams were deadlocked 10-10 at the end of one quarter, and the Rams took a 20-15 lead into halftime.
“The game started out and we’re up 6-1 after hitting two three’s,” Behrens said. “We’re like, ‘Hey, this is going to be great,’ and then it slowed down a little bit.
“Both teams were playing physical, both teams were really playing good defense. They had a little bit of an edge. One of my former assistants – Colin McIntyre – is helping Tony DaCosta, so they knew our personnel pretty well from his days with me. They knew some of our sets, but it still comes down to the guys on the floor executing.”
Neither team could generate a whole lot of offense in a third quarter that saw the Panthers outscore their visitors 8-4 to make it a 24-23 game heading into the final frame.
“A lot of balls didn’t go into the basket – the backboard might be damaged, I’m not sure, so they might want to check that out,” Behrens deadpanned.
With the Rams struggling to find the basket, a newcomer delivered the spark they needed.
“Matt Campione – a sophomore – came off the bench,” Behrens said. “He never played varsity in his life. Tonight was his first jayvee game ever – he was a freshman player last year.
“He hit two big three’s for us and had seven points in the fourth quarter. He really gave us a little shot in the arm with that. He’s a good shooter.”
Sparked by Campione’s heroics, the Rams outscored the Panthers 15-10 in the final quarter to earn the win.
The Rams – who graduated three starters from last year’s squad – were led in scoring by Justin Nichols and Luke Yoder with eight points each. Colin Post and Campione each added seven points.
Quakertown’s Kayden Roley was the lone player to finish in double figures. The Panthers’ senior point guard had 10 points, which included a pair of three’s. No other Panthers had more than five points.
Pennridge (1-0) will be back in action on Saturday morning when the Rams travel to Upper Dublin for an 11 a.m. contest. Quakertown (0-1) is scheduled to travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for Tuesday’s SOL opener.
Pennridge 10-10-4-15 39
Quakertown 10-5-8-10 33
Pennridge (39) – Justin Nichols 2 0-0 4; Luke Yoder 2 4-7 8; Colin Post 3 1-2 7; TJ Grenda 1 0-0 3; Greg Stumpo 0 0-1 0; Colin Monahan 0 2-4 2; Matt Campione 2 1-2 7; Totals 13 9-20 39.
Quakertown (33) – Matt Catalano 1 2-4 5; Kayden Roley 4 0-0 10; Ariel Grimmage 1 0-0 2; Jack Gordon 0 1-3 1; Luke Bauer 2 0-3 4; Zach Fondl 1 1-2 3; Brendon Ruzicka 2 1-3 5; Ty Wilkin 1 1-2 3; Totals 12 6-17 33.
3-point goals: Pennridge – Matt Campione 2, TJ Grenda, Luke Yoder, Quakertown – Roley Kayden 2, Matt Catalano.
Girls
Non-league
PENNRIDGE 61, QUAKERTOWN 51
Carolyn Sipprell was barely identifiable in her hoody and mask as she was leaving the gym after Friday’s non-league opener at Pennridge. Although her Panther squad had come up short on the scoreboard, there was no mistaking just how much it meant to be back on the court 11 months after her team last played a game and just four days after practices resumed Jan. 4.
“I’ve been waiting so long for that day,” the Panthers’ sophomore forward said. “I wasn’t even waiting for Christmas. I was just waiting for the countdown to Jan. 4, so it felt great. The adrenaline was definitely pumping. I was just ready to score and ready to play.”
On the other side of the court, Katie Yoder was every bit as eager to get back on the court.
“In warm-ups, I said to one of my teammates, ‘It doesn’t feel like we should be playing now’ – it just felt weird,” the Rams’ sophomore said. “When the game started, I was like, ‘It’s finally happening.’
“It felt awesome. I’m so glad we actually had the opportunity to play because we’ve been working so hard for such a long time all throughout the quarantine, so it felt really good to be back and ready to play.”
Sipprell and Yoder both gave glimpses of promising things to come, turning in big performances for their respective squads. Sipprell led all scorers with 17 points and also pulled down seven rebounds while Yoder filled a stat sheet with 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three steals and four blocks.
The sophomore guard/forward stepped into the starting lineup midway through the season last year when the Rams suffered several injuries. She is the lone returning starter on a young Pennridge squad and pointed to teamwork as a key this season.
“We’re really close this year,” Yoder said. “I think our energy and positivity is better than last year, and it helps us as a team. We work well together.”
Ava Unzicker’s 15 points off the bench led the Rams’ balanced attack, and it was the junior guard burying a pair at the foul line late in the third quarter to break a 41-41 tie and give the Rams a lead they would not lose. Her baseline 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter gave Pennridge a 46-41 advantage. The Panthers would get no closer than three the rest of the way.
“Ava Unzicker was our first one off the bench, and she just did a fantastic job,” Pennridge coach Mike Elton said. “She’s picked it up everywhere – offensively, defensively. From year to year, we’ve seen a lot of improvement.”
Sophomore Grace Rosica was the third Ram player to finish in double figures with 14 points – nine in the first half.
“Yoder is always going to have good games,” Elton said. “Grace (Rosica) is only a sophomore, and she’s running our point and scored 14 points.
“Kiersten (Moyer) didn’t have a lot of points, but she did a really nice job on defense. She’s the senior presence too. Emma (Pyne) didn’t shoot a lot, but she made up for it on defense. Ryan (Hodder) had some real big shots in the beginning of the game – shot (two) three’s to get the game started.”
The Rams’ coach also lauded the play of freshman Anna Croyle, who had eight points. Five of her points came in the fourth quarter, and her 3-pointer midway through the frame gave the Rams a 53-45 edge.
“I’m really happy – it was a great start,” Elton said. “Obviously, this is the first chance we had to see some of these new players play. What I noticed in the whole game – there’s kind of a tempo. At times, they looked like a bunch of young kids, and at times, they looked like they were a pretty mature team, so we were trying to find that balance.
“I’m really proud of what they did. Losing that many players last year and coming out here the first game like that – that’s a great first game. Quakertown does a nice job. They are not an easy win. I thought they played really well, and obviously, number zero (Sipprell) hurt us a little bit.”
The Panthers certainly hung tough, trailing 31-27 at halftime and – behind six points from Supprell – rallied to knot the score in the third quarter, but they were outscored 18-10 in the fourth.
“We definitely had some errors tonight,” Sipprell said. “But the hustle was there and we were in the game mindset, so we’re just going to come out the next game more hungry and more aggressive.”
Also finishing in double figures for the Panthers was sophomore Katie Catalano, who added 11 points – eight in the opening half. Kayla Horning added nine points, and Kayla Sicher had six.
“Even though we lost, this was good for them to see that as long as they hustle – good things are going to happen,” Quakertown coach Brittany Bamford said. “This was a close game for them.
“We did some good things well, and there are areas we have to improve on, but a lot of these girls have put the time in during the offseason the past couple of years, and they deserve to see that.”
Pennridge (1-0) will travel to Central Bucks East for Tuesday’s SOL opener, and Quakertown (0-1) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh in Tuesday’s league opener.
Quakertown 13-14-14-10 51
Pennridge 16-15-12-18 61
Quakertown (51) – Carolyn Sipprell 5 5-8 17; Katie Catalano 4 0-0 11; Laney Mitchell 1 1-2 3; Maureen Healy 0 2-2 2; Kayla Horning 4 0-0 9; Kayla Sicher 2 0-0 6; Abigail McClaskey 1 0-0 2; Fallon Grandinetti 0 1-2 1; Totals 17 9-14 51.
Pennridge (61) – Grace Rosica 5 2-6 14; Katie Yoder 4 3-5 12; Ava Unzicker 5 4-7 15; Kiersten Moyer 0 2-4 2; Emma Pyne 1 0-0 2; Ryan Hodder 2 2-2 8 Anna Croyle 2 3-4 8; Totals 19 16-28 61.
3-point goals: Quakertown – Katie Catalano 3, Carolyn Sipprell 2, Kayla Sicher 2, Kayla Horning, Pennridge – Grace Rosica 2, Ryan Hodder 2, Katie Yoder, Ava Unzicker, Anna Croyle.
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