Pennsbury captured the title of the West Windsor Plainsboro Classic with a convincing win voer Delaware Valley Regional in Monday’s title game. (Photos provided courtesy of Pennsbury BB)
West Windsor Plainsboro Classic
PENNSBURY 50, DELAWARE VALLEY REGIONAL 27
It’s been a December to remember for the Falcons.
Their win in Monday’s title game was the seventh straight for a young squad that began the season 1-3 and averaged less than 25 points a game in their three losses.
Ava Jordan – who was named tournament MVP after scoring 19 points in Monday’s win – took a moment to reflect on the Falcons’ remarkable December run.
“We’re starting to have more faith in each other,” Jordan said. “There were a lot of younger girls, and we’ve gained some chemistry throughout the season.”
No win was more remarkable than the Falcons’ 41-38 win over Somerville in Saturday’s tournament semifinal when they rallied from a 26-11 halftime deficit to earn the improbable win. A team that could barely manage 25 points in a game early in the season outscored its opponent 30-12 in the final 16 minutes.
“That deficit at halftime – we were down, but we weren’t out of it, and we didn’t doubt ourselves, and we just grinded our way back,” Jordan said. “We weren’t that intense coming out of the gate, so we turned up the intensity for sure. We worked harder on our defense, started to communicate more and just really picked up the energy.
“That led us to finding open shots for our teammates, finding open shots for ourselves and knocking our shots down.”
In Monday’s win, the Falcons took a modest 23-18 lead into halftime and then came out of halftime and steamrolled the Terriers, outscoring them 22-6 in the third quarter and 27-9 in the second half.
“It was a closer game at halftime, and we came out of halftime and we were like – ‘We’re up, but we should be up more. We need to take better care of the ball,’” said Jordan, whose 15 points in the third quarter ignited the Falcons. “Rebounding was a big thing for this game and just being aggressive on the backboards and just being more aggressive in general.”
With the win, the Falcons are 8-3 heading into the new year, and if it seems as though the Falcons might have surprised even themselves, guess again.
“My expectations haven’t dropped,” Jordan said. “Pennsbury basketball has always stayed at the same level with whatever players they might have. There’s a certain expectation that comes with playing with Pennsbury basketball and playing a certain way.
“We did lose a lot of seniors, we lost a lot of players with big roles, but we found people to step into those roles. We’re helping each other out, we’re all developing, and we’re really just working together.”
Perhaps the explanation for their remarkable December is really as simple as the fact that they are once again practicing and – as a result – playing Pennsbury Basketball.
“On November 30, after a convincing loss to a fantastic Lansdale Catholic team in a game that we actually played well in, we were 0-2,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “Three days later we were 1-3, and no matter what we thought – it’s what we were.
“But the postgame locker room was positive. We knew the challenges we faced, and we understood that if we could get back to practicing like Pennsbury Basketball, we would improve. And to the girls’ credit, we have.”
“We had a switch that was clicked,” Jordan said. “We just changed our mindset, stopped being so down on ourselves for having a couple losses. We got back in it and just looked forward to the next game.”
As for her MVP performance that included 19 points, eight deflections and four steals, listening to the senior tell it – it was just a matter of stepping into her new role.
“I knew coming into this year we would have to find ways to get points that we got last year, so I put in the work in the offseason – I’m sure everyone did,” Jordan said. “We all helped each other out, and I’m just stepping into a new role that I should be stepping into as a senior and just having fun playing with my teammates.”
Also in Monday’s win, Sammie Haws added 12 points, and her eight first-quarter points – which included a pair of 3s – propelled the Falcons to an 11-7 lead after one quarter. They blew the game wide open with a 22-point third quarter, and the tournament title was theirs.
Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla:
–Seniors key to turnaround: “Much of it is due to the leadership of our three seniors. Maggie Burns has been vocal and has led by example. Caroline Stover understands her role perfectly. Ava Jordan has avoided the early foul trouble that plagued her and us in the opening week and is simply getting better each night and at times is dominant at both ends.
“The three of them are absolute fantastic examples of Pennsbury program kids. They understand their roles, they compete hard and practice hard every day, and they’ve made the most of their changing roles.
“Ava has improved so much at getting to balance on her drives and she’s shooting the ball well, and I feel like she deflects anything that’s remotely close to her on defense. Maggie was physical and aggressive on the backboards, and Caroline Stover has worked herself into a role where she is dependable and can be trusted. It’s my hope that all of our younger players that made the trip to see us tonight can take a look at these seniors and see that sometimes if things don’t happen immediately for you, but if you stick with it and you keep improving, you can reap fantastic rewards.”
–Props: “Bella Stewart was really good off the bench tonight on the glass. she missed her entire eighth grade season last year due to a torn ACL, and she is just getting better every day, and she gives us an element that we really need
“Sammie Haws again kick started our offense with her shot making, and she also handled the ball well. We were happy to get Shea Quenzer back in the mix tonight. She’s missed time with illness, but she brings energy we need.
“And Alyssa Thomas just continues to impress as she handles pressure so well and gets us into our stuff and constantly creates for her teammates.”
–Road warriors: “It’s amazing that we’ve already played 11 games, eight of which we were away. But there’s so much left for us to improve on and we realize that. The grind is coming, and that freshman wall can be fierce in January. Fortunately, we have some experience with that, and we are really fortunate to have such good leadership from our upperclassmen.”
Up next: Pennsbury (8-3, 3-0 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Friday.”
Delaware Valley 7-11-6-3 27
Pennsbury 11-12-22-5 50
Delaware Valley (27) – Lindsey Ditmar 2 0-2 5; Elana Falkenstein 4 0-0 9; Klaudia Burke 2 0-0 4; Maggie Simpson 4 0-0 9; TOTALS 12 0-2 27.
Pennsbury (50) – Emily Panaro 2 0-0 4; Bella Stewart 2 0-0 4; Maggie Bruns 0 2-2 2; Sammie Haws 4 1-2 12; Alyssa Thomas 0 2-2 2; Shea Quenzer 1 0-0 2; Adrianna Oberto 1 0-0 2; Ava Jordan 7 2-3 19; Caroline Stover 1 0-0 3; Keira Socha 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 18 7-11 50.
3-point goals: DV – Lindsey Ditmar, Elana Falkenstein, Maggie Simpson; P – Maggie Burns 3, Sammie Haws 3, Caroline Stover.
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