Cheltenham 61, North Penn 40
WYNCOTE - Maggie deMarteleire remembered the play all too well. It was a first-half sequence that effectively captured the Maidens’ frustration against the Lady Panthers’ aggressive trapping defense.
“One of our players actually made an outstanding diagonal pass and hit someone wide open under the basket,” the Maidens’ coach said. “My player pump faked and got the girl to fly by her. She had a wide open layup, and she threw it over the backboard. We got the rebound and threw it over the backboard again.
“That just typified how they affect your play. You’re expecting someone to jump at you, and you panic.”
The Lady Panthers are masters at creating panic, chaos and turnovers, and for a Maiden squad that hadn’t practiced since Monday because of the recent snowstorm, a game against Cheltenham was not at the top of their wish list.
“This is not a team you want to play against when you have absolutely no preparation time,” deMarteleire said. “I would need to bring boys into practice to simulate that kind of athleticism and quickness.”
As it was, the Maidens had to rely on what they’d learned from watching tapes and scouting the first half of Cheltenham’s 48-36 win over Abington last week. In that win, the Lady Panthers forced 22 first-half turnovers en route to a 29-13 halftime lead.
It was much the same story in Saturday’s non-league showdown. The Maidens turned the ball over 17 times in the first half and – after falling behind 21-7 at the end of one quarter – trailed 35-15 by halftime.
“Our ‘T’ is actually getting better,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “It still isn’t great, but it was poor a couple of weeks ago. I was always afraid to put it on because I thought the team we were playing would get easy layups, but we’re getting better at it, and we’re learning to adjust, and we’re rotating better.
“Kids are getting aggressive, they’re jelling a little better, and they’re really working hard. Everyone is contributing.”
Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews – who was slowed considerably by a sprained ankle – still scored a game-high 24 points, many on layups after turnovers. She had plenty of help from forwards Austen Hamler (12 points, eight rebounds) and Christina Coleman (11 points, five rebounds). Jiana Clark had seven rebounds off the bench.
“They worked real hard,” Schaefer said of his big girls insde. “I’m really happy with them.”
Tiffany Johnson was in complete command at the point, contributing eight points and countless assists while all-but-flawlessly directing the offense. She turned the ball over just twice – an astonishing number considering how much the ball is in her hands.
According to Johnson, this season has been a work in progress for the Lady Panthers.
“We’re much better now than we were at the beginning of the season,” she said. “That Abington game is what gave us confidence. That’s going to help us.
“Today we just pressured, and when we’re trapping, we get to the ball quickly, and we get a bunch of five-second calls when we’re playing good defense like that.”
The Maidens’ turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions as the Lady Panthers used buckets by Johnson, Austen Hamler and Shayla Peoples to jump out to a quick 6-0 lead.
Steph Knauer, who pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, put the Maidens on the scoreboard when she connected on one-of-two from the foul line, but Coleman scored on an offensive rebound at the other end. When turned a steal into a layup, the Panthers led 10-1.
“With the ‘T’ – once we get it going, we’re fired up after that,” Hamler said. “Every time it works it just gives us a little more energy to get downcourt.
“Today the ‘T’ is what got us going. We came out kind of slow, and it got our engines going.”
Maiden guard Emily Hagan – who scored six points – acknowledged that Cheltenham’s trap cannot be simulated in practice.
“You’re not ready for it,” she said. “You’re dribbling, and three girls will come at you. Your teammates are calling your name, but you don’t know where they’re at on the floor. I have never played against a team that had a trap like that.”
Lauren Crisler, who led the Maidens with 17 points, connected for her team’s first field goal at the 3:38 mark to make it a 10-5 game, but the Lady Panthers answered with an 11-2 run to close out the quarter as the Maidens could not find any kind of offensive flow.
“We needed to ball fake, use bounce passes and short passes, but instead, we’re throwing long passes, and here comes number 15 (Coleman) like she’s Asante Samuels intercepting the ball,” deMarteleire said.
Cheltenham’s run was capped with Coleman turning a steal into a layup and then – after a Maiden miss – Andrews turned a pass from Johnson into a three-point play. She had nine first-quarter points.
“We knew that Abington and North Penn would be our two big games the rest of the season, and if we could win both, it would help our district playoff seed,” Johnson said. “We had to come out and get the job done.”
It was a 23-7 game when Hamler – best known for her play under the basket - opened the second quarter by burying her second outside shot.
“Right on the elbow in the one-three-one (defense) – I know I can hit that shot more often,” said Hamler. “Right in that area is really comfortable for me.”
Back-to-back baskets by Crisler – the second a trey – made it a 23-12 game, but the Lady Panthers closed out the half with a 12-3 run to effectively put the game out of reach. That run was capped by an Asia Dan bucket in the closing seconds to send Cheltenham into halftime with a 35-15 lead.
“I really thought they had very balanced scoring in the first half, and that was not what I expected,” deMarteleire said. “That being said – I was disappointed with some of the things my kids did, but I realize when you tell people things and don’t have an opportunity to practice – it’s two different things.”
In a second half that saw the two teams exchange baskets, the Lady Panthers – with all their big girls in foul trouble – elected to spread the floor to take time off the clock. Crisler led the Maidens with 10 second-half points.
“We pulled it together in the second half, but you can’t win a game if you just play the second half,” Hagan said. “I hope we play them again.”
While the Maidens fell to 11-5, the Lady Panthers upped their record to 14-3.
“It was nice to get this kind of win,” Schaefer said. “We were worried. They’re a decent team with a good coach, and anyone can beat anyone on a given day.
“We have to get better at doing this – taking control of the game early and letting people know where they’re at.”
Despite the outcome, deMarteleire has no regrets about adding Cheltenham to her team’s schedule.
“I told the kids as long as we learn from this, it’s a good thing,” the Maidens’ coach said. “I said to them, ‘Take what we learned here today, and we’ll be better for it.’”
Methacton 59, Abington 50
It’s been one of those years for Abington.
Dan Marsh woke up on Saturday morning to find three missed calls from senior Jessica Schmidt. The Ghosts’ coach had to know this could not mean good news.
He was right.
Schmidt had picked up a stomach bug and was unable to play in Saturday’s non-league game at Methacton.
“Jess is one of those kids – if she could play even a little bit, she would,” Marsh said. “I knew she was sick.”
The Ghosts were already without senior point guard Chynna West (concussion), so Marsh’s squad was down two key players.
“It was just too much for us to overcome,” he said. “I’m just trying to get to Feburary now, and hopefully, we can get there healthy.”
Marsh knows his team – as the defending district champions – has a target on its back.
“Everybody we play is really coming after us,” he said. “Methacton couldn’t miss a shot. They played really well, and they were good enough to beat us today.”
Aiyannah Peal turned in a superb 24-point effort while teammate Sarah Listenbee added 10, but it wasn’t enough for the Ghosts, who trailed 22-17 at halftime after battling the Warriors to a 9-9 tie at the end of one quarter.
“We came out a little slow, and that gave Methacton confidence,” said Marsh, whose team connected on just 5-of-31 shots from the floor in the opening half.
By the end of the third quarter, the Warriors, who led by as many as 20, had a 45-28 lead, and although the Ghosts outscored the Warriors 22-14 in the fourth quarter, they never could make up the deficit.
“I called a timeout when we were down by 20 and said, ‘We’re playing for pride now,’” Marsh said. “We came back and actually cut it to five, but we got tired.
“At one point, I was playing three jayvee players because Mallory Mugnier, who has been filling in for Chynna, fouled out. Sarah Listenbee got in foul trouble. I looked out there and had two freshmen and a sophomore. We battled.”
The Ghosts saw their record drop to 11-7, but Marsh remained optimistic.
“I know we’re going to have to go on the road, but I’m still pretty confident we can make some noise in districts if we get Chynna West back. “Once February comes around, we’ll be the most talented 15 seed out there.”
And then Marsh added, “If we can get healthy.”
Central Bucks West 46, Owen J. Roberts 40
The Bucks found themselves staring at a 28-18 deficit at halftime of Saturday’s non-league game but outscored the Wildcats 28-12 in the second half to earn the come-from-behind win.
“We fought back,” coach Terry Rakowsky said. “As we came down and got it within three then two and then one, they started to make mistakes, and we didn’t.
“We hit our foul shots, and before you know it, it was a six-point game.”
The game was reminiscent of Friday night’s game against North Penn that saw the Bucks, who trailed by 14 at the half, outscore the Maidens 29-19 in the second half only to come up four points short.
“Our second half yesterday (against North Penn) was probably the best half of basketball I have seen our kids play since I have been here,” Rakowsky said. “North Penn is good. They’re tough inside, but we battled them in the second half.”
On Saturday, the Bucks once again battled, but this time they came out on top.
“I didn’t scout them, I didn’t really know anything about them,” Rakowsky said. “We spent the second and third quarters changing defenses, trying to figure something out.
“Finally, in the fourth quarter, we figured out a defense they really didn’t have an answer to. We showed a little bit of a trap. We were trying to get them to pass it, and we turned them over and turned them over, and we got right back into the game.”
The Bucks, who held 6-3 center Anna Janisch to just nine points, improved on their foul shooting after a tough first half at the line. They connected on 14-of-16 from the charity stripe in the second half.
“It was a team effort,” Rakowsky said.
Sophomore center Maggie Gratz had 13 rebounds to go along with 10 points. Jen Fabian added 10 points.
“Fiona Gilmore had a good game – she played well two games in a row,” Rakowsky said. “We have definitely battled back in a lot of games.
“Hopefully, this is a program building block. We came back and went ahead and held them off and did everything right at the end. The kids are really excited.
“Even after last night’s game, I was not disappointed. The kids played great, they played hard and battled North Penn’s big kids right down to the end. I was proud of them, and it was nice to come out with a win tonight.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 75, Emmaus 57
The Colonials wasted no time recuperating from Friday night’s loss to Upper Dublin that snapped a six-game winning streak. They came back less than 24 hours later and started another one, notching the big non-league win.
PW led 19-10 at the end of one quarter and then exploded for 31 second-quarter points en route to a 40-23 halftime lead. The second half was little more than a formality.
Four Colonials finished the game in double figures. Gabby Schumacher led the way with 19 points to go along with three steals. Erin Martin had 15 points and 10 rebounds while Maya Thomas had 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Lex Borkowski had 11 points and six rebounds while Kelly Hackenbrack had eight points and nine assists.
Upper Dublin 51, Bethlehem Catholic 43
The Flying Cardinals upped their record to 15-3, thanks to Saturday’s non-league win. Curtrena Goff led Upper Dublin with 14 points while Jen Myers added 11 points and Sarah Hallowell, 10 points. Taylor Bryant added nine points.
The Flying Cardinals opened up a 15-8 lead at the end of one quarter and still led 23-20 at halftime. They blew the game open with an 18-11 third-quarter burst.
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