National Conference
Abington 47, Council Rock South 44
ABINGTON – Aiyannah Peal is capable of singlehandedly turning a game around.
If there were any doubts, the Abington junior dispelled those doubts with an overpowering 26-point effort in the Ghosts’ win over Rock South in a key National Conference game on Tuesday, and with the final seconds ticking off the clock, it was appropriate that Peal came up with a steal to seal the win.
Her brilliant performance was exactly what the doctor ordered for an Abington squad that is without its floor general.
“I’ve gotten used to being the maestro on the floor since Chynna (West) was controlling the pace,” said Peal of the Ghosts’ senior point guard, who is sidelined with a concussion. “For the last few games, I was rushing.
“I was more controlled today. I let the game come to me. I looked for my teammates more today, tried to establish the post since Jess Schmidt and Sarah Listenbee were there. They were a big help.”
The Ghosts were coming off a disappointing loss to Methacton on Saturday and had lost three of four games.
“We don’t dwell on the past,” Peal said. “We worry about our next game and how we’re going to win that.
“(The Methacton) loss was a very tough loss since we didn’t have two of our starters. Today we wanted to make sure we at least came in second in our league. We knew they were beatable – we beat them the last time, and we just came out and we didn’t panic.”
When the Ghosts needed a basket down the stretch, it was Peal who delivered. The Ghosts trailed 42-36 heading into the final quarter, but Peal scored off the dribble on Abington’s opening possession of the quarter to make it a four-point game.
After the two teams exchanged misses, the Golden Hawks elected to spread the floor, but Peal came up with a steal that Listenbee converted into an easy bucket, and it was a two-point game with five minutes remaining.
Again, the Golden Hawks spread the floor, and this time it was Mallory Mugnier coming up with a steal that set up another basket by Peal off the dribble to knot the score with 3:50 remaining.
“We go in ‘code red’ every time we want to speed the pace of the game up,” Peal said of the Ghosts’ defensive strategy. “We’ve been doing it for a while, and we’re getting pretty good at it. We played really good defense today.”
“Our code red worked,” coach Dan Marsh added. “That’s something we have been working on a lot.
“They were up four, and we were able to get those two huge steals on our code red. We have been doing it 45 minutes at practice, trying to get our rotation down.”
The Golden Hawks misfired at the other end, and Peal turned that into two points when she corralled a teammate’s miss and put it in for a basket that gave the Ghosts a 44-42 lead. Alex Wheatley scored on a putback at the other end to knot the score, but Schmidt scored after an offensive rebound to give the Ghosts a 46-44 lead with 1:40 remaining.
Peal connected on one-of-two from the foul line with 16 seconds remaining and then iced the win with her last-second steal.
As the final horn sounded, Marsh raised a clenched fist in celebration while the players leaped into each other’s arms in a jubilant post-game scene. It was a big win for a Ghost squad that solidified its hold on second place in the National Conference standings.
“I’m super, super, super happy,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “For us to come out and play the way we did, and play as a team.
“Jess Schmidt is still obviously not herself, but Aiyannah was phenomenal tonight. She just came out on fire. When Aiyannah is good is when she’s under control like she was today.”
While Peal stole the spotlight for the Ghosts, Alex Wheatley once again came up big for the Golden Hawks, contributing 15 points and 21 rebounds – 10 on the offensive glass.
“The thing that’s so tough about Wheatley – even when you do a good job on her defensively, if you don’t keep her off the offensive glass, she’s still going to get hers, and that’s what gave them the lead in the third and fourth quarters,” Marsh said.
Teammate Courtney Brown added 13 points, including nine in a first half that saw the Golden Hawks open up a 24-16 lead with three minutes remaining.
“Courtney Brown played great,” Rock South coach Monica Stolic said. “She had some real good games at the beginning of the season.
“She talked to me at practice on Saturday – her confidence was a little low. Today she shot the ball very well.”
The Golden Hawks didn’t score the rest of the half and went into halftime deadlocked 24-24. Of particular concern for Stolic was the fact that her team misfired on some easy shots in close.
“We shot 5-for-19 in the first half,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “When you get layups, you have to make them. That’s a layup – that’s something you learn to do in third grade.”
While the Golden Hawks fell to 8-3 in league play (12-5 overall), the Ghosts improved to 9-2 in the league (12-7 overall).
“This is what our team is capable of,” Marsh said. “This is why I’m excited for February because if we can do this type of thing we’re a tough team to beat.”
Council Rock North 63, Pennsbury 23
The Indians apparently have found their offensive stride after struggling through a difficult mid-season stretch. In Tuesday’s game at Pennsbury, the Indians sprinted to a 21-5 lead at the end of one quarter, took a 34-11 lead into halftime and extended that to 53-15 at the end of three quarters.
Emily Grundman had a big game in the paint, scoring a game-high 18 points, while teammate Devin Gold added 15 points, four rebounds, five steals and four assists in a glittering all-around effort. Lauren Gold added nine points, four steals and nine assists for the Indians, who moved the ball and executed to perfection on offense.
While the Falcons – who were led by the nine-point effort of Molly Phillips – fell to 4-7 in league play (6-12 overall), the Indians improved to 10-0 in the league (16-0 overall).
William Tennent 77, Harry S. Truman 24
Neshaminy at Bensalem (Postponed until Wednesday, Feb. 2)
Continental Conference
North Penn 52, Central Bucks South 31
Sparked by the double-figure efforts of sophomore Lauren Crisler and junior Steph Knauer, the Maidens avenged a heartbreaking loss to the Titans earlier in the season that saw North Penn cough up an eight-point second half lead.
Crisler led the Maidens with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Knauer had 10 points and 12 boards.
“Lauren Crisler did a really good job on Brittany Kaewell,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “She did have 10 points, but Lauren – with her long arms – disrupted a lot of her shots.
“Everybody made contributions so I was really pleased about that. Defensively, we played really well. We still had too many turnovers, but overall, I was pleased with the way we ran our offense, and we rebounded well.”
The Maidens led 11-7 at the end of one quarter and extended that lead to 25-15 by halftime. A 15-7 third-quarter outburst by the Maidens ensured there would be no Titan comebacks this time around.
“They’re scrappy,” deMarteleire said. “We went into halftime with a 10-point lead, and I said, ‘We cannot let up.’
“We watched a tape of the game the last time we played them, and they literally outran us the second half. I was happy with how the kids played today. Our transition defense was good. We didn’t give up easy buckets. I was pleased.”
deMarteleire was also pleased to see her team implement the new offense she has just installed.
“The kids executed it – not 100 percent of the time but 70 percent of the time, and that was good,” the Maidens’ coach said. “We had to take advantage of our strengths. We are obviously bigger than them, and it did work.”
While the Titans fell to 8-3 in the league (12-7 overall), the Maidens improved to 8-2 in the league (12-5 overall).
The Maidens will face their toughest challenge of the league season on Wednesday when they travel to Central Bucks East for a matchup against the only team ahead of them in the conference standings.
Central Bucks East 40, Central Bucks West 22
The Patriots never allowed the Bucks to score more than six points in a quarter in Tuesday’s win. Sparked by three Courtney McManus three-point baskets, the Patriots led 15-6 at the end of one quarter and took a 23-11 lead into halftime.
McManus, who buried five treys, led all scorers with 17 points. Melissa Remmey added eight while Shaun Kane had five points – all in the second half. For the Bucks, Caitlyn Mautz led the way with seven points while Kate McLaughlin had five points.
The Bucks are 5-5 in league play (8-9 overall) while the Patriots improved to 10-0 in the league (14-2 overall).
Quakertown at Souderton (Rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m.)
Hatboro-Horsham at Pennridge (Rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m.)
Pennridge 45, Upper Perkiomen 36 (Monday, Jan. 31)
The Rams used a 20-3 third-quarter explosion to blow open Monday night’s non-league game against Upper Perk. They went on to earn their first win of the season.
“The girls were really excited,” coach Dave Martin said. “I think we kind of expected to win, which for a change was kind of odd that a team with no wins expected to win.
“They came out at halftime – it was our best quarter of basketball I have seen all year. We were up 24 going into the fourth quarter, and I think we kind of relaxed. I took the starters out because we have four games this week, and they chipped away, chipped away and outscored us 18-3 in the fourth quarter.”
The Rams, who took a 22-15 lead into the intermission, were led by the 10-point efforts of Alyssa Marchunsky and Shannon Chynoweth. Jessie Tennett added seven points while Jordan Rimmer had six.
The win was the first in 15 games for the Rams, but according to Martin, the players remained positive.
“They are always upbeat,” the first-year coach said. “Whether we win or lose, they’re always happy, and they don’t dwell on the game.
“They always come to practice and work hard. In practice, we make every shot, and we do everything we’re supposed to do, and then we get into a game – they don’t have any varsity experience except for a couple of our big girls, and they couldn’t handle the pressure.”
Martin made some personnel changes, and they’ve paid dividends. Most significant was the addition of freshman Jordan Rimmer to the lineup.
“Jordan is definitely the spark,” he said. “She’s an all-out hustler, defensively especially. Offensively, it will come for her.
“Shannon Chynoweth, who’s only a sophomore, has been playing incredibly. She had 13 rebounds against North Penn, and she had eight rebounds against (Central Bucks) East. In Monday’s win she had seven or eight rebounds – she would get a rebound and go coast to coast. Ten points was her career high, and she and Jordan are so fast, and they ran the fast break.”
Martin also credited Jen Cooley for her contributions.
“Her defense and rebounding – she has picked it up,” Martin said. “She’s battling the big girls on the other teams every night.”
Pennridge (1-14) will play three straight games to close out the week, culminating with Saturday’s Community Day event that ends with a 5:30 p.m. varsity game against Souderton.
American Conference
Cheltenham 71, Plymouth Whitemarsh 30
The Lady Panthers held a 9-6 lead at the end of one quarter but outscored the Colonials 47-15 in the middle two quarters on their way to the lopsided win. Junior Shayla Peoples led Lady Panthers with 22 points, which included three treys. Junior Christina Coleman added 15 points, eight in the third quarter.
Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews also finished in double figures with 10 points while Tiffany Johnson added eight.
Erin Martin led PW with 12 points and seven rebounds. Lex Borkowski had a team-high eight boards.
While the Colonials fell to 6-4 in league play (11-7 overall), the Lady Panthers upped their record to 9-0 in the league (15-3 overall)
Upper Dublin 52, Norristown 37
Taylor Bryant scored 15 points to lead the Flying Cardinals to the big win. The Flying Cardinals are 8-2 in league play (16-3 overall), and the Eagles are 3-7 in the league (8-11 overall).
Upper Moreland at Wissahickon has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m.
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