LOWER GWYNEDD – Liz Taliaferro let out a huge sigh of relief.
“That’s pretty much all you can do,” the Cheltenham junior said. “That and get ready for the next game.”
There will be a next game for the Lady Panthers, but it certainly didn’t come easily.
On a night when their shots once again weren’t falling, the Lady Panthers needed a monster effort by senior Dayna McCrewell as well as some clutch defensive plays down the stretch to escape with a 51-46 win over Reading in a PIAA Class AAAA Tournament opening round game on Friday night at Wissahickon High School.McCrewell had 14 points and 17 rebounds in a dominant effort in the paint. She and Taliaferro each also had five steals – almost all in a second half that saw the Red Knights turn the ball over 16 times.
“It was tough, it was a real tough game, but we pulled it out and got a ‘W,’” the Lady Panthers’ senior co-captain said. “Just their inside presence of having shot blockers made us a little timid to go inside, and our jump shots weren’t falling like they normally do.
“We were just a little off on our offense.”
The players – who barely eked out a win over Wissahickon in its own gym earlier this year – insisted that they do not shoot particularly well in the Trojans’ gym. Coach Bob Schaefer wasn’t buying into that theory.
“They’re proving they can’t shoot in any gym the last two weeks,” the veteran coach said. “How we’re hanging with teams like that with all the subs and everybody in there – it’s wonderful that they’re doing it, but we’re certainly making it as hard as we can.
“Dayna had a monstrous game. What might have been the difference in the game was Dayna’s follow-up without coming down. That was a big, big two points to get there.”
The McCrewell basket that may have broken the Red Knights’ back came as time was about to expire in the third quarter. The Lady Panthers’ senior co-captain grabbed the offensive board and – while still airborne – released a shot that fell through the net at the buzzer.
“I saw the clock,” McCrewell said. “I knew I couldn’t go down and go back up. I just had to go straight back up.”
The bucket gave the Lady Panthers a 39-34 lead heading into the final quarter and, more importantly, momentum. The team’s senior co-captain - ineligible for both the district semifinal and final – was clearly making up for lost time.
“It was the hardest thing ever, but it was a learning experience,” McCrewell said of sitting last week’s games. “It taught me a lot.
“I learned that to do what I want to do I have to do what I have to do. I have to get in the classroom, get my work done and do what I have to do to get the job done and not let my team down again.”
The Lady Panthers needed every one of McCrewell’s rebounds and points on a night saw their top scorers – junior guards Shayla Felder and Monet Constant – once again struggle to find their offensive stride. Both finished with 10 points, but none came easily.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Constant said. “I feel like my mind is ready to be in the game - ‘Okay, I can do this,’ but sometimes I get out there and other things get on my mind, and it stops me from playing the game the way I know how to play.
“It’s all mental. For all of us, it’s all in our heads. The talent is still there. The points we were putting up at the beginning are still there. It’s mental.”
The Lady Panthers trailed 15-13 at the end of one quarter and saw that deficit grow to 25-19 late in the second quarter.
“I don’t think it was necessarily anything they did,” Cheltenham sophomore Tiffany Johnson said. “It was us. We couldn’t hit our shots.”
Johnson made it a 25-21 game when she scored on a tough shot at the end of a fast break, and the sophomore guard admits she is playing with renewed confidence.
“I keep my confidence through the whole game,” she said. “I’m not afraid to shoot. Foul shots, three-pointers – I can take it all. I’m just not afraid anymore.”
After a Reading turnover, Taliaferro scored on a putback to make it a 25-23 game at the intermission. It was the junior guard’s only basket of the night, but she contributed six rebounds and five steals in another solid outing off the bench.
“I’m not really one of the offensive leaders on the team, so I just go in and try and play defense and stay in front of (my girl),” she said. “Number 15 (Leola Pinkney) is a real nice player, and once we could stop her, we could put more defensive pressure on the wings.
“That’s my job. I want to step out there and be a defensive leader.”
Pinkney, who finished the game with 12 points, had just two baskets in the second half.
“Liz played great,” Schaefer said. “She did a real nice job offensively and defensively and got some nice, big rebounds, which she usually does.”
Felder – who scored all 10 of her points in the second half but left with an injury late in the game – buried a trey to make it a 26-26 game, but Pinkney answered with a bucket at the other end. Jenna Peoples (seven points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots) scored the equalizer for the Panthers, and after Taliaferro deflected the ball to a streaking Felder for a bucket, the Panthers took their first lead of the game, 35-33.
After J’Leisa Pecal buried one-of-two from the foul line, Felder scored on one of her patented drives, and then – after the two teams exchanged several possessions – McCrewell scored on the putback to give the Lady Panthers a 39-34 lead.
Cheltenham extended its lead to 48-42 after Felder sank one-of-two from the charity stripe, but the Lady Panthers’ inability to bury their foul shots – they sank 7-of-19 in the game – allowed the Red Knights to stay within striking distance. Constant was 3-of-4 in the fourth quarter. Her teammates were a combined 1-of-5.
“I had to say myself, ‘Shayla is out of the game. Shayla is hurt. My team needs me to step up,’” Constant said. “I’m not the most confident foul shooter in the world. I took a couple of deep breaths – I had to do this.
“I’m ready to get back in the gym – work harder, work on my shots and work different moves and come back the next game even better.”
The Lady Panthers (26-2) will face Northampton in a second round game on Tuesday night. Northampton, the second place team from District 11, crushed University City 63-25.
EXTRA SHOTS: While it wasn’t exactly a great night for the Lady Panthers, they were far more fortunate than their SOL counterparts. Council Rock North fell to Cardinal O’Hara (56-41), Red Lion edged Central Bucks East (30-29) and Lancaster Mennonite downed Springfield 73-43.
CHELTENHAM 51, READING 46
Reading (46) – Leola Pinkney 6 0-0 12, Jonnesha Baker 2 2-4 6, Deva’Nyer Workman 6 2-3 14, Shanelle Patterson 2 1-2 5, J’Leisa Pecal 4 1-3 9, Tyeca Reviere 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 6-13 46.
Cheltenham (51) – Jenna Peoples 3 1-2 7, Monet Constant 3 3-4 10, Tiffany Johnson 3 0-0 6, Shayla Felder 4 1-4 10, Dayna McCrewell 6 2-7 14, Sydni Epps 1 0-0 2, Liz Taliaferro 1 0-2 2, Kira Ogden 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-19 51.
Reading 15 10 9 12-46
Cheltenham 13 10 16 12-51
Three-point goals: Cheltenham – Monet Constant, Shayla Felder.
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