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LOWER GWYNEDD – Jessica Schmidt had strict orders from teammate Emily Leer not to take any three-point shots.Actually, Leer’s biggest concern was that the Abington junior might connect on one if she did.
“The reason I discourage her from taking any three’s is because in both Council Rock North games that we lost – she hit three’s, and she doesn’t hit three’s,” Leer said. “I just figured her three’s were a bad luck charm for us, so I said, ‘No more three’s for you, Jess. I don’t care if you’re going to make it or not, you’re not taking them because if you make it, we’re losing.’”
With the outcome of Friday night’s PIAA Class AAAA opener against Hershey hanging in the balance, Schmidt opted to disregard Leer’s advice, taking – and making – a three to put the Ghosts on top 34-33 midway through the fourth quarter.
“I guess she kicked the curse tonight,” Leer said. “We needed that, and she needed that too. It was a huge shot. I’m still shaken from that game.”
The game was far from over after Schmidt’s big bucket.
Hershey actually took a 38-37 lead after a Casey Boyer trey with a minute remaining, but Leer answered with the game’s biggest bucket when – despite being fouled – she scored in a crowd after pulling down an offensive rebound and then completed the three-point play to put the Ghosts on top 40-38.
Abington went on to earn a 42-38 win that was too close for comfort for the recently crowned district champions, who – according to Leer – may have suffered from a case of nerves.
“The pressure is enormous,” the senior captain said. “You want to keep everything going that you got started.
“We’re not the underdogs any more. We’re the top dogs, and honestly, I got to say I like playing from the underdog a little bit more. It was tough to come here today knowing this team had nothing to lose and we had everything to lose.
“Thank God we pulled it out, and now we can relax a little bit and get ready for our next game.”The Ghosts will face a familiar opponent in Central Bucks East in Tuesday’s second round contest, but for one night, Abington’s players and coaches were just happy to escape with the win.
“I felt so much pressure tonight,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “It’s so difficult to come out - we want to play well, and they were good.
“They did not quit, and they hit some big shots. Thank the Lord we were able to get a good shot down the stretch and got the ball to Emily. They did a good job on her tonight, and nobody else was hitting any shots, plus we were in foul trouble. This was a very, very difficult win. I’m super proud of the girls for hanging in there.”
Leer, the focal point of a box-and-one, scored just nine points, but she pulled down 10 rebounds and had five blocked shots. Teammates Chynna West and Aiyannah Peal each contributed 13 to lead the Ghosts. West also had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals while Peal had six rebounds and four steals.
West also contained Hershey’s big gun, Caroline Suminski, in the second half. Suminski scored nine points in the second quarter but managed just five after halftime.
“Chynna said at halftime, ‘Put me on her coach,’” Marsh said. “Chynna did a (heck) of a job on her.”
The Ghosts – sparked by six points from both West and Peal – jumped out to a 14-4 lead at the end of one quarter. It looked like it was going to be easy.
It wasn’t.
The Ghosts still led 25-15 after a Leer bucket just inside the arc with five seconds remaining in the half, but Suminski’s shot from just beyond halfcourt fell through the net at the buzzer, making it a 25-18 game at the intermission.
“Tonight in the first half, we got real comfortable after we got that lead,” West said. “They came out stronger in the second quarter, and we had to re-adjust what we were doing.”
The Trojans trimmed Abington’s lead to 27-23 after a Kendall Benovy bucket early in the third quarter, but Leer scored off the dribble to extend the Ghosts’ lead to six at the 5:17 mark. That’s when the shots stopped falling for the Ghosts, who endured a stretch of six minutes and 55 seconds without a basket.
“They were completely packing it in, and we weren’t hitting outside shots,” Marsh said. “It just happens.“We got tight. They made us get tight.”
By the time Peal scored from the low post at the 6:20 mark of the final quarter, the Trojans led 33-31. Then – after the two teams exchanged possessions but came up empty – Schmidt connected on the clutch trey.
“That was humungous,” West said. “Jess is a post person, and she doesn’t shoot three’s. The last time she did we lost the game, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, please don’t shoot it.’
“I was scared after she made it, and everyone was thinking the same thing. We were joking with her – thank god we won this game.”
Schmidt admits she knew she was putting her team at risk when she buried the three.
“I have been told not to make them, but we were losing,” Schmidt said. “I was nervous, but I was wide open. I was like, ‘I have to take it.’ It boosted my confidence back up, so it was good.
“If I’m open and I’m feeling it, I’ll take it.”
After a Hershey miss, West sank one-of-two from the foul line to put the Ghosts on top by two. The Trojans knotted the score on a Benovy bucket, but West answered with a putback at the other end. Then came Boyer’s big trey, setting the stage for Leer’s game winner.
“We weren’t getting our hands in their faces, but we came out in the end with good defense,” Schmidt said. “That’s what we rely on, so we just have to keep it up.”
“It was nerveracking,” West added. “I have been sick, and I was so afraid coming into this game, and he (Marsh) said, ‘If you need a break, just tell me,’ but I didn’t want to come out. I wanted to play my hardest. Everyone pulled together as a team today. We really did.”
ABINGTON 42, HERSHEY 38
Hershey 4 14 13 7-38
Abington 14 11 4 13-42
Hershey (38) – Karen Sassaman 0 0-0 0; Casey Boyer 3 1-2 9; Jess Murray 1 1-6 3; Alyssa Voelmile 0 0-0 0; Kendall Benovy 5 2-2 12; Caroline Suminski 5 1-2 14; Shelby Ande 0 0-0 0; Karen Kodak 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 14 5-12 38.
Abington (42) – Jamie Shectman 0 0-0 0; Chynna West 5 3-4 13; Jessica Schmidt 1 1-2 4; Aiyannah Peal 5 3-7 13; Emily Leer 4 1-1 9; Sarah Listenbee 0 0-0 0; Sheila Longo 0 0-0 0; Carli Fitzgerald 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 16 8-14 42.
3-point goals: Hershey – Casey Boyer 2, Caroline Suminski 3. Abington – Jessica Schmidt, Carli Fitzgerald.
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