Meet Liz and Sarah Martin, identical twins and best friends.
The Central Bucks East seniors are mirror images of each other. So similar is their appearance they even fooled their teachers when they switched classes in seventh grade.
“They didn’t even know until I went back to my class, and there were two of us,” Liz said. “People always get us confused. It’s fun. We get to switch places, play with people’s heads.”For the past four years, the Central Bucks East seniors have been double trouble in the paint for opposing teams. This season, they were a key to the Patriots’ run to a Continental Conference title.
Their accomplishments on the court have been well documented. It’s time to take a peek at the twins off the court.
Ask both the source of their biggest conflicts, and basketball comes up, but so – amidst giggles - does the use of a car that Liz and Sarah share.
“Sarah always seems to have it when I need it,” said Liz.
“That’s true, but Liz crashes the car,” Sarah said.
“I do hit things,” Liz admitted.
“She’s a terrible driver,” Sarah said.
“I’ve never hit another vehicle,” Liz said. “But I do hit inanimate objects.”
“Stop signs, trees, guard rails,” Sarah interjects with a smile.
It’s the kind of lighthearted, easy exchange that characterizes conversations between Liz and Sarah Martin, and while they may look alike, the twins are decidedly different.
“We definitely have different personalities,” Sarah said. “Liz is very carefree and fun. She likes people, and she likes to have fun. She’s nice to everyone.”“Sarah likes to have her group of friends,” Liz said. “She doesn’t really talk to people she doesn’t know. She’s not shy. She just likes to be comfortable.”
With a twinkle in her eye that suggests she’s only half serious, Sarah added, “I’m rude to people.”
“She is kind of mean,” Liz said. “She likes to make fun of people.”
Sarah sees it differently.
“I like to stick up for myself,” she said. “Liz gets walked all over.”
Liz – who, along with Sarah, is one tough customer on the basketball court - doesn’t argue the point.
“People walk all over me, but Sarah sticks up for herself and for me,” she said. “She’s not afraid to kick someone’s (butt).’”
Sarah admits she protects her sister.
“It’s always been that way,” she said. “I’ve been more independent.”
Liz is the exact opposite.
“My priorities are definitely having fun and making friends and making other people happy where Sarah’s are more like doing what’s best for her,” Liz said.
The twins acknowledge that basketball trumps the issue of who gets the car when it comes to creating conflicts.
“It’s tough,” Liz said.
“It’s really tough,” Sarah added.
“Especially since we played the same position,” Liz said. “We always feel like we’re competing with each other.”
Things were especially tough when –as sophomores – Liz was starting and excelling and Sarah was contributing in a diminished role.
“I had a rough year with asthma,” Sarah said. “I couldn’t figure out what it was, but I couldn’t play, and I couldn’t run.
“It’s always kind of been hard for me because I’ve always been known as Liz’s sister. I’m not my own person.”
“It was tough,” Liz said. “I would have a great game, and Sarah wouldn’t have gotten as much time. I’m trying to be happy without making her feel like I’m shoving it in her face.“I don’t like to see her upset. It was really tough.”
It didn’t help that – until this year – the two competed for the same position.
“This year we have been on the floor together because there is no one else,” Sarah said. “We have done so well working together, and we could have done that the last two years too.”
“I definitely think it might have been different,” Liz said. “Sarah would have had a bigger name if she had been given more of a chance to show herself.”
The twins will go their separate ways this fall – Sarah will be attending Ursinus and Liz is enrolling at Gettysburg.
“We were both looking at Ursinus, and then we just decided we needed to be separate,” Sarah said. “We need to have our own friends, our own basketball experience. It’s for the best.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Liz said. “But it will definitely be hard. We’ll go visit each other. It’s definitely the best thing for us to separate in college.”
Both will be biology (pre-med) majors, and don’t be surprised if there are two doctors in the house for the Martin family somewhere down the road.
The twins will be continuing their basketball careers at the collegiate level where Sarah will at long last have an opportunity to carve out her own identity.
“The coach who recruited me wants me, not because I’m Liz’s sister but because I’m a good player,” Sarah said.
For now, coaches will continue to game plan to stop the Martin sisters in the paint, and Sarah and Liz will continue to do what they to best - pull down rebounds and put up points for the league champion Patriots.
They’ve been a winning combination both on and off the court.
Some big shoes to fill – Emily Grundman prepared for Tuesday night’s showdown against Abington the way she usually does.
“With any game, we just work really hard at practice and try and prepare ourselves as much as possible,” the Council Rock sophomore said. “I figured if I had time against Abington, I would work my hardest.”
What Grundman and her teammates hadn’t figured on was losing senior Sarah Kiely three minutes into Tuesday’s game to a knee injury. The Indians’ leading scorer and rebounder watched the remainder of the game from the bench with an ice pack taped to her right knee while Grundman played major minutes.
“No one saw Sarah’s injury coming,” the 6-2 sophomore said. “I work hard every game, but I didn’t realize we would be down one of our key players.
“Luckily, everyone stepped up.”
Few contributions in Rock North’s gritty 48-42 win over the Ghosts were more significant than Grundman’s 10-point effort off the bench, which included a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the foul line.
“I was very nervous because Sarah’s shoes are some big shoes to fill,” she said. “The Golds (Lauren and Devin) stepped up their defense. Kelly (Scull) stepped up with her defense, and Jodi (Marrazzo) made that amazing three-point shot at the end of the first half.
“That’s what I think makes Council Rock so great – the fact that we don’t rely on one player to make or break our team. It’s really a group effort.”
Grundman scored on a putback to close out the third quarter during a 13-0 Rock North run that turned momentum firmly in the Indians’ favor. She also sank a pair of foul shots to cap that run after pulling down an offensive board.
They were just two of countless big plays by Grundman and her teammates in Rock North’s big win.
“A lot of kids stepped up and proved they can play at this level against one of the top teams in the district,” coach Lou Palkovics said.
And that can only mean good things down the road for the Indians.
Golds are golden – There were heroes galore in Council Rock North’s come-from-behind 48-42 win over Abington on Tuesday, and almost lost in the shuffle of Sarah Kiely’s injury and the emergence of several newcomers were the standout efforts of Devin and Lauren Gold.
The duo led the Indians in scoring – Lauren had a team-high 13 while Devin was right behind with 12. Devin delivered a huge trey to open the fourth quarter that pulled the Indians to within three after trailing by 10 late in the third quarter. She also scored on a tough drive through the defense to put the Indians on top 38-35.
Lauren, meanwhile, was 9-for-10 from the foul line, including a perfect four-for-four down the stretch. It was her back-to-back steals on the press and resulting basket and foul shots that turned a three-point lead into a seven-point lead, effectively sealing the win for the Indians.
There was no mistaking the role the Indians’ pressure defense played in Abington’s demise.
“We tell them constantly, ‘Calm down, stay patient,’” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “The Gold sisters are two of the toughest defenders in the Suburban One, so they cause problems for everybody.
“You just can’t let them dictate what we do offensively.”
They did in the second half of Tuesday’s game, and the result was a Rock North come-from-behind win.
Champions, the SOL’s got champions – The championship races in all three divisions have been decided.
Cheltenham’s American Conference title - a foregone conclusion for a long time – became official when the Lady Panthers defeated Plymouth Whitemarsh 70-27 on Tuesday night for coach Bob Schaefer’s 700th win. Granted, the win only clinched a tie, but make no mistake about it, this conference crown is a done deal.
Council Rock North ensured itself sole possession of the National Conference title with its you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it 48-42 win over Abington on Tuesday.
Central Bucks East also guaranteed itself the league’s top spot with its convincing 57-35 win over Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
If this is starting to sound like a rerun, it is. All three teams won conference titles last year as well.
District playoffs – Just a reminder that the district pairings will be posted on the web site as soon as they are received after Sunday’s meeting. The brackets will be updated regularly, so remember to follow the SOL through the playoff on www.SuburbanOneSports.com.
SOS.com’s Fab Five
- Cheltenham (20-0) (Another American Conference title belongs to the Lady Panthers, and they are just two wins away from a perfect regular season and the district’s top seed.)
- Council Rock North (17-4) (The Indians brought an end to the speculation that there could be a three-way tie for the National Conference’s top spot with their remarkable win over Abington.)
- Central Bucks East (16-3) (The Patriots, who clinched the Continental Conference title, close out league season play on Friday with a big game against archrival Central Bucks South.)
- Council Rock South (16-5) (The Golden Hawks- who are once again displaying the form that made them such a formidable opponent - face CR North in the final regular season game.)
- Abington (16-4) (Abington will try to recuperate from its heartbreaking loss to Council Rock North in a game the Ghosts appeared to have won .)
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