North Penn staged a heroic comeback to eke out a 56-54overtime win over Souderton in Friday night’s SOL opener, which was an SOL Featured Game sponsored by Millennium Administrators. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
TOWAMENCIN – They’ll be talking about this one for a long, long time.
Not because it was a basketball purist’s dream but rather because it featured two archrivals that simply refused to lose.
North Penn could have folded its tent early in this one, falling behind 25-9 in the first half. The Maidens still trailed by four with 13 seconds remaining in regulation, but they simply would not be denied.
Souderton certainly could have collapsed after watching their 16-point lead disappear in the second half, and they certainly wouldn’t have been blamed if – after losing standout point guard Bianca Picard to fouls on the final play of regulation – they had simply gone through the motions in overtime. But they persevered.
In the end, it was the Maidens earning a 56-54 win in the overtime thriller, but the Indians – after a disappointing .500 season last year - may had served notice that they will be heard from this season.
“I feel like if we come out in every game the rest of the season and we want to beat them as bad as we did North Penn and we play as hard as we just did – I think we can beat any other team in our league or at least compete with them,” Souderton sophomore Sarah Derstein said. “This was a big game. They’re our biggest rival. This was very disappointing.”
The Indians’ sophomore center came up big in Friday’s loss, contributing 10 points and 11 rebounds. Derstein also was given the unenviable task of guarding American University-bound Lauren Crisler.
“I would not want to be told I had to guard Lauren Crisler for an entire basketball game,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “That’s not a challenge I want personally, and Sarah accepted it and went beyond my expectations.
“That girl plays so hard – every play she plays hard, and for her to hit foul shots down the stretch, it was so impressive. She was so impressive on both ends of the court – showing composure and intelligence on defense. It was great.”
While Crisler led all scorers with 19 points to go along with 12 rebounds, an interesting subplot in Friday’s game was the battle of guards Vicky Tumasz (18 points) and Bianca Picard (17 points).
“I actually have been playing against Bianca since middle school,” Tumasz said. “It’s always been like a wrestling match between us.
“She’s a great player – she played awesome. She hit like six three’s or whatever. They were hitting every wide open shot, but we just had to work together.”
While Picard is the engine that makes the Indians run, Tumasz showed that she is a catalyst as well, scoring 16 of her points in the second half to all but singlehandedly get the Maidens back in the game.
It was Tumasz and teammate Erin Maher connecting on back-to-back three-pointers early in the third quarter to trim a 14-point lead to eight in short order, and when Crisler turned a steal into a fast break basket, it was a 27-21 game.
A driving basket by Brianna Cullen was followed by Crisler burying a pair from the foul line, and suddenly, the Maidens trailed by just two, 27-25.
Unfazed, Allison Gallagher scored on a tough drive for the Indians, and then Katie O’Connor turned a steal into a bucket to put the Indians back on top 31-25. A basket by Courtney Day on a drive to the hole gave the Indians a 33-25 advantage, but no lead was safe in this game.
A foul shot and bucket by Tumasz pulled the Maidens within five, and when Tumasz came up with the loose ball rebound and scored, it was a 33-30 game. Picard, who had 10 first-half points, hit nothing but net on a long distance trey at the buzzer, putting the Indians on top 36-30, but this one was far from over.
A three-point play by Tumasz pulled the Maidens within three, and when Crisler scored on a putback at the 4:46 mark, the two teams were deadlocked 39-39. Picard found Day for an easy bucket at the other end, but Tumasz answered with a trey to give the Maidens their first lead of the game, 44-43, with just under three minutes to play.
“In the first half, we came out wanting to win so badly, especially coming off that loss to Council Rock South on Tuesday,” Derstein said. “In the second half, I think we felt more comfortable with where we were at, and we didn’t come out as strong as we did the first half.
The Indians misfired on a shot at the other end, but Derstein came up with the offensive board and found Picard, who connected on her fourth three-pointer to put the Indians back on top. A Derstein steal set the stage for Picard – in a trap near midcourt - finding the sophomore center wide open for an easy bucket and a 48-44 Souderton lead.
“We knew at some point in the second half they would make a run and we would have to handle it, and we did,” Carroll said. “We let them go up by one, but we held our composure.”
Cullen scored after an offensive rebound to pull the Maidens to within two, but it looked as though Derstein had all but sealed the Maidens’ fate when she buried both ends of a one-and-one with 13 seconds remaining.
“I felt very calm when I was taking those shots,” Derstein said. “I knew I needed to make them for my team.”
Tumasz, however, was money on her third trey of the game, and then Tumasz came up with the loose ball on the ensuing inbounds and found Crisler. Picard was whistled for her fifth foul, and when Crisler sank one-of-two, the stage was set for overtime.
Any thoughts that the Indians would go down quietly were quickly put to rest. They went on top 52-51 after Derstein sank both ends of a one-and-one. After the Maidens misfired on foul shots at the other end, Derstein once again found herself on the line and buried a pair.
“We obviously picked the wrong person to foul,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “I said to them, ‘Don’t foul her anymore.’”
Crisler scored to make it a one-point game, and after the Indians missed a pair at the line, Mikaela Giuliana, looking anything but the part of a freshman, connected on two foul shots to put the Maidens on top 55-54 with 31 seconds remaining. After an Indian turnover, Cullen connected on one-of-two from the foul line for the 56-54 final.
“Unfortunately for them, when Bianca fouled out, that obviously helped us,” deMarteleire said. “She really has improved a lot. She played very well tonight.
“Vicky made a lot of big three’s for us. We’re going to get teams that are going to pay a lot of attention to (Crisler), so other people need to step up.
“I though Tehya Daneker got some big steals off the press early in the second half. We cut a 12-point lead to six in no time, and then Mikaela Giuliani, the freshman, hits two foul shots. We hadn’t hit two foul shots all night, and she hits two to win the game.”
While the Maidens upped their record to 4-0 overall (1-0 SOL), the Indians fell to 0-2 (0-1 SOL).
“I just really feel for our girls,” Carroll said. “Every loss and win you think of playoff implications. Forget about that stuff. Right now I just feel so bad for our team.
“I wish for their sakes we had won that game. They did just about everything they needed to do. They did everything but win that game. They played with courage, intensity and heart for 36 minutes, and it’s unfortunate.
“It feels devastating right now, but it isn't really. There were so many bright moments in that game.”
SOUDERTON (54) – Allison Gallagher 4 0-3 9; Hannah Bergey 0 0-0 0; Katie O’Connor 3 0-0 6; Libby Wetzler 2 0-2 4; Courtney Day 3 2-2 8; Bianca Picard 5 3-4 17; Sarah Derstein 2 6-6 10. TOTALS 19 11-17 54.
NORTH PENN (56) – Erin Maher 1 2-2 5; Mikaela Giuliani 0 3-4 3; Jackie Bilotti 0 1-2 1; Tehya Daneker 2 1-2 5; Lauren Crisler 7 5-6 19; Brianna Cullen 2 1-3 5; Vicky Tumasz 7 1-2 18; Jenn Halcovage 0 0-0 0; Sierra Simon 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19 14-21 56.
Souderton 12 13 11 14 4-54
North Penn 3 10 17 20 6-56
3-point goals: Souderton – Picard 4, Gallagher; NP – Tumasz 3, Maher.
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