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HOLLAND – Lexi Scrivano had a quiet first half in Tuesday night’s non-league game at Council Rock South. The second half – that was another story entirely.“During halftime, we talked about how we should be a lot more physical down low,” Central Bucks East’s junior forward said. “We also talked about working as a team. It’s not one player, one person that does it all.”
Perhaps not, but Scrivano certainly did a pretty good impression of a one-woman wrecking crew in the third quarter, singlehandedly controlling play in the paint and ensuring that the Golden Hawks would not cut into the Patriots’ lead.
Scrivano scored nine of her team’s 11 points in the quarter and scored all 13 of her points in a dominant second half effort to lead the Patriots to a 47-39 win over the Golden Hawks.
With the district pairings already in the place, the game pitting the eighth-seeded Patriots against the 10th-seeded Golden Hawks didn’t mean anything, but don’t try telling that to the Scrivano.
“It meant everything to our team to show that we’re 100 percent of our game all the time,” the East junior said. “It doesn’t matter who we play. We play as a team.”
East’s win was unquestionably a team effort. While Scrivano stole the spotlight in the second half, senior co-captain Courtney McManus was lights-out from long range in the first half, burying four three-pointers and scoring 14 of her game-high 16 points in an opening half that saw East go out on top 23-18.Fellow co-captain Melissa Remmey was at her blue collar best, pulling down six first-half rebounds to go along with six points and finishing the game with double-digit rebounds and eight points. Junior center Lindsey Kelly quietly added eight points, six in the pivotal second half.
But the big story in Tuesday’s win was the glittering defensive effort of the Patriots, who made life miserable for the Golden Hawks – and specifically Alex Wheatley – all night long.
Wheatley, who is averaging just under 20 points a game, had only three points heading into the fourth quarter. She scored nine points in the final frame, but by that time, the outcome had been decided.
“Nobody has been able to do that this year,” Rock South coach Monica Stolic said. “He (coach Tom Lonergan) always gets the best out of his players.“They double and tripled (Wheatley). East plays very good defense, and a lot of teams don’t play defense like that. In a game where Alex really didn’t score too many points, she still ends up with 12 (points) and 11 (rebounds).”
Wheatley got her first offensive touch of the night when – despite being fouled - she scored on a putback at the 4:47 mark of the opening quarter. She buried the foul shot, but by that time, the Patriots, thanks to a pair of McManus treys – led 8-3.
“We knew coming in she was averaging 20-plus a game and had 31 the other night against Council Rock North,” East coach Tom Lonergan said. “We felt coming in that was our number one focus – to make sure we took her out of the game.
“To her credit, she did a good job of going after the offensive glass.”
Rock South made it an 11-8 game when Wheatey found Courtney Brown for an easy bucket. Remmey scored on a fast break to open the second quarter, but another bucket by Brown, who led the Golden Hawks with 13 points, made it a 13-10 game.
McManus silenced the Rock South fans when she hit nothing but net on a baseline trey. Brooke Beidler answered with a bucket at the end of a drive for the Golden Hawks to make it a 16-12 game, but McManus made it 4-of-5 from beyond the arc when she buried another trey off the dribble to put the Patriots on top 19-12.
The Patriots led 23-14 after a Remmey bucket before Rock South received back-to-back buckets from junior Taylor Hunt off the bench to make it a 23-18 game at the intermission.
Kelly buried a pair of foul shots to put East on top 25-18 early in the third quarter, but the Patriots missed a pair of shots in close, and when Alexis Hofstaedter buried a trey for the Golden Hawks, it was a 25-21 game. Brown cut that lead to three after sinking one-of-two from the foul line.
“In the beginning of the third quarter when they crept back, we had good looks inside,” Lonergan said. “We just didn’t finish.
“I said, ‘We just have to relax and finish them.’ That’s what Lexi did. She finished inside.”
Scrivano began her own personal run by turning a pass from Shaun Kane into an easy bucket. Then – after a Rock South turnover – she hit nothing but net on a hook shot.
After a Rock South miss, Scrivano converted an offensive rebound into a bucket, and just like that, the Patriots led 31-22.
“We didn’t box out – there were two possessions where we gave up three offensive rebounds,” Stolic said. “We will be working on that tomorrow.”
Brown broke Scrivano’s mini run with a bucket just inside the arc, but Scrivano answered with a basket at the other end. When she buried one-of-two from the foul line in the quarter’s closing seconds, the Patriots led 34-24.
The key to Scrivano’s big quarter?“I think it was more offensive rebounding and boxing out and trying to be more physical than the opponent and just putting 150 percent out there,” she said.
The Patriots led 38-26 after back-to-back baskets by Kelly, the second after a putback. They stretched that lead to 40-26 after a baseline drive by Scrivano.
Hofstaedter connected on her second trey of the game, and when Wheatley scored after an East turnover, it was a 40-31 game with two minutes remaining. The Patriots misfired on a pair at the foul line, and Brown made it hurt, sinking a trey for the Golden Hawks to make it a 40-34 game with 1:26 remaining.
Lonergan called a quick timeout, and when Remmey sank both ends of a one-and-one, the Patriots led by eight and a win was all but assured.
“We didn’t execute as well as we would have liked at the end,” Lonergan said. “It was that they started hitting some three’s.
“I can’t fault my team because that’s not what we were defending.”
In Saturday’s opening round of districts, the Patriots will host 25th-seeded Chester while Rock South will host 23rd-seeded Unionville.
“It’s a good test before districts,” Stolic said of Tuesday’s game. “We’ll learn from it.”
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 47, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 39
Central Bucks East (47) – Melissa Remmey 3 2-3 8; Shannon Devlin 0 1-4 1; Karoline White 0 0-0 0; Courtney McManus 5 2-2 16; Lindsey Kelly 3 2-2 8; Lexi Scrivano 6 1-4 13; Laura Aseltine 0 1-4 1; Shaun Kane 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 17 9-19 47.
Council Rock South (39) – Brooke Beidler 1 0-0 2; Courtney Brown 5 1-2 13; Alexis Hofstaedter 3 0-0 8; Alex Wheatley 5 1-1 12; Caitlin Jackson 0 0-0 0; Rachel Jacob 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 16 2-3 39.
Central Bucks East 11 12 11 13-47
Council Rock South 8 10 6 15-39
Three-point goals: CB East – McManus 4. CR South – Hofstaedter 2, Brown 2, Wheatley.
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