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ABINGTON—Abington didn't let the absence of injured 6-foot-2 guard Emily Leer bother it.
The Ghosts grabbed an early lead on Council Rock North and were ahead by seven points, 17-10, early in the second quarter.
The Indians came back to win the first meeting of Suburban One National contenders, 53-37, but Abington's effort indicates that the Feb. 3 rematch will be very interesting.
Junior forward Sarah Kiely had 13 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Indians (11-1 overall, 6-0 SOL). Talented freshman forward Aiyannah Peal led Abington with 12 points.
Rock North, which has won 11 straight games since a season-opening loss to Central Dauphin, shook off early shooting troubles and finished the first half with a decisive 13-0 run.
The Indians led by six (23-17) at halftime and by 13 (40-27) at the end of three quarters. Rock North opened the fourth quarter with a game-icing 9-2 run.
Rock North coach Lou Palkovics didn't overreact to his team's early struggles. He didn't call a lot of timeouts and let his players work out their problems on their own.
"I have such good leadership on the court now," Palkovics said. "I have six girls who are all leaders. It's nice to see this team starting to evolve. Sometimes a coach needs to step in and yell. Sometimes a coach needs to know when to step back."
Rock North shot poorly from the field early on but never stopped firing. Back-to-back three-pointers by guards Juliann Fricke and Devin Gold helped spark the Indians' second quarter run.
"We don't get down. We stay calm," Fricke said. "(Palkovics) always tells us to keep shooting, no matter what. He knows we have good shooters."
Devin Gold had 10 points, five assists and four steals, while Fricke finished with eight points and five assists.
Freshman guard Lauren Gold added 10 points, three assists and three steals for the Indians. Gold has embraced her role as the first player off of the bench for North and is already playing with unusual maturity for a freshman.
"Lauren is already playing like she's going into her junior year," Palkovics said. "At least that's what it looks like."
The defense of Fricke, Lauren Gold and Devin Gold pressured Abington into too many mistakes. The Indians were able to open up the game by getting some easy baskets in transition.
"We have three guards who can pressure the ball," Palkovics said. "I haven't seen the stats, but I'm sure (Fricke) is setting some sort of record for steals. With Devin and Lauren, it looks like they're just waiting to pounce."
Abington was at the same time encouraged by its play against one of the top teams in the area but discouraged by the defeat.
"I was excited. We were playing together. We had them," Abington senior forward Liz Layton said. "But they ran off 13 points, and we had some problems getting our offense started. Once we were behind, we tried to rush to get back, and we got sloppy."
"We came out ready to play," Ghosts’ coach Dan Marsh said. "We executed what we wanted to do on defense. But it was only a matter of time until they got Kiely going. After that, it became more difficult for us."
Peal scored eight points in the game's first 10 minutes, but had just one field goal in the second half.
"Peal has to stay patient," Marsh said. "In the first quarter, she let the game come to her. After that, I think she tried to do a little too much."
Layton is certain it would have been a different game with Leer in the lineup. Leer could return as early as next Friday, Marsh said.
"We want her back," Layton said. "That's 18 to 20 points added to our offense. Add 20 points to our score tonight and we're right there."
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 53, ABINGTON 37
Council Rock North (53) - Juliann Fricke 3 2-2 8; Devin Gold 3 2-2 10; Sarah Kiely 5 3-4 13; Kate Logan 1 1-2 3; Kelly Scull 1 4-4 7; Lauren Gold 4 1-2 10; Chloe Pinto 0 0-0 0; Rebecca Houser 0 0-0 0; Emily Grundman 0 2-2 2; Alexandra Mangogna 0 0-0 0; Jodi Marazzo 0 0-0 0; Stephanie Brennan 0 0-0 0; Brittany Garvey 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 15-18 53.
Abington (37) - Kelly Gregorio 0 0-0 0; Jen Kelly 3 0-0 8; Aiyannah Peal 5 2-4 12; Liz Layton 3 0-0 7; Ajanae Boone 4 0-0 8; Jessica Schmidt 0 0-0 0; Chynna West 0 0-2 0; Tess Johns 1 0-0 2; Jamie Schechtman 0 0-0 0; Felicia Strother 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 2-6 37.
CRN: 10-13-17-13—53
A: 13-4-10-10—37
Three-point goals: D. Gold 2, Scull, L. Gold (CRN); Kelly 2, Layton (A).
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