North Penn notched a dramatic overtime win over North Allegheny at Bald Eagle High School (Photo after return provided by NP girls’ basketball)
PIAA 6A second round
#1-4 NORTH PENN 56, #7-2 NORTH ALLEGHENY 54 (OT)
“In Caleigh we trust.”
No one actually said those exact words, but they might well have after Caleigh Sperling scored on an impossible shot at the buzzer to propel the Knights to Tuesday’s electrifying overtime win. It certainly accurately sums up the sentiments of Sperling’s teammates who’d seen the senior captain pull off similar heroics in an overtime win at the buzzer over Great Valley in last year’s District 1 6A opener.
“I have so much trust in Cal, the whole team does, and we knew that if Caleigh has the ball, she’s able to score,” said junior point guard Cam Crowley, who dished the ball to Sperling with the final seconds winding down. “I couldn’t get a drive, and I knew if I passed to Cal, she was going to make that shot.”
“Oh my gosh, it was crazy,” senior Olivia Stone said. “I have so much trust in Caleigh’s abilities, but she had three people on her, but it was a great take – honestly, she was probably fouled during it too.
“When she went up, I’d put my money on her pretty much over anyone to make that shot. I had full faith in her to make that.”
That faith was well founded and shared by coach Bri Cullen, who never considered calling a timeout after North Allegheny’s Caroline Henderson buried a corner 3 to knot the score with 17 seconds remaining in OT.
“I have full confidence in them,” Cullen said. “I think they play best when they’re loose and just looking to play 5-on-5 basketball without any structure to it. I knew worst case scenario we’d just go into double overtime, so just let them play it out.
“I knew (Caleigh) wanted the ball, and they did a great job of getting her the ball at the right time. She was very patient, she didn’t force anything. The whole gym’s counting down for her. It was a special moment for a senior that earned it.”
Sperling – grace under pressure – took the ball from Crowley near the foul line and drove, falling as she released a shot that fell through the net at the buzzer.
“I knew I had to shoot it with two seconds left or we’re going to double overtime,” Sperling said. “So, I kind of just spun and tried to get fouled, but it went in so…I was surprised actually. I thought it was going to be short.
“I knew where I was on the court, and I shot it like a normal shot. I wasn’t really looking at the basket. It felt so good -especially after such a hard-fought game, overtime and the long trip here – it just felt so relieving.”
Sperling was mobbed by euphoric teammates while the North Penn faithful who made the three-hour trip to Bald Eagle High School celebrated.
“Oh my god, it was at the last second – she just threw it up, and it went in – bank shot, it was perfect,” Crowley said. “It was amazing. She had one last year in playoffs, and this was just a better feeling because it’s states.”
“It was surreal,” Stone said. “I was speechless. I just kept saying, ‘Oh my god, oh my god, there’s no way that just happened’ because if you look at that team individually, they’re supposed to be better than us, but we played together, and everyone stepped up in moments when we needed them to, and it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we just won.’ It was crazy.”
Sperling wasn’t the only hero in a game that was a team effort and included big plays by every single player that took the court – from Tallie Smink burying a 3-pointer on the Knights’ opening possession to Leah Mikulski scoring on a putback of a missed foul shot in the fourth quarter for a basket that pulled the Knights – who trailed by as many as nine – to within three.
“The team as a whole – we had so much energy,” Crowley said. “We were creating stops. Everyone was so confident, everyone’s energy was so good throughout the whole team – even our bench and our parents on the sidelines, everyone.”
Crowley delivered one of the game’s biggest baskets in regulation, burying a 3-pointer after a Stone steal on the defensive end. Her basket trimmed the Tigers’ nine-point lead to six – a potential five-point swing. And although the Tigers’ Vange Balouris answered with a 3 at the other end, the Knights had served noticed that they were not going away.
“That was so important,” Sperling said. “Liv and Cam – I felt like they had a bunch of plays. Liv would get steals, and Cam was hitting some really big shots for us.
“Liv really carried our defense at the top – she had so many steals and deflections. We were face guarding number 10 (Henderson)because we knew she was a really strong 3-point shooter, but our intensity on defense because we wanted to win so bad – it was just on a different level today.”
Back-to-back baskets by Sperling and Crowley pulled the Knights to within five, and then it was freshman Lily Brown delivering in the clutch. Brown scored on a putback of the Knights’ third shot of a possession, and after the Tigers came up empty out of a timeout, Brown scored to pull the Knights to within one.
“I say it all the time, but Lily is so fearless as a freshman,” Cullen said. “I couldn’t imagine playing in a situation like that as a freshman, and for her to come in and play like she had years of experience, I’m so proud of her.”
North Allegheny increased their lead to five after three quarters and upped that to 44-37 when Lydia Betz scored in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Then came Mikulski’s putback, sparking a 12-5 Knight run to close out regulation. The Knights – who forced a pair of turnovers in the final minute of the game – had a chance to win it in regulation but came up short.
After a North Allegheny turnover on its opening possession of OT, Brown scored to give the Knights the early lead. They led 54-51 until Kellie McConnell buried a three to knot the score with 18 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Sperling’s game-winner.
“We were thinking we’ve come all this way – we didn’t want it to end,” Sperling said. “Especially after travelling so much and putting so much time and effort in.”
Not to be lost in the shuffle was the Knights’ defense with Stone the undeniable catalyst.
“Liv played unbelievably well,” Cullen said. “Once she has multiple steals – it fuels our offense every time. Every time she has a game like that – it’s like a motor for us.
“When she gets going, the confidence in everybody’s shooting picks up.”
“The intensity on the defensive end really fueled our comeback, fueled our offense,” said Stone, who uses her length to her advantage. “I think also being able to defend the ball helps.
“I can stop them and kind of read where they’re looking, read their eyes, read their movements. When I’m guarding a player trying to get steals, I pick up on tendencies, and I think that helps me a lot.”
The Knights’ turned in a standout defensive effort, allowing just 12 points in the fourth quarter and OT combined.
“We had a game plan,” Cullen said. “I knew we were going to have to make adjustments, but all the credit goes to these girls. They made their own adjustments as a team just through their communication. It was to the point where I wasn’t going to comment on it because they were fixing it on their own, which is the first time I’ve seen it all year where they just talked right through and made changes on their own. I think they just trusted each other more than anything.
“I’m just so proud of them. We’ve had some hurdles this year, we had some pretty big losses that could have set us back, but every loss was a lesson for them, and they really, really bought into what we were preaching for this game.”
Sperling’s 16 points led the Knights while Crowley added 13 – 11 in the second half.
“Cam has the ability to take over a game,” Cullen said. “She doesn’t always use it, but as much as anybody else, she didn’t want this season to be over.”
Brown added 12 points – 10 after the break, and Stone had had seven points, all in a 16-point first quarter that also included six points from Sperling.
Extra shots: Cullen tipped her hat to the fans. “The parents travelled so well,” she said. “I expected some parents to be there, but we filled half a bleacher with how many parents came. That changes everything. It was a great atmosphere – you wouldn’t expect it three hours away. My younger brother goes to Penn State, and he brought a bunch of his friends who went to North Penn. We had most of the crowd. It changes everything, it makes them so much harder for the other team.”…North Allegheny was led by Betz with 21 points and Henderson, who had 19 points with five 3s…North Penn (25-5, 15-1 SOL) will face District 1’s sixth place team, Garnet Valley, in a quarterfinal game on Friday. The Jaguars sent District 3 champion Central Dauphin home with a 52-46 win.
North Penn 16-9-12-12-7 56
North Allegheny 19-10-13-7-5 54
North Penn (56) – Cam Crowley 6 0-2 13; Caleigh Sperling 6 4-7 16; Lily Brown 5 2-5 12; Leah Mikulski 2 0-0 5; Olivia Stone 2 3-3 7; Tallie Smink 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 22 9-17 56.
North Allegheny (54) – Kellie McConnell 3 0-5 7; Caroline Henderson 7 0-0 19; Vange Balouris 1 0-0 3; Lydia Betz 8 4-4 21; Grace heliger 1 0-0 2; Cate Pingpank 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 21 4-9 54.
3-point goals: NA – Caroline Henderson 5, Kellie McConnell, Vange Balouris, Lydia Betz; NP – Cam Crowley, Leah Mikulski, Tallie Smink.
PIAA 2A second round
#31 LANCASTER CATHOLIC 64, #1-1 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 33
The Lions knew they would have their hands full against a Lancaster Catholic team that had lost just two games this season. They battled gamely but fell behind 19-8 after one quarter and 39-19 by halftime.
“They’re a great team,” New Hope-Solebury coach Steve Polinsky said. “They’re well coached, and they were a buzz saw out there.
“The season’s over, but I’m happy how long we played and ended up 14-11. We had a good season. We’re young too.”
Sophomore Kayla Fennell’s 10 points led the Lions while Emily Wilson added seven and Ella Dudick had six.
“Kayla Fennell, our sophomore, had a really nice game,” Polinsky said. “She did well.
“They jumped on us early. We had it down to nine, but we just couldn’t catch them. They pressed us the whole time, and they’re just a very good team.
“Number 20 (Mary Bolesky) – she’s their point guard, and she’s a Division 1 player, and we held her to seven points. Rylee Kraft had a great game. Kudos to them.”
Kraft led all scorers with 18 points.
New Hope-Solebury closed out its season with a 14-11 record.
New Hope-Solebury 8-11-7-7 33
Lancaster Catholic 19-20-21-4 64
New Hope-Solebury (33) – Nina Meixler 1 0-0 2; Kayla Fennell 4 1-1 10; Izzy Elizondo 1 0-0 2; Emily Wilson 3 0-0 7; Isha Mukherjee 1 0-0 3; Ella Dudick 2 1-2 6; Sam McAndrew 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 13 2-3 33.
Lancaster Catholic (64) – Rylee Kraft 7 4-7 18; Leah Lauback 1 0-2 2; Lily Lehman 1 2-2 4; Mary Bolesky 3 0-2 7; Stella Higgins 4 3-3 11; Carleigh Anderson 5 1-2 13; Autumn Lipson 2 0-0 6; Charlotte Albertini 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 24 10-18 64.
3-point goals: NH-S – Kayla Fennell, Emily Wilson, Isha Mukherjee, Ella Dudick, Sam McAndrew; LC – Mary Bolesky 2, Carleigh Anderson 2, Autumn Lipson 2.
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