North Penn picked up an impressive win at Sunday’s Hoops for Hopes at Arcadia University.
Non-league
NORTH PENN 46, HAVERFORD 45
With just two losses, a spot in the top five of the District 1 6A power rankings and a 6-2 center in Rian Dotsey, Haverford was – at least on paper – an imposing opponent.
The Fords kept it close, but it was the Knights who had the advantage the only place that mattered – on the scoreboard where they led after each quarter and notched the impressive win in Sunday’s Hoops for Hope contest at Arcadia University.
The Knights led by four with time winding down on the scoreboard clock, but three foul shots by Haverford’s Aniya Eberhart with .2 seconds remaining made the final score closer than it might have been.
“This was a lot different than what we saw on Friday,” NP coach Bri Cullen said of Friday’s high octane contest against Council Rock South. “They play a slower game, and they have way more height than Council Rock South did.
“It was just a completely different matchup than we’ve seen the last couple of games. It challenged us. It was a good test for us.”
A test the Knights passed with flying colors.
North Penn led 12-8 after one quarter and took a 24-22 lead into halftime. Freshman Lilly Brown’s eight points led the Knights in the opening half.
“The experience she’s getting in these games as a freshman is just invaluable,” Cullen said. “This is some of the best talent you’re going to see and the best coached teams that you’re going to see. I think her confidence is not only going up, but I think her awareness and understanding of the varsity level is starting to click.”
The Knights took a 38-31 lead into the final quarter when they were outscored by the Fords 14-8.
“Today we were just being more intentional with our shot selection,” Cullen said. “Their length just takes up so much space, so just moving the ball until something was open was more of our game plan today as opposed to normally where we’d try to speed it up and get as many shots up as we can.”
Senior Caleigh Sperling led three Knights in double figures with 16 points, which included a pair of 3s. King added 12 points, and Cam Crowley had 10 points.
“This is such a big win for us just because – 1. It’s an out-of-conference game,” Cullen said. “It’s nice to prepare for an out-of-conference team we don’t normally see and be able to get a win, not just a team we see once or twice a year every year for four years.”
Dotsey finished with 17 points – she had just four field goals but was 7-for-10 at the foul line.
“We just tried to keep her out of her comfort areas – she likes the high post, she likes the block, so just trying to force her out of there and make it uncomfortable for her,” Cullen said. “They rebound the ball incredibly well, so that was the big challenge for us.”
Haverford’s Eberhart led all scorers with 18 points.
“Their guard – she’s a stud,” Cullen said. “She’s an excellent player, found the gaps in the defense and was able to capitalize.”
The win loomed large for the Knights, who moved up to fifth in the District 1 6A power rankings while Haverford fell to eighth.
North Penn (10-2, 7-1 SO) will host Bensalem in a crossover game on Tuesday.
North Penn 12-12-14-8 46
Haverford 8-14-9-14 45
North Penn (46) – Cameron Crowley 4 1-2 10; Caleigh Sperling 6 2-2 16; Kelly Donnelly 1 0-0 3; Olivia Stone 2 0-0 5; Lilly Brown 6 0-0 12; TOTALS 19 3-4 46.
Haverford (45) – Aniya Eberhart 7 3-3 18; Natalie Wright 2 0-0 4; A Wright 3 0-0 6; rian Dotsey 4 7-10 17; TOTALS 16 10-13 45.
3-point goals: NP – Caleigh Sperling 2, Cameron Crowley, Kelly Donnelly, Olivia Stone; Haverford – Rian Dotsey 2, Aniya Eberhart.
VILLA MARIA ACADEMY 49, SOUDERTON 39
Souderton brought a modest two-game winning streak into Sunday’s Hoops for Hope contest at Arcadia University.
The young Indians came up short but displayed their improvement, hanging tough against District 1 5A’s third-ranked team. They trailed by five at halftime (20-15) but were outscored 13-6 in the third quarter, and the deficit was just too large, although they closed out the game strong, outscoring Villa 18-16 in the final quarter.
Brooke Fenchel’s 15 points led the Indians. Jac Bermel added six points in a contest that saw eight players contribute scoring for the Indians.
Souderton (3-11, 1-7 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North for a crossover game on Tuesday.
Souderton 8-7-6-18 39
Villa Maria Academy 14-6-13-16 49
Souderton (39) – Jacquelyn Bermel 0 6-6 6; Julia Purvy 1 1-2 3; Olivia Herron 1 0-0 2; Madison Bealer 1 0-0 3; Brooke Fenchel 4 5-8 15; Kiera Fadden 2 0-0 4; Alaina Picard 1 0-0 2; Emily Dick 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 11 14-18 39.
Villa Maria Academy (49) – Sophia Tray 7 0-0 15; Liz Sharp 1 0-0 2;Carly Catania 5 7-8 17; Emma O’Hare 2 6-6 11; Abby Ferry 2 0-1 4; TOTALS 17 13-17-49.
3-point goals: Souderton – Madison Bealer, Brooke Fenchel; VMA – Sophia Tray, Emma O’Hare.
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