Central Bucks East downed previously undefeated West Chester Rustin in non-league action Saturday. (Photos provided courtesy of Diane Barry/CB East basketball)
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 47, WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 38
Don’t be fooled by the final score.
It took some late-game heroics – according to East coach Liz Potash – to knock off a Golden Knight squad that brought a perfect 5-0 record into
Saturday’s non-league game.
“The score makes it look like we were in control, but we were only up three with two minutes to go,” said Potash, whose team upped its record to 5-0. “We had big finishes in the fourth from Jess Lockwood and clutch free throw shooting from Anna Barry and Natalie Berndt.”
The Patriots closed out the game with a 15-6 fourth quarter to break a 32-32 tie. Lockwood’s seven points in the quarter led the Patriots and included a 3-for-4 effort at the foul line. Barry and Berndt each added four points and were a combined 6-for-6 at the foul line.
“We executed on defense to hold them to a six-point quarter,” Potash said. “They are a scrappy team that really makes you have to be disciplined in the full and half court. We got nice contributions all around and went 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to seal the win.”
Early on, the game didn’t start out on the most promising of notes as the Golden Knights opened up a 15-7 lead in the opening quarter, but the Patriots threw some lockdown defense at the Knights in the second quarter, outscoring their hosts 13-2 to go into halftime with a 20-17 lead. Haley Moran’s six second-quarter points led the Patriots. Barry added five.
The Golden Knights rallied to knot the score 32-32, setting the stage for the Patriots’
strong finish.
“Coming off an away game last night and a quick turnaround out to West Chester, we started flat and got down 0-8 early,” Potash said. “We settled down and were able to take a slim lead into halftime.”
“Haley Moran was a great spark in the first half, and as always, Chantal van Dongeren was a force on the boards and hit some open 3s in the second half to make them pay for not guarding her. It was a total team effort.”
Barry’s 11 points, which included a 6-for-6 effort at the line, led a balanced Patriot attack. Van Dongeren added eight points, which included two 3s. Moran and Berndt both had seven points.
Central Bucks East (5-0, 4-0 SOL) will host North Penn on Tuesday in a battle of the only undefeated teams in the SOL Colonial.
Central Bucks East 7-13-12-15 47
West Chester Rustin 15-2-15-6 38
Central Bucks East (47) – Sydney Ralph 1 1-1 3; Haley Moran 2 3-5 7; Natalie Berndt 2 2-2 7; Anna Barry 2 6-6 11; Jess Lockwood 4 3-4 11; Chantal van Dongeren 3 0-0 8; TOTALS 14 15-18 47.
West Chester Rustin (38) – Jenna Kraft 3 1-1 7; Gia DeMichele 0 1-2 1; Ella Battersby 1 0-0 2; Kailey Barry 2 2-2 6; Sara Betchyk 4 0-0 8; Riley Stackhouse 4 5-6 14; TOTALS 14 9-11 38.
3-point goals: CBE – Chantal van Dongeren 2, Natalie Berndt, Anna Barry; Rustin – Riley Stackhouse.
MOUNT ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY 53, CHELTENHAM 39
The Lady Panthers fell behind early, trailing 11-6 after one corner, and they never could get over the hump.
“It’s been a tough two weeks for us as injuries have really hurt us,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “We had another one today, but regardless, we need people to step up. And right now, we are struggling there and with confidence. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves though, we have two tough games this week and need to get back to winning.”
Maya Simmons led the Lady Panthers with 22 points – 18 in the second half. Jiah Price added 12 points.
Cheltenham (3-4, 1-3 SOL) will host Springfield Twp on Tuesday.
Cheltenham 6-7-14-12 39
Mount St. Joseph 11-12-10-20 53
Cheltenham (39) – Jiah Price 5 1-2 12; Maya Simmons 8 2-2 22; Ije Ojukwu 2 0-4 4; Tori Simmons 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 15 4-8 39.
Mount St. Joseph (53) – Audrey Rocks 1 0-0 2; Jill Marcolina 8 6-8 22; Morgan Cross 3 0-0 6; Bridget Horgan 2 0-0 5; Sabrina Alcorn 1 0-0 3; Audrey Kukla 3 0-0 6; Emily Birmingham 4 0-0 9; Charlotte McDaid 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 22 6-10 53.
3-point goals: Cheltenham – Maya Simmons 4, Jiah Price; MSJ – Bridget Horgan, Sabrina Alcorn, Emily Birmingham.
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