Cheltenham, North Penn, Norristown and Council Rock South picked up big wins in girls’ basketball. Check out Friday’s results.
CHELTENHAM 71, NOTRE DAME 63
ROYERSFORD – Jekyll and Hyde.
That’s how Cheltenham coach Bob Schaefer described his team after watching a decidedly different Lady Panther squad show up for Friday’s game against Notre Dame Academy than the one that had struggled in a 41-36 win over Hempfield a day earlier in the Spring-Ford Holiday Classic.
On Friday, the Lady Panthers scored 40 points in a dazzling first half and went on to earn the big win in a game that featured explosive offensive performances by both squads. While Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews turned in a routinely excellent 24-point performance, senior Christina Coleman – the difference maker in this win – dominated the paint, turning in a brilliant 25-point, 16-rebound effort to lead Cheltenham.
Shayla Peoples and Ming Seawright each added 10 points as Lady Panthers finished the game in double figures.
“I guess we just had to prove a point because yesterday we stunk it up,” Coleman said. “We played down to (Hempfield’s) level, and we’re more of a team than that.
“We all played well together today. We had to prove our coach wrong because he wasn’t too sure how we would play today, so we just had to prove him wrong and prove everybody else wrong that saw that saw us stink it up last night.”
Memories of Thursday’s mediocre performance went out the window quickly as the Lady Panthers sprinted to an 11-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Coleman got things started by burying a pair of foul shots after pulling down an offensive rebound. Jiana Clark connected on an outside jumper, and Andrews turned a steal into a layup.
In a play that underscored the Lady Panthers’ effort, Andrews saved a long rebound from crossing the end line and somehow found Peoples at the top of the circle with an on-target pass. The senior point guard hit nothing but net on a three-pointer, and the Lady Panthers led 9-0. That lead grew to 11-0 after Andrews buried a pull-up jumper over her defender.
“I challenged the kids,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “I told them – I didn’t go all spring, summer and fall coaching them in 50 games – yesterday that was not the team I was expecting to see. Today was more the team I was expecting to see.
“Everybody was making something happen. We put in our defense box-and-one and triangle-and-two at two o’clock today before we got on the bus. I thought we did a real good job of helping out, and we got to more loose balls. (Notre Dame) didn’t look that fast – they looked like lightening yesterday. I watched the tape of them against CB South, and they looked really fast, but we picked up our speed too.”
The Irish had some serious firepower of their own, and it was an 11-7 game after Megan McGurk connected on a pair at the foul line. Andrews, however, answered by burying another shot off the dribble. By halftime, Andrews had 16 points – eight in each quarter.
“Yesterday I played bad, everybody played bad,” Andrews said. “It wasn’t a good game, so we threw it out the window.
“We know Notre Dame is a good team. Last year we got killed by Notre Dame, so we wanted to redeem ourselves. I wanted to redeem myself because I know some of these girls from AAU. We knew we had to come out hard if we wanted to win.”
Coleman quietly added 12 first-half points, including a three-pointer in the second quarter that put the Lady Panthers on top 25-12.
No lead, however, was safe in this game, thanks to Irish sharpshooter Kathleen Fitzpatrick.
The Irish guard – dangerous from just about anywhere past midcourt – connected on three treys in the second quarter.
By halftime, she had 15 points – all on three’s and most from NBA range and beyond, and the Irish were still very much in the game at halftime, trailing 40-29.
“Usually, we score 40 by the end (of the game),” Coleman said. “At halftime, we knew it wasn’t over yet, and we had to come out even harder to take the win.”
Coleman scored eight third-quarter points, including a bucket after a putback to put the Lady Panthers on top 48-33.
They still led 54-40 after Coleman turned another offensive board into a basket in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
“I just tried my best to do whatever I could to help my team out,” Coleman said. “If rebounding was it, that’s what I tried to do.”
The Panthers extended their lead to 60-44 after Andrews scored on a foul line jumper at the 5:39 mark, but the Irish refused to go away. It was a 64-59 game when Fitzpatrick buried her seventh and final trey of the game – Notre Dame’s 11th trey - at the 1:28 mark. Coleman scored on a putback at the other end. It was a five-point game after McGurk made good on a pair of foul shots, but Coleman sank one-of-two from the charity stripe, and after the Irish came up empty, Seawright connected on a pair of foul shots to make it a 69-61 game with 12 seconds remaining.
A win was all but in the books for the Lady Panthers.
“It feels really good because I even doubted us,” Coleman said. “I wasn’t too sure how we were going to play tonight. We all played together and we came out on top.”
The Lady Panthers closed out the month of December with a perfect 8-0 mark.
“It feels good – I think we came together,” Andrews said. “Tonight was really a team effort. Everybody did their role perfectly. We feel good. We feel like a team, and we showed we could be a really good team if we played with the energy we did today.”
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 44, RED BANK CATHOLIC 39
The Golden Hawks found themselves in an 18-5 hole at the end of one quarter and still trailed by double digits (26-16) at halftime. Red Bank – ranked sixth in the State of New Jersey - was a perfect three-for-three from three-point land in the first quarter alone.
“I knew they were a very good shooting team,” coach Monica Stolic said. “They had a very high shooting percentage, and we couldn’t buy a basket in the first quarter.
“I told the girls at halftime – we’re down 10 points. This is a challenge. Good teams come back, and they did. I’m very proud of them.”The Golden Hawks trimmed Red Bank’s lead to 32-26 at the end of three quarters and took their first lead with only a minute remaining in the game when Courtney Brown – who scored all five of her points in the fourth quarter – buried a trey.
The Golden Hawks – playing without regulars Kait Jackson and Taylor Dillon – were led by Alex Wheatley, who collected 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. The senior standout surpassed the 1,000-rebound mark when she pulled down her second rebound of the game in the second quarter.
Junior point guard Alexis Hofstaedter added nine points and five assists while senior Taylor Hunt had six points, which included a 3-of-4 effort from the foul line. Freshman Cara Barlow scored seven points.
“She had two key baskets, and she proved today she could really play,” Stolic said of Barlow.
With the huge come-from-behind win, the Golden Hawks improve to 7-0 heading into 2012.
NORRISTOWN 56, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 53
The Eagles – who led 29-23 at the intermission – trailed by one heading into the fourth quarter but rallied for the big win over their American Conference rival in the consolation game at the William Snear Tournament at the Fellowship House.
“We came out strong, and then it was back and fourth,” Norristown coach Ashlee Harrison said. “This was a very, very good confidence booster for us. We had such a great fall, but then we got off to a slow start with all our injuries. Now we have everybody back, and hopefully, we’ll be healthy for a while.
“All the girls rallied together. They played under control and were able to take care of the ball and play together. It was a very good win for our girls.”
Three Norristown players finished the game in double figures. Stephanie DiNolfi led the way with 17 points.
“Stephanie was all over the court - she was playing great defense,” Harrison said. “Her hustle was contagious, and a lot of the other girls were able to catch on to that. From beginning to end, it was a collective effort.
“We had a ton of rebounds – Tyshay Britten and Sydney Morse cleaned up underneath the basket.”
Tyshay Britten scored 12 points while Brianna Hedgepath added 10. The Colonials were led by the 14-point effort of Gabby Schumacher while Maya Thomas added 12 and Egypt Thompson and Simone Jacques both had nine points.
While the Colonials fell to 4-3 on the season, the Eagles improved to 3-4.
“I’m so proud of the girls for listening and being able to play under control,” Harrison said. “The court is real tight, and it gets really loud. It was a good test for us to be able to regain our composure and pull out the win.”
NORTH PENN 53, HOLY SPIRIT 42
Lauren Crisler scored 21 points while teammate Steph Knauer added 12 to lead the Maidens, who had dropped three of four after opening the season with three straight wins.
“This was very important,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “We were up 38-23, and they cut it to 38-36.
“Vicky Tumasz hit a three, and then Lauren Crisler had a steal and scored six straight points. It was the first time this year that we looked adversity in the eye and handled it the way we can. We haven’t really done a good job of that so far, but we did today, and I think that was a good sign.”
The Maidens led 13-11 at the end of one quarter and outscored Holy Spirit 12-4 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 25-15 lead. Crisler scored five points in the quarter.
“We played really good defense,” deMarteleire said. “We were moving our feet and not fouling. It was just a really good quarter – we buckled down, we ran the floor really well, and we made good decisions.”
With the win, the Maidens improved to 5-3 on the season.
SHAWNEE 32, PENNSBURY 31
The Falcons – who led 19-15 at halftime and still led 27-23 heading into the fourth quarter - lost a heartbreaker in their opening round game of the Wildwood Classic on Friday.
Shawnee took the 32-31 lead with 20 seconds remaining. The Falcons had a chance to win it but came up short.
The ball didn’t bounce our way,” coach Donna Nicholson said. “We didn’t shoot well.
“In the second half, we were 3-for-21 (from the field). In the first half, we had five turnovers, and we had 13 turnovers in the second half.
“We didn’t finish, we couldn’t score, and we allowed them to capitalize on our mistakes.”
Sajanna Bethea had a big day for the Falcons, contributing 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Jae Jackson added eight points and seven rebounds.
“We didn’t get enough scoring,” Nicholson said. “Sajanna really kept us in it in the first half. She made some big baskets for us.
“It’s disappointing. We should have won this game.”
The Falcons, who fell to 3-3, will face Holy Spirit on Saturday.
BISHOP MCGUINNESS (N.C.) 36, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 33
The Indians turned in a solid effort against a Bishop McGuinness squad from Kernersville, N.C., that returned 12 players from last year’s state championship squad, including six seniors.
The Indians – who blocked nine shots in a standout defensive performance – led 16-14 at halftime, but Bishop McGuinness responded with a 16-10 third quarter to take a lead it would not lose. The Indians did not help their cause by connecting on just 4-of-10 from the foul line.
Emily Grundman led the Indians with 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Alyssa Dumont added nine points, six rebounds, two steals, three blocks and two assists, and Helena Gemmell had six points, seven rebounds, one steal, three blocks and two assists.
The Indians closed out December with a 4-3 mark.
SPRING-FORD 68, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 29
The Titans – who were coming off a dramatic win over Notre Dame one day earlier – trailed by just two points at the end of one quarter (14-12) and still trailed by just a 26-20 score at the intermission. A 27-5 Spring-Ford scoring tear in the third quarter buried the Titans, who lost for just the second time this season. Madi Vitelli led the Titans (7-2) with eight points.
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