Dayna McCrewell served notice as a freshman that she would be an impact player.
The powerful guard/forward gave Cheltenham valuable minutes off the bench as a ninth grader. One year later, she was the sixth man on a squad that captured the 2007 PIAA Class AAAA title.
As the lone returning player with varsity experience from that state championship squad, McCrewell was expected to anchor the Lady Panthers’ young team last year.
But things didn’t exactly go as planned.
In May of 2007, McCrewell twisted her knee going up to block a shot in an AAU game. The injury was diagnosed as a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and in July, she underwent surgery.
She returned to the court in January of 2008.
“It was really frustrating because I wanted to be out there helping my team win, but I couldn’t because I was hurt,” McCrewell said, admitting that getting back in the flow was not easy when she did return.
“Conditioning was hard,” she said. “I had to get back in condition, and I had to try to not think about my knee as much – I tried not to think, ‘If I do this, will I hurt it?’ A lot of it was mental.”
The Panthers finished the season an uncharacteristic 15-11 record and lost in the second round of districts.
McCrewell went on to excel in track and field for the Lady Panthers last spring, finishing second in the state in shot put and 10th in discus after winning leagues in both.
Last summer, she worked with a personal trainer at Velocity Sports Performance to get in shape for her final basketball season.
“We did a lot of conditioning and weight lifting,” she said. “I’m about 99.9 percent.”
McCrewell looked more like 110 percent in the Lady Panthers’ 42-34 win over former American Conference rival Methacton.
The senior forward accounted for six of her team’s points in a first quarter that saw the Panthers open up a 13-7 lead, but it was in the second quarter that McCrewell really went to work.
After burying a pair from the foul line to give the Panthers a 17-11 lead, McCrewell scored on a putback. Then the senior forward – after backing in her defender - buried a tough turnaround shot off the dribble, prompting a Methacton timeout.
A three-point play by McCrewell made it a 24-11 game, and by halftime, the senior forward had scored all of her game-high 15 points.
“Before the season, I was telling people, ‘Nobody is going to stop Dayna inside. She’s so strong,’” coach Bob Schaefer said. “In reality, she’s been stopping herself. She can play like that every game.
“We want her to be strong in there – being a power rebounder and power driver.”
In Saturday’s win, everything was working for McCrewell.
“A lot of times, I feel like I’m not in the flow,” she admitted. “Some days I could be a little sore because my legs are not used to all the conditioning. Today I relaxed and just played basketball.
“It felt good. It felt good to be back to my old self. This isn’t completely what I want to be, but it’s close.”
Close enough to give the Lady Panthers a glimpse of what they could be with McCrewell at full strength this season.
The ‘X Factor’ – Lacrosse is Nikki Harchut’s sport of choice, and the Upper Dublin junior will undoubtedly one day play that sport at the Division One level.
In the meantime, Harchut is leaving her mark on the basketball court as well.
“Going into the season, I said, ‘She’ll be my ‘X Factor,’” coach Vince Catanzaro said. “She’s just a kid that does whatever you tell her to do. She’s not per se a true basketball player. She’s a lacrosse player.
“Coming out for basketball, I just told her, ‘I watched you grow up. I thought nobody really gave you a chance and worked with you at all on your game.’”
One part of Harchut’s game that always came naturally was on the defensive end where the speedy junior is routinely assigned the opposing team’s top player.
“She’s my best defensive player,” Catanzaro said.
Harchut doesn’t necessarily look to shoot, but she recently put up 16 points in Upper Dublin’s convincing 58-38 win over Norristown.
“She’s not a great outside shooter, and she rarely looks to shoot,” Catanzaro said. “She looks to pass or drive and go in for layups. She actually has great hands.”
Harchut is the Cardinals’ third leading scorer.
“I’ve been working with her, and she’s becoming a decent foul shooter,” Catanzaro said.
The emergence of Harchut as an offensive threat has been a plus for the Lady Cardinals as has the decision to start a pair of underclassmen at guard – sophomore Sarah Hallowell and freshman Taylor Bryant.
“We were losing games because of turnovers where our girls were just throwing it out of bounds, kicking it out of bounds,” Catanzaro said. “Now, it’s turning around.
“Hopefully all the tough games we played earlier will help us.”
The real Maidens – The North Penn Maidens have been a bit of an enigma this season.
Stretches of brilliances have often been followed by stretches where the Maidens have been plagued by turnovers and other self-destructive behavior.
On Monday night, the Maidens looked very much the part of world beaters when they jumped out to a 16-5 lead seven minutes into their game against Pennridge. Just over seven minutes later, the two teams were deadlocked 18-18.
Which is the real Maidens’ squad? Time will tell.
In Monday’s game, the Maidens, who led 20-18 at the intermission, limited the Rams to just two points in the third quarter as they went on to earn a 43-33 win.
“I think this is going to turn our season around,” junior Taylour Alston said. “We needed a booster. We needed a start to get going, and today this is our start.”
The Maidens’ 6-1 center pulled down 14 rebounds to lead a dominant effort under the backboards. She also had eight points.
With University of Massachusetts assistant Mary Ciuk in the stands, Shakia Robinson, who is 6-0,was all but impossible to stop as she scored 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
The Rams, whose tallest starter – 5-9 Lindsey Lyons – plays guard – had no answer for the Maidens’ power game in the paint.
“Our center is 5-6,” Pennridge coach Brooke Martin said. “What can we do? We only can do so much.
“They’re huge, and we’re not.”
With the win, the Maidens improved to 4-2 in league play (4-7 overall), and according to Robinson, this is the win that will turn the season around for the Maidens.
“Guarantee,” she said. “This is the game.”
And what exactly will it take to maintain the consistency that has been lacking?
“Talking, playing as a team, making the extra pass and just the all-around flow and transition,” Alston said. “When we do that, we look good, and that’s when we win games. We did that tonight.”
To view game action photos of the Pennridge/North Penn game, visit the photo gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Life at the top – Wissahickon and Cheltenham entered the week atop the American Conference standings with identical 4-0 records. At the end of the week, the Panthers (6-0) were still undefeated while the Trojans (4-2) had dropped a pair and found themselves locked in a three-way tie for second with Upper Dublin and Upper Merion.
Last Wednesday, the Trojans and Lady Panthers squared off in an unusual contest.
The Trojans were shut out by the Lady Panthers in a second quarter that saw Cheltenham go on a 15-0 tear en route to a 25-11 halftime lead.
Down but hardly out, the Trojans responded with a 17-9 third-quarter explosion to make it a 34-28 game. They outscored the Panthers 9-7 in the fourth quarter for the 41-37 final.
The Lady Panthers could have made things easier for themselves if they’d shown any ability to convert their foul shots. They connected on 8-of-19 for the game and only 3-of-10 in the fourth quarter.
Another key to the Trojans’ success was the fact that they held high-scoring Monet Constant to just three points – a first-quarter trey.
The Lady Panthers (10-1) had little difficulty defeating Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday (48-26) but one day later allowed a 14-point lead shrink to six before earning a 42-34 non-league win over Methacton.
Again, they struggled at the foul line, connecting on just one-of-six in the fourth quarter and misfiring on the front end of three one-and-ones.
“Our foul shooting is horrendous,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “They should have started fouling us at the beginning of the fourth quarter and fouled us every single play. We couldn’t make foul shots.”
The Trojans, meanwhile, saw the tables turned in Friday’s showdown against Upper Merion. They took a 23-21 lead into the fourth quarter and still led 29-27 after Kristy Ragbir buried a shot from just inside the three-point arc midway through the quarter.
That, however, would be their last hurrah as the Vikings closed out the game with a 14-0 run to earn a 41-29 win.
Titan tough – It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always pretty, but Central Bucks South – thanks to a last-second bucket by Katelyn Schneider – eked out a 48-46 win over North Penn in a thriller on Friday.
“North Penn is a really nice team,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “They’re a tough matchup for us.
“We have more guards, and they have centers and very good ones in Shakia (Robinson) and (Taylour) Alston.”
Robinson may have won the battle, easily leading all scorers with 30 points in a stellar effort, but the Titans won the war.
“They key was really getting defensive stops and turnovers and finishing them at the end when it counted,” Mattern said.
The Titans appeared to be in control when they opened up a 31-22 halftime lead, but the Maidens went on a 12-5 third-quarter tear to make it a 36-34 game. The Maidens actually led 46-44, but point guard Laura Duffy sank a pair to knot the score.
Both teams had opportunities to take the lead but couldn’t convert. Schneider missed her initial shot but converted an impossible off-balance follow-up for the dramatic win.
“She was wide open and missed a layup, but the ball hit off the rim and fell into her hands, and she made the tough shot,” Mattern said.
Calla Miller led the Titans with 11 points. Schneider had 10.
Around the SOL – Three Council Rock North Players scored in double figures in the Indians’ 53-37 win over Abington – Sarah Kiely (13), Devin Gold (10) and Julianna Fricke (10). Freshman Ajannah Peal led the Ghosts with 12 points.
Abington was led by the 13-point effort of Liz Layton in its 38-37 non-league win over Wissahickon. Anne Bracaglia (15 points) and Casey Bill (11 points) led the Trojans.
Kelsey Balascak scored 11 points to lead a balanced Pennsbury attack in the Falcons’ 47-25 win over Truman. The Tigers were led by the six-point effort of Shalaya Lynch. Elisah Dupree scored 14 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep Burlington City from edging the Tigers 39-28 in a non-league contest.
Pennsbury received 13 points from Balascak in a 66-35 non-league loss to Conwell Egan.
Neshaminy notched a big 49-36 win over Bensalem on Friday. Kelsey Ryan was the lone player in double figures for the Redskins, finishing the game with 14 points. Sharmane Hall led the Owls with 16 points while Jackie Deegler added 14. Earlier in the week, the Redskins notched a 51-37 win over Notre Dame (N.J.). Ryan had a game-high 19 points to lead the Redskins.
Pennridge was led by the 12-point effort of Lindsey Lyons in its 43-34 win over Souderton. Monica Schmidt paced the Indians with 11 points. Earlier in the week, the Rams fell to Central Bucks East 66-39. Liz Martin led the Panthers with 16 points while Cait Vasey added 10. Jordan Dominic’s 10 points led the Rams.
Kristina Pogue scored a game-high 16 points while Jaime Donovan and Melissa Remmey both scored 12 points and Martin, 11 points, in Central Bucks East’s 71-36 win over Central Bucks West. Meg Vazquez led the Bucks with eight points.
Council Rock South notched a 43-32 win over William Tennent. Alex Wheatley led a balanced Golden Hawk attack with 12 points while Chelsea Allen added 10. Megan Zimmerman led the Panthers with 10 points. The Golden Hawks defeated Souderton 52-36 in a non-league contest. Ann Silverthorn led CR South with 13 points while Alex Wheatley and Emily Nowicke each added 10 points. Averie Brittin led the Indians with eight points.
Daniella Ciccarone and Colleen Gavin each scored 21 points in Quakertown’s 56-50 win over Hatboro. Freshman Cailin Schmeer led the Hatters with 15 points while Hannah Vogel added 11 and Lauren Anderson, 10 points. Sophomore Lauren Starzecky scored 18 points while Gavin added 16 in the Panthers’ 61-34 win over Central Bucks West. Liz Blanchard paced the Bucks with seven points.
Sparked by the 21-point effort of freshman Cassidy Koenig, Upper Merion kept its winning streak alive with a 58-37 win over Springfield. Lisa Ridgeway added 10 points for the Vikings. Briana Scafidi paced the Spartans with 15 points. Ridgeway scored 14 points and Alex Galdi 12 points in the Vikings 41-29 win over Wissahickon. Bracaglia and Rachel Schaible each scored eight points for the Trojans.
Springfield came back to notch a 45-38 win over Upper Moreland. Annie Crudele led the Spartans with 16 points while Molly Wheatley added 11 and Scafidi contributed 10. Lato’sha Reves led the Golden Bears with 11 points.
Cheltenham was led by Monet Constant’s 15-point effort in its 48-26 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. Shayla Felder and Dayna McCrewell each added 10 points. Meg Piotrowicz led the Colonials with seven. Earlier in the week, the Lady Panthers edged Wissahickon 41-37. Felder (10 points) led the Panthers while Bracaglia (nine points) paced the Trojans.
Nikki Harchut scored a game-high 16 points while Danielle Derr and Kristen Fuery both scored 12 points in Upper Dublin’s 58-38 win over Norristown. Brittney Rose and Mercedes Harris each had nine points to lead the Eagles. Fuery’s 20-point effort sparked the Cardinals in their 66-35 win over Upper Moreland. Emily Marvill added 13. Reves led the Golden Bears with 12 points.
SuburbanOneSports.com's Fab Five (through 1/11/09)
1. Council Rock North (11-1)
2. Cheltenham (10-1)
3. Central Bucks East (9-1)
4. Quakertown (9-2)
5. Abington (9-3)
Under consideration: Council Rock South (7-3), Upper Merion (9-3)
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