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TOWAMENCIN – The Bensalem Owls might have had an idea they were onto something magical when, with five seconds showing on the clock, Jackie Deegler launched a shot from midcourt that banked home, knotting the score 24-24 heading into the final quarter of Saturday afternoon’s District One AAAA opener against North Penn.“There were (five) seconds left – you could have dribbled,” teammate Kate Clarkson told Deegler after the game.
“I know,” Deegler said. “I didn’t want to take a chance. They might get a steal, so I just put it up.”
“That was amazing,” Clarkson said.
Amazing. Remarkable. Incredible.
Take your pick. Any one of those words would describe Clarkson’s shot as well as a gutsy Owl effort that resulted in a dramatic 36-31 upset of the 15th seeded Maidens. The giddy post-game scene included plenty of hugs, a few tears – of joy - and a spontaneous chant of ‘Owls, Owls, Owls.”
“I want to cry because I’m so happy to do this for Bensalem – the name across my chest,” senior Sharmane Hall said. “I’m happy.”
Happy hardly covered it.
The Owls were ecstatic.
“This win for us is way bigger than anybody can understand,” Hall said. “Bensalem girls’ basketball has not won a playoff game since forever.
“Every year we have gone into the playoffs and lost. We finally won a playoff game.”Bensalem won because its players quite simply refused to lose. The Owls certainly had plenty of opportunities to fold. They missed the front end of a one-and-one and connected on just two-of-six from the charity stripe during a key fourth quarter stretch.
They made up for their shortcomings at the line by playing the kind of defense that forced the Maidens into one turnover after another.
“Bensalem – what we stand for is heart and hustle,” Hall said. “They were bigger than us, and we knew that, so we just hustled.
“We wanted it more. I think they came in a little lackadaisical. You can’t come into a playoff game like that. When they realized we were here to play, it was too late. We had the momentum. We had a nice fan base here, and it all plays a part.”
For the Maidens, who were 10-2 in their last 12 regular season games, Saturday’s contest marked a return to the problems that plagued them during a forgettable 3-7 start.
“All season we have been struggling with turnovers,” senior Shakia Robinson said. “It was kind of like any other game. I honestly thought we were going to bounce back, but they just kept scoring off the turnovers, which was our downfall.
“I don’t know if it was nerves, but something happened, and three of our five starters went blank.”
While the Maidens’ backcourt struggled against the Owls’ pressure, Robinson, who averaged close to 17 points a game this season, was getting very few touches on offense. The University of Massachusetts-bound senior was held to 10 points, none in the pivotal fourth quarter.It was a far cry from Robinson’s 19-point effort in the Maidens’ 35-26 non-league win over the Owls three weeks earlier.
“We knew we had to shut down 15 (Robinson), and we had her sandwiched – someone in front of her and someone in back of her,” Deegler said. “Our defense has come a long way. That’s the one thing we can always pick up on when our offense is off. We work together, and it works for us.”
Bensalem coach Don Bogan credited his ‘sandwich’ defense – a form of match-up zone - for preventing Robinson from doing her usual damage around the basket.
“We played them a couple of weeks ago, and it was a horrible game,” the Owls’ coach said. “Today the girls really worked hard. They earned it. I’m proud of the girls.”
Clarkson led the a balanced Owl attack with 10 points while Hall had nine points to go along with 13 rebounds, and Deegler added eight points.
“We wanted this,” Deegler said. “We came a long way this season. We had our ups and down, but we stuck together and worked as a team.”
There were early signs that this wasn’t going to be a high-scoring affair. The Maidens led 4-0 after Robinson found Steph Knauer (eight points) for a bucket three minutes into the opening quarter. The Owls finally got on the scoreboard when Clarkson turned a steal into a layup at the 4:40 mark, cutting the Maidens’ lead in half.
The Maidens, who led by as many as six, took a 14-11 lead into halftime.
The teams were deadlocked 16-16 after a three-point play by Hall early in the second half, and the score was still knotted after Clarkson’s miraculous midcourt shot with five seconds remaining in the third quarter (24-24).
Clarkson insists she knew it was in the moment she launched the shot.
“I don’t know why,” she said. “I saw the clock. I saw it was five seconds. I have a sprained ankle right now, and it came in my head I didn’t want to risk driving and coming down on it.
“I threw it up, and I had a feeling it was going in.”
The Owls went on top 27-26 after Clarkson banked home a trey, but the Maidens knotted the score 28-28 after a Knauer bucket.
The Owls misfired at the other end, and the Maidens rebounded. But the tide began to turn in the Owls’ favor after Clarkson took a steal coast to coast for a layup that gave Bensalem the lead at the 2:20 mark of the final quarter.
“Unforced turnovers,” Maiden coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “Defensively we played awesome, and our rebounding was good. We broke their press. Then we would get into the halfcourt set, and we were just so casual with the ball.
“That was the problem.”
Another steal set the stage for a fastbreak bucket by Clarkson. A third Owl steal didn’t result in any points as they missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Maidens were shaken.
The two teams exchanged possessions, and when sophomore Alexis Nyekan calmly buried a pair from the foul line, the Owls led 35-28 with exactly 1:00 showing on the game clock.
Kristin Danhower gave the Maidens life when she sank a three-pointer, but Deegler buried one-of-two from the foul line with 41 seconds remaining. Neither team scored the rest of the way – although both teams had opportunities.
When the final horn sounded, the celebration began in earnest for the Owls and their fans.
“It’s just been so long,” Deegler said. “We haven’t won a playoff game, and it’s awesome to win – for our seniors especially. We’re not finished playing together.
“We’ve been together for four years, and we don’t want it to be over.”
The Maidens, according to deMarteleire, had an idea they were in trouble when Deegler’s shot from midcourt fell through the net.
“Our kids were already feeling their nerves a little bit, and then when that went in, it was kind of like Murphy’s Law,” the Maidens’ coach said. “It was very disappointing.
“I feel bad for our seniors (Robinson, Ayanna Leblanc and Janelle Stawasz) because this was not how they deserved to end their season.”
The Maidens closed out their season with a 13-10 record.
BENSALEM 36, NORTH PENN 31
Bensalem (36) – Alexia Ewing 0 2-2 2, Jackie Deegler 3 1-2 8, Paige Ormont 0 1-2 1, Kate Clarkson 4 1-4 10, Kristen Gilroy 0 0-0 0, Sharmane Hall 4 1-5 9, Alexis Nyekan 1 3-4 6, Ashleigh Spence 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 9-19 36.
North Penn (31) – Shakia Robinson 4 2-5 10, Mary Ward 1 0-0 2, Janelle Stawasz 1 0-0 2, Steph Knauer 4 0-0 8, Ayanna Leblanc 1 0-0 2, Shannon Knauer 2 0-0 4, Brenda McDermott 0 0-0 0, Kristin Donehower 1 0-0 3. Totals 14 2-5 31.
Bensalem 6 5 13 12-36
North Penn 10 4 10 7-31
Three-point goals: Bensalem – Jackie Deegler, Kate Clarkson. NP – Kristin Donehower.
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