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DOYLESTOWN – A funny thing happened in Tuesday night’s Continental Conference showdown pitting Central Bucks South against Central Bucks East.
The Patriots threw a two-three zone defense at a Titan squad that has a propensity for shooting the three.
If you’re thinking East played right into South’s hands, guess again.
The Patriots frustrated the Titans at every turn in the opening half, limiting the Titans to just 15 points while putting up 34 of their own. Although the Titans showed signs of life in the second half, it was much too late as the Patriots rolled to a 55-39 win in a battle of unbeaten Continental Conference squads.
“We played a two-three zone, and we sent it out to the perimeter because we knew their strength was their three-point shooters,” said East senior Liz Martin, who turned in a glittering 18-point, 14-rebound effort. “It just seemed like they never really got into a rhythm.
“I think they might have been expecting us to play a man-to-man, which would have been much better for them because they would have been able to beat us off the dribble or beat us just in general because we’re not as quick as they are. We definitely surprised them with our one-three-one zone and our two-three, and they never got into a rhythm, which was good for us.”
Prior to the game, East coach Tom Lonergan was honored for notching win number 500 of a stellar career when his team defeated Hatboro-Horsham on Jan. 8. (Check back for a follow-up story on Lonergan’s historic milestone).
For a coach who values defense above all else on the basketball court, Tuesday’s win had to be especially sweet.
“I reminded them that Syracuse University is ranked fifth in the country for men’s (basketball), and they play nothing but the two-three zone,” Lonergan said. “Notre Dame, which was ranked third, pretty much plays a two-three zone.
“We feel that what we bring to our zone is some size, and until we were slower reacting (late in the game), I felt they weren’t getting the clear looks they normally get.”
The usually unflappable Titans looked uncomfortable from the opening tap, taking quick shots on one-and-done possessions.
It was a start that puzzled their coach.
“We had a great two days of practice, and I thought we had a great warm-up,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “Then something happened where they flipped a switch and lost track of what we worked on.
“I think they had a lot of adrenaline, and they were really excited to play. Maybe that overtook the actual play. I don’t know. I wish I knew.”
The Patriots, meanwhile, struck early and often.
Kristina Pogue got things started by burying a 10-footer. Neither team scored again until the 5:25 mark of the quarter when Martin scored on a putback. Nicole Mummert answered with a bucket after an offensive rebound for South, but Martin put the Patriots on top 7-2 after she converted a three-point play.
Pogue, who was a near-perfect 6-of-7 at the foul line, sank a pair at the charity stripe to put East on top by seven. Katelyn Schneider scored on a tough shot off the dribble for South, but Courtney McManus hit nothing but net on her first of three three-pointers in the half to give East a 12-4 lead.
South’s Kaycee Schaefer made it a 15-7 game after she connected on a three from the top of the circle, but Pogue, who scored six of her 10 points in the frame, buried a shot from just inside the arc. When Pogue sank a pair from the foul line in the closing seconds of the quarter, the Patriots led 17-7, and the Titans were frustrated.
“Our coach really prepared us because we know they’re really, really good outside shooters,” East junior Melissa Remmey said. “Every single person on their team can shoot the three-ball, so we basically have been working in practices on keeping the zone wide and reacting before the ball is released so we can contest the three-pointer.
“That was our goal – to give them no open looks.”
South’s Brittany Kaewell got a rare open look and buried a trey in the opening moments of the second quarter to make it a 17-10 game, but McManus calmly answered with a trey off the screen at the other end.
Liz Martin turned a Sarah Martin rebound of a South miss into a fastbreak and three-point play, giving the Patriots a 23-13 lead, and another fastbreak – this one from Remmey to Sarah Martin for the deuce – put the Patriots on top 25-13.
“We were able to keep them to one-and-done, and that’s the key,” Lonergan said. “If they make some of those shots or get second or third shot opportunities and put it back in, they can get into that pressure (defense) they showed in the third quarter.”
Another Pogue bucket was followed by Shannon Devlin burying two-of-three from the charity stripe, and when McManus buried her third trey, the Patriots led 34-13. They took a 34-15 lead into halftime.
“We clearly didn’t play defense the way we’re capable in the first half,” Mattern said. “We just needed to hit a couple of baskets, and we really could not hit a basket.”
It was not the kind of half anyone from either side could have expected from a pair of squads that entered the game with identical 6-0 league records.
“We thought it was going to be a really close game the whole way,” Liz Martin said. “We came out really, really strong, which is what we really wanted to do – have a lead going into halftime and keep up the momentum.”
The Patriots lost some of their momentum in the third quarter as the Titans used their pressure defense to force some turnovers and then made them hurt by connecting on some big buckets.
Things got interesting after Mummert found Schneider cutting to the hole for an easy basket, trimming the Patriots’ lead to 36-23 midway through the quarter. Remmey put to rest any thoughts of a Titan comeback when – after her defender backed off – she raised up for a three that found its way through the net.
The big bucket gave the Patriots a 39-23 lead and effectively cutting the heart out of the Titans, who would get no closer than 14 the rest of the way.”
“I don’t normally shoot that many three’s, but I was pretty open, so I shot it and hoped it would go in,” Remmey said.
It was that kind of night for the Patriots, who improved to 7-0 in league play (10-1 overall).
“To our team’s credit, in the third quarter when they made their run, we kept our composure,” Lonergan said. “We got the ball enough to where I wanted it – which was getting ourselves to the foul line, and we did it again from the foul line.”
The Patriots connected on 21-of-27 shots from the foul line.
The Titans, meanwhile, saw their record drop to 6-1 in the league (7-7 overall).
“Alright, we’re not undefeated in the league anymore,” Mattern said. “We still get to play them again. It’s not over.
“We face Quakertown on Friday, which is an important game, and we want to come out and pick up where we were.”
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 55, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 39
Central Bucks South (39) – Katelyn Schneider 3 0-0 7; Brooke Eife 0 0-2 0; Tyler Vitelli 1 1-2 3; Nicole Mummert 3 0-0 6; Kaycee Schaefer 3 0-0 7; Maura Kane 0 0-0 0; Brittany Kaewell 2 0-0 5; Kelsey Herrmann 1 0-0 2; Shannon Senour 2 0-0 4; Kate McMenamin 0 0-0 0; Gab Vass 1 3-4 5. TOTALS 16 4-8 39.
Central Bucks East (55) – Melissa Remmey 3 0-0 7; Christina Pogue 2 6-7 10; Shannon Devlin 0 2-3 2; Laura Aseltine 1 0-0 2; Sarah Martin 2 0-1 4; Liz Martin 4 10-12 18; Jenna SanFilippo 0 2-2 2; Courtney McManus 3 0-0 9; Sara Weckhorst 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 15 21-27 55.
Central Bucks South 7 8 12 12-39
Central Bucks East 17 17 9 12-55
3-point goals: CB South – Schneider, Schaefer, Kaewell. CB East – McManus 3, Remmey.
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