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NEWTOWN – Emily Grundman smiled when asked about the physical nature of Tuesday night’s SOL showdown against neighboring Neshaminy.
“I really enjoy these games,” Council Rock North’s junior center said after the Indians’ 42-35 win over the Redskins. “There’s something about that rough-and-tumble manner that gets me fired up.
“I think it’s important for our team that we’re exposed to these types of teams, and it’s important for us to remember to maintain our composure. There’s nothing that frustrates a physical team more than a well-executed offense and crisp clean defense. If we’re able to execute our fundamentals and really drive them home, that’s the way we’ll be able to win these games.”There was nothing especially pretty about Tuesday night’s game. As a matter of fact, take away a few possessions by both sides, and there was very little offensive flow to the game. But when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, the Indians showed their composure by executing at the foul line, burying 10-of-12 down the stretch to fend off every Redskin comeback attempt.
“When they get in foul trouble – foul shots are huge,” Rock North junior Helena Gemmell said. “Those are easy points.”
For the game, the Indians – who had just 10 field goals - connected on 21-of-27 from the charity stripe.
“The offense was real stagnant,” Rock North coach Lou Palkovics said. “I thought they played decent man defense.”
It also didn’t help the Indians’ cause that Lauren Gold – a defensive catalyst on the press - is battling an ankle injury.
“Lauren’s a really good guard who stops the other team’s guards, and it’s hard on defense when you have someone who is injured and can’t play 100 percent,” Gemmell said.“You can tell Lauren’s hurt,” Palkovics added. “She doesn’t practice any more. She just basically sits in the whirlpool, and it’s a little harder for her to put pressure on the ball.”
Aggressive defense on both sides ensured it would be a low-scoring affair. Freshman guard Megan Schafer scored just five points but was a factor for the Redskins.
“She’s so quick with the ball – it’s hard to get ball pressure,” Palkovics said. “A lot of our defense starts with our guards.”
On the other side of the court, coach Joanne McVey had no complaints about her team’s performance.
“Honestly, I was proud of our kids,” the Redskins’ coach said. “The disappointing thing is we didn’t finish well under the basket.
“We had a lot of great looks. This could have been a lot closer game down the stretch. I could think of three or four layups we did not finish. What I was most proud of is our kids battled, and they didn’t give up. Hopefully we can build on this because they’re a good team. I don’t think too many people gave us a shot here.”
Grundman led the Indians with 13 points, which included a seven-of-eight effort from the foul line. Gemmell and Lauren Gold each added nine. All nine of Gold’s points came from the foul line where she connected on 9-of-10.
Jackie Gerth gave the Redskins a huge lift off the bench, scoring 13 points and singlehandedly keeping her team in the game with nine third-quarter points. Teammate Shannon Barlow added 12 points.
It was Grundman jump starting the Indians out of the gate. The junior center scored on a putback on the Indians’ opening possession and, three possessions later, connected on one-of-two from the foul line. A Neshaminy miss set the stage for a Devin Gold trey, putting the Indians on top 6-0.
Barlow put the Redskins on the scoreboard with three straight points, but Devin Gold found Grundman for an easy bucket, giving the Indians an 8-3 lead. A pair of Grundman foul shots as well as Megan Cunningham connecting on one-of-two from the charity stripe upped that lead to 11-3 with less than a minute to play in the quarter.“It was really important for us to get out to that early lead, especially since they were able to stay with us the entire game,” Grundman said. “I think that kind of showed what we’re capable of, especially against a team with this level of physicality and aggression.”
Barlow buried a foul line jumper to make it an 11-5 game at the end of one quarter. A Gemmell deflection on the defensive end set the stage for a shot off the dribble by the junior guard, and when Grundman connected on a pair at the foul line, the Indians led 15-5.
“Emily stepped up for us,” Palkovics said. “We tried to get her the ball a little more when we saw she was having a pretty decent game.
“We were up real quick 11-3, we were getting out on the break and getting some easy baskets, but you have to give them credit for keeping us out of our flow. Neshaminy is a very physical team.”
Another jumper off the dribble by Gemmell – this one from the foul line – gave the Indians a 17-5 lead, but the Redskins, thanks to a putback by Gerth in the closing seconds made it a 21-12 game at the intermission.
Grundman turned a perfect pass from Devin Gold into an easy bucket to open the second half, but things got a whole lot tougher after that. When Gerth hit nothing but net on a three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Redskins trailed by just seven (32-25).It was a five-point game after Amanda Lally turned a steal into a layup early in the final quarter, and after a Rock North miss, Schafer took the ball the length of the court for a basket that trimmed the Indians’ lead to 32-29 with 4:57 remaining.
“They’re very physical,” Gemmell said. “Obviously Neshaminy is physical every year, but I don’t know – maybe they came out harder than they usually do tonight.”
The Indians went on top 35-29 after Alyssa Dumont buried a pair from the foul line, and it was a 37-30 game after Grundman sank both ends of a one-and-one. The Redskins misfired on their second consecutive shot in close, and the Indians made it hurt when Lauren Gold connected on both ends of a one-and-one to give Rock North a nine-point advantage.
The Redskins would get no closer than seven the rest of the way, and that came on a basket by Barlow in the game’s closing seconds.
“I just think the kids rushed it a little bit,” McVey said. “But there were a number of things they had to battle through – fouls in the second half were 11-5. They’re on the foul line (27) times, and we’re on eight. What do you say?”
While the Redskins closed out the first go-round in SOL play with a 3-4 record (10-4 overall), the Indians remained perfect in the league at 7-0 (11-0 overall)
“Saturday our coach was real happy with how we played, so everyone was in a good mood,” Gemmell said of Rock North’s impressive win over highly regarded Sanford. “We came into this game – we could have played a lot better tonight.”
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 42, NESHAMINY 35
Neshaminy (35) – Jennifer Slivka 0 0-0 0; Shannon Barlow 5 2-4 12; Megan Schafer 2 1-2 5; Lori Paulits 1 0-0 3; Jamie Mason 0 0-0 0; Amanda Lally 1 0-0 2; Jackie Gerth 6 0-2 13. TOTALS 15 3-8 35.
Council Rock North (42) – Devin Gold 2 1-2 6; Lauren Gold 0 9-10 9; Emily Grundman 3 7-8 13; Megan Cunningham 1 1-3 3; Helena Gemmell 4 1-2 9; Alyssa Dumont 0 2-2 2; Dana Storjohann 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 10 22-27 42.
Neshaminy 5 7 13 10-35
Council Rock North 11 10 11 10-42
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Gerth, L.Paulits. CR North – Devin Gold.
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