Council Rock South fell in its district semifinal game against Spring-Ford. Upper Dublin and CB East won important playback games, setting up a showdown on Friday for the ninth and final state berth. To view action photos of the CR South/Spring-Ford game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
#3 SPRING-FORD 56, #2 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 50
NORRISTOWN – The looks on their faces told the story as Council Rock South’s players walked off the court after Wednesday night’s 56-50 loss to Spring-Ford in the District One AAAA semifinal game at Norristown High School.
Losing was something the Golden Hawks had not experienced in 25 games this season, and it is clearly something they don’t want to experience again any time soon.
“It sucks – those are the best words for it,” senior Alex Wheatley said. “Losing in general is bad, and losing a game like that where we left it on the floor was tough.
“I guess in one way it will help us because we know what we’re fighting for, and we know what feeling we’re fighting against.”
Wednesday’s game had the look and feel of a district title game as the state’s first and fifth-ranked teams locked horns in a classic battle of two teams refusing to lose. In the end, the difference in the game was the backcourt play of the Rams where senior transfer Jaida Burgess was unstoppable. The diminutive guard – she measures in at just 5-4 - came into the game averaging 6.2 PPG and 1.3 rebounds a game while seeing just over nine minutes of playing time.
Burgess blew those number right out the window, connecting on 7-of-10 shots from the floor en route to a team-high 19 points and making it impossible for coach Jeff Rinehimer to take her off the court. She also pulled down six rebounds in 20 gutsy minutes.
“She was quick, and she was aggressive,” Wheatley said. “I think she was one of the best guards, if not the best guard, we have played so far this year.
“I don’t really know what it is – she wanted the ball, she was tenacious and she didn’t give up ever, and I think we can learn from that.”
The Golden Hawks certainly didn’t lose for lack of effort, but they didn’t have the manpower to match the Rams’ deep bench. Three Rock South players – Wheatley, Alexis Hofstaedter and Courtney Brown - were on the court for the full 32 minutes, and another – freshman Taylor Dillon – never left the court until she fouled out with 5:23 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Rams, meanwhile, had just one player in the game for 30 minutes.
“They play intense defense, in-your-face fullcourt press,” Rock South coach Monica Stolic said of the Rams. “They’re very quick. They’re a very deep team with nine players. They’re good – very fundamental.”
Wheatley had a monster game for the Golden Hawks, singlehandedly keeping them afloat with 26 points and seven rebounds. Senior Taylor Hunt added eight points off the bench, but no one else had more than five.
“Maybe our guards didn’t play as well as they usually play, but Alex dominated,” Stolic said. “Alex is first team all-state, but she needs some help.
“Taylor Dillon fouling out didn’t help us. I had to play a freshman who didn’t have any experience. Cait (Jackson) being out hurt, but we have to play with what we have.”
The Golden Hawks certainly showed they could play with a Ram squad that brought a 21-game winning streak into Wednesday night’s game and had won those games by an average margin of 28.2 points a game.
“We were right there,” Wheatley said. “It shows that our team has heart that we came back a couple of times. We never gave up.
“They’re a very good team, and I think overall it will be a learning experience. The good thing is our season isn’t over. We have states. If we play another team like that, I think we’ll be more mentally prepared because of this game.”
The Golden Hawks served early notice that they could play against the Rams’ vaunted pressure defense, turning the ball over just once in a first quarter that saw them take an 11-10 lead. Wheatley accounted for eight of those points.
The Hawks still led 13-12 after a bucket by Hunt, but the Rams converted three consecutive Rock South turnovers into some easy points and a 17-13 lead. By halftime, they led 27-20.
The Rams opened up a 30-22 lead only to watch the Golden Hawks battle their way back into the game. The comeback began with a fastbreak bucket by Wheatley, and then it was Dillon turning a Hofstaedter steal into a basket. After another Ram turnover, Rachel Jacob sank one-of-two from the foul line to make it a 30-27 game.
Burgess broke the Golden Hawks’ run with a drive to the hoop, but Wheatley connected on a highlight reel shot over a pair of defenders in the paint. The Rams went on top 35-30, but Wheatley connected from the outside and then turned a steal on the defensive end into a bucket that made it a 35-34 game.
The Rams took a 42-38 lead after Spring-Ford’s Sammi Haas took it coast to coast for a basket at the buzzer.
“I thought we played a very good third quarter,” Stolic said.
A basket by Hofstaedter to open the fourth quarter made it a 42-40 game, but the Rams answered with a 5-0 run to go on top 47-40 after a bucket by Burgess off the dribble. Hunt scored on a putback to make it a five-point game, but Burgess sliced through the Golden Hawks’ defense for a bucket that made it a 49-42 game and prompted a fan to shout, ‘MVP.’
Burgess was the undisputed MVP for the Rams, and although the Golden Hawks made it a 52-50 game with 59 seconds remaining after Hunt buried a pair of foul shots, Burgess once again had an answer, this time burying a pair from the foul line to put the Rams on top by four and effectively kill the Golden Hawks’ dream of playing in the district final.
“I know going in these girls had a goal – they wanted to be at Villanova on Friday night,” Stolic said. “I know they’re very disappointed, but that’s a very good team up there, and I think we’re a very good team too. We were right there.”
The Golden Hawks will face Downingtown West in Saturday’s third place game, but a rematch against Spring-Ford somewhere down the line is not out of the realm of possibility.
“I would love to play them again,” Wheatley said. “I’m not being cocky, but if we played them 10 times – we’re more evenly matched than what the final score ended up being, but they’re a very good team.”
SPRING-FORD (56) – Brittany Moore 1 1-2 3; Courtney Hinnant 0 3-4 3; Sammy Stipa 3 4-10 11; Mariah Traywick 1 1-2 3; Sarah Payonk 3 1-2 9; Nikki Lynch 0 0-0 0; Jaida Burgess 7 4-7 19; Sammi Haas 1 0-0 2; Shelby Mueller 2 2-3 6. TOTALS 18 15-28 56.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH (50) – Courtney Brown 2 0-0 5; Alexis Hofstaedter 2 0-0 4; Alex Wheatley 8 10-12 26; Taylor Dillon 1 2-2 4; Rachel Jacob 1 1-3 3; Allison Taub 0 0-0 0; Taylor Hunt 3 2-2 8. TOTALS 17 15-19 50
Spring-Ford 10 17 15 14-56
Council Rock South 11 9 18 12-50
3-point goals: SF-Payonk 2, Burgess, Moore, Payonk, CRS-Brown.
#5 MOUNT ST. JOSEPH 55, #1 CHELTENHAM 36
Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews scored 19 points and teammate Christina Coleman added eight, but no other Lady Panthers had more than two points as the district’s top-seeded squad lost its second game in as many outings in a consolation game on Wednesday. Alex Louin torched the Lady Panthers for 22 points to lead the Magic, who led 17-14 at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 28-22 by halftime. They outscored the Lady Panthers 27-14 in the second half.
Cheltenham will host Haverford in Saturday’s seventh place game while the Mount will play Upper Darby in a fifth place game.
#6 UPPER DUBLIN 46, #15 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 35
Curtrena Goff was battling a stomach virus, but the Flying Cardinals’ junior point guard didn’t let that prevent her from turning in perhaps her best performance of the season.
“She was throwing up, but she gutted it out,” coach Vince Catanzaro said. “She just wanted to win. She didn’t want to come out. She played the whole game except for 30 seconds when we took her out for a breather.”
Goff led the Flying Cardinals with 16 points, which included a pair of clutch three-pointers – one of which she scored at the buzzer to give her team a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“We ran the ball so perfectly at the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second, and she shot two NBA threes with people in her face and swished them both,” Catanzaro said. “They were huge plays.
“There wasn’t one person out there that could stop her. She just made passes over the top that nobody else could make. It was pretty phenomenal what she did.”
Junior Lauren Rothfeld added 12 points, and Taylor Bryant had nine points.
“Once again Lauren Rothfeld came through and had another huge game,” Catanzaro said. “She’s playing really well. Nobody sees it coming, and she has double digits everywhere right now.
“She’s just playing solid basketball. Overall, we had a lot of kids step up. It was just a total team effort. “
The Flying Cardinals outscored the Bucks 9-5 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 24-17 lead.
“Our biggest problem when the game started – (Nicole) Munger kept pushing the ball up the court so fast, and we didn’t get back on defense fast enough,” Catanzaro said of the Bucks’ freshman point guard. “We put Lauren Rothfeld and Kayla Mcaneney on her when the ball was brought in for them. They had to switch off and put someone else to bring it in which slowed them down and helped us get back on defense and get in a good rhythm.”
The Bucks outscored the Flying Cardinals 13-9 in the third quarter to make it a 33-30 game heading into a final frame that saw Upper Dublin outscore West 13-5.
“They probably played one of their best games all year, rebounding and defensively and just playing under control,” Catanzaro said. “We just moved the ball constantly the whole night long.
“We had a couple of turnovers, but overall, we shot the ball well.”
Munger and Jen Fabian led the Bucks with seven points each while Sam Colloi had six points.
The Flying Cardinals have recuperated quite nicely after falling to Haverford in the district quarterfinals, winning a pair of games and putting themselves in a position where they will be playing for the ninth and final state berth.
“We just have to keep believing in ourselves,” Catanzaro said. “We know nobody else likes us that much.
“The one thing that is constant with us is our defense. Even when we lose games, we’re not giving up a lot of points. That’s a key. We’re taking it one game at a time. We still have a long way to go just to get into states.”
The Flying Cardinals will face Central Bucks East in the ninth place game on Friday night at 6 p.m. at Wissahickon.
#12 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 46, #8 METHACTON 33
Shannon Devlin had the hot hand for the Patriots, scoring a game-high 16 points to lead her team to the big win.
“Shannon had a huge game,” coach Tom Lonergan said. “They zoned us. I always said she could shoot, but she just didn’t have to shoot, but when a team wants to zone us, she’ll shoot.”
Margaret Anne Hubbell and Karoline White each added eight points while senior forward Lindsey Kelly added 10 points.
“They collapsed all over our posts, and our perimeter did a pretty good job of taking care of business,” Lonergan said.
Another key for the Patriots was their 21-for-26 effort at the charity stripe. Hubbell was a perfect 6-for-6 while Devlin buried 7-of-10 and White was 6-of-8.
East led 11-8 at the end of one quarter and took a 17-16 lead into halftime. The Patriots outscored the Warriors 12-6 in the third quarter to go into the final quarter with a 29-22 lead.
“We started off a little bit sluggish tonight, and I reminded them at halftime – ‘This is it, this is your opportunity to either go home or advance, and we need to come out and play the way we’re capable of playing,’” Lonergan said. “I thought they really responded well in the second half.
“We just need to do that from the get-go on Friday.”
The Patriots will face Upper Dublin on Friday night at 6 p.m. at Wissahickon. The winner will earn the ninth and final state playoff berth.
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