Parkland’s defense clamps down in 4th to edge D-East

Parkland fed off the energy of a large home crowd and held Downingtown East to just two points in the fourth quarter of an intense 41-34 win in a PIAA Class 6A girls first-round game at Parkland High School in South Whitehall Township on Friday night

“It was a huge crowd tonight and was really great for the community to be here,” Parkland coach Ed Ohlson said. “I think the girls were pretty excited about that.”

Parkland senior Madi Siggins and Downingtown East sophomore Grace Hodges came out firing in a fast-paced first quarter that ended knotted up at 16.

Hodges made her first four 3-pointers, all in that opening quarter, to erase an early 8-3 lead for the Trojans.

Siggins was forced to exchange those triples for layups and mid-range jumpers, but worked tirelessly on the offensive glass, especially in the first quarter.

Seven of the Trojans’ first 10 points came on second opportunities with Siggins at the center of it all. The East Stroudsburg University commit was active on the glass and scored 10 of her 19 points in the first eight minutes.

“It honestly just comes down to who wants it more and when it comes to this part of the season, playing for the last time on your home floor, going after the glass and getting the points after a miss are the easiest buckets you can get,” Siggins said.

The pace might have slowed down in the second quarter, but the intensity only grew as Charlotte Aldridge hit the first of her three 3-pointers of the night, followed by another great play by Hodges, to give Downingtown East, the No. 10 team out of District 1, a 21-16 lead halfway through the second quarter.

Aneri McGalla and the rest of the Trojans went quiet for over four minutes, but the sophomore bounced back quickly with a corner 3-pointer to help tie the score at 21 heading into halftime.

A little bit of drama injected even more energy into the building at the start of the third period.

The Cougars decided to simply hold onto the ball at center court for well over a minute in an attempt to bleed the clock and shorten the contest.

After a chorus of boos rained down from the home crowd, a slight tweak to Parkland’s pressure forced a turnover and led to a corner 3-pointer by senior Addi Fritzinger. Another steal by the Trojans and a floater in the lane by Delaney Chilcote pushed the lead to 2621 and raised the decibel meter a few ticks louder.

But Aldridge would not go away as she confidently drained a pair of 3s, with an added hint of swagger, to put the Cougars back on top 27-26.

After Siggins snatched another offensive rebound and finished through contact to make it 28-27, Hodges converted another drive before Aldridge scored three more the old-fashioned way at the end of the third quarter.

The Cougars only managed two more points for the rest of the night.

Back-to-back buckets for Siggins tied the game before McGalla found room for another huge 3-pointer to put Parkland on top 35-32. Thanks to clutch free throws from Talia Zurinskas, who had to fight through relentless face-guarding and triple teams all night, the lead held to send the District 11 champions into the second round of the state tournament.

Hodges led the Cougars (20-8) with 16 points and Aldridge added 14.

The Trojans (27-2) will face District 3 runner-up Dallastown on Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined.