Crusaders battle past Conwell-bgan
Lansdale Catholic girls basketball team’s lone senior, Mary Kate Brokans, fouled out of the Philadelphia Catholic League firstround game against Conwell-bgan with her team two minutes away from advancing. Her contributions were felt by the 19 points before her exit, but it was up to a young group to finish strong.
Brokans cheered the Crusaders on from the bench and watched a few freshman sink free throws and clinch the 60-53 win over the bagles Tuesday.
“We all needed to be offensive-minded,” Lansdale Catholic coach Heather Weindorfer said. “It could not just be Mary Kate. Two freshmen go to the freethrow line and both made both shots. I just told them that, ‘they are going into their sophomore year thinking this is nothing.’”
Brokans — the team’s lone senior — led her team in scoring, but her young teammates maturing in the moment allowed for the Crusaders to come to Levittown and live to play on Thursday against Cardinal O’Hara in the quarterfinals.
Sophomore and the senior captain’s sister brin Brokans added 12 points, while Shalina Miller scored seven points in the win.
“All week we worked on moving the ball, shooting, and sticking it when we are open,” Brokans said. “Our forwards are really good at kicking the ball back out for an open shot. We have been working on that all season and today we let it show.”
Miller’s major impact was on the defensive end. bagles senior Ashley Smith was thriving with her dribble penetration — leading all scorers with 24 points — but with the LC sophomore center on the floor, the bagles had to look elsewhere for points. The 6-foot-4 Miller came off the bench to alter many shots, blocking eight and pulling down five rebounds.
“In late games we have had a lot of defensive lapses and today we continued to hustle and continued to get into the passing lanes,” Weindorfer said. “We did not give an easy shot up. It is better when Shalina is in the zone, but we are also quicker without her. We like to keep switching our defenses because it keeps teams guessing.”
The Crusaders’ defense forced 20 turnovers, including eight in the third quarter. rsing a full-court press, Brokans and rest of the team used a fast-break offense toward an 11-0 run after the halftime break. The bagles erased the lead midway through the fourth quarter, but that was before the Crusaders received a few clutch foul shots and a big playoff win for a young team.
“We are so young, but we are growing,” Weindorfer said. “Last time we lost to bgan 76-71 (on Jan. 15) and it just shows that we stepped up defensively. We have really come a long way.”