Falcons claw Rock’s lady Indians
Balance is a good thing in the world of sports.
For Pennsbury, it is becoming a theme to the scoring this season, as the lady Falcons have a mix of starters and capable players coming off the bench who are proving to be important contributors. The results have spoken for themselves, Ds wDs HYLGHnW Ln WKHLr firsW game of 2013, to the tune of a 61-41 thrashing of Council Rock North on Jan. 4 at Pennsbury.
“I think so far, we’ve been working well together, more than past years,” junior guard Kaitlin Kelly said.
The Falcons put together an impressive performance, SDrWLFuODrOy Ln WKH firsW KDOI, against their Suburban One League (SOL) National Conference rivals. During the opening 16 minutes, Pennsbury shot better than 50 SHrFHnW IrRP WKH flRRr, Lncluding a trio of 3-pointers. They wound up scoring 39 points in the process to build a 21-point advantage.
Three players in Kelly, Sajanna Bethea and Taylor Ferguson reached double fiJurHs IRr WKH )DOFRns, while two others in senior centers Jae Jackson and Carly Kovin also had eight points, each.
“, GHfinLWHOy WKLnN wH came out to play,” said Bethea, a complete 5-11 junior with driving, shooting and interior abilities. The co-captain dropped 12 points on the Indians in the winning effort.
“We want to run the game, control it and keep the tem- po going,” Bethea added. “Over the summer, I think everyone worked on their game and came out to prove it in the season.”
With just one player in sophomore Hailey Burns who is at least six feet tall, CR North had no answer for the Falcons’ height and gave up several costly offensive rebounds as a result. The Indians also struggled from WKH flRRr, Ds WKHy KLW MusW 17 shots on the night and made only one of 10 free throw attempts. There were opportunities to close the gap, particularly in a much slower-paced third quarter, but the Rock was unable to get closer than the 20-point finDO PDrJLn by JDPH’s HnG and trailed by as much as 29 in the second half.
“I think that we just didn’t come out with enough intensity from the start,” said CR North guard Jessica Gerber.
The loss snapped a threegame winning streak by the Indians, two of which came in a holiday tournament in the Boardwalk basketball Classic that took place Dec. 26-30 in Wildwood. CR North is still 5-4 on the season and 2-2 in SOL National play, but will need to start shooting better if it is to challenge the upper echelon for the conference title. To this point, the Indians have not shot better than 30 perFHnW IrRP WKH flRRr, wKLFK may lead coach Lou Palkovics to start slowing things down offensively.
“You limit team’s possessions by playing good offense,” the coach said.
With no seniors on the roster, this is a young Indians team that could have a bright future if the players jell over the next month or so. They, too, have depth behind the starters, which includes junior co-captain Katie Budny. She led the Indians with 13 points, while Gerber added seven and the other starters (Burns, Krista Campbell and Madison Attanasio) had two apiece. 6RSKRPRrH 7DrD GDrfiHOG came off the bench and hit three 3-pointers, while classmate Jules Singer chipped in four points.
“It’s frustrating, but we play them again,” Budny said.
“I think we just need to work on playing together and getting used to each other,” she added. “This is an exciting year because next year, we’re going to be experienced.”
Save a nice stretch to close the game, though, the Indians were outplayed throughout the night. Pennsbury’s transition game was very effective at times, as was its inside-out strategy that led to many open looks.
Kelly led all scorers with 16 points and shot sevenRI-12 IrRP WKH fiHOG Ln WKH process. Ferguson, meanwhile, hit a pair of 3-pointers on her way to a 12-point effort.
Twelve players saw action for the Falcons during the victory, with seniors Courtney Kruscavage and Alexa