Colonials

thing was just flowing. We got some pretty big stops, which turned into easy offensive points.”

Plymouth-Whitemarsh went ahead for good when Ali Diamond made two foul shots with five minutes to go, making it 43-41. PW led by as many as seven in the fourth until Gill Anderson (team-high 14) hit a three with 1:46 left, slicing it to 48-44.

The Rams’ Emilee Cramer hit a baseline jumper to make it 48-46 with 40 seconds left, but Diamond made one of two free throws and then O’Brien came up with the key steal.

“We’re both fast teams,” Dougherty said. “We both like to run up and down the floor. And a shot that we live and die with giving up sometimes is the transition three-point shot. And in the fourth quarter, we just tried to lock down, play some man defense, and it worked out for us.

“We found a way to win it there at the end,” Dougherty said. “Pennridge is a very good team, a very fast team. They really shot the ball well tonight. They made the eight threes, and most of them were pretty contested. It’s a big win for us, an exciting win. We’re just trying to take little steps.”

O’Brien started the game as strong as she finished it, scoring 13 points in the first quarter to key a 17-15 lead. Pennridge led by one at the half and by three at the end of the third, but O’Brien took over in the fourth.

“It’s the old saying, ‘bigtime players make big-time plays in big spots,’” Dougherty said, “and that’s what she did right there.”

Quick learner

Freshman Anna McTamney made a nice contribution, scoring on a rebound to widen the Colonial lead to 45-41 midway through the fourth.

“That was a huge putback that she had,” Dougherty said. “That really took a lot of pressure off of every possession. When it’s a onepossession game, everybody feels tight.

“But when you stretch it to four points, you can play a little bit more free on defense, and for a freshman, her second varsity game, to put that ball in for us was a big play for us too.”

Hot-shooting Rams

Five different players hit threes for Pennridge, including two each by Anderson, Evelyn Loughery and Cramer.

The Rams used an 8-0 run — capped by an Anderson three — to go charging into the fourth, up 41-38.

But then PW didn’t allow the Rams to hit again until under two minutes remained.

“I think it’s probably our inexperience, in that position, against a team of that magnitude,” Pennridge coach Mike Elton said. “We got in a little bit of foul trouble at the end, and that didn’t help. But it comes down to being used to that situation.”

The Colonials (2-0) and Rams (1-1) both came away from this weekend feeling they had been tested.

“Awesome test,” Elton said. “I am so glad we did this. It gives me an idea, it gives (the team) an idea what they’re capable of, so we’ll build on that.”