Eagles done in by second-half woes

TOWAMENCIN — What appeared to be a promising night for ninth-seeded Bishop Shanahan, quickly turned into a nightmare. A second-half collapse doomed the Eagles, as they fell to No. 8 North Penn 55-40 in the second round of the girls basketball District 1 Class AAAA playoffs on Wednesday night.

North Penn clinched a berth in the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs and will move on to play Spring-Ford in the quarterfinals Saturday.

Bishop Shanahan now sinks into the consolation bracket, and will play top-seeded Boyertown on Saturday in hopes of keeping its season alive.

The Eagles (23-4) used hot shooting in the opening half to gain an early advantage. Junior Ciara Forde (12 points) and freshman Devon Adams (8) appeared unstoppable, combining for 20 of the team’s 31 points.

“The shots were dropping in the first half, Forde said. “When you make a few in a row that definitely helps.’

With Forde catching fire, the Knights’ (18-6) defense lost the luxury of double-teaming the Adams in the paint.

“All our shots were falling in the first half,’ Adams said. “We came out and played hard and we came out with a lot of intensity. I just tried my best to get open and help my teammates find me.’

The Eagles moved the ball extremely well in the perimeter. They were also able to expose North Penn’s defense when they were able to penetrate inside.

“I thought our energy was pretty good to start the game. I thought the kids hustled and played really hard all night. We were able to make shots in the first half. Therefore we were right there in the game,’ Shanahan’s coach Fran Burbidge said.