North Penn ready for O’Hara in PIAA semis

The North Penn girls basketball team is one win away from a trip to Hershey for the state championship game.

Cardinal O’Hara is the only thing standing in its path.

The two teams will meet Tuesday night at Spring-Ford High School at 7:30 p.m. in the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals.

“It’s the first time we’ve been there,” North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire said of playing in the final week of the season. “I’m hoping that with the experience and the maturity that my girls have that they aren’t going to be in awe of this. I don’t believe they are. I feel like they are pretty grounded and with the practices we’ve had, I feel like they are ready.”

The (1-5) Lady Knights got here by beating Central, Perk Valley and Neshaminy. The (12-1) Lions knocked off Abington, Easton and Garnet Valley in the first three rounds.

In the quarterfinals against Neshaminy, North Penn struggled defending the three-point line. The Redskins started the game 6-for-7 from beyond the arc and finished 7-for-11.

Cardinal O’Hara has had success from three-point range, with six girls on the team who routinely hit from the outside. Three of the girls who lead the offensive attack are Mackenzie Gardler, Mary Sheehan and Hannah Nihill.

“(Neshaminy) was just a glimpse of what’s to come,” deMarteleire said. “O’Hara has more kids that can score. We’re going to have to play good defense. We had two good days of practice, so we’re as ready as we’re going to be.

“The key to (Tuesday) is going to be our defense.”

deMarteleire is hoping North Penn’s offense straightens things out after a 42-point performance — 13 points less than its season average — against Neshaminy.

“Offensively, I’m hoping we get back on track a little bit with more balanced scoring,” deMarteleire said. “We’ve been most successful this year when we’ve had very balanced scoring and when we’ve had a balanced inside-out attack.”

One advantage the Knights hope to have is junior guard Sam Carangi’s knowledge of O’Hara players. The junior plays for the Comets, an AAU team centered in Delaware County, in the summer with a few girls from the opposition.

“She is very familiar with them,” deMateleire said. “Some of the plays from scouting that we’re doing she says, ‘no, it goes like this.’ She was fixing it for us. I think that should be beneficial to us.”

The winner will face the winner of (3-1) Cumberland Valley and (7-2) Northern Allegheny Friday at 6 p.m. at Hershey’s GIANT Center.