Springfield sophs Mastropietro, D’Ambrosio show the way in rout of Penn Wood
SPRINGFIELD >> There’s something about the way Belle Mastropietro and Jordan D’Ambrosio connect on a basketball court that makes you wonder if they’ve been playing together since they were in diapers.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but the Springfield sophomores are BFFs and it shows in big games.
Together since grade school, where they excelled at St. Francis in CYO, D’Ambrosio and Mastropietro hooked up on several baskets for top-seeded Springfield in a District 1 Class 5A quarterfinal matchup with No. 9 Penn Wood Friday night.
“She’s my best friend and we kind of do everything together, so it’s easy to figure out where she is so I can get her the ball,” Mastropietro said.
D’Ambrosio echoed those sentiments.
Springfield sophomore Belle Mastropietro shows the form that allowed her to score a game-high 17 points in Friday night’s 56-34 triumph over Penn Wood in a District 1 Class 5A quarterfinal. Mastropietro also led the Cougars with nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
“Belle and I have been playing together since third or fourth grade, so we had a lot of time to know how each of us plays,” she said. “We know what’s going to happen, and where to be for each other.”
With crisp ball movement and good patience running through their sets, the Cougars were cooking from the outset, and the sophomore sensations had a big hand in determining the outcome. Mastropietro scored a game-high 17 points and D’Ambrosio tossed in 12 to lead the Cougars to a 56-34 victory.
With the win, Springfield advances to the District 1 Class 5A semifinals Tuesday night at Harriton High. The Cougars, who clinched a berth in the state tournament, take on No. 5 Rustin, which defeated fourth-seeded Radnor, 43-37.
Springfield made the most out of its possessions. The Cougars (21-4) dished 19 assists on 21 buckets and had the visiting Patriots (11-12) scrambling on defense.
“We know that Penn Wood likes to send two people to defend the point guard every time down the floor, because they like to get the initial trap, get the steal and run,” Springfield coach Ky McNichol said. “So we practiced all week having Jordan flash to the high post, turning and looking opposite, to show where the gaps were and making sure the ball was moving against the zone. We told them if we’d move the ball, we’d get good looks.”
Springfield raced out to a 19-8 lead after the first quarter and pressured the Patriots throughout. Despite an anemic offensive showing in the second quarter, the Cougars relied heavily on their on-the-ball defense to keep the Patriots and sharp-shooting guard Carle Andrews at bay. D’Ambrosio and freshman guard Alyssa Long were tasked with tracking Andrews, who was limited to six points over the first three quarters. Andrews finished with team highs in points (16), rebounds (10) and steals (three).
“We give her a lot of credit, we know she’s one of the best players in Delaware County,” McNichol said of Andrews, who averages better than 15 points per game. “And we knew we had to take her out of the game if we wanted to win this. Jordan and Alyssa both did a heck of a job of limiting her to 16 points.
“We always say our defense generates our offense,” said D’Ambrosio, who totaled four assists, four rebounds, and a steal. “So, we had to keep getting
stops on defense, hold the ball and just be patient so we could get those good shots on offense. We didn’t want to force anything.”
Mastropietro, in addition to her game-high 17 points, led the team in rebounds (nine), assists (six) and steals (four). She was all over the place.
“Sometimes we’ll stand around too long and we won’t have anything going on offense,” said Mastropietro, who shot 5-for-11 from the floor and 6-for-8 at the foul line. The Cougars shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53) from the field. “When that happens, Ky will tell us to go to the ball and just keep moving just to get our open shots,”
Mastropietro and D’Ambrosio have plenty of potential. And when they are clicking, usually the Cougars are comfortably ahead on the scoreboard.
“They play a very good two-man game together,” McNichol said. “I thought they both did some really, really exceptional things on the floor tonight on the offensive end and the defensive end. I thought Belle’s stat line was a heck of a stat line tonight. She really stepped up.”
Amanda Hopkins canned three 3-pointers and scored all of her 13 points after halftime. The Cougars also received a big boost from their bench players, particularly Erika Biehl, who had four points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal. Bridget Whitaker added two points, three boards and a steal.
“I always want to pick my team up,” Biehl said. “My role is, I’m kind of a defensive player and I shoot when I’m open. I just try to get the rebounds and hustle for everything.”
Penn Wood still has an opportunity to qualify for the state tournament. The Patriots will play for fifth or sixth place in districts beginning Tuesday when they travel to Radnor.
“We’ll start right away. We have practice at 8 in the morning (Saturday),” Andrews said. “We’re not giving up. We’re going to take what we learned from this game and bring it into our next one.”
