PJP’s rally falls short in PIAA-AAA loss to Berks Catholic
ROYERSFORD — Pope John Paul II’s second go-around at the PIAA playoffs ended much like the first.
Except this time, the Golden Panthers went down swinging.
Led by the efforts from its starting quintet, PJP whittled down a 20-point, third-quarter deficit down to one before Berks Catholic sealed the game from the foul line, claiming a 63-57 victory in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs Saturday afternoon at Spring-Ford.
“This game was a really good challenge for us,’ Pope John Paul II senior Susan Bossler said. “We were down 17 at the half and we just wanted to come back and chip away bit by bit and get back into it. It didn’t work out like we wanted to but all of us gave it our best. I couldn’t be prouder of my teammates.’
Gabby Troisi led PJP with 14 points while Lauren Dao and Dahlia Wilson closed out their high school careers with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as the Golden Panthers had possession with a one-point deficit three times after coming back from a 45-25 deficit midway in the third into the fourth.
Taking the lead, however, was out of their reach.
“That was just a gut check for us,’ PJP head coach Chris Santori said. “To have the ball down by one with a chance to take the lead, you can’t ask for anything more. The momentum was going our way but again, our shots at the end, we didn’t finish. I don’t know if it was running out of gas or what, but we just had some shots that we generally knock down and we didn’t.’
Gabby Troisi led PJP with 14 points while Lauren Dao and Dahlia Wilson closed out their high school careers with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as the Golden Panthers had possession with a one-point deficit three times after coming back from a 45-25 deficit midway in the third into the fourth.
Taking the lead, however, was out of their reach.
“That was just a gut check for us,’ PJP head coach Chris Santori said. “To have the ball down by one with a chance to take the lead, you can’t ask for anything more. The momentum was going our way but again, our shots at the end, we didn’t finish. I don’t know if it was running out of gas or what, but we just had some shots that we generally knock down and we didn’t.’
