CB West can’t find the mark, falls to Cumberland Valley in PIAA AAAA final
HERSHEY — Cumberland Valley’s Taylor Sneidman drove the baseline and on the verge of stepping out, rifled a pass out to the wing.
The outstretched hand of a Central Bucks West defender grazed the bottom of the ball, but it still found its way to Jennifer Falconer wide open on the left wing. Falconer drilled the 3-pointer with 6:03 left to put the Eagles up 14 and it felt like the dagger had been inserted.
CV didn’t play anywhere near its best game, but the Eagles made CB West look even worse. The Bucks struggled with everything on the offensive end, from shooting to passing as they fell 40-35 to CV in the PIAA Girls Class AAAA title game at the Giant Center.
Cumberland Valley repeated as state champions.
“It probably wasn’t a great game to watch with the missed shots, fouls shots and stuff going around,’ CB West coach Terry Rakowsky said. “But hopefully people got their money’s worth with the energy that was out there.’
Every time the Bucks got close, Cumberland Valley had an answer. On a night where CB West catalysts Nicole Munger and Mackenzie Carroll struggled, that was enough.
Yet for all those struggles, the Bucks were in it right to the end because CV simply refused to close out the game. The Eagles couldn’t make a foul shot in the fourth quarter, going 1-of-12 in the frame, but it outlasted a Bucks team that couldn’t hit anything from the floor.
Munger shot 4-of-15 from the floor for nine points, while Carroll went 2-of-13 and scored six points. Forward Corrine Godshall scored eight, but battled foul trouble much of the game and couldn’t play as effectively as usual.
It’s an accepted mythos that teams visiting the cavernous Giant Center for the first time struggle with depth perception and shooting, but Rakowsky didn’t want to use that as an excuse.
Still, there is some truth to that. CV would know.
“That is certainly true,’ Falconer said. “I remember my sophomore year, we played and lost in the state championship. It was huge, it’s totally different, you perception is off.’
The Bucks were a total of 13-of-53 from the floor (24.5 percent), though CV wasn’t much better at 14-of-43 (32.5 percent) Munger got West off to a sensational start, swiping the ball then winding her way up the floor past three defenders and finishing with a great move. But that was pretty much the high water mark. Cumberland Valley closed the first with a 12-5 lead and scored the last seven in the frame.
What got the Bucks into trouble was foul trouble on Godshall. With their inside presence tagged for two quick fouls in the first, CB West couldn’t get its offense in synch.
