Spring-Ford flips the script on Pope John Paul II

ROYERSFORD >> The pace was frenetic from start to finish.

Pope John Paul II took the game to Spring-Ford in the first half and gave the Rams a 10-point deficit to contemplate at halftime. It had been 15 late in the second quarter.

“They took it to us – that’s what we talked about at halftime,” Spring-Ford coach Mickey McDaniel said. “So we had a choice. It was a matter of choice, and as a credit to our kids, they made it.”

They made it more of a Spring-Ford game, forcing more turnovers and running efficient offense, both in half-court and transition. The host Rams charged out of the gate in the third quarter, and after an extreme uphill battle, forged ahead and held off a very tenacious PJP squad, 67-61, Tuesday night.

Spring-Ford (8-2 in the PAC-10, 11-7 overall) didn’t get the lead until the final minute of the third quarter, 49-48. PJP (6-3, 9-9) regained the lead early in the fourth quarter, but turnovers plagued the Golden Panthers down the stretch.

After two Maddie Haney free throws tied it for Spring-Ford at 59 with 1:35 to play, a steal led to a fast-break hoop with 1:01 left by Spring-Ford’s Julianna Alessandroni, giving the Rams the lead for good. Following a three-second violation on PJP, Haney, who came up huge in this game with 26 points, hit four free throws in the final 24 seconds, and Sydney Wagner added a pair.

Forward/center Haney, with an array of post moves, did considerable damage to the Golden Panthers in the third (14 points) and would get 22 of her 26 points in the second half.

“After being down in the first half we knew we had to come back strong,” Haney said. “In the second half we were executing really well and coming out really hard on defense. Everyone stepped up and it was a great team effort.”

Spring-Ford guard Wagner, a strong floor leader as is backcourt teammate Amy Roth, was in some foul trouble but still managed 11 points. Roth had nine, and the Ram bench was exceptional, including a key scoring spurt from Diane Nicholson (six in the second quarter) and five big points from Lauren Mensch in the third as the Rams scored 23 in the period. Eleven Rams played and each contributed in big ways to the outcome.

“Every one of those 11 played excellent tonight,” McDaniel said.

PJP got a great effort from the seven players who saw action. Coach Liz Bernstein’s Golden Panthers were led by relentless guard/forward Gabby Troisi, who had 21 points. Stephanie Petery, working hard in the lane and along the baseline, added 17, and tough guard Rachel Yerger scored 10.

“They’re well-coached – Liz and her staff do a tremendous job,” McDaniel said. “They’re a very good team, they have a lot of weapons and they’re going to give teams fits.”

“We tried our hardest,” Troisi said. “We definitely wanted to push the ball and get our transition going.”

Which is definitely what the Golden Panthers did from the jump, grabbing an 11-3 lead. Yerger hit two 3s and PJP forced the action, frequently beating the Rams downcourt. Petery got her third foul with 3:11 left in the half but PJP kept the pedal to the metal.

Monica Rapchinski had a good first half off the bench for the Panthers, scoring seven, including a bucket on a deft feed from Petery. A Troisi fast-break basket on a dish from Yerger made the margin 14, 27-13.

But the Rams and especially Haney got going in the third quarter. She got in numerous one-on-one situations, the Rams did a good job finding her, and Haney cleaned up at the foul line, where she finished 12-of-15.

It would take all of those to put pesky PJP away. The resilient Rams are accustomed to living a bit dangerously at times; at the same time they have a great knack for overcoming adversity. It was the second game in four days that the Rams came from a good distance back to win. Saturday against Holy Redeemer from Wilkes Barre, the Rams trailed by nine with three minutes to go. They won in overtime, 62-60.

“Going into the third quarter, we weren’t down; we just knew we had to pick up our energy, and I think it really came from all parts of our team,” Roth said. “It came from the bench to the people who started. That’s what really moved us toward winning the game.

“I think our depth really helped us this game. In the first half we weren’t hitting our shots and playing our defense that we need to play, and we picked it up in the second half.”

“I think it definitely boosts our confidence and gets us ready for the rest of the games,” Haney said. “We have to keep playing hard.”