Vitelli’s half-court shot forces OT, CB South stuns North Penn in District 1-AAAA quarters

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TOWAMENCIN >> Central Bucks South had just 2.9 seconds left, but the Titans still had Jordan Vitelli.

“We were always taught,” the senior said, “‘never give up.’ Even if it seems impossible, nothing’s ever impossible. We were at least gonna try to get a shot off…”

Her team trailing North Penn by three, Vitelli received the inbounds bass and took off up court, guarded by Irisa Ye with Sam Carangi closing in.

“I knew there were only two seconds left so I only had a couple dribbles,” Vitelli said, “and I just wanted to let it go.”

Vitelli’s half-court shot just before the buzzer fell through, sending the game into overtime and local basketball lore.

Vitelli’s 28-point effort would push the Titans to a 57-54 win in OT, as eighth-seeded South stunned the top-seeded Lady Knights in a District One Class AAAA quarterfinal game at packed and raucous North Penn High School Saturday afternoon.

“That (shot) is gonna be talked about for the rest of my life,” said Titans coach Beth Mattern, who has South in states for the first time in school history and has now guided them to a district semifinal showdown Wednesday night against either Neshaminy or Downingtown East, 7 o’clock at Council Rock South.

“This whole game may actually be talked about for the rest of my life because it was an epic high school girls basketball game. It was so fun to be a part of. Both teams — you could tell — really wanted it.”

After Vitelli’s magic act, both teams headed into the extra session, deadlocked at 45. South gained control, as Alexa Brody picked off a North Penn pass and took it in for two and then a pair of free throws by Meghan Kuypers provided South a 49-45 edge.

After a pair of free throws by each squad, the Lady Knights (24-3) surged right back, as Bri Hewlett nailed a three to cut the deficit to one. Chloe Entenberg hit one of two foul shots for South, making it 52-50, and after a defensive stop by the Titans, Vitelli calmly sank her sixth and final three of the day, raising her arms in jubilation.

“(Watching video of our last two district games), it was kind of painful to watch because we saw ourselves miss shot after shot after shot,” Vitelli said, “so coming into today’s game, we knew that if we wanted to come out with a ‘W,’ we were gonna have to shoot the lights out.”

Key for the Titans was their free-throw shooting in overtime. After making just one of six in the final minutes of the fourth as North Penn rallied, South went 7-of-8 from the line in OT, including two by Taylor Dunn that increased the Titan advantage to 57-52 with 29 seconds to go.

Carangi went all the way in for a layup, slicing the gap to 57-54. North Penn came up with a defensive rebound and had one chance left, but a three-point attempt by Huber would not fall, as the Titans held on for a trip to the district’s final four.

“Going to the district semifinals — first time in history, baby,” Vitelli said. “It means a lot, especially to me as a senior, being on the team since my freshman year. It means a lot, especially to beat the number-one team in North Penn — they’re an amazing team, always will be.”

Down by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, the Lady Knights rallied back, drawing even on a three by Huber, making it 41 all with 1:20 to play.

A free throw by each tied the score again and then North Penn took the lead for the first time in the second half when Huber drove, scored and hit the ensuing free throw, completing a three-point game to make it 45-42 with just 2.9 seconds to play, seemingly sending the Lady Knights to victory.

But then came Vitelli.

“I’m really proud of our kids because finally — towards the end of the third quarter — we started to play with a sense of urgency and put ourselves in a position to win,” said North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire. “And (Vitelli) makes that incredible shot.

“My assistants and I (talked) — we should have had somebody face guarding her. But who would have thought she was gonna make a half-court shot? She just had an amazing game.”

North Penn will be at home again Wednesday night, playing either Neshaminy or Downingtown East in playbacks.

Early on, Bri Hewlett (team-high 15) broke a 10-10 tie with back-to-back jumpers — the second one a three — to push the Lady Knights to a 15-10 lead after one.

Hewlett, leading North Penn with 10 first-half points, later stretched the Lady Knight lead to 22-17 with a three, and then South did all the rest of the scoring in the first half.

South had burst into the lead when Brody — in transition — pulled up and fired a three, connecting to make it 23-22 Titans. A three by Vitelli further extended the lead and South was on its way.

Central Bucks South (20-5) went roaring into halftime, punctuated by a Vitelli three, in which she dribbled the clock all the way down, launching from deep — halfway between the three-point line and half court — to build the Titan lead to 31-22.

It was a foreshadowing of even bigger shots to come.

“She really is playing like she’s on a mission right now,” deMarteleire said.

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Kev Hunter

Kevin Hunter
Kev Hunter is a sports reporter for Montco Media. He has been a staff writer for The Reporter Newspaper in Lansdale since 2000. Prior to that, he covered sports for The Day Newspaper in New London, Conn. He began his writing career at The Courier-Post in South Jersey, along with covering prep football in Pa. for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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