Neshaminy girls basketball makes states with Mount Saint Joseph win (GALLERY)
FLOURTOWN – Great athletic performances usually require careful preparation and precise execution. The Neshaminy girls basketball team showed both qualities in upsetting No. 4-seeded Mount Saint Joseph in the second round of the District One Class AAAA playoffs.
The win puts Neshaminy in the upcoming PIAA-AAAA tournament set to begin Friday, March 4.
Lady ‘Skins-captain Devon Storms joined her teammates and coaches in scrutinizing the Magic’s attack schemes. “We prepped. We watched a lot of film. We took it step by step. We figured out how to defend their offense and how to beat their defense. Our two practices before the game were big in prepping us.”
What the films revealed was a Mount Saint Jo team that relied heavily on two bona fide scoring threats, Libby Tacka and Caitlyn Cunningham. To counter the tough duo, Neshaminy called on a pair of top defenders.
“We put Brooke (Mullin) and Morgan (Goldenbaum) on both of those two. I give them a lot of credit. They did an amazing job. They didn’t stop them from scoring completely but they kept them from having a high-scoring game like they usually do.”
Mullin limited Cunningham to 11 points, six of which came in the last quarter. Goldenbaum held Tacka, a career 1,000-point scorer, to just 13 points, five coming in the fourth period.
The ‘Skins aggressive defensive display did not stop here. Emily Alexis, Allison Harvey and Devon knew their roles. “Another part of the strategy was taking advantage of the other girls who were just average and dominating them.”
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The strategy worked perfectly. Tacka and Cunnighmam scored 24 of the Magic’s 40 points. The rest of the team combined for a total of just 16 points.
When switching to a zone defense, Neshaminy moved so fluidly that Mount Saint Joseph needed to make numerous passes before getting even a brief look at a decent shot. “We kept going back and forth and it really did rattle them. It was a team that had a lot of composure and they are a strong team so it was nice to shake them up a bit.”
The rattling was not restricted to the defensive end of the court. The ‘Skins proved equally effective attacking the basket with authority. “We knew we needed a fast start. We also wanted to keep them to a low-scoring game. When they get into a high-scoring game, that is their tempo. We wanted our tempo.”
Emily Alexis and Brooke Mullin sparked Neshaminy’s first-period output, combining for 10 points. Alexis netted six points on offensive put-backs and helped the ‘Skins to a 15-11 lead going into the second quarter.
The Magic – who made it to states last season – tried to slow Neshaminy down with a pressing defense. It was no match for the alert and quick-thinking Redskins, who demonstrated an uncanny court sense.
“We knew when the press was coming. We just played our normal game. We went with our regular floor cross and go. Our coach has been on our butts about passing, cutting and moving to open places.”
The smooth execution led to a 26-19 halftime lead. Mullin continued to put in hard-earned shots in route to a 13-point game effort. Goldenbaum added seven points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Harvey and Alexis both had six points.
Devon led all scorers, netting 16 points, four assists and six rebounds. Most impressively, she really rose to the occasion when the Magic went on a last-quarter run to cut Neshaminy’s lead from 12 to six points with minutes left on the clock. Devon would finish with eight of the Skins’ nine last-quarter points.
She modestly accounts for her late-game scoring heroics saying, “I knew we had to step it up and keep that roll. It wasn’t just me…the passes, the steals, the defense. It certainly wasn’t just me. I definitely thought they were playing really hard and coming back. That woke me up.”
Devon was very awake when she went to the foul line with 50.8 seconds left in the game and her team ahead, 44-38. She calmly sank both free throws to ice the victory. “You need to just relax. I’ve been in that spot before. I’ve learned that being tense on foul shots doesn’t help. I just clear my mind.”
The 48-40 victory moved Neshaminy into a quarterfinal match-up with Downingtown East. More importantly, it assured them a trip to PIAA Class AAAA state tournament in March.
Though excited over their upset win, Devon and her teammates know they have to stay focused. “It felt great beating the number four-seeded team. We did what we had to do. Now, we are more relaxed and more humble. We need to stay humble. We can’t say we just beat the number four team. We have to say any team can come out and take it if you have the wrong mindset.”
Based on their showing against Mount Saint Joseph, the Skins definitely have the winning mindset. They are playing an exciting and successful brand of basketball.
UPDATE: Downingtown East senior Paige Warfel finished with 27 points and 20 rebounds as the 12th-seeded Cougars rallied from a 10-point first-quarter deficit to hold off No. 13 Neshaminy, 51-46, in a District 1 Class AAAA quarterfinal game Feb. 20 in Downingtown. Downingtown East (20-7) advances to face No. 8 Central Bucks South, a 57-54 overtime winner over No. 1 North Penn. The Redskins (20-6) will travel to North Penn to face the Maidens in the fifth-place playback bracket.
