Big night at the line for Lansdale Catholic in win over Pennridge

LANSDALE >> Lansdale Catholic knew when to drive, when to attack, and kept finding its way to the free-throw line.

The Crusaders also made it count once they got there.

“The way we wanna play LC basketball is layups, three-pointers, and free throws, and we certainly shot a lot of free throws tonight,” Crusaders coach Eric Gidney said after his team’s non-league battle with visiting Pennridge Tuesday night. “So to come out and take that many shows the girls are feeling a little more comfortable and a little more confident in the system.

“It’s a really good indicator.”

All signs are pointing up for LC after a 71-58 victory over the previously-unbeaten Rams, a victory that improved the Crusaders’ record to 2-1.

“We’ve been having some really tough games with them over the years and it feels really good to finally win,” said LC’s Riley DeVitis, who scored a game-high 20 points.

The Crusaders had four players reach double figures, with Maile Erwin scoring 16, Timaya Lewis-Eutsey adding 12 and Emily Smith contributing 10.

“Nice to see,” Gidney said. “DeVitis did a nice job tonight. She was really aggressive. Timaya always does a great job and my hat goes off to Maile — other than about 38 seconds of the second quarter, she played every minute.

“And Smith is always tough. (Pennridge) keyed on her early and we were able to get the ball inside a little bit more as a result.”

The Crusaders took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter and stayed in front. Lewis-Eutsey came up with a steal and a layin to make it a 58-54 LC lead and then moments later she sank a pair of foul shots to widen the gap to 60-54.

LC shot 15-of-18 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and made 29-of-39 for the game. Smith calmly sank two with 1:50 to go to extend the lead to eight.

“Everybody that was in tonight hustled, and it made all the difference in the game,” DeVitis said.

With their transition game working, the Crusaders jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter.

Pennridge (2-1) started to settle its offense and got back into it with a three by Emilee Cramer and a layup by Sophie Cweiber, helping to knot the score at 11 apiece.

Lewis-Eutsey banked in a three for LC and Sam Muredda answered at the other end with a three for the Rams, making it 16-14 at the end of the first quarter in favor of LC.

The Crusaders turned it on in the second quarter, with six different players contributing points to build an eight-point lead by the break.

DeVitis, scoring nine points in the first half, was able to drive to the basket and either finish or draw the foul. She converted a three-point play to help push the Crusaders further in front.

A three by Muredda drew the Rams even at 21 apiece, but LC closed out the half with a 12-4 run. A three by Smith helped provide the halftime cushion for the Crusaders.

“We were tight in the beginning,” Rams coach Mike Elton said. “I think they got a little rattled but they battled. And they came out in the second half and they played.”

Pennridge’s 12-1 run to start the third provided a 37-34 lead, but then Erwin drained a three for the Crusaders and they would build the lead back up by the end of the quarter.

Said Gidney: “(Pennridge) is a really scrappy team and they’re tough, and they really wanna set the tone defensively. We knew we had to weather the storm. We came out in that second half and there was that storm.

“We just had to keep our heads, keep our composure, and work through it. And sure enough, we did.”

LC hosts Archbishop Carroll Friday night and Pennridge hosts Wissahickon Saturday at 12 noon.