Souderton rebounds its way past North Penn

TOWAMENCIN >> Shots aren’t always going to fall, but there will always be chances to impact a game with defense and rebounding.

With the offense in a bit of a struggle to score, the Souderton girls basketball team turned to its defense and its work on the glass in the second half of Thursday night’s SOL Continental opener at North Penn. North Penn didn’t go down easily, but Souderton took care of the things it could and that turned out to be the difference.

An inspired second half rebounding effort helped the Indians emerge 41-29 winners over the Knights.

“We had to box out, they were getting a lot of offensive rebounds in the beginning,” Souderton forward Mikaela Reese said. “Helping out on defense and being sure to box out were the most important things for us, especially in the second half.”

Reese played a pivotal role in Souderton’s work. The junior, in her first season as a starter, scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds, adding two assists, two steals and a block while using her length to alter plenty of other shots.

Souderton (3-1, 1-0 conference) needed her and Megan Bealer in the second half to help manage the empowered rebounding of North Penn’s Cayla Sharkey. The Knights senior had four offensive rebounds in the first half, despite picking up two fouls in the first quarter and gave the Indians fits on the glass.

The Knights (1-1, 0-1) needed all that energy as both teams struggled through a foul-filled first quarter that saw North Penn point guard Alli Lindsay and Souderton’s Bealer each pick up two fouls that benched them until the third quarter.

“One of our keys to the game was boxing out and holding the box out because Cayla Sharkey, she goes after it hard and if it’s not a perfect box-out, she’s going to get it,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “The girls did a good job of adjusting in the second half. The first half, if you take away their second chance points then we have a better cushion going into halftime.”

Curran O’Donnell had a nice start to the second quarter, hitting a 3-pointer and assisting baskets to Erica Stephens and Reese that staked Soudy to a 16-7 lead with 4:55 left in the first half. The Indians wouldn’t score again in the half as North Penn started to claw its way back into the game.

Without their point guard, the Knights showed plenty of heart and kept attacking Souderton’s defense, taking several trips to the foul line, getting a Sharkey stickback and a driving score by Carley Adams to slice the lead to 16-15 at the break.

“We struggle to score sometimes,” Knights coach Jen Carangi said. “Looking at the shot chart, we missed nine layups, wide-open layups in the lane, you can’t do that and beat good teams, that’s 18 points right there, but it’s that inexperience. We’ll make runs, cut it to two, but we can’t get over the hump.”

Getting Bealer back on the floor was a huge lift for Souderton after halftime. The senior has been one of the team’s best rebounders since cracking the starting lineup as a sophomore and on Thursday, she ripped down eight of her nine boards in the second half.

Souderton, which got out-rebounded 23-11 in the first half, posted a winning margin of 21-12 on the glass after halftime as the Indians opened up a lead of 31-22 after three quarters.

Reese was on the varsity bench last year, but didn’t get in much playing behind Kate Connolly and Alana Cardona. With those two in college, this winter is her time to shine and the 5-foot-11 forward has gotten off to a nice start for Souderton.

Carroll likes the way the junior has played on both ends, citing her confidence and ability to be a presence defensively.

“It’s a big step up from last year, but it’s been amazing,” Reese said. “It’s been cool to follow in the footsteps of the college girls. I’m just trying to get a hand on the ball, not necessarily blocking shots but just staying with my girl and helping out on defense. We’re a smaller team now, so helping out on defense has changed.”

Sharkey led the Knights with 11 points, also a game-high, but only had four in the second half. The forward did have to sit for a spell in the second half after notching her fourth foul with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter, but after returning she never came back out.

“It’s tough, she’s one of the two really experience players we have returning so without her on the floor, it’s tough offensively and defensively,” Carangi said. “She did a nice job down the stretch not picking up the fifth foul. We struggle without her but I said to the kids we’re only going to get better.”

SOUDERTON 9 7 15 10 – 41
NORTH PENN 5 10 7 7 – 29
Souderton: Megan Bealer 1 7-13 10, Megan Walbrandt 1 4-6 7, Curran O’Donnell 2 2-3 7, Megan O’Donnell 1 0-3 2, Mikaela Reese 4 1-2 9, Oliva Schneider 0 2-2 2, Erica Stephens 2 0-0 4. Totals: 11 16-29 41
North Penn: Cayla Sharkey 3 5-7 11, Alli Lindsay 2 0-0 4, Alaina Mullaly 0 2-2 2, Carley Adams 1 2-2 4, Valerie McGriff 2 0-0 5, Alayna Faison 0 1-2 1, Laynie Doran 0 2-4 2. Totals: 8 12-17 29
3-pointers: S – Bealer, Walbrandt, C O’Donnell; NP – McGriff.