Marte, Spring-Ford withstand test from Owen J. Roberts, stay unbeaten in PAC
BUCKTOWN >> The Spring-Ford girls basketball team is used to getting everyone’s best shot. After all, heavy lies the head that wears the crown.
That is never more true than when that opposing team would be undefeated if not for the Rams, as was the case for Owen J. Roberts.
Yet Tuesday night, in front of a raucous Wildcat crowd, the Rams served up a reminder of why the crown is theirs in the first place.
Senior wing Cassie Marte knocked down a pair of game-changing corner 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that swung a tie game fully in Spring-Ford’s favor on the way to a 47-33 victory over Owen J. Roberts in a meeting of the top two teams in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division.
In the matchup of District 1 Class 6A top 10 teams (Spring-Ford entered ranked No. 2, OJR No. 8), Marte scored a team-high 13 points while sophomore point guard Lucy Olsen added 11. Spring-Ford improved to 7-0 in the PAC Liberty (11-0 PAC, 14-2 overall) and needs just one more division win to ensure the top seed for the PAC playoffs, which begin Thursday, Feb. 7.
Junior Olivia LeClaire topped the Wildcats’ output with 13 as OJR took just its second loss (7-2, 11-2, 15-2).
The final score is a wider margin than their first regular season meeting (55-47 Spring-Ford on Jan. 3), but it was a much closer game. Tuesday’s meeting was a 1-2 possession game into the fourth quarter with both teams playing active, aggressive defense and largely making the right play on offense. OJR tied the game 32-32 on Hannah Clay’s 3-pointer with 6:20 to play after Avery White’s and-1 40 seconds earlier closed the slim lead Spring-Ford held since late in the second quarter.
Halftime: Spring-Ford 23, Owen J Roberts 19, PAC girls basketball. Olivia Olsen little hook closes scoring in 1H. Good half, active defenses, pretty even game. pic.twitter.com/xX7vcZbBKT
— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) January 23, 2019
But Marte staged her own redemptive tale and took the game back for the Rams.
After enduring a rough few trips to the free-throw line in the third quarter, rattled by the yells of the OJR “Cat Pack” right under the basket – “I couldn’t hit them,” she admitted – Marte hit a corner 3 with 5:33 to play for a 35-32, then quieted the student section for good with another 3 from the same spot for a 38-32 margin with 2:52 remaining.
“It felt good to finally make one, “she said. “I think for the most part we kept really good composure and that helped us throughout the game.”
“The energy of the bench really kept us going and kept our confidence up,” said junior Gabs Alessandroni, who scored four points.
Marte’s 3s stole Owen J. Roberts’ composure as the Wildcats, who had played a smart, disciplined game to that point, lost their flow frantically chasing the game.
“We came into the game with a good mindset,” LeClaire said. “We kept that good mindset almost the entire time. We all fell into playing like individuals, not as a team. Sometimes we veer off into our own games, which we can’t do. We’re all good when’s it’s all five together.”
The Wildcats couldn’t quite secure their second banner victory in a week after defeating District 1-6A No. 9 Downingtown East 58-54 on Jan. 18, topping the team that ousted them from last year’s District 1 playoffs. OJR’s overall improvement was on display with leading scorer LeClaire being held to nine points but others like Clay and Brooke Greenawald stepping up.
“In the past, if I wouldn’t have a good game, the team wouldn’t always be there to back me up (with the scoring load),” LeClaire said. “Now, if I have an off game, we have people making plays, making shots to get us back in the game. Last year, I would get down on myself. This year, it’s so much more of a team atmosphere.”
There’s no questioning the team atmosphere around Spring-Ford, which hasn’t lost a game to a Pennsylvania opponent this season (its two losses came in Phoenix, Ariz., at the Nike Tournament of Champions).
“I thought it was really good to finally put it in for the PACs, so to close in on the No. 1 seed is really satisfying,” Marte said. “We know they wanted us really bad, but so did we. We came out really strong which I was happy with.”
After feeling like an early arrival last year on the way to winning the PAC championship, this year’s Rams feel right on time.
“We can improve every single day,” Marte said. “We can be there winning big games at the end of the season and we’re confident in that.”
NOTES >> Spring-Ford played without Alyssa Yuan and Abby Goodrich, an All-Area second team in 2017-18 who was lost to an ACL tear. … LeClaire and OJR are hoping to see Spring-Ford again: “We’re right there. Every single time we’re matched up against them it’s going to be a dogfight. You can’t beat a team three times, so if we see them in PACs we’re going to know what to do. We know what we need to do to be successful and actually come out with the win.” That meeting would only be possible with a meeting in the PAC championship game, to be held Wednesday, Feb. 13 at Spring-Ford.
