Pope John Paul II locks down Owen J. Roberts for spot in PAC semifinals
UPPER PROVIDENCE >> Getting the first one was big for Pope John Paul II … on several counts.
The Golden Panthers got their post-season off to a good start Thursday, outlasting Owen J. Roberts 42-34 in opening-night action from the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Final Six playoffs at Spring-Ford. The win carried even more significance for PJP, representing its first-ever victory in a PAC playoff tournament.
“We all believed we could do it,” Elise Sylvester, the Panthers’ leading scorer with 13 points, said. “I’m so proud of the team for that.”
When the teams met during the regular season, Owen J. (18-5 overall) scored a 48-42 win due, in large part, to the 26 points Olivia LeClaire scored. This time around — with a spot in Saturday’s semifinal round riding on the outcome — PJP (14-9) got the upper hand early and held it wire-to-wire.
The fourth-seeded Panthers built a 21-10 lead on the fifth-seeded Wildcats in the first half. Though OJR halved the deficit in the third (32-27), a result of hot 3-point shooting from Diana Rantz, PJP kept the ‘Cats at bay down the stretch.
“We kept control,” Sylvester said. “We slowed the game down, found open lanes and stay composed.
“It finally kicked in for us, winning close games in February is better than losing games by one point early in the year. It’s a sign of sweeter things to come.”
Shooting percentages was one of the bigger differences for Pope John Paul. Its 12-for-28 field-goal accuracy bypassed Roberts’ 11-for-45 percentage, and it was 14-for-21 from the line compared to Owen J’s 6-for-9 total.
On the plus side, the Wildcats had the game’s scoring leader in Rantz. The senior, known for her prowess from 3-point range, validated that by getting all but two of her 17 markers from long range. She also fueled Roberts’ third-quarter comeback, hooking four 3s while Maddi Koury hit a fifth.
But that five-point deficit was the most Owen J. was able to cut it in the second half. The Panthers started the fourth with Tess Crossan (nine points banking a shot at the 6:19 mark and Lauren Ciuba following suit with 4:48 left.
“We came out flat,” was the assessment of Wildcat head coach Jeremy Mellon. “You can’t score just 10 points in the first half. That was something we couldn’t overcome.”
Pope John Paul II took 11-4 lead in the first quarter, with Crossan accounting for seven. The freshman guard electrified the Panther crowd by converting a 3-point basket at the buzzer.
Pope John Paul expanded its lead to 21-10 at the half, aided by “threes” from Kallan Bustynowicz and Elise Sylvester. Crossan and Sylvester each had seven for PJP in that span, with Brooke Greenawald collecting five to lead Roberts.
For the night, Bustynowicz got eight points and rebounds — seven at the defensive end — for the Golden Panthers. They appeared to be more in control of the ball, recovering loose passes and missed shots (20-11).
“The girls wanted it,” PJP head coach T.J. Lonergan said. “The first PAC playoff win … they did it not only to represent themselves, but the division.”
Mellon calculated Rantz hit the 100 mark in 3-point shots for her career. While LeClaire was a force off the glass with a game-high nine rebounds, she was held to a considerably-lower point total than the last time OJR and PJP faced off (two).
“We didn’t execute well,” Mellon said. “We have to come out and do a better job for our first district playoff game.”
The Golden Panthers, in the meantime, are looking to a semifinal-round date with top-seeded host Spring-Ford. It will be the first game of the semi twinbill at 6 p.m., followed by second-seeded Pottsgrove and third-seeded Methacton — a 67-41 win over Phoenixville in the first game — at 7:30 p.m.
NOTES >> PJP came into the playoffs ranked 11th in District 1’s 5A bracket. Owen J. was ranked 10 in 6A. … Amelia Kennedy (5-for-5) and Sylvester (5-for-7) were big at the line for PJP, joined by Laura Ciuba (3-for-4).
