Lexow, defensive spark enough as Abington handles Parkland in PIAA-6A 1st round
NORTHAMPTON >> Miranda Liebtag had just jumped into the conversation but her answer came without hesitation.
Standing next to Liebtag, Cam Lexow had just been asked what sparks the bursts of defensive disruption the Abington girls’ basketball team has gotten so adept at this season. After all, it was one of those flashes of quick steals and quicker baskets that had put a little jolt into a lethargic game.
As Lexow started to answer, Liebtag stepped it.
“It starts with her,” Liebtag said of Lexow.
Lexow’s energy came at a needed juncture as the Ghosts put away Parkland 56-34 in the first round of the PIAA 6A girls basketball playoffs Friday night at Council Rock South.
“It was kind of our game but in a way it wasn’t because we’re used to establishing the pace,” Lexow said.
“We were a bit tentative and I don’t know why,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “I told them we have to get back to being more aggressive and we had spurts of it but it wasn’t consistent enough for what we need it to be in order to keep advancing.”
Abington led wire-to-wire and the Ghosts never seemed in danger of the Trojans making a serious run at them after going up double-digits, but it wasn’t the same type of effort Abington had showed in the District I third-place game against Spring-Ford. Part of it was frustration, which the Ghosts handled themselves and part was the pace Parkland tried to play at.
The Trojans, who had good size in the front court, made it their plan to try and frustrate Abington center Kassondra Brown. To a degree, it worked with Brown being held to nine points and having to deal with two players trying to keep her out of the paint.
Instead of barking at each other, Lexow said the team came up with a process for when they were frustrated and instead tried to work it out on the sidelines.
“We scrimmaged Wood a few days ago and we did not play together as a team,” Lexow said. “We were frustrated, we were a little lost and we felt we did not play to our potential. Kassondra and I were frustrated with everything and the coaches led a discussion that we needed a code word for frustration so we didn’t take it out on each other and instead we would go to each other and get through it together.”
It also helped that Lexow was in attack mode early, scoring seven points in the first quarter before going off in the third. The senior, who is in her final run playing competitive basketball before heading to Virginia on a soccer scholarship, was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor in the third with nine points.
Lexow, who led all scorers with 16 points, added four steals and her kinetic energy at the top of Abington’s press helped force three straight Parkland turnovers as part of that 10-0 third quarter run.
“It starts with her and it goes down to everybody else,” Liebtag said.
“That’s what we were talking about, I told them we hadn’t seen the Spring-Ford energy yet,” Marsh said. “That’s what we wanted to see. (Parkland) had a plan to come in and try to slow the game down.”
After Brown scored, the Trojans threw the ball away with Lexow pressuring the intended target, allowing Brown to score again. Khalis Whiting picked off a pass for an easy layup, then Tamia Wessels swiped the next one, finding Whiting who dished to Lexow for a layup and eight points in 25 seconds of game.
Parkland was able to cross midcourt, but Lexow ended that possession with a steal and layup to make it 35-14 Abington. Lexow simply attributed it to their defensive alignment on the press.
“Coach Marsh gives me a lot of freedom up there, sometimes he just leaves me up there by myself because he says I cause havoc up there,” Lexow said. “Getting those three steals in a row and the quick passes under the basket really changed the momentum.”
Abington will face District 3 champion Cumberland Valley in the second round on Tuesday. The teams last met in the state quarterfinals in 2015 with the Eagles ending Abington’s season on their way to a state title.
This year, the Ghosts are hoping they’re the team bound for Hershey and they showed Friday they aren’t a one-dimensional squad either.
“That’s why we’re a good basketball team, you can’t just pick and choose,” Marsh said. “We have plenty of kids who can play.”
ABINGTON 18 7 22 9 – 56
PARKLAND 7 5 11 11 – 34
A: Tamia Wessels 2 0-0 6, Cam Lexow 7 0-0 16, Kassondra Brown 2 5-6 9, Miranda Liebtag 2 0-0 6, Khalis Whiting 4 2-2 10, Allison Holden 2 0-0 5, Becca Pohle 1 0-0 2, Krysten Brown 1 0-0 2. Totals:20 7-8 56
P: Rothwell 3 0-0 7, Kennedy 2 6-6 10, Stout 2 0-0 4, Wilkinson 2 0-0 4, Fritzinger 3 2-2 10. Totals: 12 8-8 34
3-pointers: A – Wessels 2, Lexow 2, Liebtag 2, Holden; P – Fritzinger 2, Rothwell
