North Penn finishes strong in D1-6A win over Boyertown
LANSDALE >> Boyertown’s three-pointers kept falling Friday night. The Bears hit at least two triples in each quarter against North Penn and totaled 10 in the District 1-6A first-round matchup.
The Knights only hit three from downtown, but made them count.
Alli Lindsay hit back-to-back threes to spark a 16-4 run over the final 4:30 and lift No. 10 North Penn to a 64-53 win over No. 23 Boyertown at North Penn High School.
“I knew I needed to shoot to score,” Lindsay said. “I couldn’t get to the basket because they were playing a zone. I just wanted it. I was like, ‘This needs to go in. This is for my seniors.’ I wasn’t making many of my shots because I was off-balance, but I knew on those I was wide open. I just took my time.”
“(Lindsay) is just so good,” North Penn coach Jen Carangi said. “She distributes the ball when she needs to. She knocks down shots when she needs to. She is just our floor general. We go as she goes. She has done a nice job this season making the shots in big spots. Tonight was an example of that.”
Lindsay’s threes gave the Knights (16-6) a 54-49 lead with 3:05 to go. After Ashley Kapp got Boyertown back within three, North Penn rattled off five straight points. Alaina Mullaly took a steal the other way for a layup, Rachel Dunn split a pair of free throws and Mullaly hit two at the line to make it 59-51 with 1:21 remaining.
Kapp got the Bears (10-13) back within six, 59-53, with 1:07 on the clock, but North Penn scored the game’s final five points. Carly Adams hit four straight free throws and Mullaly split a pair to make the final score 64-53.
“North Penn – give them a lot of credit,” Boyertown coach Jason Bieber said. “They picked up their defensive intensity. We had two girls pretty much score the majority (of our points). They came out hard on those two and said someone else score. We struggled against that pressure. They did a nice job of adjusting to what we were doing.”
North Penn entered the fourth with a five-point lead, 46-41. Kapp hit two threes in the first two minutes to give Boyertown a 47-46 lead. North Penn’s Val McGriff hit two free throws and Boyertown’s Avery Sweisfort made a basket to make it 49-48 and set the table for the Knights game-ending run.
The teams played a tight game through the first half. North Penn used a 7-2 run to break a 4-4 tie and led, 20-16, after eight minutes. McGriff and Kate Early each had five points in the first for NP while Julia Smith hit a pair of threes to lead Boyertown with six.
In the second quarter, the Knights scored six straight points to take a 26-18 lead, but Smith responded with back-to-back threes to get the Bears within two. North Penn went to the break with a 30-27 advantage.
Boyertown drew even at 32-32 80 seconds after halftime. McGriff had a strong sequence for North Penn, sandwiching two baskets around a block on three consecutive possessions to put the Knights ahead, 36-32. She finished with nine points, two blocks and two rebounds in the third quarter to help send the hosts to the fourth ahead 46-41.
McGriff led the Knights with 18 points, Lindsay added 12 and Dunn had 11.
Kapp scored a game-high 27 points for the Bears and Smith joined her in double figures with 13.
“Julia Smith coming into this game had like 56 (threes) on the season,” Bieber said. “Ashley Kapp had around 40 for the season. We don’t have much size. We have to rely on our shooters, which did a great job all year. We just couldn’t get some of the other things to fall for us inside when we drove.”
The Knights will travel to face No. 7 Garnet Valley in the second round Tuesday.
Boyertown’s loss brings its season to an end.
“It was a good season,” Bieber said. “The girls battled hard. It was a senior-laden group. This group seemed like they were very dedicated to the program. There were a lot of shoes to fill, but they battled hard. I also want to give congratulations to North Penn on the way that they battled and played tonight as well.”
