Comeback hopes fall short for North Penn in loss to Freedom in PIAA-6A opener

EASTON >> North Penn nearly dug its way out of a huge hole Friday night, but in the end, too much of Jennifer Kokolus spoiled comeback hopes for the Knights.

Kokolus scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second half to lead Freedom to a 60-49 victory over North Penn in the opening round of the PIAA-6A Tournament at Easton Middle School.

“I knew we needed some buckets there and my teammates did a really good job of finding me,” said Kokolus, whose team advances to face either Central Bucks West or Hempfield in the second round. “We handled the pressure really well and I was at the end of it.”

A tremendous season came to a close for the Knights, a senior-led group who finished out 18-9.

“Their shoes are going to be so hard to fill,” Knights coach Jen Carangi said. “Besides the talent and the basketball ability that they have, it’s just the leadership.

“From the time they were freshmen, they have just had this work ethic.”

Fast start >> In the opening moments, the Patriots were finding lanes to the basket.

Corinn Gill was able to squirt through a tiny opening, laying it up and in for a 3-0 Freedom lead.

North Penn was struggling to hit its shots, and Freedom built a solid, first-quarter lead.

A drive by Kokolus and a jumper by Kayla Jefferson extended the early lead to 7-0.

A three by Kalley Turpening widened the gap moments later.

Val McGriff got North Penn on the board midway through the first but then Brenna Ortwein answered at the other end for the Patriots, making it a 12-2 lead.

Good passing by Freedom resulted in a three by Gill, providing the Patriots a 15-2 advantage at the end of an impressive first quarter.

Keeping pace >> North Penn played Freedom even in the second quarter, in large part due to the play of McGriff (13 pts).

She started finding her shot, hitting a pair to bring the Knights closer and provide some offensive traction.

Alli Lindsay (11 pts) hit a three and Carley Adams drove for two.

But Turpening and Kokolus each hit threes at the other end to ensure Freedom took a 30-17 advantage into the break.

Too much Kokolus >> North Penn’s offense continued to find its way in the third quarter, but Freedom was able to keep feeding Kokolus for easy baskets.

First, Kokolus stepped outside and hit a three. Then, her teammates set her up for three baskets inside, allowing Freedom to keep NP at arm’s length.

Abby Plaugher came off the bench to score six points in the quarter for the Knights, but Freedom took a 45-31 cushion into the fourth.

Fierce comeback >> North Penn, trailing by 26-9 earlier in the contest, got within nine twice in the fourth quarter, and cut the margin down to eight when a jumper from up top by Lindsay fell through to make it 55-47 with 1:46 to play.

But Kokolus scored eight in the quarter and the Pats hit 8-of-11 free throws down the stretch.

“It comes down to that first quarter when we dug ourselves in (a 10-0) holes,” Carangi said. “We were playing from behind the whole game.”

 

PIAA-6A First Round

Freedom 60, North Penn 49

North Penn 2 15 14 18 – 49

Freedom 15 15 15 15 – 60

North Penn: Carley Adams 3 0-0 7, Val McGriff 6 1-1 13, Alaina Mullaly 1 1-2 3, Alli Lindsay 4 1-2 11, Abby Plaugher 2 1-1 6, Rachel Dunn 2 3-3 7, Imani Plaza 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 7-9 49.

Freedom: Brenna Ortwein 1 2-4 4, Corrin Gill 4 3-4 12, Kalley Turpening 5 5-5 17, Kayla Jefferson 1 1-2 3, Jennifer Kokolus 8 6-8 24. Totals 19 17-23 60.

3-pointers: NP-Adams, Lindsay 2, Plaugher; F-Gill, Turpening 2, Kokolus 2.