O’Hara has plenty in reserve in win over Souderton

UPPER DARBY — Cardinal O’Hara’s second-team unit takes a lot of pride in making a difference on the basketball court.

In the Lions’ 50-30 victory over Souderton in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament Friday night, the bench players stole the glory.

The District 12 champions play District 1 fourth-place finisher Spring-Ford in the second round Tuesday. As for Friday, O’Hara’s back-ups put the team on a clear path to victory.

With sophomore Annie Welde, juniors Julia Stellabotte and Kathryn McPeak, and senior Sam Randazzo on the floor, the Lions pulled away from Souderton with 13 straight points in the second quarter. O’Hara held a 28-8 advantage at halftime and never looked back.

In the second quarter, Welde produced seven points, a blocked shot and one assist. Blanche canned a pair of 3-pointers, while Randazzo grabbed five rebounds and scored two points. Stellabotte chipped in with a steal and an assist.

“It’s nice to have fresh bodies, to be able to go in and give our starters a break,” said Welde, who finished with nine points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists. “Maybe we can go and help out, see what happens. It’s fun. We just want to help the team and we look forward to going out there.”

“As long as we give 100 percent, good things can happen,” said Stellabotte, who had two points. “We’re told to go in there and do what we can, but always give full effort. I watch what the other girls do and I just try to follow what they do. I know when you’re in the game, you’ve got to be focused and it’s just as important when you’re on the bench to be focused, too.”

O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan couldn’t ask for much more from her reserves, but she has come to expect it from that group. If Friday’s win proved anything, it showed that O’Hara (20-6) has plenty of depth at its disposal to make a lengthy run in states.

“They were ready to play and that’s a huge credit to their personalities, their characters,” Doogan said. “We’re going to go as far as we can with 14 players, not just five.”

Souderton made a run in the third quarter behind its best player, senior forward Mikaela Reese, who generated 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks. When the Indians battled back to get within 12 points, the Lions leaned on the experience of junior guard Amaris Baker, who settled things down on the offensive side.

“She’s a real smart player,” Doogan said. “I thought Annie and Sam took control of the boards … and Amaris was able to calm us down and take control of the game.”

The Lions showed no ill-effects from a long layoff after capturing the District 12 Class 6A title Feb. 26.

“We come to play and we’re always ready,” said Baker, who netted 12 points. “Our game plan is to always win, to win together, and as long as we stick together we will be confident on the court.”

Baker also was happy to see the Lions’ reserves show what they can do.

“They bring so much energy and that makes it easier for everybody,” Baker said. “To see them come in and do what they did today … it really helps us a lot and it’s great to see.”