Timko reaches milestone, helps Methacton to 2OT win over Pope John Paul II

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FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> Methacton junior Nicole Timko admitted the looming 1,000-point mark did add some tension during the first three quarters of Tuesday’s game against Pope John Paul II.

Her teammates too said the potential accomplishment carried a little extra pressure for them as well.

Timko, the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s fourth-leading scorer, was having a relatively quiet night by her standards before a three from the top of the key eight seconds into the fourth quarter made her the second Warriors’ junior to reach the career milestone.

A weight seemed to be lifted for the Warriors after Timko’s basket and the team’s subsequent celebration as Methacton erased a fourth-quarter deficit and outlasted the Golden Panthers for a 39-37 double overtime win.

Timko scored 10 of her team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime while sophomore Mairi Smith followed with nine points for the Warriors. Tess Crossan scored 12 and Amelia Kennedy 10 to lead PJP.

“It was a big milestone,” Timko said. “I missed a few threes before. I was a little pressured to get it, so once I got it, I was relieved and able to relax a little. Especially after we had a few more points after that and started to get back in the game, it was helpful and relieving.”

Methacton (3-2 PAC Liberty, 7-2 overall) trailed 23-18 before Timko reached the 1,000-point mark with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter. She’s the eighth player in program history to accomplish the feat. Methacton all-time scoring leader and 2008 grad Renee Womack (1,682) is the only other player to do so by her junior season.

After a combined five points in the second and third quarters, Timko’s milestone three sparked a 10-0 run for the Warriors — including eight points from Timko — as Methacton grabbed a 28-23 advantage over PJP (7-2, 5-1 PAC Frontier) with five and a half minutes left in regulation.

“One thing we definitely pride ourselves in is our defense,” PJP coach TJ Lonergan said. “We’re keeping teams in the 30s and that’s where we want to be. The girls did a fantastic job tonight. … (The Warriors) do a great job executing high-low sets to isolate Smith in their man. We felt our zone could take that away and (we would be fine) as long as we shaded toward Timko, which we did, and as long as she wasn’t hitting, which she started to in the second half and that gave them some life.”

The Golden Panthers responded to the momentum swing with a 7-0 run of their own to go ahead 30-28 with less than a minute left. Their work on the defensive end was mostly responsible for it with three steals – two from Kennedy – that resulted in free throws, a fast break and a Lainey Owens 3 that capped the run.

Following a missed opportunity by Owens to seal the game at the foul line, Methacton had the ball under its basket with 7.2 seconds left. The Warriors designed an inbounds play for Timko, but instead Tori Bockrath passed to a wide open Alli Hazlett under the net for an easy basket that tied the score, 30-30, and sent the game into overtime.

Methacton’s Nicole Timko, right, attempts to drive around Pope John Paul II’s Kallan Bustynowicz. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

“We were kind of looking for Nicole or Cassidy (Kropp) because we were trying to get them open,” Hazlett said. “I was setting a screen for Mairi, so I was kind of like the last option. They just left me wide open on the block and I had it and it was there.”

Timko put the Warriors ahead 32-30 on their first possession of overtime, and after getting a stop Methacton tried to run the clock down as long as possible. Just as it did at the end of regulation, the Golden Panthers’ defense shone once again at the end of the first overtime.

Crossan poked the ball free, and Kennedy scooped and scored to tie the game with 35 seconds to play. Kallan Bustynowicz, who also had a block late in regulation, blocked a shot by Smith and grabbed the rebound to send the game into a second overtime.

“We’re used to that. We’re used to close games coming down the wire,” PJP coach TJ Longeran said. “We were executing toward the end there with our foul shots, and they made a great shot at the end to tie it (in regulation). It’s our defense. Our defense has just been playing really well and keeping us in a lot of games. It’s just been fantastic to watch.”

Pope John Paul II’s Amelia Kennedy, left, and Methacton’s Mairi Smith battle for a loose ball. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

Kropp knocked down a triple early in the second overtime. Timko drove and found Smith for a layup to give the Warriors a 37-32 lead with 1:20 to go — the biggest advantage for Methacton since the fourth quarter.

Kayla Ciuba’s three brought PJP within two, but Kropp knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Warriors back up four.

Despite a late bucket by Crossan, another Golden Panthers’ comeback attempt ran out of time, and Timko was able to properly celebrate her 1,000-point accomplishment.

“It was helpful that we kept getting the first shot (in overtime), so then we were able to just hold it and stay composed,” Timko said. “I think that was helpful and easier, but besides that, it was stressful. We didn’t want to turn the ball over, but you also want to take any points you can get.”

Pope John Paul II came into Tuesday’s contest off a 31-28 win over Owen J. Roberts on Monday that came down to the final seconds. Methacton needed a big second-half comeback Saturday to pull out a win over Pottsgrove before rolling against Upper Merion on Monday.

The Warriors follow with a contest against Frontier Division leader Phoenixville on Wednesday for their third game in as many days. The Golden Panthers match up with the Phantoms on Friday, needing a win to claim a share of the Frontier lead.

“It’s hard because we don’t get much practice time or time to prepare for teams, so you kind of just have to go off the fly,” Timko said. “This game, we had to adjust to their defense without playing much against it.”

“We had one (game) Saturday and then one last night, and then another big one tomorrow,” Hazlett added. “We’re just going with the flow.”

Pope John Paul II’s Tess Crossan, center, attempts a shot as Methacton’s Mairi Smith, left, and Cassidy Kropp, right, defend. (Owen McCue – MediaNews Group)

Methacton 39

Pope John Paul II 37, 2OT

POPE JOHN PAUL II: Crossan 5 2-5 12, Kennedy 3 3-4 10, Owens 2 0-1 6, Cuiba 2 0-0 5, Bustynowicz 2 0-0 4, Jackson 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-10 37.

METHACTON: Kropp 1 2-3 5, Martino 0 0-0 0, Kaufman 1 0-0 2, Timko 7 0-0 18, Bockrath 0 0-0 0, Deal 0 0-0 0, Smith 4 1-3 9, Hazlett 1 3-4 5. Totals 14 6-10 39.

PJP 7 8 8 7 2 5-37
Methacton 11 4 3 12 2 7–39

3-point goals: Owens 2, Kennedy, Ciuba; Timko 4 , Kropp.

 

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Owen McCue

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