ABINGTON >> The first 30 seconds after halftime said it all about Jaida Helm’s desire to win Wednesday night.

The Abington sophomore had ended the first half in foul trouble, but started the third quarter with a determined drive to the rim for a score then immediately flung her body across the floor trying to get a steal. When the Ghosts played at Methacton eight days ago, Helm was frustrated by her performance but wasn’t going to waste her second chance.

Helm’s will turned into a near unstoppable performance as her 26-point, 13-rebound double-double paced No. 8 Abington past No. 9 Methacton 68-56 in the second round of the District 1 6A girls basketball tournament.

“Last time, I didn’t play that well and I got into my own head a lot,” Helm said. “Tonight, I stuck to my game and just wanted to win for the seniors.”

Abington beat the Warriors 75-66 on March 2 behind big games from Cire Worley and Abril Browser. Naturally, Methacton paid the two sophomores extra defensive attention early on but it didn’t seem to slow down a Ghosts team that got off to another hot start shooting the ball.

Khalis Whiting, who went off in the second half right behind Helm with 25 points, helped the host team zipped out to a 13-4 lead. Methacton’s Nicole Timko couldn’t find her shot early but her teammates picked up for her, cutting the lead to 13-12 before the Ghosts closed the quarter on an 8-3 run.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game but this is the district playoffs and you have to play the best if you want to advance,” Warriors coach Craig Kaminski said. “We knew it would be tough coming here because they were going to play to their crowd and they played extremely well. We tried multiple defenses and they just kept shooting the lights out.”

While Abington had won in the regular season, Ghosts coach Dan Marsh admitted some trepidation when he saw the district bracket pitting the teams against each other again.

Timko showed why those fears were valid in the second quarter. The standout guard, who heads into her senior year fourth all-time on the program’s scoring list, erupted for 14 points in the frame as the Warriors clawed back within a point on several occasions.

But every time Timko scored, Abington replied and the Ghosts never trailed after Helm gave them a 3-0 lead to open the game.

“We knew if we played well we could beat them, but he’s a great coach and Timko is amazing,” Marsh said. “We led start to finish, so we were happy with our effort. We knew if we brought energy and came to play that we would be tough to beat.”

If Abington needed any energy, their fans gave it to them. Helm and Whiting thrived playing in front of the group of fans that included most of the boys basketball team sitting on the baseline in the second half and the home fans were into every basket the Ghosts scored all game.

Helm knows that sometimes her passion and drive can be a detriment but after getting tagged for three fouls in the first half, the sophomore didn’t pick up another one the rest of the night. Instead, she channeled her energy into productive outlets and just kept attacking the basket to the tune of 13 third quarter points.

“Oh my goodness, she was just a beast in the paint and nobody could stop her,” Whiting said. “I felt like my job as the point guard is to make my teammates better and Jaida definitely showed out with me tonight.”

They’re not all going to shoot great every night, but the Ghosts believe they have enough balanced and potentially explosive scorers that someone will be on in each game.

“It just makes us so much harder to guard,” Helm, who hit 11-of-16 shots, said. “When somebody’s hot, we just keep giving them the ball.”

Helm and Whiting combined for every point of a 9-0 third quarter run that turned a close game into a 52-38 Abington lead with two minutes to go in the frame. With the Ghosts pressuring the ball up the floor and staying attached to Timko defensively, Tori Bockrath gave Methacton a lift with 17 points that included five 3-pointers.

Whiting, who has committed to Temple, felt her team’s aggressive pressure helped open the lead up and Abington’s depth also played a factor.

“That’s a credit to them and their coach finding what’s hot for you that night and going with it,” Kaminski said. “What hurt us is that we rely on the five starters, our next step is to develop a bench, but we really couldn’t get the starters that breather which in a game like this is so important.”

Methacton graduates four seniors, but only one starter in Allie Hazlett who posted nine points and nine boards in her final game. With Timko, Bockrath and sophomores Cassidy Kropp and Mairi Smith coming back, the Warriors have built a strong foundation off what was a good season.

“We’re very happy we got to play, we played against good competition and have four starters back,” Kaminski said. “We know Abington is going to be a force to be reckoned with the next couple years so this was good for us.”

Helm put the Ghosts up 10 with a layup in the closing seconds of the third, then opened the fourth with a hoop off a great dish by Whiting, who had seven assists. From there, Whiting iced the game with 10 of her 25 points coming in the final quarter.

The recurring theme of Abington’s second half was either Helm or Whiting driving with downhill momentum to the rim and finishing the play in close.

“We all want it,” Whiting said. “Last season, we weren’t prepared mentally. Physically, we had the tools but we didn’t know how to get there but this time, we’re focused, we’re together and everybody is doing their job.”

Abington will travel to No. 1 Spring-Ford in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. The Ghosts know the game will be a challenge, but this isn’t just a building year for Abington.

“We want to win everything, our goal is to win now,” Helm said. “We’re just going to keep playing our hardest and winning until someone stops us.”

 

CTON 56
ABINGTON 21 15 18 14 – 68
METHACTON 15 17 12 12 – 56
Abington: Jaida Helm 11 2-2 26, Khalis Whiting 11 1-2 25, Cire Worley 3 2-2 8, Abril Browser 1 0-0 3, Maura Day 1 0-0 3, Piper McGinley 1 0-0 3. Totals: 27 5-6 68.
Methacton: Nicole Timko 8 4-4 21, Tori Bockrath 6 0-0 17, Cassidy Kropp 1 0-0 2, Allie Hazlett 4 1-2 9, Mairi Smith 3 1-1 7. Totals: 22 6-7 56.
3-pointers: A – Helm 2, Whiting 2, Day, Browser, McGinley; M – Bockrath 5, Timko.