Spratt, Henkels come up big late, CB West tops Pennridge in overtime

DOYLESTOWN >> Emily Spratt has a certain affinity for overtime.

“I love overtime games,” the Central Bucks West senior said. “I think they’re fun, I think they build character. I think they’re really good for team wins – they keep morale up.”

After her tying putback following a Tai Henkels steal in the final minute of the fourth quarter, Spratt continued to spark the Bucks’ offense in the extra session Tuesday night against visiting Pennridge.

The Jefferson University commit scored the first eight points of CB West’s 11-2 run to begin overtime and the Bucks held on from there to come out of the matchup of unbeaten Suburban One League Colonial Division girls basketball teams with a 50-47 victory.

“We had some experience with close games late, we’re getting used to them, but I think that really helped us down the line here,” CB West coach Zach Sibel said. “They made some unbelievable shots at the end. Some shots that I don’t know if we could have done anything better with but that’s the kind of atmosphere that’s here.

“When we play Pennridge we always have a lot of fun and (Rams coach) Mike (Elton is) a great guy and I got a ton of respect for him and he said it right after the game, he said that was fun. And those games are exciting – those are the games that you remember.”

Spratt scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in OT for the Bucks (6-0, 3-0 division) with Henkels adding nine points while also coming up with some key steals late – her most crucial coming at the end of the fourth with West down 38-36. Henkels jumped into a passing lane to snag the ball and break the other way and while she could not convert in transition, Spratt was there to collect the rebound and score, knotting the contest with 49.5 seconds remaining.

“We always emphasize in practice and everything that no matter who’s going up for the layup always look for that o-board,” Spratt said. “And especially in a time like that, it’s very tense and anything could happen, make or miss. My layups weren’t falling and so I think it was just that if she doesn’t make it, I’m here.”

A steal by Spratt gave the Bucks a chance to win in regulation but Spratt could not convert on a drive down the lane. Tied at 38 in OT, West proceeded to score the next nine for a 47-38 lead with 70 seconds left before warding off a Pennridge charge in the final minute.

Katie Yoder paced the Rams (4-1, 2-1) with 10 points while Ella Brown chipped in nine points.

“I think from our standpoint about the only thing we really need to work on coming out of that game is end-of-game situations,” Elton said. “The pressure towards the end of the game affected us a little bit, I think that’s some of the youth that we have – or I wouldn’t say youth, I would say some of our inexperience with that type of game.”

Spratt started the overtime scoring in with a basket inside off a Henkels assist. Emma Pyne’s two off a drive tied it at 38 but a Spratt jumper put West ahead for good. A Henkels steal led to Spratt’s transition layup that also drew a foul to make it 42-38 at 2:45.

“That’s the poise of Spratt and that’s what she gives you,” Sibel said. “And we always say you got to ride with the horse that got you there. And she’s done a hell of a job, she’s plays so hard. She doesn’t get many breaks, I don’t think we even subbed her in that second half so again to respond there, to dig deep and do what she does is a big reason why we’re getting better.”

The Bucks went up six on two Spratt free throws at 1:41 while a Henkels’ steal and breakaway layup put the Bucks lead at 46-38. Ava Longo hit the front end of a 1-and-1 with 70 seconds for a nine-point advantage.

“I think our talk at halftime really collected our thoughts and we were like ‘Hey this could be anybody’s game,’” Spratt said. “No matter how the calls are going or how our shots are falling, no matter what we can still do this. Play good defense, hustle, work hard, do things that you can do when shots aren’t falling. I think we really emphasized on that and once our defense started going, our shots started falling and momentum carried away and that carried into overtime.”

Brown’s 3-pointer swirled around the rim then tapped off glass to fall in, getting the Rams within 49-45 at 14.2 seconds. Pennridge forced a West turnover at 10.4 seconds with Brown’s long-distance runner for two making it 49-47 with 6.5 seconds.

West’s Gabi Senior was fouled with 1.6 seconds, made her first free throw and after the second missed the Rams came on short on a three-quarters court heave.

“We almost pulled it off – I was like one timeout short,” Elton said. “And really a credit to CB West cause that’s the kind of games we get every time. So they came out here ready to play, they really put the pressure on us.”

Both teams finish the week with SOL Colonial home games Thursday – CB West taking on Central Bucks East at 5 while Pennridge faces Souderton at 7 p.m.

The Rams were up 12-9 after Tuesday’s opening quarter with five straight Yoder points in the second quarter extending the visitors lead to 19-11. Spratt’s basket off a drive had West down 21-16 at halftime.

West began the third with a 7-2 run, taking a 25-23 lead after two Senior free throws at 3:23. A Brown basket and Pyne three had Pennridge back ahead 28-25 before a Nia Perry trey sent the teams to the fourth tied at 28.

Senior found Longo inside for a 30-28 Bucks advantage but Anna Croyle’s 3-pointer put the Rams up 31-30. 

Ava Fantaskey gave Pennridge a 33-31 lead after her two foul shots at 6:03. After a Spratt free throw at 5:24 had West within one Croyle buried another three at 4:09 for a 36-32 edge.

Longo’s basket at 3:50 made it 36-34 with neither side scoring again until Spratt’s putback tied the game in the last minute.

Central Bucks West 50, Pennridge 47 (OT)
Pennridge 12 9 7 8 11 – 47
Central Bucks West 9 7 12 8 14 – 50
Pennridge: Katie Yoder 4 0-0 10; Ella Brown 4 0-0 9; Anna Croyle 3 0-0 8; Ava Fantaskey 2 3-4 7; Ryan Hodder 3 0-0 6; Emma Pyne 2 0-0 5; Ava Unzicker 1 0-0 2; Totals 19 3-4 47.
Central Bucks West: Emily Spratt 5 9-11 19; Tai Henkels 3 1-4 9; Ava Longo 3 1-2 8; Gabi Senior 1 5-7 7; Nia Perry 2 0-0 5; Alexis Castro 1 0-0 2; Totals 15 16-24 50.
3-pointers: P-Croyle 2, Yoder 2, Brown, Pyne; CBW-Henkels 2, Longo, Perry.