Timko, Bockrath bomb away as Methacton moves past Spring-Ford into PAC Liberty lead

EAGLEVILLE >> Tori Bockrath’s right forearm was doing a nice job summing things up Tuesday night.

The Methacton senior, who had just put on a scorching shooting display using that entire right arm against Spring-Ford, was now trying to stem the blood coming out of a cut that had been opened square in the middle of the heart-shaped tattoo she has just below her elbow. Wins against the Rams have not come easily for the Warriors over the years but if meant hitting a lot of shots, showing some heart and shedding a little blood, this Methacton was ready to give it.

Bockrath’s shooting was the right complement to a career best 36-point night by Nicole Timko as Methacton took over the PAC Liberty lead with a 70-59 win over Spring-Ford on Tuesday night.

“We need to keep up the energy we played with tonight,” Bockrath, who posted 19 points, said. “Our main thing is energy, getting stops on defense and transitioning to offense. That’s even bigger against a team like Spring-Ford.”

Timko, who moved into the No. 2 slot on the program’s all-time scoring list on Saturday, was exceptional. The senior poured in a career-high 36 and also dished five assists, all going to Bockrath 3-pointers, to give her a part in 51 of the Warriors’ 70 points. Her night started with a corner three and never really slowed down, with Timko connecting on 10-of-12 from the floor and 11-of-14 at the foul line.

“It always keeps the defense guessing,” Timko said. “We’ve learned to play with each other and also off of each other. We know where each other is going to cut or going to pop, so it’s been a lot easier getting open shots.”

A deep three at the first quarter horn put Methacton (8-1, 4-0 PAC, 4-0 PAC Liberty) ahead 19-13, but the Warriors couldn’t seem to put much more distance between themselves and the Rams (7-3, 3-1 PAC, 2-1 PAC Liberty) in the second quarter. Timko and Bockrath combined for all but two of the team’s 35 first half points but the Rams showed plenty of their own heart by battling back, first to within four, then to within seven at the break after falling behind by as many as 12.

“We’ve got to get better defensively,” Spring-Ford coach Mickey McDaniel said. “We know where we have to get better. We’re a young team but that shouldn’t stop us. We have to get better, then this young team can be pretty good.”

The kind of game Timko had isn’t one many players have had against a Spring-Ford team under McDaniel. The veteran coach said it was a sign of where his team, which has just one senior, is but also a credit to Timko’s ability to read the defense, make decisions, move off the ball and most importantly, score.

Timko, who had done plenty of scoring in a 23-point first half was quick to point the finger at herself heading to halftime, taking blame for a botched play to end the half that led to Spring-Ford’s Aaliyah Solliday canning a three to pull the visitors within 35-28. She made up for it by not forcing anything in the third quarter, instead getting the ball to Bockrath, who knocked down a trio of threes off Timko’s passes in the frame.

“I just work harder to make sure I can get open just so she has another option,” Bockrath said. “If she’s double-teamed or something like that, I want to make sure I’m open for her to pass.”

Even that wasn’t enough to put away Spring-Ford. No sooner had the Warriors taken a 50-33 lead,  the sophomore-laden Rams scored seven straight. Solliday, who was great off the S-F bench with 13 points, scored five straight later to make it 54-45 with 1:03 remaining in the third quarter.

“There’s an awful lot of heart, there’s never a question there,” McDaniel said. “We just have to sharpen our skillset a little bit, the little things are going to make the big

difference so we just have to get better where we’re at and that’s our job as the coaching staff to make sure we’re getting that done.”

Methacton’s senior snipers came through at the end, with Bockrath hitting her third three of the frame from Timko with 53.6 seconds left then Timko sinking a three off a late inbounds play to give Methacton a 53-45 lead going to the final eight minutes.

Spring-Ford had one final run in it, thanks to some gutsy play by sophomore Anna Azzara. The guard, the only holdover from last year’s starting lineup, led the Rams with 15 points and had nine of them in the final stanza including a longball of her own that cut the score to 62-54 with 4:37 to play.

Timko answered that with a bucket, then answered another hoop by Azzara with a layup off a great cut and terrific feed from Bockrath that allowed Methacton to close things out at the line.

“It always starts on defense,” Timko said. “When they started having their bigger runs, it was because our defense was lacking. Once we started getting tougher and not letting them take as many open shots, it was easier for us to keep our lead.”

As nice as Tuesday’s win felt, there’s still a second round in Royersford coming and potentially another in the PAC title game, where the Rams have haunted Methacton in recent years.

“They’re still the champs, so until someone beats them, regardless of who is out on the floor, it still says Spring-Ford on the jersey,” Warriors coach Craig Kaminski said. “Our players have to learn how to beat them whether they’re the favorite or not the favorite. Tonight, they learned how to beat them and it wasn’t easy but we were still able to maintain a lead and go from there.”