Neshaminy avoids upset, fends off Owen J. Roberts in District 1-6A first round
MIDDLETOWN >> It played at a level not usually associated with a 23rd-seeded team.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to dispatch a 10th seed playing like a 10 seed.
Owen J. Roberts got its start in the District 1 Class 6A playoffs off a trip to eastern Bucks County to face Neshaminy. The Wildcats demonstrated their mettle, keeping it a three-point game well to the midway point of the fourth quarter.
But it was there the Redskins took charge. Going to the foul line eight times in the final 2:33, they shot 75 percent from the line to come away with a 51-41 victory.
That finish spoiled an otherwise solid night for OJR (14-9), whose scrambling man defense enabled them to lead 17-16 at the half — that after being down 10-8 in the first quarter — and play Neshaminy (17-6) all even three minutes into the third.
The ’Cats were prominent in the turnovers they forced, particularly off steals, and the rebounds they cleared at the defensive end.
“We’re a hell of a defensive team … maybe the best I’ve seen,” OJR head coach Jeremy Mellon said. “We pressed and trapped well. In the first half, we had five, so we went more in the second half.”
Conversely, Roberts saw a number of shots either miss contact with the backboard or rim. Though Gabbi Koury led the way with 13, and sisters Avery and Ashly White had 11 apiece, the Wildcats found themselves pressed to keep pace with the Skins’ 3-point goal prowess in the early going.
The hosts had three in the first quarter alone, five for the game. That left head coach John Gallagher with the pleasant dilemma of deciding whether his team’s long-distance markmanship or free-throw proficiency was more important.
“It’s to our detriment we shoot ‘threes’ too much,” he said. “Lola, Taylor (Gurysch) and Reese are good at them, and I think Mimi (Smith) has the highest percentage on the team.”
Neshaminy was 12-for-16 at the end, 15-for-22 factoring in a trio of previous 1-for-2s at the start of the fourth. Leading by two (39-37) at the 4:13 mark, it led by five with 49 seconds left in the game, adding 5-for-6 production in the final 35 ticks.
Reese Zemitis, the home team’s leader with 20 points, went 6-for-6 in the final minute and 8-for-10 for the quarter. Lola Ibarrondo, second on the team in scoring with 14, chipped in with a 2-for-4 at the end.
“We shot 20-for-30 from the line,” he noted. “Our girls are really good at that. In the end, I was happy with going 1-for-2 when we did.”
Koury scoring six of OJR’s early points enabled it to keep pace with Neshaminy in the first quarter. It then went on a 9-4 surge in the second, Avery White hit a 3-point basket and a steal-fed bucket around Ashly going 1-for-2 at the line, and Sam Martins capped the run with another basket set up by a steal.
But the errant and deflecting shots thwarted Owen J’s play in the second half. Neshaminy’s Maya Lewis added a big defensive effort playing Avery White man-to-man at the end, keeping Roberts’ lone senior player scoreless in the fourth quarter.
“The last four minutes, we missed four layups,” Mellon said. “That’s one thing that didn’t go our way this year.”
Scheduling conditions also played a role in how Owen J’s season went.
“We played a lot of teams that had transfers or injuries,” he added. “We came in with nine losses, and all nine were seeded 11 or better.
“We knew they (Neshaminy) were a very good team. They are physical and tough.”
Looking back on the season, Mellon saw one where high expectations were hammered by such circumstances as the loss of sophomore guard Asya Price to am anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
“We were shell-shocked,” he said. “We had to readjust. The latter half of the season we played good basketball. It was good, and frustrating, at times.
“I felt good about it. I’m sad to see the season end.”
NOTES >> The Redskins face another Pioneer Athletic Conference team in the second round of districts. They will visit seventh seed Perkiomen Valley next Tuesday. … Gallagher noted a degree of familiarity with OJR, the teams scrimmaging each other early in the season.
