Defense does it for Pennridge in victory over Central Bucks East
EAST ROCKHILL >> Pennridge put the clamps on rival Central Bucks East Friday night and held tight for a satisfying 44-43 victory.
Said Rams coach Jason Rapp: “It was huge. They’re good over there. That team is well coached. They’re tough. They came out of timeouts and made big shots. (Coach Liz Potash) just has them prepared to play. And they play hard. We needed that one.”
All the right ingredients were there for the Rams in a victory-producing fourth quarter.
“We got some rebounds, got some stops, made some free throws. And I thought we took care of the ball very well,” said Rapp. “We had some jitters early, and I think we beared down and took care of the ball. That’s what you need in a one-point game.”
The win raised Pennridge’s Suburban One League Colonial Division record to 1-2. East is now 2-1.
“Our girls fought. (East has) two fantastic shooters (in Anna Barry and Natalie Berndt). And we did a really nice job,” Rapp said. “Anna Croyle and Ava Fantaskey did an unbelievable job defensively. We deflected passes, and we made sure that 30 and 21 were not gonna be the two girls to beat us.”
The Rams’ defense helped provide a 34-26 edge entering the fourth.
The Patriots closed within three but a jumper by the Rams’ Grace Rosica boosted the Ram advantage back to 36-31.
At around the four-minute mark, Katie Yoder drove and complete a three-point play to give Pennridge a 39-33 lead.
The Patriots hung in, and a layup by Kendall Gregor deadlocked the score at 41 apiece.
But Yoder hit one of two free throws, Rosica hit a pair and the Rams led 44-41 in the final minute.
Two crucial defensive stops by the Rams allowed the Patriots little time to draw even. East scored with less than a second left to get within 44-43, but all the Rams had to do was inbound the ball and the game was theirs.
“It’s a big win, coming off two tough losses,” said Rosica . “We came out tonight firing. We just wanted to come out with a lot of energy. We executed everything coach wanted us to. East is a really good team but we came out hard. And we just kept the momentum, kept the positive mindset and kept rolling.
“Defense was huge. Credit to Anna Croyle. She handled Anna very tough. She played great defense. Both Anna’s are great players.”
The “D” is coming along for the Rams.
“Souderton and North Penn scored a lot of points on us, so it was nice to come out here and finally have a little bit of an identity,” Rapp said. “Because you know you’re gonna get that from (East). They’re tough and they guard.
“I said to the girls, you go 0-3 in the division and it’s really an uphill climb. This can turn your season. We have three games next week so we’ll have a good understanding of who we are by Christmas.”
Ella Brown and Yoder each had 11 points for the Rams. Rosica had eight, and Croyle and Poole each chipped in with seven.
Said Rosica: “We had points up and down the board.”
The Rams like where they’re heading.
“First off, we’re family. That’s the biggest thing,” Rosica said. “We’re all so close together. We’re one big unit. We have the energy, we have the right mindset. We have great coaching and I feel like we’re gonna go pretty far.”
Pennridge hosts Central Bucks West Tuesday night at 7 and CB East is home that same night against Souderton Area at 7.
Pennridge 44, Central Bucks East 43
Central Bucks East 4 14 8 17 – 43
Pennridge 9 12 13 10 – 44
Central Bucks East: 11 Erin LeRay 5 0-0 10, 21 Natalie Berndt 4 0-0 11, 34 Chantal Van Dongeren 1 0-1 2, 42 Kendall Gregor 4 0-0 9, 50 Jess Lockwood 4 2-2 11. Totals 18 2-8 43.
Pennridge: 1 Ella Brown 4 2-2 11, 2 Grace Rosica 2 4-4 8, 3 Anna Croyle 3 0-0 7, 4 Katie Yoder 3 5-6 11, 10 Ava Fantaskey 0 0-2 0, 15 Olivia Poole 3 0-0 7. Totals 15 11-14 44.
3-pointers: CBE-Berndt 3, Gregor, Lockwood; P-Brown, Croyle, Poole.
