Girls Basketball: Mary O’Brien’s 23 points boosts short-handed Marple Newtown
NEWTOWN SQUARE — Mary O’Brien knew before the start of the season that she had to become Marple Newtown’s best scoring option.
This is now she and fellow Brooke Impriano’s team. For the Tigers to have success, the two varsity veterans had to make up for the loss of last year’s leading scorers, Haley Levy and Nikki Mostardi, who led the Tigers to a 20-win campaign and a PIAA tournament win for the first time in team history.
“Losing our two main scorers from last year, we knew – me and Brooke knew that we had to shoot a little more and be a little more selfish than usual,” O’Brien said Thursday after leading the Tigers over Upper Darby, 43-25.
Because Impriano injured her ankle earlier this week and was unavailable for Thursday’s contest, O’Brien put the onus on herself. The four-year starter almost outscored Upper Darby by her lonesome. O’Brien shot 10 of 19 from the floor, including 4 of 12 from 3-point distance, and finished with a game-high 23 points.
“Tonight I felt like I had to shoot whenever I (was) open and take a good quality shot,” she said. “I also try to tell my teammates to do the same thing. If you’re open, shoot it.”
O’Brien missed on six of her first seven field goal attempts, allowing UD to hang around in the first quarter. But once she banked her first 3-ball in the second quarter, O’Brien settled in and had an all-around stellar night on offense. When she wasn’t sinking her shots from beyond the arc, O’Brien fearlessly drove inside the lane, getting tough layups and other high-percentage baskets.
“Once we started moving around more, we were getting good open shots,” O’Brien said. “We kind of have a problem with standing still for too long around the edges and settling for 3s. I wasn’t making anything to start, but then we all started to gel and make our shots in the second half.”
After UD’s Aubrey Patterson tied the score at nine just seconds into the second period, the Tigers seized control. O’Brien swished back to back treys and Sam Allevino made a layup to give Marple (7-5) a 17-9 advantage. The Tigers went on a 26-11 run in the middle periods to seal the victory, their fifth in seven games.
“Mary knows that she’s got to get her shots up this year. And we tell her, don’t be shy,” coach Ryan Wolski said. “When Brooke went down we struggled a little bit against Lower Merion. We are trying to find ourselves. Hopefully by Tuesday we get Brooke back and we’ll get going.”
Ellie DiBona produced six points, two assists and two points. Catherine Kirby did not score, but she had a strong defensive game and posted team highs in assists (four) and steals (three). Allevino (four points) and Rowan Hilden (three points, 10 rebounds) played well off the bench.
The Royals (2-9) are going through a rough patch after winning their first two games. That is expected with a young team. Coach Nick Liberio is preaching development and is excited about the future of the program.
“The good news is our youth is really good,” Liberio said. “It’s a process. Tonight we should have been in this game a little better. … It’s about discipline right now.”
Sophomore guard Sage Walters paced the Royals with six points and three steals. Freshman guard Mia Wilson had five points, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman forward Janaye Haye provided four points and five rebounds off the bench.
Elsewhere in the Central League:
Conestoga 51, Penncrest 36 >> The Pioneers raced to a 17-9 lead after one quarter and never looked back. Jane Preston scored nine of her game-high 14 points in the first quarter to pace the attack. Ryann Jennings pitched in with 12 points.
Kerri Ann Huggins topped the Lions with 13 points.
Strath Haven 51, Lower Merion 37 >> Chloe Hunold led the Panthers with 18 points. Olivia Voshell posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sierra Felder also scored 12 points for SH.
