Smith scores 24 points, Methacton holds off Owen J. Roberts for fourth straight win

WORCESTER >> Mairi Smith’s fluid moves to the basket were complemented by her ability to rack up key rebounds.

The 6-foot-2 post player even spotted up and drained her first ever three-pointer.

“I’m a hundred percent,”  the Methacton senior said with a smile, speaking of her perfect 1-for-1 shooting touch from beyond the arc.

Smith did it all Thursday night, scoring a game-high 24 points to lead the Warriors past rival Owen J. Roberts in a Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division contest at Methacton.

“We’ve been trying to readjust — this season’s been kind of a restructuring season for us,” said Smith, who has helped power the Warriors to a 14-5 mark. “So it’s been a lot of working with Cass (Kropp) — her and I kind of setting things up and helping each other out.”

Kropp added 10 points in the win to close within 15 points of the 1,000-point plateau for her career. The Warriors won their fourth straight and raised their PCL Liberty Division record to 6-2 and travel to Spring-Ford Tuesday night.

The Wildcats, who were led by Ashly White’s 14 points and Asya Price’s 13, are now 8-11 overall, 3-5 in the PAC Liberty, and host Perk Valley on Tuesday evening.

Methacton got off to a roaring start Thursday night, with Kropp finding a wide-open Smith cutting to the hoop for a quick 2-0 lead. The Warriors had a 14-0 run that began in the first quarter and spilled into the second as they build a commanding 18-6 lead.

Methacton would take a 30-13 advantage into the break, led by Smith’s 16 first-half points.

“It was hard to have halftime and then try to come back out — we came out a little flat,” Smith said. “We were getting into a good run and then we got in foul trouble. We’re working on keeping our calm. And tonight was a good test for that.”

A pair of baskets by Ava Cingiser helped keep the Warriors ahead heading into the fourth, up 34-28.

Smith came through again, scoring twice on layins and then adding another defensive rebound and another bucket inside to make it 40-33. She had eight points in the fourth to help Methacton close it out.

“She was a monster tonight,” Warriors coach Craig Kaminski said of the senior. “She works extremely hard on her game and her post moves. We’re trying to get her to face the basket more, shoot from the outside, and tonight she had that three in the beginning of the game there.

“She’s a great senior leader for us. And she was a big reason why we won that game in the second half.”

Methacton 49, Owen J. Roberts 43
Owen J. Roberts 6 7 15 15 — 43
Methacton 15 15 4 15 — 49
Owen J. Roberts: Ashly White 6 0-3 14, Asya Price 3 4-4 13, Gabrielle Kawry 4 2-4 10, Abby Smith 1 2-3 4, Ava Clemson 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 8-14 43.
Methacton: Ashley Fisher 0 0-2 0, Cassidy Kropp 3 4-6 10, Morgan Coupe 1 2-4 4, Reana Torres 2 1-2 7, Ava Cingiser 2 0-0 4, Mairi Smith 9 5-6 24. Totals 17 12-20 49.
3-pointers: O-White 2, Price 3; M-Torres 2, Smith.