District 1 Class 5A Girls Basketball: Pickett, Mount St. Joseph oust Marple Newtown
FLOURTOWN — Among the varied goals set four years ago by Brooke Impriano was one she could consider met by Friday night.
The fluid senior forward was confident she and fellow senior Mary O’Brien had left the Marple Newtown girls basketball program on a firm foundation, even after a 62-42 loss at Mount St. Joseph in the opening round of the PIAA District 1 Class 5A tournament.
“There were a lot of ups and downs this year,” Impriano said. “There are a lot of good teams in the Central League. But as a program, we really evolved and I think that we did really good. I’m happy with our season.”
Despite Impriano’s 20 points and 14 more from O’Brien, the Tigers ended their season at 12-11, yet not without pride in having reached the district playoffs in a fourth consecutive year.
“We went down with a winning record,” she said. “And the fact that we made it this far is still amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better team and better coaches.”
If anything, the 10th-seeded Tigers might have asked for a better draw, as the Magic played well above its No. 7 designation. Changing defenses, applying pressure and passing with accuracy, the Mount (12-12) earned a Tuesday second-round challenge at No. 2 Bishop Shanahan (19-3).
Georgia Pickett scored 10 of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter, while Kiersten Pumilia scored 15 of her 17 in the first half, helping to snap a three-game losing streak.
“We tried to run this year, but we were spotty with it, and we got away from it in the middle of the season,” said coach Matt Feeney. “We’re trying to get back to it now in the playoffs.”
Three quick Pumilia triples helped the Magic to a 14-3 lead, but the Tigers drew within 20-15 on Impriano’s driving layup at the first-quarter buzzer. The Mount took a 31-16 lead on two Carlie Shouldis free throws with 2:42 left in the first half before a mild Marple Newtown flurry cut the deficit to a dozen at halftime.
“We watched some film of them, and it looked like they were battling some injuries,” said Marple Newtown coach Ryan Wolski. “But, man, when they got their lineup together tonight they played great. They got out and ran on us, ran and did a great job on the glass.
“Hats off to them and their coaches.”
The Tigers will return junior starters Ellie DiBona and Catherine Kirby next season. Freshman Taylor Murrin started Friday and classmate Rowan Hilden was a reliable contributor, spreading optimism that the momentum will continue.
“We have some eighth graders who are going to do great things,” Impriano said. “And our freshmen have been amazing. I’m just looking forward to coming back next year and watching.”
