TOWAMENCIN >> North Penn’s run through the Suburban One League Tournament ended with a semifinal loss on Saturday Feb. 10. With a first-round bye in the District 1-6A playoffs, that meant the Knights would have 10 days off before getting their opportunity to reach the district quarterfinals and punch their ticket to the state playoffs.
When they took the floor against Kennett Wednesday night, they looked rested, not rusty.
The fifth-seeded Knights came out on fire. They scored 35 points in the first half, including a 23-4 run across the first and second quarters, and cruised to a 51-27 win over the 12th-seeded Blue Demons at North Penn High School.
“It’s really just been getting back to what we were doing well in the middle of the season,” North Penn coach Brianna Cullen said of the 10-day break. “We kind of fell off and got tired toward the end of the season, especially in the SOL, so we used that time to enjoy the game again and find that love again. It’s a long road and hopefully a longer road ahead of us.”
“We rested the first few days coming off a few games in a row in a tough week with a lot of games,” Knights senior Caleigh Sperling said. “The past three days were long practices with a lot of running, scrimmaging and a lot of game situations.
“I think it was good that we got our loss out of the way before it really mattered and we moved back into playoffs and states. We really came back stronger.”
North Penn will visit No. 4 Haverford in the quarterfinals Saturday. The teams met in January at the Hoops for Hope charity event at Arcadia University and the Knights won, 46-45.
The victory also sends the North Penn (22-3) to the state playoffs for the first time since 2020. They finished one win short last season.
“This was our main goal for the whole season,” Sperling said. “It feels really good to see progress in what we’ve been working so hard for all season. Knowing how we ended things last year, we wanted to go further this year.”
“It’s the first for any of these girls to go to states,” Cullen said. “It’s what you work towards all year – getting to the last game, getting to the bigger playoff. Last year we were one game short and the season ended sooner than we would have liked. This is huge for them.”
North Penn led Kennett, 6-5, in the middle of the first quarter before completely taking over. Cameron Crowley and Sperling hit back-to-back threes and Leah Mikulski hit a pair of free throws to help the Knights close the quarter on an 8-2 run and build a 14-7 lead through eight minutes.
Sperling scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the second quarter while Olivia Stone hit a pair of three-pointers. The 23-4 run made it a 29-9 game and the advantage remained at 20 at halftime, 35-15.
“I like that we were willing to push the ball,” Cullen said. “Our transition slowed down, especially against Neshaminy in our last game. I think the 10 days of rest got their legs back, got them rested and willing to push the ball.”
“I think what fed into our offense was our boxing out and getting rebounds defensively,” Sperling, who grabbed 12 boards, said, “and our ball movement on offense (was effective).
“I felt good going into the first half. A lot of my teammates were getting me some really good backdoor cut options.”
The Knights remained comfortably ahead throughout the second half. They won the third quarter, 9-6, and the fourth, 7-6, to secure the 51-27 victory.
Mia Matthews led Kennett with nine points. Quinn Simmons added six points on a pair of threes and Greta Burns chipped in five.
The Blue Demons (18-8) will face No. 13 Abington in a playback game Saturday for a spot in the state playoffs.
North Penn 51, Kennett 27
Kennett 7 8 6 6 – 27
North Penn 14 21 9 7 – 51
K: Mary Carroll 1 0 0-0 2, Quinn Simmons 0 2 0-2 6, Greta Burns 1 1 0-0 5, Mia Matthews 1 1 4-4 9, Bianca Comanda 1 0 0-0 2, LaKi Frazier 1 0 0-0 2, Ariana Peterson 0 0 0-0 0, Maeve Wells 0 0 0-0 0, Ellie Harper 0 0 0-0 0, Sarah Fernandez 0 0 0-0 0, Ciara Gately 0 0 1-2 1. Total 5 4 5-8 27.
NP: Cameron Crowley 2 1 0-0 7, Caleigh Sperling 4 4 3-4 23, Leah Mikulski 1 0 2-2 4, Olivia Stone 2 2 3-4 13, Tallie Smink 0 0 0-0 0, Lily Brown 0 0 2-2 2, Kaylee Hervieux 0 0 0-0 0, Lailani Williams 0 0 0-0 0, Lily McGee 0 0 0-0 0, Cailin Halfpenny 0 0 0-0 0, Jadyn Sperling 1 0 0-1 2, Olivia Stevens 0 0 0-0 0. Total 10 7 10-13 51.
