Council Rock North pulls away late from CR South

Council Rock North junior Kaelin Mealy , left dribbles the ball downcourt for the Lady Indians in win over sister school CR South Dec. 16 at North, Newtown, Pa. (Steve Sherman – 21st-Century Media)

NEWTOWN – With help from sophomore standout Dana Bandurick, Council Rock North finally pulled away in the later stages of its semi-annual battle with sister school CR South last Friday night, Dec. 16 on the Lady Indians’ home court. Bandurick hit three of the four field goals she scored in the game in the third period.

Maybe it just took too long for the victory to materialize for CR North head coach Lou Palkovics. After the game, the coach was not pleased with the way his team performed.

Ahead 23-16 at the half, the Golden Hawks reeled off the first six points after the intermission to make it a 1-point game before the Lady Indians gushed forth with a 20-6 scoring run to help seal a 44-32 triumph in CR North’s first Suburban One National League (SONL) battle of the season.

“It was kind of like we should have been playing all along,” said Palkovics, regarding the Indians’ offensive outburst in the second half.

“I give )South) a lot of credit; Jason had them ready to play and their girls, they had a good game plan.

“After we took the lead, I thought we became very complacent. They had a good game plan and we didn’t respond real well.

“I’m happy with the win but overall, I’m not happy with the way we played.

CR North (2-1, 1-0 SONL) was paced in the first half by senior Megan Haggerty, who poured four three-pointers into the bucket – two in each quarter – before the intermission. After the break, she added another shot from behind the arc that came in a fourth quarter that saw North can three treys.

Senior Becca Margolis and junior Kaelin Mealy also hit 3-pointers in the final frame, helping the Indians to their second win of the season, their first in the SONL.

Defensively, North held South to single digits in every quarter. South got back into the game briefly in the beginning of the third period, pulling within one at 23-22 on 3-pointers by seniors Payton Spadaccino and Kasey Schlupp.

Spadaccino and junior Faith Turner paced the Golden Hawks with 12 and 11 points, respectively and were the only two players for South (2-2, 0-1 SONL) to reach double digits in scoring.

Haggerty was the only player to reach double digits for the Lady Indians with a game-high 15 points, all on three-pointers. For the game, North notched eight treys.

“They can shoot the ball, they’re well-coached, they run a good offense and they hit shots,” said Hawks head coach Jason Rapp. “The margin for error when you play them is slim. We’re in a zone and we miss an assignment here or there, they drill a three and they make you pay.”

While Palkovics was not satisfied with the way his team rebounded, Rapp was pleased with the job South registered in the low post.

“I thought we did a good job. I remember last year, we got buried on the boards; I thought tonight we put up a good fight on the glass,” added Rapp. “But again, unfortunately, you let up eight threes, it’s going to be a long night.”

For the Hawks, it was their second straight loss after opening the season Dec. 9-10 with a pair of home wins over Chester (38-21) and Downingtown East (31-26). But after that, South fell hard in a 54-33 loss to Plymouth-Whitemarsh Dec. 14 on the Hawks’ home court.

North pushed its way to 3-1 overall on the season with an ensuing win over Catholic Academies rival Mount Saint Joseph. After tipping off the season with a double-digit loss to Suburban One Continental League rival CB South, the Indians have topped William Tennent (52-36), CR South and the Magic (49-27).

North entered the season coming off a District 1 qualifying campaign in 2016. The Indians went 2-2 in districts with wins over Boyertown and Mount Saint Joseph. South did not make it to the postseason last year.

Council Rock North 44, Council Rock South 32

(Dec. 16 at CR North)

Council Rock South 7 9 8 8 – 32

Council Rock North 12 11 9 12 – 44

COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH (2-2, 0-1 SONL) — Payton Spadaccino 3 5-7 12, Bailey Vetter 0 2-2 2, Kasey Schlupp 1 0-0 3, Faith Turner 4 3-4 11, Allison McGowan 1 0-0 2, Hannah Binder 1 0-0 2; TOTALS — 10 10-13 32.

COUNCIL ROCK NORTH (2-1, 1-0 SONL) — Becca Margolis 2 0-0 6, Julianna Shields 0 0-0 0, Megan Haggerty 5 0-4 15, Dana Bandurick 4 1-3 9, Kaelin Mealy 1 2-4 5, Hannah Weiler 1 3-4 5, Mackenzie Tinner 2 0-0 4; TOTALS — 15 6-15 44.

3-POINT GOALS: CR South — Spadaccino 1, Schlupp 1; CR North — Margolis 2, Haggerty 5, Mealy 1.