Dominant second quarter fuels No. 3 Spring-Ford over No. 6 Owen J. Roberts in first round of PAC girls basketball tournament

GRATERFORD >> No. 3 seed Spring-Ford’s journey to a sixth straight Pioneer Athletic Conference title got off on the right foot. Or, more accurately, the Rams broke out to a hop and skip.

In the opening round of the PAC girls basketball tournament, Spring-Ford outscored No. 6 Owen J. Roberts 14-2 in the second quarter and floored it to a 47-27 win from there at Perkiomen Valley on Thursday.

With the win, the Rams (20-3) will take on No. 2 Phoenixville in the semifinals at Perkiomen Valley on Saturday, tip-off at 7:45 p.m.

“Everyone was just sharing the ball and being unselfish,” Spring-Ford point guard Anna Azzara said. “We know we have to do our thing to win.”

FINAL — No. 3 Spring-Ford 47, No. 6 Owen J. Roberts 27

The Rams run away with the opening round of the PAC tournament in their pursuit of a sixth straight title.

OJR’s season comes to an end. pic.twitter.com/bEp0DraSWR

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) February 10, 2023

Azzara has been a force this season, surpassing 1,000 career points last week and averaging 16.3 points per game — second-most in the PAC. But the pieces around her elevated, allowing the entire unit to feast in the opening round.

Katie Tiffan put up a game-high 12 points, all from 3-point range. Megan Robbins had 10 points and Azzara added seven. Lilly Brescia had six points on a pair of shots from deep as well.

The Rams took a permanent lead at the 1:52 mark in the first quarter after Brescia’s first 3-pointer put them up 9-7. Spring-Ford led by as much as 26 points in the fourth quarter.

“They’re a good team, they’re a great team to play. We know we just have to play our game every time if we want to win,” Azzara said on the Wildcats. “Right now in the playoffs, the stakes are high.”

Ashly White and Asya Price both scored 11 points for Owen J. Roberts (9-14). Gabbi Koury, who has led the Wildcats in scoring this season at 12.9 ppg, added five.

The opening round of the PAC tournament marked the third meeting between the squads, as well as the third win by at least 20 points for Spring-Ford over Owen J. Roberts.

“Our offense is really predicated on ball movement,” Rams coach Mickey McDaniel said. “When we moved the ball tonight, we got a lot of good looks. Some just didn’t go for us, but that’s how we try to get everybody involved on the offense.”

The first quarter was tight — the Rams holding a 12-7 lead through the opening eight minutes — but it snowballed in part by an 11-point run that ultimately gave Spring-Ford a sizable 26-9 halftime advantage.

“The second quarter got away from us. It wasn’t like we got handled or they dominated us, it’s just what’s happened to us all year, we just couldn’t make shots,” Owen J. Roberts coach Jeremy Mellon said. “I think we had six or seven runners in the paint, open 12-footers and just couldn’t hit ‘em. And they did. They’re a good shooting team on most nights and tonight they were pretty good.”

Q3, 1:30 — Katie Tiffan hits her third 3-pointer of the night and is up to nine points for @GbbFord.

Spring-Ford 34, Owen J. Roberts 18 pic.twitter.com/z3FjdzuS2e

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) February 9, 2023

Being ranked outside district tournament qualification, Owen J. Roberts saw its season come to an end. Ava Clemson, Alexa Vogelman and Koury make up the senior class for the Wildcats.

A tough schedule against non-league powerhouses like Unionville and Conestoga, as well as out-of-state powers in Central (Virginia), South Laurel (Kentucky) and Cardinal O’Hara (New York) while in Florida, on top of a stacked Liberty conference toughened up the Wildcats this winter.

And the hope for Mellon’s program is that it helps lay the groundwork for the future, having made a promising four straight PAC tournament appearances now.

“These kids are athletic but they’ve got to put the work in during the offseason so we don’t have quarters like that. We can defend, we can run and we’re athletic, but if we can’t make six or seven runners out of those 10, we’re gonna lose quarters to really good teams,” Mellon said. “If we hit six or seven of those, we’re in a three or four-possession game.”

Spring-Ford — ranked No. 5 in District 1 Class 6A — has a PAC-high 11 conference titles. With No. 2 Phoenixville on deck, the Rams are a step closer to making it six straight.

“We know we have to give it our all,” Azzara said. “There’s a bunch of great teams, so it’s gonna be fun, but we definitely have to play our best.”

Spring-Ford 47, Owen J. Roberts 27