GIRLS’ BASKETBALL: Norristown’s turnaround season ends in PAC quarterfinals against Spring-Ford
ROYERSFORD >> Norristown’s season ended in the Pioneer Athletic Conference quarterfinals Thursday evening when the sixth-seeded Eagles fell to No. 3 Spring-Ford, 68-18, at Spring-Ford Area High School.
The loss doesn’t change what Norristown accomplished this season. The Eagles, who joined the PAC in the 2016-17 season, won their first Liberty Division game on Jan. 5 and earned a spot in the Final 6 playoffs for the first time.
“I’m super proud of the girls,” Norristown coach Greg Bates said. “They made a tremendous turnaround from last year and that’s what we’re proud of. They kept balling no matter what. Any obstacle in the way this year, they kept fighting through. I’m proud of the group of seniors who are leaving. We talked about it last year – we talked about, ‘Hey, next year let’s make playoffs’ and that’s what they did. They set us up to move forward with the program. That’s all we asked them to do. Anything else would have been the icing on the cake, but we’re proud of them.
“Our guards and shooters became guards and shooters,” he added of where he noticed significant improvement this year.
The senior class includes guards Briana Minick, Azjiona Golston, Zaniyah Jones and Carly Douglas and forward Olivia Bennett.
“All of our players are a family,” Golston said. “We’re a family off and on the court, which really helps.”
They beat Boyertown, 51-33, on Jan. 5 to snap a 62-game losing streak in Liberty Division play. Azjiona Golston, Briana Minick and Adrianna Golston all scored in double figures that night, tallying 18, 15 and 13 points, respectively.
The Eagles won three more Liberty Division games in January. They beat Owen J. Roberts 41-38, Methacton 57-34 and Boyertown again 59-42.
Norristown finished the regular season with an 11-11 overall record and just missed the District 1-6A playoffs. They went 7-6 in PAC play and 4-6 in the Liberty Division.
While The Eagles’ run in the PAC playoffs didn’t last long, it was a unique experience for the program. They added a week to their season and had plenty of fan support in their quarterfinal game.
“It was really great,” Azjiona Golston, who led the Eagles with eight points Thursday, said. “A lot of people doubt the girls team at Norristown, so it just felt really good to say that we made it.”
Spring-Ford coach Mickey McDaniel noticed a difference in Norristown this season.
“One of the big changes I saw in Norristown this year was their belief that they can win,” he said. “I think they know at times it’s going to be a challenge, but I was excited. I kept watching the District 1 standings hoping they could get there and they kept moving up and moving up and unfortunately they lost that Owen J. (Roberts) game right at the end… I think that would have been a really good step toward getting into districts, but you can see Greg (Bates) and the staff are making strides with them.
“It takes time because you have to develop a feeder program. You have to develop a youth program to help you, which we’re very blessed to have with a great feeder program in our youth and middle school teams.
“I was impressed that they kept plugging along and got to a point where they made the Final 6 and fell just out of districts. I was really pulling for them to get in.”
McDaniel’s Rams came out on fire on their home floor Thursday. They started the game 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-3 from three-point range, and led 23-8 at the end of the first quarter.
“We need starts like tonight no matter who we’re playing,” McDaniel said. “It’s imperative we come out and get a good start. Not just on the offensive end, but on the defensive end as well. We need to set the tone, set the tempo and play hard and good things will happen for us.”
Anna Azzara scored eight of her game-high 21 points in the first quarter while Aaliyah Solliday had six of her 16 points and Katie Tiffan six of her eight.
The lead grew to 46-13 at halftime and 59-17 through three quarters.
The Rams will face PAC Frontier Division champion Phoenixville in the semifinals Saturday at 7:45 p.m. back at Spring-Ford High School. Spring-Ford beat the second-seeded Phantoms, 60-32, back on Dec. 21.
“We know we’re playing a very good Phoenixville team on Saturday night now,” McDaniel said. “We’ll be ready to go because we know Phoenixville is going to be a formidable opponent. We just know it. We’re the third seed and they’re the second, so in essence we’re the underdog. We have to come ready to play and our girls know that.”
Spring-Ford 68, Norristown 18
Norristown 8 5 4 1 – 18
Spring-Ford 23 23 13 9 – 68
N: Briana Minick 2 0 0-0 4, Azjiona Golston 3 0 2-2 8, Zaniyah Jones 1 0 0-1 2, Carly Douglas 1 0 0-0 2, Olivia Anderson 0 0 1-4 1, Adrianna Golston 0 0 1-2 1, Raniyah Wright 0 0 0-0 0, Olivia Bennett 0 0 0-0 0. Total 7 0 4-9 18.
SF: Kareena Preuss 3 0 0-0 6, Aaliyah Solliday 7 0 2-2 16, Anna Azzara 4 3 4-4 21, Katie Tiffan 1 2 0-0 8, Mac Pettinelli 1 2 0-0 8, Bella Azzara 1 0 0-0 2, Sophia Allocca 0 0 0-0 0, Emma Kaercher 0 0 0-0 0, Siena Miller 0 0 0-0 0, Christina Tiffan 0 0 0-0 0, Miley Maloney 2 0 1-1 5, Haley Prophet 0 0 2-2 2. Total 19 7 9-9 68.
