Jenkintown surges past Upper Moreland in 2nd half
JENKINTOWN >> Playing in the Bicentennial Athletic League, the Jenkintown girls basketball team doesn’t see too many 2-3 defenses.
So when the Drakes took the floor against Upper Moreland’s Tuesday night they weren’t quite sure what to do with it. The Golden Bears are scrappy and they did a good job of mucking things up for a half.
But once Jenkintown got a few outside shots to fall and figured out that zone, they took off.
A strong third quarter helped push the Drakes over Upper Moreland, 43-26 in the championship of the Robert Hopf Memorial Basketball Tournament. Guard Jen Kremp hit for 11 of her 12 points after the half, including three 3-pointers, to spark the Drakes.
“It was not very pretty,” Jenkintown coach Jim Romano admitted. “That first half, we didn’t play very well. I don’t know what the reason would be, but the second half we got it to go again a little bit.”
With this coming a night after the Drakes got off to a great start against Springfield Twp, they needed a bit more time to get going. It took a basket by Natalie Kolb with 1.4 seconds left in the first quarter to give Jenkintown its first lead at 7-6, but it would not trail again.
What was most problematic early on was missed shots around the rim for Jenkintown. The Bears got a lot of bodies in the way, contributing to the slow offensive start. Jenkintown never really capitalized on Upper Moreland’s first-half turnovers and had to settle for a 15-11 lead at the break.
“They did a really nice job,” Romano said. “That 2-3 zone really tested our ability to break it. We usually see a 3-2 or man-to-man so I thought (UM) did a really nice job of trying to get us out of the game, which they did in the first half.”
Upper Moreland is in a position where it is trying to make progress with each game. After a win over Sacred Heart Monday, the Bears did some good things against Jenkintown as well.
“We played a very good game tonight,” Bears coach Ed Decker said. “They trap very well but if we could avoid the traps, we could get some easy layups like we did tonight. We made a few mistakes and didn’t shoot well from the foul line but overall, I’m very proud of these kids.”
Jen Kremp and sister Ashley took over to start the second half, with Jen canning a 3 just 11 seconds into the quarter and Ashley hitting one with 4:18 left in the frame. After Ashley’s triple, Arena sank a pair of foul shots and Jen hit her second from deep in the quarter to cap a 14-2 run to begin the second half.
All 14 points either came via the longball or at the foul line, the two things most useful in opening up a zone.
“Jen Kremp really had a good game in that second half,” Romano said. “They finally decided that’s what we had to do. We like to drive the ball to the basket and get on the foul line. The foul shooting in the second half was a lot better.”
Jenkintown was again led by Amelia Mulvaney, who was named the tournament’s MVP after a 13-point performance against Upper Moreland. The forward had three steals and was all over the passing lanes, knocking a number of balls off-target or out of bounds.
The Drakes will return after the holiday and gear up for the return leg of BAL play, starting with a road game at Delco Christian.
For Upper Moreland, playing in the Suburban One League American is tough, especially with the bigger AAAA schools. So getting a win on Monday coupled with a good outing Tuesday should provide some confidence for a group that’s looking to reach the next level.
“I think we have enough experience now that we should be getting better,” Decker said. “Jenkintown’s a good team, but I think if we do a couple things, it’s not a 16 point game. Sometimes, you need to come back and a win like that shows you the hard work is going to pay off.”
