Methacton rebounds and defends home court against Boyertown

WORCESTER >> A loss can be a powerful motivator.

After dropping Tuesday’s game against Owen J Roberts at home, the first loss on their brand-new floor, the Methacton girls basketball team was eager to make up for it. The Warriors needed to get back to basics, which for them means playing stout defense, getting a lot of rebounds and letting that energy turn into offense.

Methacton’s defense was good, the rebounds were gathered and the offense flowed as the Warriors topped visiting Boyertown 51-31 Thursday night.

“The way we played and losing on our new floor, we had to pull it together quickly,” Methacton senior forward Sydney Hargrove said. “We couldn’t lose again on this floor, that’s what gave us the motivation. It’s a pride thing for us.”

Hargrove and senior Sydney Tornetta each had a double-double while Methacton’s defense cleaned up a number of issues that hurt it against OJR. The Warriors (11-2, 4-2 PAC Liberty) looked to cut off drives, tried to eliminate open 3-point shots and forced the Bears into a multitude of difficult shots.

Boyertown (5-7, 2-3) shot 12-of-42 overall in the game and had to play catch-up after Methacton opened the game on a 12-3 run.

“Owen J is a good team but we didn’t feel we played the way we’re capable of playing,” Methacton coach Craig Kaminski said. “Tonight was more about coming out with the right attitude, getting back on the right side of the tracks and to do that we had to play much better defense and execute much better on offense, so I’m very proud of my team.”

The best defensive possession is one that ends with a missed shot and rebound and the Warriors have plenty of rebounders. A 5-foot-7 guard, Tornetta is one of the top rebounders in program history and surpassed 600 career boards on Tuesday.

Against Boyertown, Tornetta was just as aggressive on the glass with 11 rebounds to accompany 12 points while Hargrove, a 5-foot-6 forward, had one of her strongest all-around games chalking up 10 points and 10 boards.

“Rebounds are a big thing for us and once people get in and start getting rebounds, it gives everyone else energy,” Tornetta said. “Usually they’re those tough rebounds over bigger players and once we get those kind of rebounds, we’re good at throwing it down the floor and getting an open layup or shot.”

“We love it,” Hargrove said. “It gives us a lot of momentum in the games and if we don’t rebound, everyone’s a little slow but when we are rebounding, everyone’s up, everyone is running the floor and active.”

Methacton assisted nine of its 18 makes and a handful of other sharp passes led to trips to the free throw line as the Warriors were able to first break down Boyertown’s zone then work against the Bears’ man-to-man defense. Transition offense sparked both teams in the second quarter, with Methacton scoring the first seven of the frame, two steals fueling a 6-0 Boyertown run and Methacton finishing with the last six.

Hargrove felt the team’s offense was too stagnant on Tuesday, lacking the cuts off the ball and movement that generated many of Thursday’s chances. Methacton didn’t have its cleanest night in terms of finishing, converting 18-of-44 from the floor but attacked the rim plenty and tallied 10 offensive rebounds.

“Syd and I aren’t that tall so it’s all effort,” Hargrove said. “You just have to want it.”

“Once we get a good rebound, we all feed off it,” Tornetta added.

Nicole Timko was able to get going in the second half for the Warriors, scoring 10 of her team-high 15 after the break. Tornetta had 10 of her 12 in the first half and the senior ended the game with 902 career points.

Amber Marburger led the Bears with 10 points while Madison Kornick scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter.

No team ever wants to lose, especially at home but the Warriors took it as motivation. They will look to defend their floor twice next week, hosting Phoenixville on Tuesday and Spring-Ford on Thursday.

“When we lost, it was a shock to us and we were pretty mad about that game,” Tornetta said. “We needed the energy back. It taught us not to take any teams lightly and we know every game is tough from here on out.”

METHACTON 51, BOYERTOWN 31
BOYERTOWN 7 6 7 11 – 31
METHACTON 16 13 6 10 – 51
B: Amber Marburger 5 0-0 10, Mikayla Moyer 0 3-6 3, Emily Hillegas 1 0-0 2, Ashley Kapp 2 0-0 4, Avery Sweisfort 1 1-2 3, Madison Kornick 2 3-3 7, Shannon Ludwig 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 7-11 31.
Methacton: Sydney Tornetta 5 0-2 12, Caroline Pellicano 0 1-2 1, Sydney Hargrove 3 4-4 10, Nicole Timko 6 2-2 15, Tori Bockrath 2 2-2 6, Allison Hazlett 2 3-4 7. Totals: 18 12-16 51.
3-pointers: M – Tornetta 2, Timko.