No. 5 Spring-Ford girls basketball downs No. 21 North Penn, clinches state berth

ROYERSFORD >> The Spring-Ford girls basketball team is right back where it usually is this time of year after clinching its sixth straight berth in the PIAA Tournament Wednesday night with a 64-45 win over North Penn in a District 1-6A second-round contest.

Anna Azzara scored 20, Mac Pettinelli had 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Siena Miller and Megan Robbins each scored nine for the No. 5 seed Rams (22-4). Caleigh Sperling scored 12 and Abby Plaugher 10 for the No. 21 seed visiting Maidens (13-11).

Spring-Ford advances to a quarterfinal contest Saturday at 1 p.m. at No. 4 Souderton, a 53-31 winner over Garnet Valley. North Penn needs a win at Garnet Valley on Saturday to secure one of the district’s 12 spots in state play.

“It’s really good for us,” Pettinelli said concerning the Rams’ first district win after receiving a bye in the first round and their first since losing to Perkiomen Valley in the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship game. “We really needed this one after the loss in the PACs. We want people to know we’re still here.”

“I think we put a lot of work in in practice,” said Miller, who made three 3-point baskets. “We played together as a team.”

Neither team shot well in the first quarter that ended 9-7 in favor of the Rams. Then after a slow start to the second, Spring-Ford began to hit its shots as Azzara and Miller knocked down 3-pointers from the right corner for a 17-9 advantage and the Rams went on to lead 22-12 at the half.

Then the first few minutes of the third quarter proved to be decisive as the Maidens continued to have shooting troubles. On the other hand, the Rams ran off eight straight points with Azzara hitting on a 3-point try and Katie Tiffan scoring on a fast break off a pass from Pettinelli, who then hit a 3-pointer of her own for a 30-15 advantage.

“We didn’t shoot well,” said North Penn coach Brianna Cullen. “Sometimes when we’re not shooting well, it’s hard to pick up the intensity in other areas.”

Spring-Ford eventually shot 10-for-13 from the floor in the third quarter to increase its lead to 47-26.

The Rams wound up at 54% from the field (27 for 50), while North Penn shot 39% through three quarters and 42% on the night. Spring-Ford had a 29-23 advantage in rebounds and both teams turned the ball over 12 times. The Rams shot just four free throws, making two, and the Maidens went 16-for-22 from the line.

“Spring-Ford’s a really, really good team,” said Cullen. “They’re well-coached. We learned a lot about ourselves tonight and we’ll be ready for our next opponent.”

Azzara had six assists as part of a total of 20 for the Rams.

“They did a good job of moving the ball,” said Cullen. “It makes it very difficult to match up.”

Miller hit the first basket of the game off a pass from Robbins and missed only one shot on the night.

“When we drive to the basket, we get all the pressure and sling it out for open shots,” she said.

The Rams have finished in the top four in the district the past five years, including a runner-up finish last season and a championship in 2021, and they have no plans to take it easy now after clinching a state spot.

“We’ve got to keep putting the work in,” said Miller.

“We always take this as if it could be our last game,” added Pettinelli, a 5-10 junior guard who leads the team in assists and rebounds.“We want to keep winning for the seniors (Robbins and Riley Quinn). We know Souderton is going to be a hard one.”

The Maidens will now have a must-win game against No. 20 seed Garnet Valley.

“It’s been an up-and-down season,” said Cullen, whose team started out 4-6 and then won five in a row. “We’ve been playing some strong teams and learned a lot along the way.”

Spring-Ford 64, North Penn 45

North Penn: Crowley 1 0-0 2, Orth 0 2-2 2, Sperling 2 8-12 12, Samassa 0 0-0 0, Plaugher 4 1-2 10, McGee 0 2-2 2, Rudnick 0 0-0 0, Halfpenny 0 0-0 0, Donnelly 2 0-0 6, Mikulski 0 2-2 2, Stone 4 1-2 9, Smink 0 0-0 0, Totals 13 16-22 45
Spring-Ford: Brescia 2 0-0 4, Preuss 3 0-0 7, Allocca 0 0-0 0, Miller 3 0-0 9, A Azzara 9 1-1 20, K Tiffan 2 0-0 5, C Tiffan 0 0-1 0, Vanderzee 0 0-0 0, Pettinelli 4 0-0 10, Quinn 0 0-0 0, Prophet 0 0-0 0, Robbins 4 1-2 9, Totals 27 2-4 64
3-point goals: Plaugher, Donnelly 2, Preuss, Miller 3, A Azzara, K Tiffan, Pettinelli 2