North Penn comes through in the clutch, beats Council Rock South

SOUTHAMPTON >> This time, North Penn thrived in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve struggled finishing games so far this season so it’s nice to see us compete the entire game and come out with a win,” said coach Brianna Cullen after Thursday night’s clash with Council Rock South.

The Knights had inspired play at both ends of the court and buckled down for a satisfying 50-45 victory over the Golden Hawks in a Suburban One League crossover game at South.

“That’s a very fast-paced team,” Cullen said. “They love a fast game. So keeping up, running transition defense and really staying composed while pushing the ball was key.”

The victory was North Penn’s second in a row and it raised the Knights’ overall record to 6-6. NP is currently 4-4 in the SOL Colonial.

The Golden Hawks are now 8-3 on the season and remain 6-2 in the SOL Patriot.

North Penn took a 34-33 lead into the fourth on Thursday night and held firm. Caleigh Sperling’s game-high 24 points and all-around effort keyed the Knights’ win on the road.

“She’s a great player. She’s really learning how to be unselfish with the ball, distribute, and find her points later down the line,” Cullen said.

Sperling kept getting to the line in the fourth and extended the NP lead to four with a minute to go, and to five with 44 ticks left. She was also pivotal to a balanced attack for the Knights.

“I was just trying to kick it out and get my teammates involved. They really stepped up today and did really well,” she said.

Olivia Stone added 11 points for the Knights and Cameron Crowley had six.

Tallie Smink buried a three to extend NP’s lead to 40-35 with four minutes remaining.

A steal by Crowley kept momentum on North Penn’s side and a foul shot by Stone made it 46-43 with under a minute to go.

The Knights guarded things tightly, resulting in a missed three by Rock South with 12 seconds left.

Stone’s two free throws with 11 ticks to go locked it up for the Knights.

On what made the difference in the fourth, Sperling said: “Being able to push the ball, break the press, and have good passes. Everyone was being strong with the ball and not forcing it.”

The Knights look to continue their surge. They’re at Upper Dublin on Saturday and Rock South is at Pennridge Tuesday.

“This is a big one,” Cullen said of the win. “That is a very good team, very well coached. There’s a rivalry there so to see them come out with a win is really nice.”

North Penn 50, Council Rock South 45
North Penn 10 16 8 16 – 50
Council Rock Rock South 14 12 7 12 – 45
North Penn: 2 Cameron Crowley 2 2-2 6, 3 Emily Orth 0 0-2 0, 4 Caleigh Sperling 8 6-11 24, 20 Kelly Donnelly 1 0-0 2, 23 Olivia Stone 3 3-4 11, 42 Tallie Smink 1 0-0 3, 10 Abby Plaugher 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 11-19 50.
Council Rock South: 2 Liliana Metrick 3 2-2 10, 4 Lily Bross 2 1-2 6, 13 Katie Purpura 2 0-0 5, 21 Cam Gregory 2 0-0 4, 22 Fiona Reckner 2 1-2 7, 30 Karissa Smedley 5 1-4 11, 32 Darcy Leight 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 5-10 45.
3-pointers: NP-Sperling 2, Stone 2, Smink; CRS-Metrick 2, Bross, Purpura, Reckner 2.