North Penn overwhelms Downingtown West
TOWAMENCIN >> North Penn’s defense got control of the game early and put a tight squeeze on it after halftime.
The Maidens overwhelmed visiting Downingtown West in a non-league game Tuesday night, as NP forced numerous turnovers, scored in transition, and won convincingly, 48-16, in a rematch of last year’s District One Class AAAA first-round contest, also won by North Penn (45-20).
“All weekend, we had been working on our defense and buckling down because Friday night was a disappointing loss to Perkiomen Valley, so we knew we had to bounce back,” said the Maidens’ Sam Carangi, who scored a game-high 13 points in the win. “Defense sets up offense — that’s what we always say. So if we play well and stay active on defense, it’s gonna help our offense.”
The Maidens, winning their second straight, put the game away in the third quarter. Allowing just a single point in the period, their lead grew to 45-12.
A steal at midcourt and layup by Irisa Ye exemplified the night for the North Penn defense, and shortly after, Carangi scored on a fast break to put NP further out in front.
A dominant quarter by the Maidens was capped by a three by Mia Melchior, who hit a pair of three-pointers in the contest.
“I thought we made a huge improvement from the weekend to this game,” Maidens coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “And offensively, I felt like the kids were very unselfish and very patient. It was a very good team win.”
North Penn built a 15-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended it in the second.
A three by Melchior got the Maidens (2-1) started, and moments later Melchior scored again — this time off a rebound — to boost the North Penn advantage to 20-7.
North Penn was scoring in transition and making key hustle plays to add to its lead — Jess McKenzie saved a loose ball before it went out of bounds, getting it to Hewlett for a layup that made it 25-9.
The Maidens forced another turnover that ultimately set up a drive to the basket by Carangi, and threes by Irisa Ye and Hewlett (10 points) helped stretch the margin to 32-11 at the break.
Heather Camden’s eight points would lead the Whippets (2-1).
“They’re always a good team and we know we have to come out with intensity because they’re gonna be in your face,” Carangi said of West. “Friday, we play CB South (in the SOL Continental opener), so that should be a really good game. They’re a good team.
“We have to keep working on our defense because we can’t just let them get open shots, because they’ll knock ‘em down.”
