Phoenixville girls basketball holds on late, fends off Pottstown

POTTSTOWN >> The Phoenixville girls basketball team has struggled to close out games against Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier foes this season.

A pair of one-point losses to Pope John Paul II and Upper Merion to begin divisional play was less than ideal for the Phantoms. And with Pottstown chipping away at Phoenixville’s lead in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter on Thursday, it was time for a gut-check.

“Losing by one just really put a fire in us,” senior Caroline Flick said. “We just really wanted to have a team effort and get this win.”

With the help of some late shots at the line, the Phantoms flipped the script and closed out a 42-38 win at Strom Gym. Flick scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in the first half — all from 3-point range to balloon a 24-12 halftime advantage.

Ava Gnias (10 points) added a pair of threes as Phoenixville swarmed the perimeter early on.

“We weren’t necessarily going for it (from 3-point range), they were just leaving us open and we were just taking the shots that were open and hitting them,” Flick said.

A putback with less than a minute left in the game saw Pottstown down by just three points. The closest the Trojans cut it was 5-4 midway through the first quarter after a 3-pointer from Jayanna Hill (eight points), but the Phantoms never trailed.

Q3, 1:14 — Caroline Flick has been doing damage from beyond the arc tonight.

But here she puts Phoenixville back up by double digits again in the paint.

Phoenixville 33, Pottstown 22 pic.twitter.com/VViIlMh8re

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) January 6, 2023

Following the graduation of Trinell Watson — last year’s leading scorer in the PAC and Pottstown’s 12th all-time 1,000-point scorer — senior guard Tamya Jarrett has emerged as the go-to bucket for the Trojans.

The four-year starter has upped her ante through 2022-23, averaging 16.6 ppg — 4.6 more than last season and second behind only Spring-Ford’s Anna Azzara (17.5). Against Phoenixville, Jarrett had 12 points and seven rebounds, both team-highs.

“I thought coming into this year, there would be a bit of a dropoff in losing Trinell,” Pottstown coach Madison Morton said. “I knew Tamya coming into her senior year, she’s been improving every year going forward, so I’m not surprised she’s able to do some of the things she’s doing.”

Q2, 5:00 — Tamya Jarrett hits a wide open three to cut it 15-7 for Pottstown.

Jarrett is averaging 16.6 ppg, second most in the PAC. pic.twitter.com/XUNUSbfHcI

— Evan Wheaton (@EvanWheaton) January 5, 2023

For Phoenixville, playing ahead all game — and more importantly, closing it out — meant finding ways to slow down Jarrett’s production. The problem for the Phantoms? Jarrett began heating up with eight second-half points.

The third quarter started with a bang for the Trojans after an and-one from Ashley Weller (three points). From there, Phoenixville was outscored 14-9 entering the final eight minutes.

“It’s just self control. Recognizing that we can take our time,” Phantoms coach Tracey Sterling said on her squad’s fourth-quarter management. “We don’t need to score. We’re up. Taking care of the ball, working together as a team, taking good shots, good shot selection. We work best when we play together and the girls did a good job of that tonight.”

The Phantoms were able to find points in transition and shot 5-for-10 at the line to go the distance, outlasting a 12-point effort from the Trojans in the frame.

Ranked No. 16 among District 1 Class 5A schools, the win was a convincing one for Phoenixville playing up to Pottstown, the latter of which sits two spots higher.

Having two divisional wins so far, the Trojans already have as many wins against Frontier opponents as they did through 2021-22. And having played competitively against larger schools this season, such as a one-point win over Norristown, Pottstown is right in the middle of the PAC.

“I’m not big on the moral victories, but going 42-38 with the way Phoenixville was playing, I think a year ago that’s a double-digit loss for us,” Morton said. “I look at it in terms of we didn’t win the game, but we’ve definitely improved and on the path we want to go, but we’re just not there yet.”