Souderton stays sharp with defensive win over Gwynedd Mercy
FRANCONIA >> The last few games, Souderton girls’basketball coach Lynn Carroll is starting to see glimpses from her team.
The fact those glimpses have come during a slate of three challenging games leading into Thursday’s regular season finale are only an added bonus. As a season that’s already exceeding expectations heads towards its second phase, the Indians are showing glimpses of the teams in recent years.
Souderton continued to put things together with a robust defensive effort Monday during a 44-33 win over visiting Gwynedd Mercy Academy.
“There are times I’m watching our team play and they remind me a lot of the kids that were playing here over the last three years,” Carroll said. “We’ve just come such a long way since the beginning of the season.”
Of course, this group has yet to accomplish what those teams did by going to the state tournament three straight years with a District 1 title to boot, but it’s a good foundation to start building on.
Defense has been the Indians’ calling card all season and they had one of their best performances of the season on Monday against a good Monarchs team. Senior Mikaela Reese was a presence on the back end of the defense, posting four blocks, four steals and nine rebounds to go with her game-high 18 points.
That’s just what Reese does, Carroll describing her lone senior as someone who does whatever it takes to win. A closedown defense performance is becoming just what freshman Casey Harter does too and the point guard was excellent shadowing Gwynedd Mercy’s Kaylie Griffin.
“(Harter) was on the foul line late in the game, she makes the first one and I looked up at the scoreboard and thought ‘she only has three points?’,” Carroll said. “She’s been incredible. Griffin is a good, good player, it’s hard to match up with her speed and obviously how good of a shooter she is. (Harter) plays 32 minutes, I can’t take her off the court.”
Harter only scored four points, but it was an effort where points told very little of the story. The freshman never left the floor, contained Griffin to eight points with no made 3-pointers and found time to dish four assists and reject four shots while handling GMA’s press defense.
“She’s a tank,” Reese said emphatically of her freshman teammate.
Harter, who couldn’t hide a smile at the comment, said she’s been drawing on her teammate’s energy and support to stay locked in while she’s on the court. Likewise, she didn’t want to leave her teammates out of the equation on the defensive effort.
Souderton held the Monarchs to 5-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc as a team.
“We knew (Griffin)’s a shooter, really their whole team are shooters, but she can get her shot off fast,” Harter said. “I just wanted to stay up on her, hedge the picks and get over them.”
“Communication was our biggest thing,” Reese said. “You can get screened and the shot’s right there if you don’t know it’s coming. Everyone played good help defense too, you always need the help there if you’re hedging.”
There’s another weapon in the Souderton arsenal, one that doesn’t become apparent until watching the Indians play.
“Everyone has really long arms,” Reese said. “We have a lot of shot-blockers and I think we’re starting to use that to our advantage, being able to get those blocks and steals.”
Souderton trailed 6-5 after the first quarter but opened the second on a 7-0 run and never looked back. Reese helped spark her team with three steals in the quarter, plus a pair of blocks to go with four points as the Indians took a 16-11 lead to the break.
The senior center hit a three early in the third quarter, a shot Carroll admitted she didn’t like until it went in but Reese was feeling it. She hit a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor in the second half, knocking in six points in the third quarter including a highlight step-back jumper from the foul line late in the frame.
“You kind of get a groove going,” Reese said. “It’s a mentality. It can be a mental game, you miss one shot and start to think ‘I don’t know if I want to shoot,’ so it’s all mentally being there and if you don’t make a shot, knowing you can get another chance.”
The Indians didn’t give up much on Monday and seemingly every time Gwynedd Mercy got a score, Souderton came back with an answer. Sofia Coleman scored the last five for the Monarchs, but they still trailed 29-21 at the end of the third thanks to a late score by Reese.
Sarah White and Hannah Griffin each hit threes in the fourth, although both times Souderton answered with a basket off a press break. Hannah Griffin scored inside the arc with 4:52 left, cutting the lead to 37-30 and giving her team some life.
Leave it to Reese to quiet that. A three from the top of the key by the senior put the Indians up 10 with 3:29 to go.
“We want to finish the season strong,” Harter said. “We’re only worried about the wins, so we’re going out and playing as a team and working together.
“We pushed ourselves to get to this point, so I wouldn’t say we’re surprised because we’ve been working really hard.”
“This team, they impress me more and more all the time,” Carroll said. “We knew these final four games, we control our destiny and could make some movement in the rankings. We also knew they were tough games and if you told me two weeks ago we’d win the first three of these, I can’t be happier. These kids are really playing at a high level.”
The Monarchs are part of a tie in the AACA standings that will be sorted out Tuesday, then will play in the league semifinals on Saturday at La Salle College High School. Gwynedd Mercy, the defending District 1-4A champion, will also be the top seed for districts.
Souderton entered the game in the No. 12 spot for the District 1-6A playoffs with one game left Thursday night against Quakertown. Reese, who’s been through a couple deep playoff runs in her time with the program, noted a potential first round home game would be a huge get for her otherwise young team.
“I’ve played home playoff games and away playoff games and the atmosphere is different,” Reese said. “You get friends coming out to the home games, you practice here so you have the feel for where on the court you can get your most comfortable shots.”
SOUDERTON 44, GWYNEDD MERCY 33
SOUDERTON 5 11 13 15 – 44
GWYNEDD MERCY 6 5 10 12 – 33
Souderton: Jordan Zimmerman 3 0-0 7, Olivia Schneider 1 2-3 4, Casey Harter 0 4-4 4, Hannah Alderfer 0 2-2 2, Mikaela Reese 7 2-2 18, Erin Bohmueller 1 0-0 3, Hayley Fenchel 3 0-0 6. Totals: 15 10-11 44
Gwynedd Mercy: Kaylie Griffin 3 2-4 8, Sarah White 2 0-0 6, Reganne Flannery 2 0-0 6, Sofia Coleman 2 3-4 7, Bianca Coleman 0 1-2 1, Hannah Griffin 2 0-0 5. Totals: 11 6-10 33.
3-pointers: S – Reese 2, Zimmerman, Bohmueller; GMA – White 2, Flannery 2, H White.
