Girls Do It Again! On to Semifinals

The girls basketball team has done it again. In its latest victory, the team passes through another gateway of opportunity, heading to the semifinals on Tuesday night. The Lady Rams defeated Cheltenham on Friday night at Norristown High School, 71-44.

Cheltenham was one of two teams that defeated the girls in this spectacular 2011-12 season. The Panthers gave the Rams its first loss in the very first game of the season. Much of that loss, the girls admit, was at the hands of senior star C.C. Andrews. Head Coach Jeff Rinehimer said the strategy against Andrews on Friday night was simple.

"Try your best," Rinehimer chuckled. "That’s what it is. It’s just try your best. You’ve got to eliminate some run-outs and try to make it tough. She has a game of hitting off the dribble. We saw it last year when she hit 30 on us. That’s a different type of game and it’s so hard to stop, because she gets in that lane, elevates and hits that shot. They use her in the best spots and the coach does a great job with them."

Andrews put up 23 points on the Rams, along with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. However, the girls were able to get Andrews to turn the ball over 10 times over the course of the game. Those mistakes opened up opportunities for Spring-Ford to capitalize on.

It was a tough first half, with the opening tip being a scramble between Andrews and Spring-Ford junior Sarah Payonk, who has shown tremendous work ethic and persistence in the postseason. Payonk scored five points in the game, but led the team in rebounds with eight and had three steals and two assists.

The aggression continued on both sides, with the first four minutes turning out fairly even - both sides trading shots back-and-forth.

"It was really aggressive. C.C. was setting the tone for them," Rinehimer said. "It was really up and down out there. They matched the intensity and we had to up it, because they were matching right with us."

In an yesterday with Patch, senior guard Jaida Burgess said in the first game against Cheltenham, the girls were not ready for Andrews or the Panthers' rebounding and aggression. Friday night proved much different than the first time around, and the Rams were able to grab 15 rebounds on offense and 37 total.

One big example of aggressive rebounding was junior Courtney Hinnant. She grabbed six boards and took advantage. She finished the night with 13 points, taking mid-range shots and driving to the hoop. Hinnant agreed the team knew what it had to do.

"The last time we played them, we really struggled getting defensive and offensive rebounds," she said. "We knew that if we didn’t do that this game, it just wasn’t going to work out for us. We came into this game really pushing for rebounding – everybody needed to box out, everybody needed to help get rebounds, because that’s what really helped us out this game."

The second quarter was not much different, with much aggression to show on both sides of the ball. Both teams ended up in the bonus by the midway point, and foul shots were traded as the Spring-Ford faithful crowd showed its support with loud cheers.

The half ended with a small gap for the Lady Rams, 28-22. But, something, and Rinehimer didn't identify what, changed for both teams by the start of the third quarter.

"I just think staying with what we were doing by halftime," Rinehimer said. "Nothing really changed. We kept trying to play hard defense, seeing if you could get your hand on the ball and get some run-outs."

The depth of the Spring-Ford squad certainly shined through. Allowing the starters to rest were Shelby Mueller, Burgess, and Sammi Haas. Lynch hit a beautiful 3-pointer toward the end of the third quarter, at which point Panthers head coach Bob Schaefer had to call time out.

"It helps when they come in and they’re not being a stopgap," Rinehimer said. "They contribute and all bring a special thing to the table. Maybe some rebounding off the bench, or energy off the bench pushing the ball. They all bring some different types of qualities."

Lynch's 3-pointer put the girls ahead 49-30, which at the time was the biggest lead of the night. The girls finished out the third with a 59-33 lead, and the end was near for Cheltenham.

But even still, the girls remained modest.

"I think we could’ve played faster, maybe," said senior captain . "There’s definitely things we need to work on. It wasn’t completely perfect. For us, it wasn’t good enough."

When the final buzzer sounded, the girls had put up more than 70 points, defeated Cheltenham when it counted and moving on to Tuesday's semifinals. They'll play Archbishop Carroll. Time and location is to be announced.

"We’ve seen them play once before," Traywick said. "They’re a really good team. Practice the next couple of days is going to be rough, so we can come out prepared for them."

Spring-Ford Statistics

Points
Sammy Stipa - 18
Mariah Traywick - 17
Courtney Hinnant - 13
Brittany Moore - 5
Sarah Payonk - 5
Sammi Haas - 4
Shelby Mueller - 4
Nikki Lynch - 3
Jaida Burgess - 2

Rebounds
Payonk - 8
Traywick - 7
Mueller - 7
Hinnant - 6
Stipa - 3
Maggie Locke - 2
Moore - 1
Lynch - 1
Haas - 1
Haley Puckett - 1

Assists
Moore - 3
Payonk - 3
Stipa - 1
Traywick - 1
Burgess - 1
Haas - 1

Blocks
Moore - 1
Traywick - 1

Steals
Payonk - 3
Hinnant - 1
Stipa - 1