Abington girls advance to district semifinals
It was "right there," Kassondra Brown said. To the Abington sophomore, it looked "golden." As the forward crashed the boards after missing a free throw, Brown saw the basketball about to be corralled by a North Penn player. The ball, right there. The opportunity, golden.
It was "right there," Kassondra Brown said.
To the Abington sophomore, it looked "golden."
As the forward crashed the boards after missing a free throw, Brown saw the basketball about to be corralled by a North Penn player. The ball, right there. The opportunity, golden.
Instead of her opponent's getting it, Brown fought her way, grabbed it, and put it back up, missing the initial shot but capitalizing on the second effort.
It extended the lead for the Ghosts in a tight contest, a basket the group needed to put the Knights away, 51-44, in the quarterfinals of the District 1 6A tournament.
"That was a very big moment because I'm not really confident when I go to the foul line," Brown said. "When I saw the ball go through her fingertips, I knew the ball was mine. I had to get that and put it back up."
The game was billed as a matchup between a team with good guards and a team with good post players by Abington coach Dan Marsh, and the size of the Ghosts (20-5) proved to be too much for the Knights (21-4).
Brown and senior Lizzie Oleary combined for 24 points and 18 rebounds, using their 6-foot-2 frames to take it to the basket, earn second-chance points, and draw fouls.
When they didn't have a clear lane to the hoop, they kicked it out to sharp-shooting junior guard Sam Brusha.
"She hit some really big threes," Oleary said. "I'm so proud of her. She played so well today."
While the physicality of Abington and the shooting of Brusha gave the Knights problems, it was a controversial fourth foul call on North Penn point guard Sam Carangi that changed the tide of the game in the third quarter.
"The second half we knew they were in foul trouble, so we drove it in and took it at them," Oleary said. "We wanted to make sure we got to the line, knocked down our free throws, and put the game away."
They did just that, and so the Ghosts advanced to the semifinals against Central Bucks West at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bensalem.
It is the second appearance in three years for Abington.
Oleary remembers the feeling well.
Brown has never been there before.
She's about to find out.
Abington 9 11 13 18 - 51
North Penn 9 10 12 13 - 44
A: Sam Brusha 16, Lizzie Oleary 14, Kassondra Brown 10, Camryn Lexow 6, Britney James 3, Miranda Liebtag 2
NP: Sam Carangi 11, Bri Hewlett 10, Irisa Ye 9, Jess Huber 8, Jess McKenzie 4, Jenny Hulmes 2