TOWAMENCIN- The North Penn Lady Knights knew before tip-off that this was more than a game. They knew it was more than a playoff game. The team, especially the seniors, came into the game knowing head coach Maggie Demarteleire sat at 399 wins. The Lady Knights ensured Saturday afternoon that she would end the day with 400, and that their post season run would be more than one and done.
“It feels so good to be a part of something this monumental for her,” said senior Steph Knauer. “She really deserved it.”
“It feels great to be a part of something so special,” said senior Brenda McDermott. “She is a great coach and we were all happy that we could win her 400th game for her.”
The girls were especially excited to get that win since it was a first round game of the district one playoffs. In a nail-biter battle, North Penn emerged victorious, 48-42..
CR North seemed to be the dominant team most of the game as they held a lead until there were only four minutes left in the game. At that point, North Penn finally gained the momentum they were desperately searching for the entire game.
“I think we need to come out stronger from the start of the game,” said McDermott. “Everyone was a little nervous before the game so hopefully we can shake that off for next game.”
North Penn did not play like the North Penn team everyone saw throughout the season, but with four minutes remaining, they transformed back into the team everyone expected them to be.
“We have really good team chemistry and we all tried to stay positive throughout the game,” said McDermott. “We knew this was not going to be our last game.”
The girls know this win was an important one, but now they now shift their focus to the next game.
“It feels good to just get it over with and to move on to the next one,” said Knauer.
The team knows that they need to improve in several areas if they want to keep winning.
“We need to make sure we come out from the start of the game and our defense needs to stay strong the whole time,” said Knauer.
North Penn will look to continue their run for a state title on Wednesday when they travel to 8th seeded Methacton High School.
Jewel Rama • Feb 21, 2012 at 11:15 pm
This was such a great game. It has been great watching the girls, as the season went along. It was evident that they were working hard, and applying what they worked on at practice during their games.