TOWAMENCIN- The North Penn Knights’ girls basketball game against the Pennridge Rams was the type of game you watch all the way until the end. The Knights (0-5) had trouble keeping up with the Rams (2-3) in the first half, but in the second half, the Knights kept the fans anticipating. Down to the last minute, the Knights kept putting up shots, but they were unable to catch back up to the Rams, losing 42-46.

“We didn’t play up to our own expectation. We played much better against Neshaminy and CB South, I really thought we were making progress. Tonight, Pennridge came out very well and we did not match their intensity. We gave up a lot of points in the first quarter, but for the rest of the game I thought we buckled down,” said Head Coach Maggie DeMarteleire.

The Rams were aggressive with the ball right from the tip off and had no problem making it into the net. The Knights had many turnovers, giving the Rams more opportunities to shoot. While the Rams were making shot after shot, the Knights had a lot of trouble getting the ball into the basket. The Knights only had a few drives, along with a couple foul shots, trailing behind the Rams at the end of the quarter 21-11.   

“I think we came out slow which was probably our biggest downfall. Then we came out in the second half, picked it back up, and only just lost at the end. I think we came out underestimating their shot and next time we should come out ready to close out on every shot. We’re in a slump and we need to get out of it. Coming into this game, we thought this was our game and that we needed to push through it, but we just came up short,” said sophomore point guard, Carley Adams.

At the start of the second quarter the Knights tried to make a come back and were much more aggressive to the net. The Rams answered by making a shot almost every time the Knights did. By the end of the half the Knights made it an 8 point game, 27-19.

“I think we worked pretty hard, but we fell hard a few times and they capitalized on that. I think we could do better closing out next time. We did try to identify the shooters, play out more on them, and help [guard] when they drove. I think our biggest problem is that we don’t ball fake and see the defense when we pass. When we pass, we just get out of control and throw up things. So, if we just work on composure and seeing the floor better, I think our passes will come,” said Jessica McKenzie.

The Knights started off the third quarter strong with a 3 point shot made by senior Jenny Hulmes. From that point on, the Rams and the Knights went back and forth. Hulmes kept making 3 point shots to keep up with the Rams. By the time they entered the 4th quarter, the Knights had made it a 2 point game. The Knights took the lead when junior Cayla Sharkey made a 3 point shot to put the Knights one point ahead. The Rams put on the pressure in the last five minutes, and the Knights had trouble making anymore shots.  

“Our shooting was not good, but more than that it was our decision making and turnovers that hurt us. We are going to have to run off screens better and make harder cuts. Overall, we are going to have to see the floor better,” said Coach DeMarteleire.

The Knights travel to Central Bucks East on Friday at 7pm.

SCORING

North Penn

Mackenzie, 13; Sharkey, 11; Lindsay, 6; Hulmes, 4; Adams, 4; Hewlett, 4;

Souderton

Muredda, 13; Cramer, 9; Bachtle, 8; Anderson, 6; McCormick, 3; Mart, 2; Loughery, 2; Cweiber, 2;