District One Class A semifinal: Morrisville 50, Sacred Heart 42
Morrisville reaches district final
Posted: Thursday, March 1, 2012 12:00 am | Updated: 6:30 am, Thu Mar 1, 2012.
LOWER GWYNEDD — Michelle Evans knows Morrisville girls basketball usually is not feared by other teams, but she also knows this is not a usual year for the Bulldogs.
“We want to put up a championship banner in the gym,” said Evans, a senior guard. “We don’t have one there for the girls.”
Morrisville took a major step toward getting that banner on Wednesday night as it defeated Sacred Heart, 50-42, in a District One Class A semifinal at Wissahickon.
The Bulldogs, the No. 1 seed, will face third-seeded Delaware County Christian for the championship on Saturday (noon) at Haverford College.
The victory also clinched a state playoff berth for the Bulldogs. Morrisville last made the district final in 1998, when it lost to Jenkintown.
Morrisville beat Delco Christian twice during the regular season, by scores of 46-40 and 47-35.
However, Delco has a lot of experience being in district finals.
“It’s going to be a good game,” said Evans, who scored a team-high 12 points. “It would mean a lot to Morrisville if we could win it. It would make a statement for our town.
“I can’t wait for it.”
Morrisville might be anxious to play for the title, but a few days off are probably needed for a battered team.
Evans got sick before the game, forward Cassandra Gainey had a virus, and center Katherine Brown needed pain reliever to be able to play.
“I didn’t expect to play this well,” said Gainey, who scored 11 points, including six in the fourth quarter. “I didn’t think I would score 11 points.”
Sacred Heart, the No. 4 seed, would not be intimidated by the Bulldogs. It plays in the rugged Athletic Association of Catholic Academies, where it faces basketball powers like Villa Joseph Marie, Mount St. Joseph and Villa Maria Academy on a regular basis.
“That they were from such a big league made us want to win even more,” said Evans.
The Bulldogs were sloppy on offense in the first half (committing 12 turnovers) and had several defensive breakdowns that were quite unusual for them.
Although Morrisville held an 18-17 lead at halftime, players and coaches were not happy with their play.
“We taked in the locker room,” said Evans. “Usually, our defense is what we do best, but it wasn’t there in the first half.”
The Bulldogs sharpened their full-court press and forced Sacred Heart to commit nine turnovers in the third period.
The steals fueled Morrisville’s offense. Evans scored six points in the third quarter by taking the steals and going right to the basket.
By the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs held a 32-23 lead.
“We just went after it,” said Gainey.
Sacred Heart finally found its shooting touch in the fourth quarter, knocking in four 3-pointers.
Morrisville’s lead was cut to six several times, and it looked like at times like Sacred Heart was ready to take control.
However, the Bulldogs always responded with a basket by either Evans, Gainey, senior Kievanna Lacey (10 points) or freshman Delila Mena (four fourth-quarter points) when Sacred Heart tried to make a run.
“We had a lot of nerves; it took us a while to get warmed up,” said Gainey. “We want to make our goal, which is to be the champions.”
“We want to put up a championship banner in the gym,” said Evans, a senior guard. “We don’t have one there for the girls.”
The Bulldogs, the No. 1 seed, will face third-seeded Delaware County Christian for the championship on Saturday (noon) at Haverford College.
The victory also clinched a state playoff berth for the Bulldogs. Morrisville last made the district final in 1998, when it lost to Jenkintown.
Morrisville beat Delco Christian twice during the regular season, by scores of 46-40 and 47-35.
However, Delco has a lot of experience being in district finals.
“It’s going to be a good game,” said Evans, who scored a team-high 12 points. “It would mean a lot to Morrisville if we could win it. It would make a statement for our town.
“I can’t wait for it.”
Morrisville might be anxious to play for the title, but a few days off are probably needed for a battered team.
Evans got sick before the game, forward Cassandra Gainey had a virus, and center Katherine Brown needed pain reliever to be able to play.
“I didn’t expect to play this well,” said Gainey, who scored 11 points, including six in the fourth quarter. “I didn’t think I would score 11 points.”
Sacred Heart, the No. 4 seed, would not be intimidated by the Bulldogs. It plays in the rugged Athletic Association of Catholic Academies, where it faces basketball powers like Villa Joseph Marie, Mount St. Joseph and Villa Maria Academy on a regular basis.
“That they were from such a big league made us want to win even more,” said Evans.
The Bulldogs were sloppy on offense in the first half (committing 12 turnovers) and had several defensive breakdowns that were quite unusual for them.
Although Morrisville held an 18-17 lead at halftime, players and coaches were not happy with their play.
“We taked in the locker room,” said Evans. “Usually, our defense is what we do best, but it wasn’t there in the first half.”
The Bulldogs sharpened their full-court press and forced Sacred Heart to commit nine turnovers in the third period.
The steals fueled Morrisville’s offense. Evans scored six points in the third quarter by taking the steals and going right to the basket.
By the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs held a 32-23 lead.
“We just went after it,” said Gainey.
Sacred Heart finally found its shooting touch in the fourth quarter, knocking in four 3-pointers.
Morrisville’s lead was cut to six several times, and it looked like at times like Sacred Heart was ready to take control.
However, the Bulldogs always responded with a basket by either Evans, Gainey, senior Kievanna Lacey (10 points) or freshman Delila Mena (four fourth-quarter points) when Sacred Heart tried to make a run.
“We had a lot of nerves; it took us a while to get warmed up,” said Gainey. “We want to make our goal, which is to be the champions.”
4 comments:
Saturday, March 3, at noon, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave., Haverford, PA. Fan bus is being provided.
Congratulations to the Lady Bulldogs basketball team on their 50-42 victory over Sacred Heart in the District # 1 Semi-Final game. The Lady Bulldogs now play Delco Christian in the District #1 Championship at Haverford College. Game admission is $7 for students and adults. A fan bus is available, leaving Morrisville H.S., from the gymnasium entrance at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 3. Bus cost is $5.
Please see Mr. Hubiak in Room B-14 for more information or call (215) 736-2681 ext. 3973. Let's support the team at this championship game!
Opps. About the above comment. Didn't mean to sign as Anonymous.
I was at the game last night. They team is awesome. It would be a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. They are an exciting bunch of girls to watch.
If you can't do that, don't forget about Marine Sgt. Travis Bush will be retuning home to Morriville on Saturday. Grab your flag and go stand along side of Bridge Street and welcome him home.
Sat. Pa. girls' roundup: Delco Christian's district streak continues
The young Delco Christian basketball team found out on Saturday how much the squad has matured during the season.
The Knights (15-12) captured their third straight District 1 Class A championship with a 39-32 victory at Haverford College against a Morrisville (25-3) team that had beaten Delco twice in the regular season.
Junior Anna Evans scored all of her 10 points in the first half, and 5-foot-10 sophomore Jamie Barr collected 7 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
On defense, Knights junior Jocelyn Chavous played effectively against Morrisville standout Kievanna Lacey, who scored 7 points after scoring a combined 36 points against Delco in two previous meetings this winter.
"We're a young team," Delco Christian coach Mark Weaver said. "We have no seniors and we were growing as the season went on. We were really inexperienced at the beginning of the year."
"We rebounded the ball a lot better in this game."
District One Class A girls basketball championship: Delco Christian 39, Morrisville 32
Dry spell stops Morrisville in district final
HAVERFORD — Morrisville had been a second-half club much of the season.
In the District One Class A girls basketball championship game Saturday afternoon, the final 16 minutes were the Bulldogs’ undoing.
Tied at halftime, Morrisville came up empty offensively and fell to Delaware County Christian School — a team the Bulldogs had beaten twice this season — 39-32 in the district final at Haverford College.
Morrisville (25-3) will play at a neutral site to be determined against District Two champion Old Forge in the first round of the PIAA state tournament next Saturday.
The Bulldogs, seeded No. 1 in District One, suffered a two-point third quarter while totaling only eight points in the second half against the district’s No. 3 seed (15-12). For a team that had been accustomed to owning the second half against virtually all opponents, this was a shocker.
“We always say the third and fourth quarters are going to be ours,” said Morrisville senior forward Cassandra Gainey. “They’re a good team. Everybody has bad games.”
“This was not a good game to have a bad half,” said Morrisville senior guard Michelle Evans, whose driving ability and eight first-half points helped keep the Bulldogs in it.
The Bicentennial Athletic League rivals knew each other well, and the Bulldogs didn’t see any different defensive schemes. Just a far different result at a bad time.
“Nothing was different about them; it was just us this time,” said Gainey. “They were the same team we beat before, so it shouldn’t have been a problem.
“We knew what they were about, and they knew what we were about. They just executed better.”
They also for the most part prevented stellar Morrisville senior guard Kievanna Lacey from being a factor. Averaging over 15 points per game and having once lit up Delco Christian for 26, Lacey was held to two field goals and seven points.
A team that lives off its full-court press and feasts off turnovers, the Bulldogs were able to force 11 first-half turnovers, but their offense was too spotty, especially in the second half, to set up any significant pressure defense.
More comfortable in up-tempo offensive mode, Morrisville can struggle when forced to play a prolonged half-court game. And the Knights, led by the 10 points each of Anna Evans and point guard Jocelyn Chavous, were efficient enough in their offensive sets that the Bulldogs rarely got running opportunities.
A 10-0 Delco Christian run ended the first quarter and put the Knights ahead, 13-5. The Bulldogs, shooting 1-for-10 in the opening period, bounced back in the second quarter. A drive by Lacey, a 3-pointer and fastbreak finish by Gainey, and a fastbreak bucket and between-two-defenders layup by Evans highlighted a 19-9 Morrisville surge to the halftime deadlock at 24.
But Delco Christian tightened up its defense, sagging and clogging the lane, and all the Bulldogs would get in the third quarter was Katherine Brown’s rebound basket nearly seven minutes into the period. The Knights missed some free throws in the fourth, but managed to stay six to nine points ahead for most of it with their defense.
Coach Dave Howell, coaching the Morrisville girls to their first district final and state tourney berth since 1998, looks forward to a few days of practice and emphasizes that his team stay positive, especially after already accomplishing so much this season.
“This (district final loss) doesn’t diminish what they’ve done,” Howell said. “When they’re all done and they look back, this has been a really good season. It would be hard to duplicate this season, and they have a lot to be proud of.”
“It’s upsetting that we lost” Gainey said, “but we still have states, and it’s not like I wake up tomorrow and basketball is over for my senior year. Even though we have to travel farther (in states), we still have a shot and we just can’t give up.”
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