Mount's tourney reign ends

by TOM UTESCHER

Since 2000, Mount St. Joseph Academy had started its basketball season by winning the HHOOPS tip-off tournament at Hatboro Horsham High School.

Last Friday the Magic rolled to a 67-36 win over semifinal opponent Northeast High School, moving into position to claim its fifth straight championship at Hatboro. In Saturday's final, however, Upper Dublin High School broke out to a 14-5 lead in the first quarter and went on to knock off the Mount, 62-45, forcing the locals to end the first weekend of the 2004-'05 season with a record of 1-1.

MSJ's Johnson sisters, senior Emily and freshman Laura, were named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Lexi Gerson of Upper Dublin, Jessica Romano of host Hatboro Horsham, and Robbia Hines of Northeast. Lisa Harchut of the victorious Cardinals was the tourney MVP.

The coach of the Mount's first rival, Northeast, was former Mount mentor Rich Kirk, who ran the Magic show in the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons. Friday's contest was the first official game for both the Mount and the Lady Vikings, and five minutes in Mount St. Joe was just one point ahead at 10-9. The Magic got almost all of those points on three three-point field goals by Emily Johnson, while three baskets from the paint by Hines paced Northeast.

After a fourth trey by Johnson, the Magic diversified their offense, and transition lay-ups by Katie Kerr and Laura Johnson and a baseline jumper by Lauren Kummer opened up a ten-point lead for the locals (19-9) as the bout proceeded into the second quarter. The teams pretty much traded points as the half wound down, and the Mount led 36-24 at the break.

With five "three's" Johnson led all scorers with 15 points, and the Vikings' Hines was close behind with 14. The Magic did a good job of containing the Northeast freshman during the second half, holding her to a single field goal, and limiting the Lady Vikes to just 12 points altogether.

Already up by a dozen, Mount St. Joe started the third quarter with ten unanswered points to go up 46-24, and there was no doubt about the outcome after that. On the stat sheet, Emily Johnson (19 points), Kerr (11), Laura Johnson (six), and Kummer (four points, six rebounds) appeared with seven other Mount scorers. In her high school debut freshman Claire Kueny drained a "three" and went four-for-four at the free throw line, while Jen Fedyna added six points, Kristen Swamer scored five, and freshman Sarah McGorry recorded four points and grabbed five boards.

For the Vikings, Hines had 16 on the day, and Cierria Williams and Georgette Elmes added six points apiece.

In the other semifinal, Upper Dublin charged past Hatboro Horsham, 80-54, receiving 20 points from Harchut, 18 from Gerson, and 15 from Kathryn Stockbower (whose mother, Ann Marie, used to own The Stencil Shop in Chestnut Hill). The Lady Hatters got 16 points apiece from Romano and Lisa Rutan. In the first game on Saturday's slate, Hatboro won the consolation game over Northeast, 69-51, thanks to 21 points from Megan Anderson, 20 from Rutan, and 19 from Romano.

In the finals, the Magic found their outside shooters covered much better than the day before, and they continued to miss easy shots inside. Upper Dublin ran the floor well and hit the boards hard. Neither offense came out smoking, and five minutes in the score was 6-5, in favor of the Cardinals. Upper Dublin pulled away as the first quarter wound down, with a three-pointer and a shorter jumper by Harchut and a lay-up and a free throw by Stockbower resulting in a 14-5 lead at the end of the period. Mount's Kerr, Kummer, and Fedyna already had two personal fouls on the books.

UD's Rory Yerkes opened the second frame with a trey from the keytop, and later the Cardinals were perched on a 27-13 cushion with three minutes remaining in the half. After the Mount reduced its deficit to ten points for halftime (28-18), the Cardinals' Shannon Ferguson (eight points total) netted the first field goal of the second half.

The Mount began to push the ball more effectively on the transition, and resulting lay-ups by the Johnsons and McGorry cut the lead in half. The younger Johnson displayed her potential by scoring nine points in the period, and with 48 seconds to go in the third period Kerr made one of two free throws to pull the Mount within four points of the Cards, 42-38.

Upper Dublin did not flinch in the face of the challenge, outscoring Mount St. Joe 20-7 the rest of the way. Yerkes knocked down two free throws at the end of the third quarter and then started the fourth with a three-pointer. The compact guard would account for 13 of those final 20 points for the Cardinals, including a 10-for-12 showing at the free throw line.

Yerkes' game-high 21-point performance was backed up by 18 points and 10 rebounds from Harchut, and ten points and 13 rebounds for Stockbower. Laura Johnson topped the Mount's stat sheet in both points (16) and rebounds (six), and Emily Johnson chalked up 15 points and four steals. McGorry and Lauren Kummer (four rebounds) each scored four points for the Magic.