©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mount splits with Norristown, Cheltenham
by TOM UTESCHER

During the regular basketball season, Mount St. Joseph Academy would be more likely to struggle against Cheltenham High School than against Norristown, but with out-of-town tournaments taking players away from all of the teams in the Hatboro Horsham Summer League, the results of last week’s games against these two rivals weren’t easy to predict.

With only three regular varsity players (Caitlin Eccleston, Elle Hagedorn and Claire Kueny) on duty for the two contests, the Magic fell prey to the Eagles of Norristown, 46-34, on Wednesday, but held off Cheltenham the following evening to beat the Panthers, 41-38.

In addition to the varsity veterans, rising sophomores Emma Brown, Maureen Gribb, Christy Menkhaus and Sam Rocchino were on hand for Wednesday’s game, along with incoming freshman Colleen Caldwell.

Norristown jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Kueny put up the first seven points of the night for the Magic, hitting two jumpers and a lay-up accompanied by a free throw. Later, a score off the offensive rebound by Eccleston and a three-pointer by Caldwell got the Mount back within two points of the Eagles, at 14-12.

Thanks to a baseline shot by Hagedorn and a trey by Menkhaus, the Magic traded points with Norristown up to 19-17, but after that aggressive moves to the hoop contributed to a 14-0 run for the Eagles that finished out the half. Over the first five minutes of the second frame Mount St. Joe cut its deficit from 16 points to just seven (35-28), but that’s as close as it got. While the Mount made just three of its 11 free throws in the period, the Eagles pulled away again to win by a dozen.

Kueny posted 10 points and Hagedorn nine in the losing cause, while Eccleston scored six points and Caldwell, Menkhaus, and Rocchino contributed three apiece.

The Magic were more accurate from the free throw line the following night, when they hit 12 of 18 tosses from the stripe in the opening round to build a 22-13 halftime lead over Cheltenham. The Panthers had recovered from an early deficit to go up 9-7, then Kueny, Menkhaus, and Hagedorn sparked an 8-0 run by the Mount, who would lead the rest of the game.

Cheltenham closed up the score to 23-20 as the second round got underway, then the Magic drew away again with another 8-0 run, playing good defense on the open floor, and working well together offensively, particularly on the transition sequences. The Panthers had a size advantage and began to use it more effectively, making strong inside moves and outmuscling the Mount on the boards to enjoy second and third shots on a number of possessions.

Mount St. Joe still led 37-29 with about six minutes left. Time grew short for Cheltenham, but instead of working the clock judiciously, the Mount turned the ball over several times trying to force their way to the basket. The margin shrank to three points at 39-36, but with a little over a minute to go Menkhaus made a pair of free throws to move the Magic back into a five-point lead. At the other end, Cheltenham missed two foul shots, and a final jumper still left the Panthers three points short.

Hagedorn’s athletic maneuvers netted her 15 points on the night, with Menkhaus hitting seven of eight free throws to finish with 11 points, and Kueny canning six of eight foul shots as part of an eight-point effort. Five points from Gribb and two from Caldwell rounded it out for the winners.