©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mount St. Joe’s closes out summer campaign
by TOM UTESCHER

With some of their players headed out to AAU basketball tournaments in different parts of the country, the Mount St. Joseph Academy Magic wrapped up their schedule in the Hatboro Horsham Summer League last week with a lopsided loss, a lopsided win and a third contest that was close most of the way.

Council Rock North, runner-up for the state championship back in March, took it to the Mount on Monday, winning 45-26, but the Magic bounced back the following night to beat Souderton, 50-23. On Thursday night Cheltenham High School, who lost to Council Rock in the state semifinals last winter, proved a more even match for the Mount, which was up by nine points early in the game, but eventually bowed to the Panthers, 52-44.

Council Rock North was the best defensive ball club the Mount had seen in some time and the Magic had trouble adapting to the pressure, turning the ball over frequently. Their shooting was also unsteady, even on a number of uncontested outside shots. This, combined with effective outside/inside offense on the Indians’ part, had Council Rock up 17-4 midway through the first half.

Later in the period the locals regained their poise to a degree, but the lead remained in double figures, with the score 25-12 at halftime. Rock went on another run as the second frame unfolded, outscoring Mount St. Joe 12-4 over the first 13 minutes as the Magic managed just one field goal during that span. Sarah McGorry finished the contest with six points for MSJ, which received four apiece from Caitlin Eccleston, Elle Hagedorn, Claire Kueny, and Meg Sabia.

The Magic were missing several of their core players the following evening, but they were facing a less challenging opponent in Souderton. In the first half, the Mount had Jenny Sabia stick three three-point field goals, while Alexa Buchanan hit a couple of medium-range jumpers and Kueny drove in for a pair of lay-ups.

Souderton, nicknamed the Indians just like Council Rock, hung close for a few minutes, then Mount St. Joe moved ahead to a 17-7 lead and went on to enjoy a 25-16 advantage at halftime. Buchanan started the second frame with a trey from the left wing, touching off a 15-0 run that left no doubt about the outcome of the contest.

Deftly sending passes inside for lay-ups, the Magic won it going away, getting a double-digit night from Jenny Sabia (13 points), and Kueny and Ryann Gallagher (ten points each). Buchanan added nine points and Eccleston had five for the winners.

Outside shots, including three-pointers by Gallagher and Meg Sabia, staked the Magic to a 13-4 lead at the start of Thursday’s game. Making use of the strength of their inside players, and getting out to cover the MSJ perimeter shooters, the Panthers countered with a 12-2 run that put them up 16-15. The Magic grew a little impatient, forcing the ball inside to put up some off-balance shots, and Cheltenham seized most of the rebounds.

Still, Mount St. Joe was only down 28-25 at the half, and over the first five minutes of the second frame Gallagher and Kueny sparked a little 6-2 spurt that briefly put the Magic in front again, 31-30. This would be their last lead of the night, though, as Cheltenham answered with an 8-0 burst.

Later, the Panthers expanded a three-point edge with six minutes to go (42-39) into a nine-point advantage as the final minute of the game began. Buchanan knocked down a “three” from the right wing to make it 50-44, but Mount St. Joe would not score again. Cheltenham had left the door open a bit by missing eight free throws during the second half, but the Panthers put in their final two foul shots of the night to win by eight points.

MSJ’s Gallagher reached double digits with 11 points in the contest, while Kueny collected nine, Buchanan scored seven, and Eccleston and Mollie Flynn contributed four points apiece. Colleen Caldwell, Jenny Sabia, and Nicole Franzen each added one lay-up for the Magic.

NOTE: One of the teams that took the court right after the Mount-Cheltenham game was Council Rock South High School. The Golden Hawks’ new head coach is Bethanne Castone, who was a 1000-point scorer for Chestnut Hill College and graduated from CHC in May.