February 15, 2007 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Online Editor Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or Winner of One |
Key league game slips away from Springside
The Springside School Lions’ hopes of finishing in third place in the Girls Inter-Ac League basketball standings disappeared last Tuesday. For all intents and purposes, the visiting Episcopal Academy Churchwomen claimed sole possession of the third spot that afternoon, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to lick the Lions, 44-40. Two days later Springside bowed to the top-ranked team in the region, Germantown Academy, by a score of 66-35, but on Saturday the Lions secured a non-league victory at Sacred Heart in Bryn Mawr, 47-33. Saturday’s success moved Springside into double figures in the win column, with an overall record of 10-15. Although the Lions entered Tuesday’s game with a 3-5 mark in the Girls Inter-Ac and the Churchwomen were 6-2, a victory would’ve given Springside a good shot at tying Episcopal for third place in the league. If the Churchwomen had lost the contest, their remaining three Inter-Ac games against Germantown Academy (two) and Notre Dame (one) would most likely have resulted in three more defeats for a final mark of 6-6. If Springside had beaten Episcopal and had gone on to win its rematches against Agnes Irwin and Baldwin, even the loss in the recent GA game would’ve left the Lions with a 6-6 record, as well. EA arrived at Springside without its leading rebounder, Megan Spagnola, who’d been sidelined by illness. That left Callye Komlo as the primary girl on the glass for the Churchwomen, and as Tuesday’s contest got underway, the senior starter picked up two personal fouls in less than four minutes. This might have proven an additional rebounding boon for the Lions if they’d made a serious effort to get Komlo deeper into foul trouble, or if they’d crashed the boards themselves. Through much of the first half, they did neither. A number of times on missed shots at both ends, EA rebounders were virtually unchallenged, and in one memorable sequence, the Churchwomen had four players inside the foul line waiting for the ball to come down, while the entire Springside team was already running away down the court. Out of Springside’s 13 field goal attempts in the first quarter, Krystin Walker and Tori Baggio each hit one, and with Baggio putting in a pair of free throws, the Lions managed to take a 6-5 edge into the second round. Through much of the first half, it appeared as though both teams were trying to give the game away through sloppy play. Although the Lions led 20-19 at halftime, and played better ball, for the most part, during the last two quarters, they had wasted an opportunity to build up a significant lead over the first two periods. Missing a regular starter, and having played sub-par ball during the opening half, Episcopal was still just one point behind. The Churchwomen gained confidence and played harder and smarter than Springside after the interlude. The Lions, who were clicking on offense and defense down at Penn Charter just four days earlier, put forth a disjointed effort, and individuals appeared to forget their assigned roles on the team. EA’s junior sharpshooter, Brittany Perfetti, is unquestionably the top offensive threat for the Churchwomen, but the Lions guarded her tightly only some of the time. She would score 15 of her 24 points (which came with five rebounds) during the second half. Still, victory remained within Springside’s grasp until the final minute of the game. Kristen Fuery hit two medium-range jumpers in the third quarter, while Katie Rutan dropped in three lay-ups and then closed out the frame with a trey, moving the hosts into the final round with a 35-33 lead. EA senior Ashley Aruffo saved her four second-half points for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, helping the Churchwomen edge ahead. They were up 39-38 with under 90 seconds to go, then Springside’s seventh team foul of the half resulted in a pair of made free throws for sophomore Sammi Arbitman. Springside had gotten into the foul bonus a few minutes earlier. Baggio drove for a running lay-up to bring the hosts within one at 41-40, then a flawless one-and-one by Perfetti put EA up by three once more, now with 34 seconds left. After Aruffo rebounded an off-balance three-point attempt by Springside, Perfetti went to the line again with 15 ticks on the clock. She connected on her first toss, but when she missed the second attempt, Springside’s Walker pulled the rebound. The Lions were now down by four, though, and when their final shot failed to drop, Perfetti held the ball until the buzzer sounded. The junior’s offensive efforts were backed up by Arbitman (nine points, five rebounds), Aruffo (seven points, three rebounds), and Komlo (four points, eight rebounds). Two three-point field goals were included in the 19 points Rutan (seven rebounds) scored for Springside, which also received eight points apiece from Baggio (eight rebounds) and Fuery (six rebounds, three steals) and five from Walker (three rebounds). At the outset of Thursday’s game, the Lions played what is probably the most competitive quarter of basketball that any Springside squad has ever produced against GA. Eight points from Rutan, including a pair of “three’s”, were complemented by two field goals from Courtney Caputo, and after eight minutes Germantown only led by four points, 18-14. In the second round, though, the Patriots stepped on the gas and said “See ya!”, accelerating to a 38-18 halftime advantage. Seven different scorers contributed to GA’s 20-4 second quarter. The Pats backed off but still widened the gap a bit in the second half, winning by 31 points as Caroline Doty dropped 16 points and Jesse Carey and Tory Thierolf notched ten apiece. Meredith Carber, Lindsay Freid, Maggie Lucas, and Colleen Magarity each added six points to the pile, and Bri Cowden and Torie Machikas scored four and two points, respectively. Rutan finished with 14 points and Caputo with five for Springside, which also marked down eight points for Fuery, six for Baggio, and two for Nan Weisel. Two days earlier, a 22-8 opening period had set the stage for Germantown’s 74-41 win over Penn Charter. Lucas and Doty stacked up 23 and 17 points, respectively, while Caroline Huber’s 11 paced PC. After scoring 14 points against the powerful Patriots in the first quarter of Thursday’s outing, Springside found itself trailing 6-5 at the end of the opening period on Saturday. The Sacred Heart hoopsters, also nicknamed the Lions, were thrilled; they’d brought an overall record of 0-21 into the match. A drive by Sacred Heart’s Annie O’Donnell made it 9-5 at the start of the second period, then the second of Rutan’s three three-pointers in the half and short jumpers by Fuery and Kira Theuer sent Springside ahead for good. The “road” Lions would ring up another eight unanswered points before the intermission, when the score was 18-9. Rutan (19 points total) registered ten points in the third round and Krystin Walker (five points) fired up the visitors at the defensive end with a rousing block as Springside built up a 35-21 lead by the three-quarter mark. Baggio (11 points, eight rebounds, three steals) and Fuery (10 points, four rebounds) each scored eight points during the second half. Shooting guard Caroline Carlin (16 points) and forward Alysa Mayo (11) actually gave Sacred Heart some nice outside/inside offense after the intermission, when they combined for 20 points. Midway through the fourth quarter, Springside had pulled several starters off the floor and was holding a 45-25 advantage. Heart’s Carlin and Tori Geary each drained a three-pointer and Carlin scored a lay-up off of a steal. The hosts were still down by a dozen (45-33), though, and the game was entering its final minute. Springside coach Don Paettie sent Rutan back into the game to help settle things down, and after she scored the last two points of the day from the foul line, she rebounded the ball off of Sacred Heart’s final field goal attempt. |
