City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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TOWAMENCIN — Caleigh Sperling was just trying to get there.

The North Penn senior knew with each basket and each free throw she made in the second half against Bensalem on Wednesday, she creeped closer toward 1000 career points. Then for a spell, the kind of looks the Jefferson recruit has thrived on over four years stopped going.

Salvation came for Sperling with 2:25 left in the fourth, a three-pointer putting her over the mark before the Knights got over the line for a 51-46 win over the Owls.

“It was such a relief, but a big win on top of that, so I’m just glad we got through this game,” Sperlin said. “It’s definitely not something I set for myself, I wasn’t expecting it especially with the Covid year, but this year, I just kept getting closer.”

Sperling scored 22 points to lead all scorers, the senior wing getting them in the myriad of ways that made her a coveted college prospect and such a problem the past four seasons with the Knights and in the summers with the Lady Runnin’ Rebels. Wednesday wasn’t Sperling’s most efficient night, but sometimes nerves and an approaching milestone will do that, although it didn’t curtail her aggressiveness trying to get the 17 markers she needed at tip off.

Knights coach Brianna Cullen didn’t coach Sperling as a freshman, but Cullen knew she was inheriting a scorer when she took over the program prior to the 21-22 season. A North Penn alum herself, Cullen made it a point to help get Sperling in the right places to score the ball which turned out to be just about everywhere.

“We had a conversation at the beginning of the year about how effective she is when she’s off the ball,” Cullen said. “Her ability to use her strength to get open and read the defense has evolved over the last three years by an unbelievable amount. It’s nice to see that aspect of her game starting to shine.”

While Sperling started hot, scoring the game’s first four points and six of North Penn’s first 13 in the opening quarter, that’s where she sat at halftime. She wasn’t forcing shots, but was just 1-of-10 to close the half after a 2-of-2 start.

Bensalem’s defense also had her well scouted, the Owls using different defenders and looks to try and slow Sperling. Where she settled for outside looks in the first half, Sperling went more inside in the second, showing some of the offensive repertoire she’s worked to build the past few years.

“I’ve always tried to keep working on being able to score at all three levels,” Sperling said. “That’s something in AAU with my Rebels team where I had to work on that and then bring it to the high school game.

“Recently, I feel like I’ve been fading away from how I like to play, which is scoring at all three levels so I’m happy that tonight I was able to find myself and bring that back.”

The senior, who didn’t take a free throw in the first half, took 12 after halftime. She drove to the rim, posted up and used an array of moves to get looks that may not have all gone down but were all quality chances. After scoring eight points in the third quarter and splitting a pair of free throws with 6:07 left in regulation, Sperling was a bucket away from 1000 on the dot.

Then it seemed like it wouldn’t come. Two great looks inside rimmed out and she was off on a three before finally connecting on a triple in front of the Knights’ bench that brought her teammates swarming in around her to celebrate.

“It means a lot to represent my school in that way,” Sperling said. “There’s always a bunch of little girls that come to our games and I just want to be someone that they look up to.”

Sperling became the program’s first 1,000 point scorer since 2017 graduate Jess Huber, who was in the stands as part of the crowd, and also joined assistant coach Steph Knauer in North Penn’s 1K club. Cullen, who played with several players on the 1,000-point banner, said it’s always an accomplishment to celebrate when someone does it in the division North Penn plays against on a yearly basis.

“This conference is so incredibly talented and well coached so, especially now, for a player to get 1,000 I think speaks volumes to how committed they are to their game and their craft,” Cullen said. “To add a player to that list, it’s a huge number of great players, so to see her added to that list is an earned honor.”

No sooner had Sperling and her teammates ended their celebration than six quick Owls points had trimmed their once 10-point lead to four with a minute and a half to go. The Knights, who also had a close finish in Sunday’s big win over Haverford and CR South a few days prior, buckled down and got to the end line with Sperling aiding the cause with a 4-of-4 showing at the foul line over the final 1:05.

With Sperling, Kelly Donnelly and Liv Stone standing as the senior trio at the core of the team, the Knights are looking to let their experience be an asset in end of game scenarios. This group hasn’t experienced a state playoff yet and wants to make that step, along with several others like an SOL title and a district run, this winter.

“They’ve learned a lot of lessons, especially this senior class, about finishing games,” Cullen said. “The last two years, they were close in a few and ended up losing. Now that they’ve learned those lessons, it’s really nice to see that they don’t really crumble under the pressure anymore.

“At the end of the game, when it’s close, they know how to win now.”

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OWLS STILL LOOKING TO SOAR

Wednesday’s setback snapped a five-game win streak for Bensalem, but it far from downed the Owls’ ambitions for the season.

Fourth-year head coach Steve Johnson’s group is right in the thick of the District 1 6A playoff hunt, Bensalem looking for its first postseason bid of his tenure and first since the 2019-20 season. As a competitor, Johnson naturally doesn’t like losing but given that his team was within four with 1:40 left, there was something to glean from the game.

Senior Amber Howard led the Owls with 20 points and as a whole, the team has been extremely competitive this season.

“We’re playing a more together brand of basketball,” Johnson said. “I’m proud of the way we played, obviously never happy after a loss but I’m a firm believer that you learn more from a loss than a win and I think that taught us a lot.”

North Penn zipped out to a 9-0 lead, took a 10-point lead with 1:16 left in the third that ballooned to 12 once and 11 twice and again sat at 10 on Sperling’s milestone shot. Each time, Bensalem fought back, something teams of the past few years may not have been able to do.

“I would love to say coaching but it really comes down to them believing in each other,” Johnson said. “The X’s and O’s are sort of the same from last year, we’re switching up a little more on defense but honestly, what I think it is, every girl on the team believes we can beat teams like North Penn, like the Central Bucks, the teams in our division and that’s all it comes down to. 

“I can believe in them all I want, but they have to believe in themselves and we have girls who are committed to bettering themselves in the offseason.”

Howard, committed to North Carolina A&T, and Peyton Miller are starters while Mikayla Donahue comes off the bench as the senior contingent for the Owls. Outside of them, it’s a roster loaded with juniors, sophomores and a few freshmen that have tried to steadily improve with each passing year.

Juniors Talia DiMichele and Devon Bell and sophomore Grace McShane round out the starting five, junior Ariana Jenkins and freshman Sydney Daut also seeing time off the bench Wednesday. It certainly wasn’t a lack of effort from the Owls, more a mix of some foul trouble, a few missed shots and a handful too many little mistakes that provided the final margin.

“I think if we had cut out five or six of those unforced mental turnovers, we could have had a shot to possibly win the game,” Johnson said. “Hat’s off to North Penn, coach Cullen does a great job. Congrats to Caleigh on 1,000 points and they have a great team, three college athletes and probably a few more underclassmen who could play ball at the next level.”

Bensalem will look to get back on a winning run this weekend with home games scheduled Friday against Pennridge and Saturday against New Hope-Solebury.

Last time the Owls made the postseason, led by Haley Keenan, they drew a tough opener and lost on the road at Souderton. With a strong enough finish to the season, this group should be in the mix for a first round home game and regardless where they end up, there’s a clear objective there.

“Our goal is not just to make the playoffs, we want to win a playoff game,” Johnson said.

By Quarter
North Penn: 14 | 3 | 20 | 14 || 51
Bensalem: 5 | 7 | 15 | 19 || 46

Scoring
NP: Caleigh Sperling 22, Liv Stone 9, Cam Crowley 7, Leah Mikulski 7, Kelly Donnelly 3, Lily Brown 2

B: Amber Howard 20, Grace McShane 6, Devon Bell 6, Talia DiMichele 6, Sydney Daut 4, Mikayla Donahue 3, Peyton Miller 1