City of Basketball Love

Evan Smith (@EvanRGSmith)
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BALD EAGLE —  North Penn girls basketball’s season was on the ropes entering the fourth quarter trailing by two scores, but the Knights fought their way back to send their second-round contest to an unforgettable overtime conclusion. 

North Penn, the District 1 four seed, completed a shocking late game comeback to advance to the third round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament, defeating North Allegheny, the District 7 runner-up, 56-54 in overtime on a buzzer beater by senior Caleigh Sperling.

“She just wants to win more than anyone I’ve seen before,” North Penn coach Bri Cullen said of Sperling. “She’s our true leader on the court.”

Caroline Henderson set the tone early by hitting two 3-pointers in the first minute to give North Allegheny (23-4) a lead it would hold for a majority of regulation. 

The Tigers, who were paced by 21 points from senior Goldey-Beacom commit Lydia Betz, led 29-25 at half, and 42-37 the the fourth quarter.

“I just told them if we lose we go home, and they had to want it more than the other team,” Cullen said.

The Knights (24-5) proved to want it more as they became more physical on defense, recording a series of steals and ensuing baskets early in the quarter. Senior Cameron Crowley took over the game in the fourth, ending the night with 13 points and two of the steals that helped turn the momentum. Slightly more than halfway through the quarter, Crowley landed the basket that gave North Penn their first lead of the game, 45-44. 

The defense tightened for both teams in the final minutes of regulation, and a missed shot by the Knights sent the game to overtime tied at 49-49. 

Cullen implored her team to focus on the first minute of the extra four provided. The squad followed orders. Crowley yet again stole the ball from the paint of North Allegheny and slowed the pace down, leading to a 53-49 lead for North Penn. 

The Tigers closed the gap to 53-51 before fouling Sperling, who extended the lead to 54-51 with 33 seconds remaining in overtime. Henderson, who finished with 16 points, tied the game on another 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go. 

Sperling, a Jefferson commit, put the game into her hands, holding the ball for the remaining seconds before laying one last shot up at the buzzer that gave North Penn the victory. 

The small crowd of supporters erupted as the team surrounded Sterling, who had a team-high 19 points. 

“The big thing was we were calm,” Cullen said about the end of the game. “We’ve been in situations like that before.”

The Knights advance to Friday’s PIAA quarterfinal to face District 1 sixth seed Garnet Valley, a 52-46 winner over Central Dauphin. They last reached the PIAA quarterfinals in 2017. 

By Quarter

North Allegheny: 19 | 10 | 13 | 5 || 54

North Penn: 16 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 7 || 56

Scoring

North Allegheny: Lydia Betz 21, Caroline Henderson 16, Vange Balouris 12, Kellie McConnell 7, Grace Helger 2. 

North Penn: Caleigh Sperling 19, Cameron Crowley 13, Lily Brown 12, Liv Stone 7, Leah Mikulski 5.  

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PIAA 6A Girls (local games)

First Round (Fri., March 8)
1-5 Haverford 66, 12-3 Dobbins Tech 28
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara 49, 1-8 Upper Dublin 17
12-1 Archbishop Carroll 58, 1-11 West Chester Henderson 37
1-1 Perkiomen Valley 78, 3-6 Manheim Township 33
2-1 Hazleton Area 63, 1-9 Pennsbury 48
11-1 Parkland 41, 1-10 Downingtown East 34
3-2 Dallastown 43, 1-7 Central Bucks East 36
1-3 Conestoga 45, 3-4 Wilson 29
3-1 Central Dauphin 41, 1-12 Kennett 23
1-6 Garnet Valley 58, 11-2 Easton 50 (OT)
1-4 North Penn 48, 11-3 Emmaus 34
1-2 Spring-Ford 71, 3-5 Northeastern 37

Second Round (Tue., March 12)
1-1 Perkiomen Valley 64, 1-5 Haverford 50
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara 55, 2-1 Hazleton Area 46
12-1 Archbishop Carroll 37, 1-3 Conestoga 33 (OT)
1-6 Garnet Valley 52, 3-1 Central Dauphin 46
1-4 North Penn 56, 7-2 North Allegheny 54 (OT)
1-2 Spring-Ford 74, 7-3 Peters Township 53

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 15)
1-1 Perkiomen Valley vs. 12-2 Cardinal O’Hara
11-1 Parkland vs. 12-1 Archbishop Carroll
1-6 Garnet Valley vs. 1-4 North Penn
1-2 Spring-Ford vs. 7-1 Norwin