City of Basketball Love

Dan Arkans (@danarkans)

Perkasie – At times over her career and even this season Pennridge senior and Holy Family recruit Ella Brown had to do a little too much.

Whether it was taking a rebound and being forced to drive the length of the court to score or pointing out where teammates had to play in its zone defense, there has been a lot on Brown’s plate.

If Friday night’s 60-41 dismantling of Bensalem is any indication, Brown’s teammates are up to the standard this season.

“I am super proud of the girls putting in the work at practice every day and making adjustments each day, being confident and comfortable,” said Brown. “It’s awesome to see them continue to grow. They are my best friends. Seeing them succeed on the court is just a proud moment for me.”

With Bensalem ranked 26th and Pennridge 27th in the District 1-6A power rankings entering the game, this looked to be an even matchup on paper. The Rams (7-4, 3-3) though jumped out to a 14-4 lead on a pair of 3-pointers from senior Emily DeHaven and just never let up.

“It’s a huge win,” DeHaven said. “It’s definitely going to help us in the long run. It will jump us up many spots. It’s a great win for the future. We played a great game. We were able to execute and we played a great team game. We were all able to get some shots up, play good defense and work really well as a team.”

The team win was magnified on both ends of the court. First, the Rams were able to break Bensalem’s vaunted press behind the play of point guard Madison Lapp, but everyone contributed in getting the ball up court from Brown to center Layla Verbit.

In fact Pennridge committed just seven turnovers and not many were turned into fastbreak offense from the Owls.

“We flat out took care of the ball,” said Pennridge coach Jason Rapp. “When I watched the film last year they literally ran us out of the gym. It was just catch and shoot 3’s and the press. We really did a nice job keeping our poise, keeping our composure. I was told we had seven turnovers and that tempo for us I was extremely proud of. They didn’t look fazed, they were OK. They kept their composure, they kept their poise.”

By handling the press the Rams ran their offense flawlessly, hitting open jumper after open jumper. DeHaven led the way with four 3-pointers, but Samantha Murphy added two herself from long range.

“It was a really good shooting night,” DeHaven said. “I was able to make four 3’s, that was huge. I hadn’t done that yet this season. That was great. I normally am more of a 3-point shooter. Tonight I was able to knock down four big 3s.” 

Defensively, Pennridge was sharp as well. The Rams sat in their zone and simply did not allow any open looks from Bensalem. No directions were needed from Brown on this night. No miscommunications, just stellar team defense.

“I think it was our defense,” said Brown of the victory. “We played incredible defense. They are a great team and they can shoot the ball really well. We did our job.”

“When we play zone, if we can speak to each other we are a good team,” Rapp said. “I thought tonight was a prime example that we can cover a good team. If we don’t talk we are in trouble.”

While Pennridge was playing mostly perfect, the Rams still led just 27-20 at the half. Bensalem’s Grace McShane (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) kept the Owls within striking distance, but then Murphy opened the second half with a pair of 3-pointers. It was another 14-4 run to start the third quarter that put the game out of reach with a 41-24 lead with 2:36 still to go in third.

It started with Murphy, but then DeHaven hit a 3-pointer and added another transition bucket as the Rams led 48-30 after three quarters.

“Tonight was the best we played all year,” Rapp said. “We have played some good quarters. We have played some good halves. I thought tonight was 32 minutes of playing a good game.”

Brown agreed after her 21-point, 4-assist performance that almost got lost in the shuffle with DeHaven adding 14 and Verbit with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

“I hope it gives them more confidence in continuing to shoot the ball, in continuing to attack and things I know they are capable of doing,” Brown said. “We struggled earlier in the season. Seeing it go in is going to help us down the road and continue to be the best team. I know what we are capable of.”

On this night it was a 19-point win with possible playoff implications down the road. It felt more like a district opener to the Rams, who would love nothing more than a home playoff game.

“Ella Brown is a really good teammate,” DeHaven said. “She helped us get some shots up.”

Note: Pennridge played Friday night’s game for Morgan’s Message, an organization that works to improve the mental health of student athletes. They aim to reduce the stigma around mental health and ensure that physical and mental health are treated equally in sports. 

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Quarter scoring 

Bensalem 7-13-10-11-41

Pennridge 14-13-21-12-60

Scoring

Bensalem (41): DiMichele 0; McShane 22; D.Bell 9; Jenkins 3; Daut 2; Beck 3; Creque 2; 

Pennridge (60): Brown 21; DeHaven 14; Murphy 8; Lapp 3; Verbit 12; Lenox 2.