Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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HUNTINGDON VALLEY >> Avery Kocur knew the high school team she’d be joining at William Tennent wasn’t one with a long history of success.
The now-junior guard didn’t see it as a deterrent, instead it was an opportunity for her and classmate Halie Staub to help break the cycle and get the Panthers back to the postseason. It won’t be official until next weekend, but they’ve put their team in great position to end a 10-year playoff drought when the District 1 Class 6A brackets go live.
It took a big night from Kocur and Staub, along with the rest of their teammates, as Tennent edged host Lower Moreland 67-64 in the SOL Freedom on Friday night.
“I think a lot of people at school don’t really expect us to be good, it’s always about our boys’ team,” Kocur said. “This year, I think people are actually starting to see it and for us, it’s just awesome.
“I knew there wasn’t much winning at Tennent. I’ve been following them since seventh grade and they’ve never been a big school that makes the playoffs so I hoped going into my freshman year that we could have an impact and we hopefully, finally did it this year.”
William Tennent juniors Avery Kocur (left) and Halie Staub have the Panthers in line for their first District 1 playoff appearance since 2014-15. Both guards are three-year starters.
Scores were still being punched into the district rankings but as of 9 p.m. on Friday, William Tennent (13-8, 5-4 SOL Freedom) found itself No. 20 in the Class 6A table with 24 teams qualifying. A home game against New Hope-Solebury on Tuesday is the last on their regular season schedule but it seems like the Panthers are bound for the postseason for the first time since 2014-15 when they qualified in the old Class 4A bracket.
“It feels awesome,” Staub said. “Our team is so young, it’s a great opportunity for us to try and make a run.”
Kocur and Staub have been at this backcourt duo thing for a while. Not only are they both three-year starters for Tennent coach Laura Whitney, they’re pretty much year-round teammates playing for the PA Royals and coach Ray Horn in the spring and summer.
Friday night, Kocur was dazzling with 29 points including six three-pointers, six rebounds and six assists as she went toe-to-toe with Lower Moreland (11-8, 5-4 SOL Freedom) senior Dani Brusha, the Holy Family recruit shining with 26 points, five rebounds and six steals, at the heart of a highly entertaining game. Staub, who started slow offensively, took advantage of the extra defensive attention Kocur drew after halftime and netted 13 of her 15 points after the break including the go-ahead layup with 1:49 to play after the Lions had rallied back to take a lead.
“We both have a lot more confidence,” Staub, who also added eight rebounds and three assists, said. “Our connection on the court is getting even better as the years have gone along.”
They weren’t alone in their efforts. Sophomore forward Megan Volz had 15 points and 14 rebounds, her work helping to offset a strong game by LM senior Brianna McFerran who had 17 points, 12 rebounds and three steals of her own.
Aubrey Lynch, a sophomore, and Lindsey Catoni, a junior, only combined for eight points but their defensive work added up. Megan Catoni, the team’s only senior, and freshman Carissa Malpezzi rounded out Friday’s rotation.
“Lindsey comes up with some big rebounds, especially in close games, I can think of one earlier this season that was a huge one where we probably would have lost if she didn’t get it,” Kocur said. “They make big threes when people aren’t expecting it, then they go out and make it and it’s awesome every time. Aubrey usually guards the best or second-best player; they’ve just been doing a great job.”
Both Staub and Kocur felt like last year was their year to break the playoff drought. They had a good post player in Morgan Volz – Megan’s older sister – and a hard worker in Ella Mednick who did all the dirty work. But the Panthers couldn’t quite get over the hill in some close games, finished 9-13 and were on the outside looking in at the postseason again.
With just one senior on this year’s roster, the two juniors had some apprehension that this new, younger team could be the one to do it. There were a few close losses like a four-point setback to Souderton, a six-point defeat to Lower Moreland the first time and a four-point loss to Pennridge that did feel like prior seasons but there were also some signs that this group had something in it.
“I thought we were going to go downhill from last season because we lost Morgan, our big, but we’ve been doing really well,” Staub said. “Megan has really stepped up, all the younger players stepped up. It’s pretty great that we’re doing this well.”
“It was frustrating, I totally thought we were going to make it last year,” Kocur added. “This year, it’s awesome, I probably would have never thought we’d be here back in preseason.”
It helps that Kocur and Staub keep improving too. While they’ve both been All-SOL selections each of their first two seasons – Kocur a two-time first team pick and likely on her way to a third – they’ve continued to work on playing with and off each other and the rest of their teammates.
Lower Moreland put senior Nikki Sahl, a senior soccer standout bound for East Stroudsburg and a tenacious defender, on Staub in the first half. Kocur responded by scoring 18 points before intermission including five made threes so when the third quarter started, Sahl was now hounding her.
Staub took advantage by pouring in 11 points in a back-and-fourth third quarter before the two guards and Volz helped bring it home with a fourth quarter response after a Brusha-led rally gave LM a brief 61-60 lead.
“Our connection, I don’t know, it’s just there,” Kocur said. “I always know where she is on the court from AAU to high school and it just keeps growing.”
Lower Moreland remained No. 3 in the District 1 5A rankings, the Lions have a pair of games left but they seem in good standing to nab the first round bye afforded that comes with a top four seed.
The all-league junior backcourt and the growth of the underclassmen have been at the forefront of this season but Staub and Kocur also made sure to note Whitney’s impact as well. This is the Tennent coach’s ninth season on the sideline and she’s put the hours in, including running a summer league every year on top of coaching in-season.
Staub was practically beaming when she noted this team has already given its coach her best single-season record and the players know they’ve had someone behind them the whole way.
“She has a lot of confidence in both of us,” Kocur said. “She lets us do what we think is best on the court and it gives us a lot of confidence just in the way she believes in us during close games.
“Halie and I have been playing summer league since seventh grade, she’s been there the whole time, she knew who we were. She never left us.”
Kocur wasn’t cutting any corners. She knows the Panthers will have to go on the road for the first round of the playoffs and whoever they end up playing will be a quality opponent that probably has a lot more postseason experience then her team does.
That doesn’t mean she and Staub won’t be going out there to win.
“It’s going to be tough competition, there’s probably going to be a student section but it’s going to be an awesome opportunity even if we lose,” Kocur said. “Going out there, stepping on the court and looking around the atmosphere, I think it’s going to be amazing.”
Kocur hoped the success this season would show girls coming up in the Centennial School District in the same place she was a few years back that they can also win at William Tennent, adding the team is expecting a couple talented freshmen to come in next year. She and Staub want to take this as far as they can, then build on it for their senior year.
“We’re only going to get better,” Staub said.
By Quarter
WILLIAM TENNENT 15 | 17 | 19 | 16 || 67
LOWER MORELAND 10 | 18 | 20 | 16 || 64
Scoring
WT: Avery Kocur 29, Halie Staub 15, Megan Volz 15, Lindsey Catoni 5, Aubrey Lynch 3
LM: Dani Brusha 26, Brianna McFerran 17, Emma DiJoseph 9, Maddie Broderick 6, Maddy Rossiter 4, Nikki Sahl 2
Tag(s): Home High School Andrew Robinson Girls HS Suburban One (G) SOL Freedom (G) Lower Moreland William Tennent