The Panthers battled hard but came up short in overtime.
Looking to build on Thursday’s big win over Pen Argyl, the Lady Panthers came into Saturday’s home showdown against the Quakertown Panthers with a little confidence and a little swagger. After a shaky start, the Panthers courageously battled back to give those in attendance a very entertaining and competitive high school sporting event. The Panthers forced the game into overtime but eventually fell to Quakertown 54-50. It was a classic.
Saucon jumped onto the scoreboard first with a layup by sophomore Brooke Riefenstahl at the 6:49 mark of the opening period. But Quakertown took control and responded with a 10-0 run. Coach Calabrese was forced to call a timeout and try to remedy the Panther ills. The timeout paid off when Brooke Riefenstahl broke the Q-town blitz with a short jumper at 3:48 and triggered a seven point Saucon Valley response. At the end of the first quarter of play Saucon fought back to a 10-9 deficit.
Coach Calabrese instructs during a much needed timeout.
Saucon Valley’s momentum carried over into the second quarter. Junior Shannon Williams hit two free-throws at 7:33 to get the advantage at 11-10. Williams’ teammates Helen Kreschollek and sophomore Olivia Williams followed her lead. Kreschollek, a junior, made good on two free-throws as did Williams. Olivia Williams also connected on a long-range bomb at 6:18 and made it 17-10 in favor of the hometown Panthers.
The two teams battled back and forth until there were about three minutes left in the first half. Saucon again surged ahead as Kreschollek, Shannon Williams and sophomore Katie Kramer piled on the points. Shannon Williams hit her free-throws at 2:21 to extend the Panther lead to 25-19. Kramer scored twice in the waning seconds of the half to keep Saucon ahead 29-22 at the break.
Quakertown was much bigger than the Panthers.
Quakertown came out in the third quarter and manufactured a seven point run to tie the game at 29-29. Olivia Williams tried to regain momentum when she hit a jumper at 2:25. But Quakertown continued on another run taking a 36-31 advantage. Saucon sophomore Kat Naiburg answered with a free throw to close out the third period but the Panthers trailed 36-32.
Q-town scored first to open the fourth quarter, but their efforts were bombed by Shannon and Olivia Williams. First, Shannon Williams hit a three-pointer at 7:07 to close the Saucon deficit to 38-35. About 20 seconds later Olivia Williams nailed a long-range trey of her own to lock the score at 38-38.
Quakertown responded to the Saucon challenge and built a 45-40 lead with 2:12 remaining in the game. At 1:58, Shannon Williams dialed up another three-pointer and cut the score to 45-43. The Saucon Valley defense stepped up and were able to stop Q-town. With 20 seconds left in regulation Saucon’s Brooke Riefenstahl drove hard to the hoop and was fouled. Riefenstahl coolly connected on both free-throws and forced overtime with the teams deadlocked 45-45.
The Panthers Helen Kreschollek had a huge task in Saturday’s game.
Quakertown jumped on Saucon to start the overtime period with a five point surge. Olivia Williams hit another three-pointer to get Saucon within two at 50-48. A Quakertown score was answered by Saucon sophomore Katherine Naiburg’s jumper with :28 seconds remaining to make it 52-50. With time running out Saucon Valley was forced to take their chances and foul to stop the clock. Quakertown, however, was able to convert their free-throws and hold on for an exciting 54-50 victory.
The Panther defense played well against the bigger Quakertown girls.
Saucon Valley did not get the win on Saturday, but they showed a lot of grit and poise in a very intense atmosphere. Young teams often crumble and collapse when in tight games. The Panthers remained calm and executed. It wasn’t quite enough to get the job done, but the Panthers kept their composure under pressure and hit a variety of big shots from multiple players. Even though they lost the contest, the Lady Panthers did get better on Saturday.
Quakertown was led by junior Maggie Garlick and her 18 points. Senior Marina Cooke added 13.
Saucon was led by Olivia and Shannon Williams, who had 13 and 12 points, respectively. Brooke Riefenstahl added 8 for the Lady Panthers. Helen Krechollek did a fantastic job defending Quakertown’s 6’3″ senior, Jill Martin.
Up Next: It doesn’t get any easier for the Lady Panthers this week. They welcome Northwestern Lehigh and Bangor to town on Monday and Wednesday. The two opponents combined own a 12-1 Colonial League record. The Lady Panthers will surely welcome the challenge.
Good luck ladies, the Source is with you!
Quakertown senior Jill Martin gets a lot of attention from the Panthers defense.
