Paul VI 58, Washington Twp. 45
This wasn't a division game, but the atmosphere was all charged up anyway.
Maybe it was the desperation that PVI has been under for the last few weeks, needing to win every single winnable game to make the playoff. Maybe it was the Maids one win away from clinching its own place in the postseason. Maybe... probably, actually... it was a rowdy bunch of fans. I was sitting at center court, about halfway up the bleachers just on the visitors' side of the gym, and some Washington Township students were sitting right in front ot me. If the Paul VI players hadn't responded so well to their relentless heckling, I would have said it crossed the line. It was kind of funny after a while. During a lull, one of them yelled out the unimaginative, "You suck," and one of the Reillys let go what I could only describe as "a withering stare," right at the guy. Late in the game, with Megan Montchyk going to the line every 20 seconds or so and drilling her shots, the Township fans got desperate and started asking for prom dates, which I mentioned to Montchyk after the game. She just said, "I've already got one." It struck me as funny enough to include in the "Inside the Game" box that goes along with the game story in the paper.
Speaking of the story, there was a real space crunch tonight and quite a bit of it got cut off, including Washington Township coach Donna Costa's take. The quote I used, or tried to use, was kind of innocuous, but she was not happy with somebody. I had neither the time nor the inclination to delve any further than that in our conversation, but apparently there were Maids who did not play with the urgency Costa was looking for. I won't even speculate on who that might be.
Anyway, after seeing PVI play for the first time, I can see how they might give any team trouble. They're not only tall, they're very long. I lost count of the times they affected Washington Township shots that looked open just a split second before, barely outreached a better-positioned Minutemaid for a rebound, or made an unlikely catch in the low post. Washington Township's defenders were taking risks on some of those plays, seeing they had equal position with the offensive player, but the PVI girls would just pluck the ball out of the air and turn unguarded to the basket, the WTwp defender having gambled herself out of the play.
I was also impressed with the PVI aggressiveness in transition. Maybe four or five times, they threw long over the Township pressure to a teammate breaking behind the D. It really looked like a football play, where a wideout catches the safety flatfooted and the QB just throws it out there, letting the reciever track it down. Except this almost always worked because they could let the ball bounce. That's the kind of risk that even turnover-phobic coaches can like, because it loosens up the pressure and makes the other team think, plus it often yields a layup, which all coaches love to see.
I was impressed with all five PVI starters today, though it was difficult to tell them apart at times. All those Reillys look alike, and their numbers are similar. Plus Meg Harker is tall too, with a number consecutive with the Reillys. I thought I was going to have a tough enough time differentiating between Amanda Jennings and Kate Montgomery on Washington Township, but unfortunately for Costa and the Maids, those two never got hot at the same time so it wasn't that hard for me.
Washington Township certainly didn't play the same level of game they did last week against Cherokee, but I think they just went to the well one too many times. The players seemed maybe a little too comfortable with the idea of being a fourth-quarter team, and a 10-point deficit wasn't as daunting as it should have been. If they're going to win the division and/or go far in SJ Group 4, Washington Township is going to have to play with some leads, or at least keep it real close. There are only so many miracles in the bag, and a team never knows when they're going to run out.
I was very happy for the Eagles, however, as it appears they're over the hump as far as the playoffs are concerned. All they have to do, it seems, is beat Little Flower and not lose to Camden County Tech, and they can just play the Eustace game for gravy. I have to figure out where they should be ranked now, though there are some more games between now and then. They don't really have any bad losses, and if they avenge the one to BE, I could see them jumping into the Top 10, by virtue of the wins over Haddonfield and Washington Twp.
Speaking of the Haddons, Heights might have been guilty of looking ahead today, and Haddonfield almost got caught too. Collingswood took out HH one game before Thursday's home showdown with the Dawgs. Big win for the Colls. I almost went to that game, but I'll just have to catch Collingswood sometime soon. I will, however, be at the big Thursday game, which is now just for a share of the Colonial lead. Haddonfield almost let chaos reign in the Colonial, but pulled out a two-overtime win at Audubon. That was the Green Wave's second 2OT game in a couple weeks, and I feel bad for them. A win there could have repaired the damage done in a loss to Paulsboro and put them back on track for a playoff berth, which now looks like a real long shot. Anyway, if Heights beats Haddonfield Thursday, they'll both have two league losses and they'll have split with each other, leaving the stage open for a spoiler. Collingswood has three losses with wins over Haddon Township and Heights; Haddon Township has two losses with wins over Haddonfield and Sterling; Heights already has wins over Sterling and Haddon Township; Haddonfield has victories over Heights, Collingswood and Sterling. The Silver Knights would appear to be in the worst position, but they have just three losses, plus a win over Collingswood and the biggest X-factor in the league with Kate Brennan, depending whether she's healthy.
So, the game that promised to tie everything up in a nice neat bow now offers little of the sort. If Haddonfield wins, however, it will definitely be difficult for anybody to wrest the conference title from their grasp entirely. Basically, I'm predicting right now that the Colonial champ will have three league losses, and anybody who finished with just two will look like a runaway champ.
Anyway, see you at Heights.
Maybe it was the desperation that PVI has been under for the last few weeks, needing to win every single winnable game to make the playoff. Maybe it was the Maids one win away from clinching its own place in the postseason. Maybe... probably, actually... it was a rowdy bunch of fans. I was sitting at center court, about halfway up the bleachers just on the visitors' side of the gym, and some Washington Township students were sitting right in front ot me. If the Paul VI players hadn't responded so well to their relentless heckling, I would have said it crossed the line. It was kind of funny after a while. During a lull, one of them yelled out the unimaginative, "You suck," and one of the Reillys let go what I could only describe as "a withering stare," right at the guy. Late in the game, with Megan Montchyk going to the line every 20 seconds or so and drilling her shots, the Township fans got desperate and started asking for prom dates, which I mentioned to Montchyk after the game. She just said, "I've already got one." It struck me as funny enough to include in the "Inside the Game" box that goes along with the game story in the paper.
Speaking of the story, there was a real space crunch tonight and quite a bit of it got cut off, including Washington Township coach Donna Costa's take. The quote I used, or tried to use, was kind of innocuous, but she was not happy with somebody. I had neither the time nor the inclination to delve any further than that in our conversation, but apparently there were Maids who did not play with the urgency Costa was looking for. I won't even speculate on who that might be.
Anyway, after seeing PVI play for the first time, I can see how they might give any team trouble. They're not only tall, they're very long. I lost count of the times they affected Washington Township shots that looked open just a split second before, barely outreached a better-positioned Minutemaid for a rebound, or made an unlikely catch in the low post. Washington Township's defenders were taking risks on some of those plays, seeing they had equal position with the offensive player, but the PVI girls would just pluck the ball out of the air and turn unguarded to the basket, the WTwp defender having gambled herself out of the play.
I was also impressed with the PVI aggressiveness in transition. Maybe four or five times, they threw long over the Township pressure to a teammate breaking behind the D. It really looked like a football play, where a wideout catches the safety flatfooted and the QB just throws it out there, letting the reciever track it down. Except this almost always worked because they could let the ball bounce. That's the kind of risk that even turnover-phobic coaches can like, because it loosens up the pressure and makes the other team think, plus it often yields a layup, which all coaches love to see.
I was impressed with all five PVI starters today, though it was difficult to tell them apart at times. All those Reillys look alike, and their numbers are similar. Plus Meg Harker is tall too, with a number consecutive with the Reillys. I thought I was going to have a tough enough time differentiating between Amanda Jennings and Kate Montgomery on Washington Township, but unfortunately for Costa and the Maids, those two never got hot at the same time so it wasn't that hard for me.
Washington Township certainly didn't play the same level of game they did last week against Cherokee, but I think they just went to the well one too many times. The players seemed maybe a little too comfortable with the idea of being a fourth-quarter team, and a 10-point deficit wasn't as daunting as it should have been. If they're going to win the division and/or go far in SJ Group 4, Washington Township is going to have to play with some leads, or at least keep it real close. There are only so many miracles in the bag, and a team never knows when they're going to run out.
I was very happy for the Eagles, however, as it appears they're over the hump as far as the playoffs are concerned. All they have to do, it seems, is beat Little Flower and not lose to Camden County Tech, and they can just play the Eustace game for gravy. I have to figure out where they should be ranked now, though there are some more games between now and then. They don't really have any bad losses, and if they avenge the one to BE, I could see them jumping into the Top 10, by virtue of the wins over Haddonfield and Washington Twp.
Speaking of the Haddons, Heights might have been guilty of looking ahead today, and Haddonfield almost got caught too. Collingswood took out HH one game before Thursday's home showdown with the Dawgs. Big win for the Colls. I almost went to that game, but I'll just have to catch Collingswood sometime soon. I will, however, be at the big Thursday game, which is now just for a share of the Colonial lead. Haddonfield almost let chaos reign in the Colonial, but pulled out a two-overtime win at Audubon. That was the Green Wave's second 2OT game in a couple weeks, and I feel bad for them. A win there could have repaired the damage done in a loss to Paulsboro and put them back on track for a playoff berth, which now looks like a real long shot. Anyway, if Heights beats Haddonfield Thursday, they'll both have two league losses and they'll have split with each other, leaving the stage open for a spoiler. Collingswood has three losses with wins over Haddon Township and Heights; Haddon Township has two losses with wins over Haddonfield and Sterling; Heights already has wins over Sterling and Haddon Township; Haddonfield has victories over Heights, Collingswood and Sterling. The Silver Knights would appear to be in the worst position, but they have just three losses, plus a win over Collingswood and the biggest X-factor in the league with Kate Brennan, depending whether she's healthy.
So, the game that promised to tie everything up in a nice neat bow now offers little of the sort. If Haddonfield wins, however, it will definitely be difficult for anybody to wrest the conference title from their grasp entirely. Basically, I'm predicting right now that the Colonial champ will have three league losses, and anybody who finished with just two will look like a runaway champ.
Anyway, see you at Heights.
posted by SMc. @ 12:51 AM
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