By Harry Chaykun
One of the teams that took part in the PIAA Class 5A girls basketball tournament opener Saturday at Plymouth Whitemarsh High shot 25 percent from the floor and had less than 10 percent accuracy from behind the arc.
That team also did not reach double figures in scoring in any of the four periods or the one overtime period that was played. Despite those numbers, when all was said and done, that team, District 1 champion Springfield, survived with a 34-31 victory over Lower Dauphin, District 3’s eighth-place finisher.
With the win, the Cougars (22-4) advanced to a second-round matchup Wednesday night with Mechanicsburg (25-3), District 3’s No. 3 seed which rolled to a 58-17 win over Friere Charter of the Philadelphia Public League and earlier in the season claimed a 47-38 decision over Lower Dauphin.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well, so we had to find other ways to win,” Springfield coach Ky McNichol said after her team went 9-for-35 from the floor. The Cougars were 2-for-16 in the third and fourth periods but managed to make two of the three field-goal attempts they got in overtime.