Springfield co-captains Rachel Conran, left, and Alexa Abbonizio sparked the Cougars to a 29-24 win over Abington Heights Saturday and a berth in the PIAA Class 5A state semifinals against neighborhood rival Cardinal O’Hara. MEDIANEWS GROUP FILE PHOTO
By Bob Grotz
There’s not much you can say about Springfield’s bruising 29-24 victory over Abington Heights in the PIAA Class 5A state quarterfinals Saturday beyond the obvious: it’s going to leave some marks.
The Cougars couldn’t make shots, and neither could the Comets.
Cougars coach Ky McNichol was running out of things to tell her girls during the timeouts.
“We just told them to keep shooting shots, they’re eventually going to fall,” McNichol said. “They never did. But they just kept grinding and grinding and playing defense and then knocking down foul shots when they needed to. And getting defensive stops when they needed to.”
There were no field goals for either team – repeat, zero … as in, nada – in the all-important final frame. Subsequently, a trip to the state semifinals opposite Cardinal O’Hara was earned via an eight-minute foul-shooting effort for the Cougars.
Beyond their defense, that’s what the Cougars do best, and they sank eight of 12 in the frame, none bigger than two swishes by co-captain Alexa Abbonizio to break a tie and give the Cougars the lead for good.