Marple Newtown’s Mary O’Brien shoots against Upper Darby in the first half of the Tigers 43-25 victory Thursday. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
By Matt Smith
Mary O’Brien knew before the start of the season that she had to become Marple Newtown’s best scoring option.
This is now she and fellow Brooke Impriano’s team. For the Tigers to have success, the two varsity veterans had to make up for the loss of last year’s leading scorers, Haley Levy and Nikki Mostardi, who led the Tigers to a 20-win campaign and a PIAA tournament win for the first time in team history.
“Losing our two main scorers from last year, we knew – me and Brooke knew that we had to shoot a little more and be a little more selfish than usual,” O’Brien said Thursday after leading the Tigers over Upper Darby, 43-25.
Because Impriano injured her ankle earlier this week and was unavailable for Thursday’s contest, O’Brien put the onus on herself. The four-year starter almost outscored Upper Darby by her lonesome. O’Brien shot 10 of 19 from the floor, including 4 of 12 from 3-point distance, and finished with a game-high 23 points.