FAIRVIEW VILLAGE – North Penn seniors Brenda McDermott and Steph Knauer had one thing on their minds during Wednesday night’s game versus Methacton: get back in the state tournament.

“We played [in the state tournament] two years ago, and we know what it’s like. That’s been our number one goal” said McDermott.

 Standing in between the Lady Knights and a seed in the tournament was a Methacton (19-7) team that North Penn knew would be no easy opponent.

“We knew they would be quick, and they were” said sophomore Vicky Tumasz.

In the end, though the Lady Knights (19-5) overcame Methacton’s quickness to notch a 39-30 win and earn a berth in the PIAA AAAA State Tournament.

North Penn opened up a solid lead in the first half thanks to the tough rebounding and post-play of Steph Knauer.  The Lady Knights’ lead was unchallenged until the fourth quarter, when Methacton put up a brave run, sinking back-to-back baskets to bring the game within six points. At that point, sheer desire kicked in for McDermott, and the game’s momentum changed. Whether it was diving for loose balls or driving the ball the length of the gym, McDermott showed that the scorecard doesn’t always paint the whole picture. Despite only putting up 3 points, McDermott was undeniably a leader in putting an end to the late uprising from Methacton.

Aside from the strong physical presence of Knauer and the charismatic leadership of McDermott, the Lady Knights saw solid rebounding from junior Lauren Crisler and clutch three-pointers from sophomores Vicky Tumasz and Erin Maher.

The 39-30 win over Methacton puts North Penn into the state tournament and sets them up to square off against a dominant Cheltenham, the number one seed.  Earlier this season, North Penn beat Cheltenham in a non-conference matchup.

Being back in states is “awesome” according to senior Emily Hagan; “the best feeling in the world” according to McDermott; and “incredible” according to Tumasz.

But Assistant Coach Lauren Budweg is already setting her sights on Saturday’s game against Cheltenham. “Cheltenham has a girl that’s been putting up tons of points every game, so we’ll have to try to shut her down” said Budweg. “We’ve seen them already, so we kind of know what’s coming. We just have to know that they’ll be more prepared this time.”

The Lady Knights tip off PIAA Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 at Cheltenham High School.