TOWAMENCIN- The Redskins came in as heavy favorites, but the Knights stuck with them throughout the whole game.  Sophomore Alli Lindsay caught a hot hand and helped North Penn build a lead but unfortunately, that lead was not big enough.

The Neshaminy Redskins (5-0) beat the North Penn Knights (1-2) 55-43 in a Saturday afternoon game a part of the SOL Challenge.

“We were prepared.  We knew what they were gonna do and I think the girls handled that…We just knew they’re gonna be scrappy, they’re gonna be aggressive, they’re gonna be tough and they were all that today,” Head Coach Jen Carangi said.

The Redskins jumped out to a 5-0 lead after Brook Mullin made a three-pointer and gave early momentum to the Redskins.  The Knights put their first points on the board when Lindsay connected to senior Cayla Sharkey on a full court pass and Sharkey made it count.  Later on, in the first quarter junior Valerie McGriff tied the game at 6 after her free throw.  Neshaminy’s Kristin Curley broke the tie after a second chance opportunity and then Emily Tantala made a three to extend to the lead to 11-6 into the second quarter.

The second quarter started slow as both teams were held scoreless until 6:07 left in the quarter where Neshaminy’s Allison Harvey made a layup.  The Knights gained a lot of momentum to close the first half however.  Sharkey made a three with a 1:04 left in the half and cut Neshaminy’s lead to 20-16.  Sharkey then hit a 2-point jumper and McGriff made a basket after that.  The shot-making to close the half along with junior Carley Adams drawing two charges tied the game at 20 into halftime.

“We just said we just had to make shots.  It’s a whole different game when you make shots and it sounds so easy and so basic but the reality is that’s the game of basketball.  So our girls have been working really hard, they come in before practice and they are working on their shot and hopefully that’s gonna translate into positive stuff for us,” Carangi explained.

And the Knights carried the same momentum into the second half as Adams made a two-point jumper and got the Knights a 22-20 lead.  Lindsay then took over she made two consecutive three-pointers and extended the lead to 28-20.  Harvey answered back with a three pointer of her own and Lindsay responded back with yet another three.  The Knights took a 36-32 lead into the final quarter.

“My team’s energy really helped me with my shot.  Last game I wasn’t shooting as well as I could and my team’s energy on the bench [and] on the court throughout the entire first half we had a lot of energy and that energy helped us a lot,” Lindsay explained

Harvey tied the game with 4:24 left in the game after she made a three and then made another three to break the tie with 3:41 left in the game and the Redskins had a 41-38 lead.  The Redskins defense then buckled down and allowed only 7 points in the final quarter to earn the win.

“I think overall, I was really pleased with our effort in terms of getting better and progressing and I just hope it continues,” Carangi said.

The Knights will be back in action on the 20^th against the CB East Patriots for another home game at 7:00.

“We play CB East on Thursday and they are gonna be tough and our league is tough so just come ready to play, focus on mistakes that we made today and try to improve on those things and just come ready to play,” Carangi said.

North Penn: Lindsay 13 pts, Sharkey 10 pts, McGriff 7 pts, Adams 5 pts, Mullaly 5 pts, Dunn 3 pts

Neshaminy: Mullin 19 pts, Harvey 11 pts, Tantala 10 pts, Curley 9 pts, Kowalick 3 pts, Sienko 2 pts, McCoy 1 pt