TOWAMENCIN- It was a neck and neck game all the way until the end of the game and with the Bucks up a point and with possession, the Knights needed to force a turnover.  And it looked like they got it as junior Alaina Mullaly fought for the inbound pass and it went off a CB West player and out of bounds.  However, the closest ref was looking the other way and did not see the play.  The refs discussed and decided to rule it a jump ball and gave the Bucks possession in the pivotal moment of the game.

“I was frustrated with the call during the game but at this point, we had so many opportunities earlier in the game to try and get ahead and you can’t ever blame the ref on what happened so I’m not gonna blame that one play.  It is frustrating to look back at but there were some other opportunities where we could have converted and we didn’t,” Mullaly said.

The North Penn Knights (8-12) lost to the CB West Bucks (12-7) 45-42 in a Friday night matchup in the North Penn gymnasium.

“I was so proud of the girls.  I said there are some games where we win and I’m not happy because of the way we didn’t execute or things that we did.  Tonight, was a perfect example of the game where we didn’t win but I’m so proud of the way they battled and just played hard from start to finish,” Head Coach Jen Carangi said.

The Knights got on the board first and got a 4-2 lead from junior Valerie McGriff’s layup off a pretty pass from sophomore Alli Lindsay.  A bucket from West’s Izzy Treon tied the game at 4 right after that however.  The Bucks built a lead after that and held a 12-5 advantage into the second quarter.  Lindsay’s court vision and distribution of the basketball reached its peak in the 2^nd quarter and she helped the Knights get to within three as the score at halftime was 21-18 in favor of the Bucks.

“[Lindsay] played so incredibly well just making great decisions when the big girls were coming to her she was finding our post players all day long and when to take the shot, when not to take the shot.  She just played a great game,” Coach Carangi said.

With 5:09 left in the third quarter, Mullaly hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 21.  Both teams combined for 6 threes in the third quarter and the Bucks managed to come out of the third quarter with a 32-31 lead.

Finally, the Knights caught up and took a 39-38 lead off a three from Mullaly with 2:52 left in the final quarter, as Mullaly hit her second critical shot of the game.

“All I knew was that I was practicing earlier and I just had to get my feet set and put that shot up.  I wasn’t focusing on the defender in front of me.  I was just focused on the ball going in the basket,” Mullaly said.

Both teams went back and forth after that but Treon made a layup with 26 seconds left on the clock.  The Knights turned over the ball on their next possession and after the jump ball call, the Bucks closed the game with Treon making both of her free throws.

The Knights will be back in action Tuesday at home against the CB South Titans.

“We have two winnable games next week so you have to come ready to play.  I mean basically if we can play with West, we can play with anybody,” Coach Carangi said.

North Penn: Mullaly 16 pts, Lindsay 9 pts, McGriff 8 pts, Dunn 5 pts, Adams 4 pts

CB West: Treon 14 pts, Burke 13 pts, Irons 11 pts, Spratt 3 pts, Braskey 2 pts, Abelson 2 pts