Girls basketball: Council Rock North shows grit in loss to Pennsbury

Perhaps Kristen Polinsky said it best.
“We were anticipating a battle, and we were really prepared,” said the senior guard/forward on the Council Rock North girls basketball team. “We had nothing to lose and we played like we had nothing to lose.”
She was speaking about the Indians’ 37-28 loss to Pennsbury on Tuesday night in a Suburban One League Patriot Division contest at CR North.
Pennsbury jumped out to a 9-2 lead by the end of the first quarter, but CR North outscored the Falcons 11-6 in the second period to cut the lead to 15-13 at halftime, capped by Jaden Wan going 2-for-2 at the free throw line with 3.3 seconds remaining.
Wan was injured on the foul and did not return to the game.
With 2:06 to go in the third quarter, Riley Hamilton’s 3-point goal gave the Indians a 23-22 lead. It was the first and only time that CR North would be ahead in the game. Pennsbury put up four points to make it 26-23 heading into the fourth quarter, where the Falcons outscored the Indians 11-5.
“We just have to keep our heads up,” said Polinsky, who had two points in the game. “We missed some shots and we had some turnovers but we’ve just got to have that ‘next play’ mentality and get back on defense. We’ve just got to keep going.
“Also, we’ve got to match Pennsbury’s toughness. They were crashing the boards like crazy but overall I thought we did really well.”
Pennsbury remains undefeated, boosting its record to 4-0 in the SOL, 7-0 overall. CR North falls to 1-4, 2-5.
“It shows a lot of progress for us,” said Polinsky, who is in the Spanish Honor Society. “A lot of times we’ll go downhill in the third quarter and that didn’t happen here. Pennsbury is a good team, one of the best teams we’ll see, so it was a really good battle. It’s promising for the future.”

CR North returned every player from last season’s team, and added juniors Wan, back from an injury, and Lizzie Lustig, who opted of playing last year due to COVID.
“It’s been great to come back,” said Lustig, who led the Indians with 10 points, including two 3-point goals. “It’s been so much fun. All my teammates welcomed me. It’s a great community. I already knew the coaches from my freshman year, so it was an easy transition for me. It was absolutely hard to take that year off. I missed everyone.
“We knew what Pennsbury was going to be and I think we rose to the occasion. We only lost by nine points and I think we played well. For us to just go out there and play a great game, it was fun. Once we got a little momentum there were some times when we really matched up with them.
“We play them again at their place on their Senior Night so that’s going to be a challenge for us but if we can control the turnovers, we definitely have a chance.”
Lustig also plays tennis for the Indians, and is a member of the French National Honor Society.
Polinsky was pleased to have Lustig back in the lineup.
“We didn’t’ lose anyone from last year and that’s really exciting,” she said. “We just have to build on everything we’ve been doing the past two years. Last year we didn’t have any seniors so the juniors took on that senior leadership role. It was kind of the same as last year but now that we have Lizzie back and we hopefully have Jaden back it’s a great start and hopefully we’ll keep getting better.
“I feel like there’s a lot of potential here, especially with the younger girls. Even when the seniors leave, they’re going to be really promising.”
Hamilton had seven points including a 3-point goal, Wan had four points, Ruth O’Keefe chipped in one 3-pointer and Delaney McCaffrey added two points to round out the scoring for the Indians.
The Indians are back in action on Friday, when they play host to Souderton.

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