It was a rout that turned into a game.
The New Hope-Solebury girls basketball team saw a comfortable lead all but disappear before rallying to a 53-42 victory over host William Tennent in a Suburban One League Freedom Division game on Tuesday night.
New Hope (5-2, 4-0 SOL) went into halftime with a commanding 37-17 lead on the shoulders of senior Reagan Chrencik’s 18-point first half performance.
But the Panthers (4-3, 2-2 SOL) took over in the second half, pulling to within seven points with two minutes remaining in the game.
“We didn’t give them as much respect as we should have in the second half,” Chrencik said. “We got a little bit complacent with the lead, and that was not a positive thing on our part. I think we held together OK but not enough and definitely not good enough going forward. We’re going to take this as a learning experience that fortunately didn’t cost us the game.
“We have high expectations for ourselves this year. We have very high goals. We’re a young team but we have a lot of talent and we’re trying to do every thing we can with that talent and I think we work really well together.”
Chrencik led all scorers with 27 points and sunk a game-high five 3-point goals while freshman Gabby D’Agostino pitched in with 12 points including a 3-pointer.
“The team has been really welcoming,” D’Agostino said. “I was nervous at the start of the year and there was a lot of pressure in the beginning, but I think Reagan and the whole starting five and the JV team, they all have that trust that you need to have in the point guard, and they give that trust and that makes me comfortable out there.
“It gets easier every game. I have such a good team behind me. They all support me, we all support each other. It’s very exciting to be a part of this.”
Izzy Elizondo put up 10 points and Emily Wilson contributed four to round out the scoring for the Lions, who went 11-12 at the free throw line.
New Hope moved down a class from 4A to 3A this year, making the Lions the smallest program in the SOL.
“That’s very exciting for us and I think that’s going to be good for us as far as our goals of going far in districts and hopefully states,” Chrencik said. “We have a lot of potential to reach those goals.”
The Lions return to action Thursday, hosting Upper Moreland in an SOL Freedom game at 7 p.m.
The loss came after Tennent posted back-to-back wins over SOL Freedom rival Cheltenham and non-league foe MaST Charter.
“After halftime we showed a lot of emotion and started to really pressure them,” said Tennent senior forward Alyssa Lewicki, who ended the evening with six points. “We played really good defense and started to put a lot more effort into scoring.
“We just turned it around and got back into the game. If we had played the whole game the way we played the second half, it would have been different. We see them again, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Lewicki is the lone senior on the squad.
“We have a lot of freshmen,” she said. “We’re still growing as a team. As the season goes on, we’re going to get better and connect more.”
Morgan Volz led Tennent with 12 points, while Ella Mednick scored nine on three 3-point goals, Halie Staub netted six, Jess Whisler scored five with a 3-pointer, and Haley Dickson and Avery Kocur chipped in two points apiece.
The Panthers’ next game is an SOL Freedom match at Lower Moreland on Thursday at 7 p.m.
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