NORTHAMPTON — That second quarter was troublesome for Crestwood on Wednesday night.
The other three weren’t, and that proved to be the difference.
The Comets overcame a sluggish second quarter, dominating the second half on the way to a 60-41 victory over Marple Newtown in a PIAA Class 5A girls basketball second-round game at Catasaqua High School.
Every starter contributed as District 2 champion Crestwood (25-3) moved to the quarterfinals on Saturday. The Comets will play District 3 fifth seed Lampeter-Strasburg (20-8) at a time and site to be determined. District 1 fourth seed Marple Newtown ended its season at 17-9.
Crestwood jumped to a 17-5 lead after one quarter as the Comets forced Marple Newtown into seven turnovers. The situation changed in the second quarter.
Behind the long-range shooting of Olivia Gicking, Marple Newtown moved within 24-23 with just under a minute left until halftime. Crestwood took a 28-25 lead into the locker room.
“It was scary,” said Crestwood junior Charlie Hiller, who led her team with 19 points. “But we knew in that first quarter we were 15 points better. So we had to come out and be stronger in the third quarter and I think we did.”
Crestwood was stronger in the third quarter … and the fourth. The Comets outscored Marple Newtown 32-16 after halftime to advance to the state quarterfinals for a second consecutive season.
The second-half performance erased a second quarter where Marple Newtown outscored the Comets 20-11. Even coach Mary Mushock-Namey was unsure why the Comets had a sudden lull in the second eight minutes.
“To be honest, I’m not sure,” Mushock-Namey said. “Everything we did in the first quarter we just didn’t quite do in that second quarter. I don’t know if they got comfortable with the lead and played a little differently. I thought we came out really, really strong in that first quarter. I asked them to come out in the beginning to see what they are made of and they did it.”
Hiller sparked Crestwood to start the third quarter with a pair of baskets. Then guard Jordan Andrews, who had 16 points, scored on a fastbreak. Another burst where Hiller, Jackie Gallagher and Andrews contributed baskets bumped the advantage to 43-29 with two minutes left in the period.
Andrews’ defense prevented a lull in the fourth quarter similar to the second quarter. She converted a steal into a layup as Crestwood went on a 12-0 run for a 58-39 lead with just over two minutes remaining. Jackie Gallagher also turned a layup into a bucket as part of her 11-point, nine-rebound game. Keira Dougherty also scored 11.
The game started 35 minutes late because a team playing in the first game at the site arrived well after the scheduled 6 p.m. tipoff.
PIAA 5A Girls Second Round
Crestwood 60 Marple Newtown 41
CRESTWOOD (60) — Cameron Vieney 0 3-4 3, Charlie Hiller 8 2-5 19, Jackie Gallagher 5 1-2 11, Jordan Andrews 7 2-2 16, Keira Dougherty 4 2-2 11, Addison Korpusik 0 0-0 0, Norah Sklarosky 0 0-2 0, Lillie Nealon 0 0-0 0, Lia Lapsansky 0 0-0 0, Sydney Van Dusen 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 10-17 60.
MARPLE NEWTOWN (41) — Olivia Gicking 6 0-0 17, Kirsten Milliken 0 6-6 6, Taylor Murrin 4 5-6 13, Rowan Hilden 2 1-6 5, Jonica Wark 0 0-0 0, Gabby Grimste 0 0-0 0, Ellie Robinson 0 0-0 0, Lizzie Murray 0 0-0 0, Julia Lee 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 12-18 41.
Crestwood`17`11`20`12 — 60
Marple Newtown`5`20`9`7 — 41
Three-point goals: CRE 2 (Hiller, Dougherty). MN 5 (Gicking 5).