Upper Perkiomen's girls basketball team ended its 60-30 non-league loss to Brandywine Heights on Thursday, Dec. 13 with a flurry. Despite struggling for three quarters, the team scored nearly half of its points in the fourth quarter.
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Sophomore Emma Steffon attempts to block a shot during
Upper Perkiomen's non-league loss to Brandywine
Heights.
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Five players combined to score 14 points in the final eight minutes. Mareika McStravick delivered two baskets. Olivia Rogers drained a 3-pointer from the right wing.
"I liked that the girls did not give up," said Kathryne Vetter, the team's first year coach. "They were very aggressive going after the ball."
The visiting Bullets had four players reach double figures in scoring. Ashleigh Huhn, Marley Turbett and Ashlyn Clark eached scored 11 points. Emily Sativa posted 10 points.
Despite six consecutive losses to open the season, the Indians (0-2 PAC, 0-6 overall) are working hard, according to Vetter. The players are also having more fun than last season, according to senior Kaitlyn Mundy.
"Things are going pretty well," said Mundy, a guard who posted a team-high 10 points.
Aidyen Pigeon, Rogers and McStravick each finished with five points for Upper Perkiomen, which entered the fourth quarter with 14 points. Seven players scored for the team.
Mundy said her top priority as a three-year starter and a captain is to help lift up a unit that has won once since capturing the Octorara Christmas Tournament title on Dec. 27, 2018.
"We're definitely working better as a team," she said.
According to the coach, Mundy has done good job keeping the team together despite its early struggles.
Despite the relatively low scoring, the team's offense – with just two returning starters –
is improving, according to Vetter.
"We have the right people in the right place," she said. "It's just a matter of execution."
Vetter described Upper Perkiomen's balanced scoring attack as favorable. She said the team took a majority of its shots from the field in within the normal flow of the offense.
According to the coach, the team's practices focus on the basics. Vetter said she teaches the rules, works to improve basketball IQ and stresses fundamentals and team play."
The Indians lost 41-19 to Upper Merion in the Pioneer Athletic Conference on Friday, Dec. 14. Against Pottsgrove, they fell 65-12 to visiting Pottsgrove on Tuesday. Mundy scored a team-high eight points for Upper Perkiomen.