Two-Point Fourth Quarter Dooms Eagles Girls' Basketball

After watching senior Megan Kirschling pour in 20 second-half points, including the game-winning layup with just seconds remaining, in an early January game, the Haddonfield girls’ basketball team was determined to make sure there would be no repeat performance in the rematch.

Not only were the Bulldawgs able to contain Kirschling this time around, but they also shut down the rest of the Eagles.

Haddonfield held Kirschling scoreless in the second half and held the Eagles to just two fourth-quarter points in a 38-33 win in Colonial Conference Liberty Division action Thursday night.

“Coming out with that win is really great, because it did not feel good when we lost that first time,” said Haddonfield's Catherine Senopoulos, who had 13 points. “We have a big rivalry with West Deptford, so this feels really good, and I think it just boosts our self-confidence even more.”

The game was dictated by both defenses, much the way it was when the Eagles sneaked out with a 37-35 victory in the first meeting. The difference this time around was the Bulldawgs’ ability to limit Kirschling’s touches down in the paint.

Kirschling had five points in the first half, but was unable to get it going in the second half.

“We drew up plays for her, but they took us out of everything we wanted to do,” said West Deptford coach J McKeown, who was hoping to score a win over a rival on his birthday.

“It was a big wake-up call when she had 22 points against us the first game,” Senopoulos said. “[Kirschling]’s a great player, so what we needed to do was shut her down. We needed to focus on the other players too, but really work to make sure she didn’t get any more points.”

Haddonfield head coach Dave Kosa credited the defense as a whole for slowing down the Eagles’ leading scorer, but noted that it was Maddie Kiep who had the biggest impact.

“Maddie is so versatile that she can play a point guard and she can play a five,” said Kosa. “In the first game, Maddie got injured in the second quarter and didn’t play much of the third quarter, so we were out of rhythm, and Kirschling got on a roll the first game. This game we knew what we wanted to do defensively.”

With the Bulldawgs’ attention squarely on Kirschling, senior guard Danielle McKeown was able to find some scoring success. She scored nine of her game-high 14 points in the third quarter to help the Eagles erase a five-point deficit and head into the fourth quarter tied at 31.

West Deptford (9-6) got a basket from point guard Megan Knoblock with seven minutes, 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter to take a 33-31 lead. The Eagles would not score again.

“(Kosa) just did a real good job at the end with matchups,” said West Deptford coach J McKeown. “Unfortunately, we had some good chances, we just turned the ball over too much. We didn’t play smart, but that has a lot to do with how well they played us defensively.

Haddonfield (12-4) also struggled to score in the final period, but took the lead for good when Senopoulos connected on a layup with 2:22 left. The Bulldawgs forced the Eagles into three turnovers over the final two minutes and Maddie Betley connected on four free throws over the final 42 seconds to seal the win.

With as well as the Eagles played defensively for 32 minutes, Tuesday’s loss left the head coach feeling a golden opportunity had been missed.

“It just kills you,” J McKeown said. “You go in (the locker room) after the game and I tell them ‘I can’t be upset with you.’ They worked their butts off on defense. The thing is, we just aren’t being smart with the ball.”