Third-quarter run secures Irish win

If you were watching the third quarter on TV, you might have thought the tape were stuck on instant replay.

Possession after possession played out the same way in Camden Catholic's 54-35 home victory over Paul VI on Thursday night in girls' basketball.

Despite the best efforts of the Paul VI defenders, Addy Crenny repeatedly made it look easy:

Get the ball in the paint, take a dribble or two, and lay the ball in basket.

The senior center netted 12 of the third quarter's first 14 points in similar fashion. The other basket scored in that span was a layup by Cait Brostrand - naturally, the score was set up by a pass from Crenny in the lane.

The outburst helped turn a nine-point halftime advantage into a 43-20 lead that the Irish had little trouble holding on to.

The win over its Olympic Conference National Division foe improved Camden Catholic to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the division. Paul VI (4-1, 1-1) suffered its first loss of the season.

"We swing the ball well as a team, so when it comes to me, I just try to put it in the hoop," said Crenny, who finished with a game-high 21 points.

What made Crenny's third quarter even more impressive was that she was equally dominant on the other end of the floor.

Crenny pulled down nine of her 16 boards in the third period. She was a big reason why Paul VI netted only one shot in the quarter; that came with 24 seconds left on the clock.

Crenny also finished with three blocks and three steals.

"At halftime, we all said that we had to step up our games," Crenny said. "We came out and we knew we had to rebound and get the ball inside because they were in foul trouble. And it worked really well."

Guard Nicole Angelo also turned in a strong performance for the Irish, scoring 12 points.

Paul VI took a 6-2 lead midway through the first quarter when Carla Chmielewski (nine points) hit one of her three three-pointers.

But Camden Catholic was quick to take the lead back for good.

Angelo scored the game's next six points on two three-pointers, putting the Irish up by 8-6.

The Irish increased their lead to 13-8 by the end of the first period. And thanks to a six-point performance by Brostrand (eight points overall) in the second quarter, Camden Catholic finished the half up by 29-20.

"Once we settled down, we were able to run our offense and control the boards," Camden Catholic coach Chris Palladino said. "We just needed to get into the flow of the game."

After starting the season with losses to tough opponents in Council Rock North and Lenape, Palladino said her team is starting to find a rhythm.

"We're starting to gel," she said. "I think we're starting to play good defense and we're controlling the boards. And that gets us into our offense."

Paul VI   8 12 2 13 – 35

Camden Catholic   13 16 14 11 – 54

P: Justine Caruso 9, Carla Chmielewski 9, Morgan Harris 6, Stephanie McDonnell 2, Nicki Morreale 4, Adrienne Small 5.

CC: Nicole Angelo 12, Kelsey Kilpatrick 3, Cait Brostrand 8, Addy Crenny 21, Taylor Madden 5, Kelly Lineman 2, Liz Rodgers 3.