Carangi clutch for North Penn against C.B. South
When Sam Carangi was a freshman, her demeanor caught you by surprise at first. The calm way she carried herself in tight games; her lack of mental mistakes and turnovers.
When Sam Carangi was a freshman, her demeanor caught you by surprise at first.
The calm way she carried herself in tight games; her lack of mental mistakes and turnovers.
And then there was the ice-cold way she drained three-pointers when her team needed a big boost.
No, there's no way No. 23 is a freshman, people must have thought. Surely the roster is incorrect.
Now, the North Penn point guard is a junior, and you come to expect those types of plays from her - the way she makes everything looks easy.
Carangi has only gotten more clutch for the Maidens.
Her game-high of 26 points Friday night led visiting North Penn to a 58-46 win over Central Bucks South in a Suburban One Continental contest.
"It's a really big game," Carangi said. "We knew we had to come out [hard] and that early in the season we had to get our heads into it because we had [C.B. South] first."
There was the Carangi basket to extend North Penn's lead to four with more than five minutes left in the game. Then there was the bucket to put her team up 44-40 with 4 minutes, 30 seconds remaining. Later, she'd go 4 for 4 from the foul line.
"Sam Carangi played a great game tonight," C.B. South coach Beth Mattern said. "She is what I would call, 'on fire.' "
"There were a couple of opportunities that I don't know we could have done more," she added. "She's a great shooter and she's a fantastic player - she felt it tonight."
It wasn't just the fourth quarter that the Villanova recruit showed her mettle. Carangi consistently hit big shots when her team needed it. When she wasn't making baskets for the Maidens (3-1, 1-0 league), she was facilitating them, as the Titans' (3-1, 0-1) focus on her enabled her teammates to get open looks.
Then there was the job she did on defense.
When C.B. South's sharp shooting guard, Jordan Vitelli, got hot in the third quarter, Carangi took it upon herself to cheat to her side and stop her.
"I didn't want to leave her open because she was hitting everything," Carangi said.
Hitting everything - it's almost like she was talking about herself.
North Penn 17 10 12 19 - 58
Central Bucks South 7 12 15 12 - 46
NP: Sam Carangi 26, Jess Huber 11, Mikaela Giuliani 7, Bri Hewlett 5, Irisa Ye 4, Mia Melchior 3, Jess McKenzie 2.
CBS: Jordan Vitelli 15, Haley Meinel 8, Alexa Brodie 7, Taylor Dunn 7, Meghan Kuypers 6, Chloe Entenberg 2, Courtney Dietzel 1.