Episcopal girls come back to beat Abington
It started in the third quarter. That's when Elodie Furey took over the basketball game for her Episcopal Academy girls' basketball team.
It started in the third quarter. That's when Elodie Furey took over the basketball game for her Episcopal Academy girls' basketball team.
She grabbed some rebounds in the first quarter, scored a couple of buckets in the second, and at 6-foot-2 is hardly difficult to notice out on the floor.
But in the third quarter, the Cornell recruit really took it to Abington.
And the fourth? That's when she gave the Churchwomen the lead.
Furey scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the second half as the Churchwomen came from behind to defeat the Ghosts, 51-45.
"The adrenaline started pumping and I started thinking less. I was just going to the basket," the senior forward said. "It was nice having my teammates around me because they were making some really good passes inside and looking for that a lot. When they put the ball in the right spot for me, it is easy to make those finishes - they are the ones making me look good."
Episcopal (5-1) trailed for the first 31 minutes as Abington (3-1) jumped on its opponent early. Whenever the Churchwomen would come within striking distance, the Ghosts knocked down a three, putting the game again at arm's distance.
Then Episcopal picked it up on defense.
Luca Mamula was tasked with shutting down Kassondra Brown, a force down low for the Ghosts. After she dominated the first quarter, Mamula allowed Brown to score only one more bucket, even though the 6-foot-2 sophomore has several inches on her.
"That's the kind of player I like to guard," Mamula said. "I like the challenge. She was playing hard on me as well. I thought it was a good matchup. Elodie helped me a lot down there, too."
Mamula tied the score with less than two minutes remaining when she made a nice backdoor cut and found herself open on the block. Furey found her and she laid it in for two.
Then Furey made a block on the defensive end and sank the game-winning free throws with one minute remaining.
It was the first time EA led all night. It was the only lead the Churchwomen needed.
Episcopal Academy 9 11 15 16 - 51
Abington 13 13 14 5 - 45
EA: Elodie Furey 21, Luca Mamula 11, Reilly Wright 8, Olivia Dirks 3, Cara Harty 3, Seanna McNamara 3, Katie Weaver 1, Raleen Keffer-Scharpf 1.
A: Sam Brusha 15, Kassondra Brown 10, Jordyn Allen 8, Lizzie O'Leary 7, Britney James 3, Tamia Wessels 2
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