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Sarah Payonk and Spring-Ford are on a roll right now. Mercury File Photo
ROYERSFORD ? Ask veteran Spring-Ford girls basketball Jeff Rinehimer what has him the most pleased with the Rams? impressive start, and you?d figure to get several different answers.
It could be the Rams? uncanny depth in a rotation that goes double digits.
It could be the strong inside trio of Sarah Payonk, Mariah Traywick and Courtney Hinnant.
It could be the athletic backcourt spearheaded by Sammy Stipa, Brittany Moore, Sammy Haas, Jaida Burgess and Nikki Lynch.
It could be the bench effort of players such as Shelby Mueller, Haley Puckett, Maggie Locke and Kirsten Landis.
It could be a full-court attack that has seen the Rams score at least 70 points four times and surpass the 60-point mark in all but two games.
Or it could be a strong defensive effort that has held all but one league opponent (two-time defending champ Boyertown) to under 40 points.
Rinehimer, however, proudly points to a different barometer of his team?s success: the intensity chart.
The chart ? the brainchild of assistant coach Randy Doaty ? measures areas that include statistical realm and beyond.
?They get points for certain things,? Rineheimer explained. ?Baskets, deflections, tips, steals and rebounds. It?s our way of trying to measure intensity and trying to get the most out of every player.? Continued...
Through the first half of the season, the Rams (6-0, 9-2) certainly appear to have done that. They are outscoring their league opposition by an average score of 66.5 to 28.8, with their only two losses coming to Cheltenham (60-46 in their opener) and Notre Dame Academy (64-60) in the Spring-Ford Holiday Classic.
The 5-11 Payonk leads an ultra-balanced attack with a 9.8 scoring average. She had 17 points in a Spring-Ford Classic victory over Central Bucks South, and has also been a rebounding force while displaying a nifty perimeter game.
Stipa, a cat-quick 5-5 sophomore guard, is averaging 9.6 points per game. She scored a season-best 14 points in a win over Owen J. Roberts.
Traywick, a 6-foot center headed to Shippensburg, averages 8.6 points, highlighted by an 18-point effort against Notre Dame.
The 5-10 Hinnant is averaging 7.9 points; Moore (7.8 ppg) has a team-high 15 3-pointers; and the speedy Burgess (6.6) handles a lot of the ball-handling duties.
?I really like their overall effort in practice,? Rinehimer said. ?They come to work. I haven?t really had to coax effort out of them. It?s just been a joy to come to practice, and that?s translated over to the games.?
AROUND THE AREA
Daniel Boone earned a share of the Berks Conference Division 2 lead by defeating Fleetwood, 53-35, Friday, getting a career-best 14 points from Kiana Hurley. ... Spring-Ford and Boyertown will both participate in the Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic Saturday at Philadelphia University. The Rams face Mount St. Joseph at 2:15 p.m, while the Bears take on Rutgers Prep at 7 p.m.
HOT/NOT
Methacton and Boyertown each have five-game winning streaks. The Warriors got a season-high 18 points from Jenna Carroll in Saturday?s 60-38 victory over Phoenixville. ... Pottsgrove has lost eight straight since a 3-2 start, while Upper Perkiomen has lost 5-of-6 since a 2-2 start. Continued...
BOYS
SHOWDOWN LOOMING
The Pioneer Athletic Conference?s division leaders ? and remaining teams perfect in league play thus far ? will face off Thursday evening. Liberty Division leader Methacton will visit Pope John Paul II, the PAC-10?s defending champion and current Frontier Division kingpin, in a clash of 6-0 teams looking to establish undisputed supremacy on the circuit.
Both clubs come into the contest with modest winning streaks and overall records ranking with the area?s best. The Warriors (9-3) topped Upper Perkiomen and Phoenixville this past week while the Golden Panthers (10-2) handled Pottsgrove, Perkiomen Valley and Owen J. Roberts ? the game with the Falcons (9-3) going overtime before it was decided.
Playing a big game before a home crowd was the atmosphere for the PJP/Pottsgrove tilt. It was the kind of setting on which the Panthers thrived ? particularly Jamel Stinson, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds against a Pottsgrove unit whose 3-0 league record coming in matched PJP?s mark on the circuit.
?I like that,? Stinson said afterward. ?I like the noise and everything. I feed off the energy. I like when the crowd is noisy.
?We knew what we had to do to win ... play defense and make our shots when we needed to.?
Methacton?s record has been built on a combination of potent offense and stiff defense. The Warriors have outscored the opposition by a 59.5-42.2 margin in the games they?ve won, allowing only four teams to exceed the 50-point mark and three to hold them under 50 points ? all in the losses.
?We have guys who understand the game,? Methacton coach Jeff Derstine said. ?Our guys have been playing with a high level of energy. They do a pretty good job of keeping level heads when the other team makes plays.
?Our eight seniors have a lot of experience and that is certainly helpful. They keep their composure and that is a big part of it. They don?t let the last play affect them.? Continued...
ON THE MARK
He?s ranked among the top scorers in The Mercury?s coverage area since the beginning of? the 2011-12 season. But this past week, Elijah Jackson has made even bigger strides on the court with the Pottstown boys? squad.
Jackson had a big overall showing in the course of the Trojans? three-game swing, moving up in several offensive categories. With a combined 76 points in games against Upper Perkiomen, Boyertown and Perkiomen Valley, Jackson? boosted his per-game average to 19.5 ? second on the area chart, but highest among teams who?ve reported 10 or more games? results thus far. At the same time, Jackson is shooting a gaudy 83 percent from the foul line, making 53 of 64 free-throw attempts.
Jackson has also taken a commanding lead in the 3-point field goals category, upping his total to 33 after collecting 14 the past week. In addition, his career total is at 842 in his push to become the 10th member in the history of the Pottstown boys? program to reach the 1,000-point mark ? the first since Randy Purnell accomplished that feat in 2009.
Source: http://pottsmerc.com/articles/2012/01/09/sports/doc4f0a4ddc683b2858318446.txt
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