By: Jordan Hirsh
February 18, 2023
FAIRLESS HILLS, PA. – The 11-seed Pennsbury Lady Falcons advanced to the second round of the PIAA 6A District One playoffs on Friday, with a 48-12 win over the 22-seed Penncrest Lady Lions.
Pennsbury controlled the game from the opening tip, using exceptional offense and stifling defense to get out to a big lead early, and never looked back.
It was already 18-7 in favor of the Lady Falcons after the first quarter. Junior guard Sofia Vitucci came out of the gates on fire, dropping 12 of her game-high 16 points in the opening quarter on a perfect five of five shooting from the field.
Vitucci was certainly excited and ready for the moment tonight. “We meet at the shoot around over at [Pennsbury High School] West at 4:15, she’s already there at 3 o’clock. She’s sweating when we walked in,” said Lady Falcons head coach Frank Sciolla, speaking about Vitucci after the game. “She is what she is because of what she does.”
Pennsbury essentially put the game on ice in the second, outscoring the Lady Lions 17-3 in the quarter, and led 35-10 at halftime.
The Lady Falcons only added on from there, due in part to their lights-out defense, and came away with a convincing 48-12 win.
Honestly, “lights-out” might be an understatement when discussing the Lady Falcons effort on the defensive end in this game. They didn’t just turn the lights off, they cut the power.
Pennsbury’s two-three zone wreaked havoc on Penncrest’s offense. The Lady Lions scored just 5 points over the final three quarters of play, and had practically no open looks all night, especially down low. In fact, of the four field goals Penncrest made, three of them were from beyond the arc.
To signify just how impressive the Lady Falcons’ defense was, they held Penncrest’s leading scorer, junior Bailey Garrison, scoreless.
Aside from Vitucci, Pennsbury also received significant contributions from junior forward Layla Matthias, who finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds, as well as from senior guard Nevaeh Dash, who had 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Up next for the Lady Falcons is the second round of the PIAA 6A District One playoffs, where they will face the 6-seed Abington in a road matchup on Wednesday.
