Caleigh Sperling fell to the ground as she made a one-handed scoop shot just before the overtime buzzer, getting around a defender.
Sperling explained that she didn’t see the shot go in because of the defender on her, but she watched it from the ground.
The North Penn senior, Sperling, was among the few from the Knights’ group inside Bald Eagle Area’s gym still seated. Fans and players were celebrating as Sperling’s shot went in, leading North Penn to a 56-54 victory over North Allegheny in the PIAA Class 6A girls basketball second-round game on Tuesday.
Knights coach Brianna Cullen had complete trust in her players, choosing not to call a final timeout. She wanted them to have the opportunity to play it out, and with Sperling hitting the buzzer-beater in overtime, it was a special moment.
Holy smokes, North Allegheny ties it with a 3 but Caleigh Sperling banks it in at the buzzer, @NPHSKnights wins it 56-54 in overtime. pic.twitter.com/HK8BNV6wny
— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) March 13, 2024
In the extra session, the Knights took a 53-49 lead with baskets from Lily Brown and Sperling. They extended the lead to 54-51 after Sperling made a free throw. However, North Allegheny tied the game at 54 with a 3-pointer from Caroline Henderson.
During the game’s final possession, Sperling received the ball from Cameron Crowley and managed to get off a contested shot that ultimately went in, securing the victory for North Penn in overtime.
Sperling considered the overtime shot as a second chance after not being able to decide whether to shoot at the end of regulation. She either wanted a foul or a spin shot, and it turned out to be the latter.
Sperling led North Penn with 16 points, supported by Crowley with 13 points and Brown with 12 points. The team’s victory means they advance to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2017, where they will face Garnet Valley.
Sperling praised her teammates, highlighting Cameron Crowley’s confidence on offense, Liv Stone’s steals, and Lily’s aggressiveness. She described it as a really good team effort.
North Penn was losing by nine points twice in the third quarter, the last time being 38-29, and was down 44-37 in the fourth quarter after Lydia Betz scored. However, the Knights then made an 8-0 run, with Brown scoring and giving North Penn a 45-44 lead, their first lead since 14-13 in the opening quarter.
Lydia Betz made a jumper and put North Allegheny in the lead at 46-45, but then Brown scored a basket and put the Knights in the lead. Henderson’s 3-pointer from the right wing, assisted by Betz, gave the Tigers their last advantage at 49-47 before Crowley tied the game with a jumper from the right corner.
Crowley’s defensive pressure on the Tigers’ next possession led to a steal by Stone. North Penn gave the ball back as Grace Heliger came up with a steal and was fouled at 22.3 seconds. However, the Knights forced another turnover, with Stone deflecting a pass that Brown collected, leading North Penn to call a timeout with 13.6 seconds.
Sperling had the ball at the foul line and was surrounded by North Allegheny defenders. The Jefferson University commit found Leah Mikulski for a 3-point attempt from the right wing, but the shot was long, and four additional minutes were needed.
Despite playing through what seemed to be an ankle injury she suffered in the second quarter, Betz, a Goldey-Beacom commit, scored a game-high 21 points for the Tigers (23-4). Henderson had 19 points, connecting on five 3-pointers, three in the first quarter.
Cullen said, “They’re a really well-coached, challenging team to play. They have small, fast guards which make them a tough matchup. But overall, it was a really enjoyable and intense game to play in. In the end, we felt like we had come all this way and didn’t want to give it up now.”
In overtime, Brown scored on a drive and then found Sperling for a basket, giving the Knights their largest lead of the night at 53-49. Betz made two free throws at 1:55, while the Tigers went to the line 20 seconds later but missed both.
North Allegheny needed to foul three times before sending Sperling to the free-throw line with 33.6 seconds. She made the second one, making the score 54-51. Henderson tied the game with a three from the left wing, but Sperling answered with a banked-in runner at the buzzer.
Cullen said, “The message at halftime was that now as soon as you lose, the season’s over – for some of them, the career’s over. So you have to want it more, be more committed and know every player on the floor at all times. They did an excellent job of buying into it.”
A Stone 3-point play had the Knights up 14-13 at 2:14 in the first quarter before the Tigers scored the next six. Two Sperling free throws at 18.4 seconds had North Penn trailing 19-16 at the end of the quarter.
Mikulski made a three-point shot to tie the game at 19, then Betz made consecutive baskets. A Heliger basket put North Allegheny ahead 27-21, but two free throws from Brown and a basket from Crowley reduced the lead to 27-25. Betz then scored, giving the Tigers a 29-25 lead at halftime.
Betz made a 3-pointer, bringing the score to 35-26 in favor of North Allegheny, which then extended their lead to 38-29 after a basket by Vange Balouris. However, Brown scored the last four points of an 8-0 run by North Penn, reducing the margin to 38-37.
Sperling commented, “I feel like we didn’t allow as many offensive rebounds as we usually do. We did a great job boxing out, and Lily Brown did a wonderful job grabbing rebounds. Liv also had many steals, which led to our offense. And Cam really stepped up and made a lot of important shots for us.”
North Allegheny scored the final four points of the third quarter, with a basket from Betz at the start of the fourth extending their lead to 44-37. Crowley made a jump shot, and Mikulski scored off a missed free throw. Then, Crowley’s two-point shot in transition put the Knights at a 44-43 deficit, and Brown’s basket completed an 8-0 run, putting North Penn ahead by one.
North Penn 56, North Allegheny 54 (OT)
North Allegheny 19 10 13 7 5 – 54
North Penn 16 9 12 12 7 – 56
North Allegheny: Lydia Betz 7 1 4-4 21; Caroline Henderson 2 5 0-0 19; Kellie McConnell 2 1 0-4 7; Vange Balouris 0 1 0-0 3; Grace Heliger 1 0 0-0 2; Cate Pingpank 1 0 0-0 2; Totals 13 8 4-8 54.
North Penn: Caleigh Sperling 6 0 4-6 16; Cameron Crowley5 1 0-2 13; Lily Brown 6 0 2-5 12; Liv Stone 2 0 3-3 7; Leah Mikulski 1 1 0-0 5; Tallie Smink 0 1 0-0 3; Totals 19 3 9-16 56.
