True Brit

Spring-Ford's Brittany Moore (10) matched her season high with 14 points in Tuesday's 58-44 PIAA-AAAA second round win over Wallenpaupack.

By Darryl Grumling
dgrumling@pottsmerc.com
Twitter: @MercSmokinD

In addition to the obvious on-court talents that make Spring-Ford's girls basketball squad so special, the Rams have a couple of other qualities that make them such a formidable foe.
Most notably toughness: both mental and physcial.
The Pioneer Athletic Conference and District 1-AAAA champion Rams have displayed a laser-like focus in the 31 games heading into Friday's PIAA quarterfinal against Dover.
In addition, they've shown an ability to gut it out through some nagging injuries.
Senior guard Brittany Moore suffered a high ankle sprain a few weeks before practice started, but made a remarkable recovery and wound up not missing any games. Though she admitted she was only about "70 to 80 percent" when the season tipped off, Moore has been back to full throttle since the second half of the regular season.
She matched her season-high with 14 points in Tuesday's 58-44 second-round win over Wallenpaupack, her third double-figure scoring effort over the past four contests.
Teammate Shelby Mueller, meanwhile, limped off the court at Villanova University's Pavilion during the third quarter of the District 1 final against Mount St. Joseph with an apparent ankle injury. Fortunately for the Rams, she was able to eventually re-enter the game.
Though she missed a few days of practice, Mueller was back in the starting lineup for the state tourney opener against Hershey.
And finally, fellow starter Sammi Haas had to leave the PIAA first-round game against Hershey after suffering a blow to her rib area during the fourth quarter of the Rams' 59-41 win. Haas, a staunch defender who does all the little things, was questionable for Tuesday's game but wound up starting and contributing six points, three steal, two assists and two rebound.

(For a preview of Spring-Ford's state quarterfinal against Dover, set for Friday at 6 at Garden Spot, click here).