Titans foil comeback bid

For opponents of the Central Bucks South girls’ basketball team, it is often tough to gauge. Who is going to be the one to make the big play against you?

There are players on the Titans who can consistently hit the three-point shot, such as Taylor Dunn and Meghan Kuypers. There are good ball handlers, such as Chloe Entenberg and Alexa Brodie. There are girls who are good in transition and others who are good on the boards. Courtney Dietzel happens to fit into both of those categories.

Then there are the countless hustle plays and tough team defense.

If you are playing C.B. South, you may never know who it is going to be that day. But there is one thing you can count on, or rather who. Her name is Jordan Vitelli.

Late in the game Tuesday, the sharpshooting senior guard had the ball in her hands as C.B. South thwarted a comeback from Central Bucks East to win a key Suburban One Continental Conference showdown, 50-44.

“We will have a great pass, another pass, and then a layup,” said Vitelli, who scored 11 points and added five rebounds and three steals. “When we work as a team, it lifts our spirits up, and it helps us up our intensity.”

The Titans (15-4, 10-2 league) were up by as many as 13 with five minutes to play against the Patriots (11-7, 6-5). But C.B. East never went away.

“We just wanted to keep them on their feet, keep them moving,” Dietzel said. “We needed to drain them a little bit, so moving the ball was key.”

Bri Talbot and Bridget Birkhead powered the comeback, as the junior duo knocked down some big shots late. Talbot finished with a game high of 16 points, and Birkhead chipped in 11. Together they combined for 12 of C.B. East’s 19 fourth-quarter points.

“Get the ball, Jordan,” C.B South coach Beth Mat-tern said with less than a minute to play as the Titans inbounded the ball.

Get the ball she did, proceeding to knock down both free throws.

Thirty seconds later, she did it all again.