PHILADELPHIA -- Well, that had to hurt.
A lot.
Unable to match Neumann-Goretti's superior athleticism, Annville-Cleona watched the District 12 Saints ring up a 76-37 victory in the opening round of the PIAA Class AA tournament Friday night at Archbishop Ryan High School.
Sianni Martin and Tanesha Sutton each cranked out 16-point efforts, while Stephanie Brown added 15 as the Saints (14-11) spoiled A-C's first state-level outing since 1988 by dominating every possible statistical category.
And then some.
Not only did the Philly Catholic League entry shoot 52 percent from the floor (32-for-61), but the Saints also owned a commanding 47-17 advantage on the backboards as Sutton yanked down 11 and Brown grabbed nine.
Alicia Kebbe also came off the bench to pull down 11 caroms. as Neumann-Goretti wheeled into Tuesday's quarterfinals opposite Notre Dame-Green Pond. NDGP clipped Southern Columbia 58-36 in another first-round game.
Alex Siebecker's 19 points topped A-C (16-11).
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A-C was within one point (10-9) with 2:30 left in the opening quarter, Siebecker knocking down an elbow jumper to cap a short-lived 5-0 spurt that generated needed momentum for Jaime Walborn's outfit.
Unfortunately for A-C, Letty Santarelli's Saints were just beginning to get comfortable. And once they had the glass covered, a devastating transition game begin to open up and so did the scoreboard.
Eight straight points had Neumann-Goretti up 18-9 at the end of the first. Another burst -- this one a 21-9 hammer -- upped the lead to 39-18 by the time the halftime break arrived. And A-C really needed a breather.
Didn't really help, however, as Santarelli's Saints pocketed 15 of the second half's first 17 points to really blow this thing open.
MICHAEL BULLOCK: mbullock@pennlive.com
BULLOCK ON TWITTER: @thebullp_n