Souderton defeats CB South in three-overtime thriller
By: Kate Harman
Kate Connolly looked up at the big screen of Temple’s Liacouras Center to see less than a minute remaining.
What else did she see? That her team was down after leading for all but 1 ½ minutes of the District 1 Class 6A championship game.
“Seconds are long in basketball,” the Souderton forward said. “But we only had so many left.”
Somebody had to do something, the 6-foot-1 Drexel recruit thought at the time.
Turns out, that somebody, was her.
With less than 17 seconds to play, Connolly took just one dribble after a pass from Tori Dowd and knocked down a contested three to tie it.
Connolly’s clutch shot sent the game into a second overtime period and provided the spark her team needed, as Souderton beat Central Bucks South, 52-48, in three overtimes Saturday night.
“Someone had to shoot it,” Connolly, who scored 18 points, registered six blocks, grabbed four steals, and had six rebounds, said. “And it had to be a three. I just took it and it worked out. She [Tori Dowd] drove and kicked it. The shot had to be taken. As the ball was coming, I knew I had to figure out a way to do this.”
What happened when the ball went in?
“I don’t even think I had words – I just yelled,” senior Alana Cardona said. “I was just yelling out. I was right under the basket and I saw it spin around and go in. It went in and it was like, ‘okay we got this’ - that put it into perspective.”
In the fourth meeting between the two squads this year, the largest lead for either side was just seven points, with Souderton (26-2) never trailing in regulation. But the Titans (24-4) bounced back, due to some big shots from junior point guard, Alexa Brodie, who hit three late-game three-pointers to give her team a chance.
And then it was Cardona’s turn, as the forward, who struggled early on, turned it on late, scoring all 13 of her points in the third quarter or later. She also grabbed 14 boards.
“I think it is that you are more tired in your head,” Cardona said. “It is a back and forth game. The energy in there, I honestly don’t even think anyone felt tired. You just feed off of it. The atmosphere was insane. I didn’t even – my body wasn’t tired at all.”
How could you get tired when you capture the program’s first ever district title?
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Dowd said. “Coming in as a freshman, winning five games a season, I never dreamed of this. Now it’s reality. I cannot even put it into words.”
@Ka_Harman
Central Bucks South 7 7 11 10 4 5 4 – 48
Souderton 9 12 7 7 4 5 8 – 52
CBS: Alexa Brodie 23, Haley Meinel 11, Maddie McShane 4, Lindsay Scott 2, Sofia Sonnett 2, Caroline McSorley 2, Natalie DiSandro 2, Mackenzie Ehresman 2
S: Kate Connolly 18, Alana Cardona 13, Tori Dowd 12, Megan Walbrandt 5, Megan Bealer 4
Ferguson lifts Henderson to District One title
By: Kate Harman
Every time the West Chester Henderson lead started to shrink.
Every time it looked like Villa Maria gained momentum.
Every time the outcome went from getting clearer to in question.
There Grace Ferguson was.
Whenever the Warriors needed a rebound, a quick bucket, or a stop on defense at Temple’s Liacouras Center, Ferguson provided the spark.
The junior forward consistently came up with the clutch play on Saturday afternoon, as West Chester Henderson captured the program’s first ever District 1 championship, defeating the Hurricanes, 41-32, in the Class 5A match-up.
“I almost starting crying when we were running together at the end,” Ferguson, who finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks, said. “It’s so exciting – we’ve never won this before. It’s the first year we will ever have a banner [hanging in the gymnasium] and I’m just so excited to put up the one that says Districts 2018, champs. This means the world, I’m so happy we got this together as a team.”
Why’s the banner especially significant? For senior Maddie DePrisco, it goes back to last season.
“There was no way we coming into this year and not accomplishing anything after last year,” the guard said. “We got into quarterfinals and then we lost in Districts. We got into states and we lost – and we almost got into Ches-Monts but we lost. Last year it was a lot of falling short, now it is actually accomplishing things.”
The contest was tight throughout, as the majority of the game was played within an eight-point margin. The length and speed of Villa (20-8) provided early problems for the Warriors (28-0) but Henderson always found a way to respond, even when outside shots weren’t falling.
“It was all about time of possession. We really tried to get the open pass – the open layup – to make sure we got the closest or highest percentage shot,” Ferguson said. “I think we did a great job of doing that in the fourth quarter and waiting for the shot that we wanted.”
While the Hurricanes missed plum opportunities down the stretch, Henderson converted, especially at the free throw line, as the Warriors scored 15 second half points from the stripe.
And then there was Ferguson.
Three of her blocks came in the final three minutes of play with the game on the line.
“That absolutely gets us going, it gets us fired up,” Erin Thompson said. “Those are the things that we find more success out of when things aren’t going our way. We didn’t make our outside shots, so we needed to find things that were helping us – to find a way to win.”
Find a way to win?
Henderson sure did.
@Ka_Harman
KateRHarman@gmail.comVilla Maria 10 4 7 11 – 32
West Chester Henderson 8 14 2 17 – 41
VM: Abby Walheim 12, Paige Lauder 11, Morgan Warley 5, Maddy Ryan 4
WCH: Grace Ferguson 11, Abbey Shea 10, Maddie DePrisco 9, Erin Thompson 8, Erin Torrance 3
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