Twelve SOL teams will be in action this weekend in the District One Class AAAA Tournament. Check back for recaps of all the games.
The following article is sponsored on behalf of the Central Bucks East girls’ basketball team by Johnson, Kendall & Johnson. To read about their services, please visit their web site by clicking on the following link: http://www.jkj.com/
By Mary Jane Souder
Advancing to the district tournament is a foregone conclusion for many teams. It certainly has been in the past for a Central Bucks East team that boasts a legacy of excellence.
This year, however, was different.
With the loss of the entire starting lineup of last year’s squad that advanced to the state tournament to graduation, this year fell under the category of rebuilding. And rebuilding with youth.
The Patriots had just two returning seniors and two returning juniors. One of those seniors – co-captain Jessica Chang – was lost to a torn ACL before the season started, and only junior Kyra Scaliti boasted any meaningful varsity minutes. Of the 22 players in East’s program, 19 are freshmen and sophomores.
“I knew when I got the job I had a strong senior class, and after that, we were going to have to count on young talent because there wasn’t a ton below that just in sheer numbers,” coach Liz Potash said. “The girls know – my expectations don’t change.
“Our goal is always to win a state championship, and obviously, only one team is going to do that at the end of the season. Did I think we were going to win a state championship? That’s what you’re always shooting for.”
With a state championship the elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the young Patriots set attainable individual goals in the offseason, working hard to earn one of the five open starting spots.
“The girls could not have worked harder,” Potash said. “You had every kid thinking they deserved a spot, and they busted their butts to show it.
“Spring, summer and fall – they were out there working. What did I expect realistically? We’re right around where I saw us. I was hoping we could sneak a couple more wins here and there. I don’t make excuses for anything, but not only did we lose five seniors, but throughout the season, especially the second half of the year, we had a lot of injuries, but kids just kept stepping up and stepping up.”
The young Patriots finished the season 11-11 but thought their season might be over when they were upset by Souderton in their final game.
“In the locker room, it was a very emotional time because we’re losing two seniors after this season, and we were all very upset, knowing there was a chance that was the last time we all played together,” Scaliti said. “Someone’s dad texted me a power ranking and said, ‘It looks like you might have a shot.’
“I tried to look on the bright side and know that we had a chance. That’s what I told the team, and the next morning when we got the text (that we were in) we were all just super excited and stoked. Just five more days of practice was such a great thing for us. We were so excited just about that too.”
The Patriots are the 32 seed in the 32-team field in the District One AAAA Tournament.
“We really were hoping we weren’t going to get the 32 seed and that we would have won some games that were within our reach, but just getting in there after losing five starters, five leaders and five scorers – we’re very excited to get the chance to compete,” Scaliti said. “We knew it was going to be tough, but we knew we had a lot of athletes coming up, people who could perform if they really worked on it, which they ended up doing.
“From number one to number 12 on the bench, everyone has really stepped up and showed a lot of their talent, which has really helped us greatly.”
“To be able to quality this year was a huge step,” Potash added. “Especially because I do think last year’s crew made it look easy, and I think you get that when you have five returning varsity players.
“The girls realized really quickly that it’s not easy. There are a lot of good teams out there. I know 11-11 for some people isn’t great, but like I told the girls, there are 57 teams in District One. The season was over for 25 teams on Monday. We were fortunate to keep playing.”
Potash credited her co-captains – Scaliti and Chang - for leading the way.
“The leadership we’ve gotten from Kyra has been invaluable,” she said of Scaliti. “Right after we named captains, Jess got hurt. Jess is still an incredibly valuable captain, but it put a little bit more pressure on Kyra because now she’s the only one on the floor, and I think she’s done a really great job. She was a sophomore last year with all seniors, and we didn’t need that out of her. To get that from her has been huge.”
There’s also the not-so-little matter of the underclassmen who have stepped up for the Patriots.
“I just think the play of a lot of the sophomores has been huge,” Potash said. “Bridget Birkhead has had a great second half of the year. (Freshman) Bailey McManus has stepped up.
“Kids that other people don’t know their names are huge for us. Megan Browne is a really good defender. Bri Talbot and Grace Stewart are solid players. I can’t say enough. We’ve been playing nine or 10 kids all year, and they all have played an incredibly important role in where we are right now.”
The future is bright for the young Patriots, who hope to build on this year’s first step.
“I said to one of the sophomores, ‘I can’t wait to see you guys two years from now. This is going to be old news to you guys,’ which is such a good thing,” said Scaliti.
For now, the Patriots are focused on their opening round game against a young Boyertown squad that is not only the tournament’s top seed but is undefeated.
“I’m just so excited we get a chance to play them,” Scaliti said. “I just hope we all show up.
“Our seniors deserve for us to play a complete game, which we’ve struggled with. We want to come out strong.”
Coming out strong will also be a goal heading into next season when getting into the tournament by the skin of their teeth won’t be good enough.
“After the Souderton game, we weren’t really sure if our season would continue, and we talked about what do we need to do to make sure we’re never in this position again,” Potash said. “We don’t want to be playing the last game of the season and not know if we have another game or not.
“The girls want it. That’s the exciting piece. Not only did they qualify for districts this year, but we’re very excited about what we’re returning for one more year and two more years.
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#13 CHELTENHAM 71, #20 PENN WOOD 56
Cheltenham kicked off the District One AAAA Tournament on Thursday night when the Lady Panthers hosted the Patriots in an opening round game.
“It was great to be the only game in town,” coach Brendan Nolan said. “There was a good crowd. You looked up, and there were a lot of familiar faces, and it was kind of neat – we kicked off the playoffs.”
Two weeks ago to the day, Cheltenham traveled to Penn Wood for a non-league contest, and the Panthers walked away with a 51-43 win. Interestingly, Nolan opted to try a different strategy on Thursday even though his team won the initial meeting.
“The last time we packed it in a zone half court, and I thought getting into a running game would play to their strengths and getting into a half court game would be there for us,” Nolan said. “It was effective up there, but afterwards, I thought, ‘If we speed them up, they’ll break our press and they’ll make some nice plays, but they’ll turn it over a lot,’ and I was right. We jumped up on them early.”
The Lady Panthers raced to a 22-15 lead after one quarter. Sophomore Ashley Jones accounted for 12 of those points while Amarri Trueheart added six. In the second quarter, Jones – who had 19 of her game-high 28 points in the first half – buried a pair of three-pointers, and the Lady Panthers took a 36-23 lead into halftime.
“It could have been worse because we missed a few really easy layups,” Nolan said. “I understood – the girls were so excited and so amped up for the game, and I knew that kind of stuff would happen early.
“We forced them into some bad shots and were effective bringing it back down.”
The Lady Panthers still led 49-35 head into into a fourth quarter that saw them score 20 points from the foul line as they connected on 20-of-27 shots from the charity stripe.
“It was almost like they took turns tonight,” Nolan said. “Ashley was really effective scoring early. She’s been slowed a little bit by injuries.
“Amarri in the fourth quarter was 11-of-15 from the line.”
The Lady Panthers were 31-of-43 from the foul line.
“We’ve been such a good free throwing team,” Nolan said. “Once we got the lead, we got to the point in the game where I could say to the other team, ‘You’ve got to come get us, and you’ve got to put us on the line.’
“We missed a couple but we made enough to salt the game away.”
Trueheart finished with 21 points while Gabrielle Wright added 12, which included an 8-of-9 effort at the foul line. Monet McGorda added seven points.
Dahnye Redd had 20 points to lead the Patriots.
With the top 10 teams earning state berths, the Lady Panthers have assured themselves at least two more games.
“Before the game, I was just very nervous,” Nolan said. “People said, ‘Why are you so nervous?’ I said, ‘It’s an elimination game. How can I not be nervous?’
“Everything you work for all year could be gone if one thing goes wrong, so it certainly is nice to know we at least have two more left. We certainly want to get to the final eight. We’re going to have a tough game no matter who we play in the next round, but we certainly know we play a tough schedule, and those games against Abington, North Penn, the Mount and Upper Dublin will pay off whether we’re at Garnet or against Upper Merion.”
Cheltenham will face the winner of the game pitting 29th-seeded Upper Merion at fourth-seeded Garnet Valley.
Penn Wood 15-8-12-21 56
Cheltenham 22-14-13-22 71
Penn Wood (56) – Dahnye Redd 9 2-7 20; Gabby Hairston 3 2-2 11; Simone Walker 4 2-4 10; Joy Morton 2 2-2 6; Nadege Durand 2 0-0 4; Carle Andrews 2 0-1 5; Totals 22 8-16 56.
Cheltenham (71) – Ashley Jones 9 7-9 28; Monet McGorda 2 2-4 7; Amarri Trueheart 5 11-15 21; Caitlyn Wallace 0 3-4 3; Gabrielle Wright 2 8-9 12.
#31 OWEN J ROBERTS at #2 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST
Central Bucks West
- 14-0 SOL, 23-1 overall
- SOL Continental Conference champions
- Captured first ever SOL Tournament title with 51-38 win over fifth-seeded Abington
- Led by first team all-state senior Nicole Munger (18.0 ppg) and a supporting cast that includes Mackenzie Carroll (11.2), Corrinne Godshall (9.8) and Makenzie Mason (9.0)
- Wins over #7 Upper Dublin (63-41), #12 CB South (59-35, 73-29), #23 Neshaminy (61-25), #26 Pennridge (71-50, 71-39) & #32 CB East (64-38, 67-37)
- Only loss came at the hands of Lake Taylor (Va.) in the Boo Williams Holiday Classic (68-57)
Owen J Roberts
- 4-9 PAC-10, 10-12 overall
- Fifth place in the PAC-10 Liberty Division
- Win over 29th-seeded Upper Merion (49-34)
- Led by Rebecca Painter (11.4 ppg) and Nikki Testa (8.2 ppg)
- The Wildcats average 43.1 points while allowing 42.6 per game.
#28 CONESTOGA at #5 ABINGTON
Abington
- 14-0 SOL, 20-4 overall
- SOL National Conference champion
- Fell to second-seeded CB West 51-38 in SOL Tournament title game, a loss that snapped a 10-game winning streak.
- Wins over #7 Upper Dublin (39-38), #8 North Penn (51-25), #13 Cheltenham (58-52), #15 CR North (44-32, 64-51), #23 Neshaminy (61-25, 32-23), #24 William Tennent (59-31, 74-39) and #27 CR South (50-30, 50-29)
- Led by senior point guard Deja Rawls (11.7 ppg), sophomore Liz O’Leary (11.7 ppg), junior Leah Simmons (8.5 ppg) and junior Sammy Lochner (8.3 ppg)
Conestoga
- 9-5 Central League, 10-8 overall
- Wins over #14 Strath Haven (39-33) and #22 Haverford (45-40)
#26 PENNRIDGE at #7 UPPER DUBLIN
Upper Dublin
- 14-0 SOL, 18-5 overall
- SOL American Conference champion
- Led by senior Julie Cross (14.5 ppg.), who averages a double-double, as well as junior Allison Chernow (11.1 ppg) and sophomore Josie Barrett (11.1 ppg)
- Wins over #6 West Chester Rustin (47-42), #13 Cheltenham (49-30, 47-42), #29 Upper Merion (35-32, 47-19) and #32 CB East (44-26)
Pennridge
- 6-8 SOL, 13-9 overall
- Tied for fifth place in SOL Continental Conference with CB East
- Wins over #24 William Tennent (64-57) & #32 CB East (50-42)
- Led by junior Devan Rimmer (13.4 ppg), junior Lydia Konstanzer (12.0 ppg) and senior Shelby Schoonover (10.4 ppg.)
- First trip to districts since 2010
#25 DOWNINGTOWN WEST at #8 NORTH PENN
North Penn
- 11-3 SOL, 17-6 overall
- Second place in SOL Continental Conference behind CB West
- Led by junior Mikaela Giuliani (12.5 ppg) and sophomore Sam Carangi (11.1 ppg)
- Defeated Downingtown West on its own court 45-41 on Dec. 9
- Wins over #12 CB South (39-38), #26 Pennridge (49-42, 63-60), CB East (54-37, 62-51) and top-seeded Class AAA Gwynedd Mercy 42-40
Downingtown West
- 8-4 Ches-Mont, 13-9 overall
- Third place in Ches-Mont National Conference
- Wins over #21 Coatesville (51-47) and #28 Conestoga (38-31)
- Lost to North Penn 45-41 on Dec. 9
#21 COATESVILLE at #12 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH
Central Bucks South
- 10-4 SOL, 17-5 overall
- Third place SOL Continental Conference
- Led by junior Jordan Vitelli (10.6 ppg)
- Wins over #7 Upper Dublin (35-33), #8 North Penn (53-35), #25 Downingtown West (53-39), #26 Pennridge (44-40, 51-44), #27 Council Rock South (44-42) and #32 CB East (50-38, 51-41)
Coatesville
- 7-5 Ches-Mont, 16-5 overall
- Win over 25th-seeded Downingtown West (58-51)
- Led by Nafisa Saunders (17.7 ppg)
#18 UNIONVILLE at #15 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH
Council Rock North
- 11-3 SOL, 15-6 overall
- Second place SOL National Conference
- Led by senior Jessica Gerber (15.8 ppg), Michaela Finneyfrock (8.5 ppg) and Becca Margolis (7.3 ppg)
- Wins over #12 CB South (35-31, #23 Neshaminy (57-48), #24 William Tennent (56-43, 66-48) and #27 CR South (45-24, 56-53).
- Won eight of nine games to close out regular season
Unionville
- 9-3 Ches-Mont, 16-6- overall
- Second place in Ches-Mont American Division
- Led by senior forward Micayla Flores (13.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and sophomore guard Madelyn Shanahan (10.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
- Wins over #9 Bishop Shanahan (51-49) and #21 Coatesville (45-40)
#23 NESHAMINY at #10 PERKIOMEN VALLEY
Neshaminy
- 9-5 SOL, 14-7 overall
- Tied for third place in SOL National Conference
- Wins over #15 Council Rock North (39-36), #24 William Tennent (59-47, 74-62) and #30 Methacton (54-46)
- Led by senior Maddie Murray, junior Morgan Goldenbaum & sophomore Devon Storms
Perkiomen Valley
- 9-4 PAC-10, 19-5 overall
- Second place in PAC-10 Liberty Division
- Runner-up to Boyertown in PAC-10 Tournament
- Led by PAC-10’s top scorer in KT Armstrong (18.3 ppg) and Megan Jonassen 9.1 ppg).
- Averaged 48.0 points a game while allowing 40.3
- Defeated Neshaminy in regular season meeting on Jan. 15 (44-36)
- Wins over #8 North Penn (46-44), #11 Downingtown East (51-44), #16 Spring-Ford (61-58), #25 Downingtown West (43-36), #30 Methacton (43-41, 55-42), #31 OJR (59-49, 54-47) and #32 CB East (44-32)
#24 WILLIAM TENNENT at # 9 BISHOP SHANAHAN
William Tennent
- 7-7 SOL, 13-9 overall
- Fifth place in SOL National Conference
- Led by senior Angie Pomponio (13.4 ppg) and sophomore Kyla Gibson (13.3 ppg)
- Win over #27 Council Rock South (47-44)
Bishop Shanahan
- 11-1 Ches-Mont, 19-3 overall
- Ches-Mont National Division Champion
- Defeated Downingtown East 27-25 to capture Ches-Mont Tournament title
- Led by Ciara Forde (11.1 ppg) and Devon Adams (9.2 ppg)
- Regular season wins over #11 Downingtown East (42-39, 37-31), #18 Unionville (47-31), #21 Coatesville (50-20, 51-49) and #24 Downingtown West (42-34)
#27 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH at #6 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN
Council Rock South
- 9-5 SOL, 12-10 overall
- Tied for third place in SOL National Conference
- Led by Shannon Taub (15.3 ppg) and Allison Taub (13.2 ppg)
- Wins over #23 Neshaminy (45-44, 47-29) and William Tennent (45-38)
West Chester Rustin
- 12-0 Ches-Mont, 17-4 overall
- Ches-Mont American Division champion
- Led by Noelle Powell (15.7 ppg) and Katie O’Hare (10.1 ppg)
- Saw 13-game winning streak snapped in 57-40 loss to Downingtown East in Ches-Mont semifinals
- Wins over #3 Mount St. Joseph (51-46), #4 Garnet Valley (61-35), #15 CR North (58-55) and #18 Unionville (62-47, 51-41)
#29 UPPER MERION at #4 GARNET VALLEY
Upper Merion
- 7-7 SOL, 13-9 overall
- Tied for fourth place in SOL American Conference
- Led by senior Regie Robinson (17.0 ppg) , Jessica Michael (7.9 ppg) and Tatiana Pleasant (7.8 ppg)
- Win over 20th-seeded Penn Wood (47-45)
Garnet Valley
- 16-0 Central League, 20-2 overall
- Central League champion
- Won 13 of last 14 games, including five in a row, to close out regular season
- Wins over #14 Strath Haven (61-46, 40-31), #18 Unionville (45-24), #22 Haverford (44-37, 56-39), #27 CR South (43-23) and #28 Conestoga (44-29, 37-30).
- Led by sisters Jordan and Maddie Ireland
#32 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST at #1 BOYERTOWN
Central Bucks East
- 6-8 SOL, 11-11 overall
- Tied for fifth place in SOL Continental Conference
- Wins over 26th-seeded Pennridge (42-41) and 32nd-seeded OJR (46-38)
- Patriots start all underclassmen after graduating all five senior starters from last year’s squad
- Sophomore Bridget Birkhead (11.6 ppg) leads the Patriots
Boyertown
- 13-0 PAC-10, 24-0 overall
- PAC-10 Frontier Division Champions
- Captured PAC-10 Tournament title with 38-29 win over 10th-seeded Perkiomen Valley
- Defense has been the forte of a squad that allows just 30.8 points a game while scoring 50.7
- The young Bears are led by sophomore Abby Kapp (16.8 ppg) and junior Ali Bauman (8.2 ppg)
- Rolled to wins over #10 Perk Valley (47-28 & 50-34), #11 Downingtown East (44-32), #16 Spring-Ford (46-44 & 38-36), #30 Methacton (48-35 & 52-20) and #32 Owen J Roberts (49-31 & 43-36)
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