SOL Girls' Basketball PIAA 6A Preview (3-19-18)

Souderton, Central Bucks South & Upper Dublin will all be in action in Monday’s PIAA 6A semifinals. Check back for recaps of both games.

Three of the four teams in Monday’s PIAA 6A semifinals – in what well could be a first - are from the Suburban One League. In 2007, it was an All-SOL final when Cheltenham defeated Council Rock North 68-54 to capture the program’s second state crown, but they were the only two SOL teams in the final four.

Souderton and Upper Dublin will do battle at Council Rock South (7 p.m.) in a matchup that has a bit of history. Last year, the Flying Cardinals rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the Indians – who managed just six second-half points – 34-30 in a district playback game. UD went on to capture ninth place while the Indians earned the district’s last spot as the 11^th seed.

The Indians saw a magical state run come to an end in the state semifinals when they fell to North Allegheny by one point.

“Last year, as a junior, it was – ‘Okay, we still have next year,’ but this year – this is it, so we have to give it our all every game because any game could be our last game, so you just have to play with everything you’ve got,” Souderton senior Alana Cardona said.

Upper Dublin saw its season end in the opening round last year, the victim of a Cardinal O’Hara squad the Flying Cardinals sent packing a year later in the same round. The Cards have ridden the momentum of that upset to a spot in the final four.

“Our motto going into states is team and heart equals dub,” senior Maggie Weglos said. “We just go into every game where we don’t want to leave anything behind.

“We just have to focus and stick together. If we believe in ourselves, we can accomplish anything. I think we have the mindset going in.”

Central Bucks South, meanwhile, will board the bus for a road trip to Chambersburg High School and a date with nationally-ranked North Allegheny. 

At least one SOL team – the winner of the Souderton/Upper Dublin contest - will be in Friday’s state final in Hershey. Central Bucks South would like to make it two.

Souderton’s Connolly reaches 1,000-point milestone

Kate Connolly knew she needed just five points heading into Friday’s PIAA 6A quarterfinal contest against Neshaminy to reach the 1,000-point milestone, but personal accomplishments were the last thing on the Souderton senior’s mind.
“I was just focusing on winning the game,” said Connolly, who finished with a game-high 19 in the Indians’ 54-43 win. “If it happens, it happens. If not, that’s fine.”
It happened at the 4:44 mark of the second quarter when Connolly raised up and buried a three-pointer, a milestone that was celebrated when the game was over.
The Drexel-bound senior regularly fills a stat sheet, and scoring points is just one small piece of Connolly’s game.
“I didn’t think I’d ever do it,” she said. “A few weeks ago I was told it was possible.”
And that’s about all Connolly had to say about an accomplishment that is attained by very few. She is just the sixth female in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, and she elevated Souderton’s squad the moment she stepped onto the court after transferring back as a junior after two years at Archbishop Wood where she was a contributor to Wood’s state title run as a sophomore.
“She immediately made everybody else around her a better basketball player,” said coach Lynn Carroll, going on to explain what makes Connolly so effective. “It’s the kind of player that she is with her court awareness, her basketball IQ. The way she passes the ball - she gets people in perfect positions to score. I think you either have it or you don’t, and she’s got it.
“Obviously, her skill set offensively and what she can do with the ball in her hands, her scoring ability, and defensively, her help defense is probably the best I’ve had in my career here. Again, it makes everyone else a better defender. If you’re somebody like (point guard) Tori Dowd, you know you can give a little extra on the ball because if your kid gets by you, there’s somebody like Kate Connolly waiting to block a shot.”
Connolly made the transition to Souderton seamless, stepping back to let those who had been with the program take the lead.
“She didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes,” Carroll said. “I think there are people who would step into that situation and say, ‘I need to take control and I need to show everybody that I’m good.’ She’s the kind of person – I’ll just feel my way in and let them do what they’ve been doing. That’s how she was most of her junior year and eventually became one of the leaders of the team.
“She’s always led by example and this year what a huge difference it was in terms of her leadership and willingness to really jump in when we wanted somebody to jump in. Last year she was letting her teammates do it out of respect for them because they had been here for a couple of years already. I can’t say enough about that. I really think that’s a big deal, and I really think it’s part of why we have the chemistry we have because that could be a messy situation with teenage girls, and it wasn’t at all. It never was.”
Connolly - who maintains close friendships with her former classmates at Wood - immediately found a home with the Indians. 
“I’ve grown up playing with all these girls from CYO and just knowing them from when we were younger,” she said. “It was a lot of fun coming back, and they made it so easy. They’re just a great group of girls.
“It was just a lot of fun to come back and see old faces, old friends and just get back to it.”
Connolly turned out to be a perfect fit.
“She’s well liked by her teammates, and obviously, they respect her – who wouldn’t?” Carroll said. “She’s funny, sarcastic. She has a dry sense of humor, and she makes everybody laugh. They really, really enjoy her.
“She’s been such a great addition for us when it comes to the basketball stuff and off the court as well.”
Connolly is the second member of her family to reach the 1,000-point milestone at Souderton, joining older brother Jim.

#1-1 SOUDERTON vs #1-9 UPPER DUBLIN at Council Rock South (Monday, March 18, 7 p.m.)
Souderton

• 29-2 overall
• 11-1 SOL Continental Conference champions
• First conference title since 2004
• SOL Tournament champions with 48-29 win over #2 Central Bucks South
• Won program’s first ever District One 6A championship with a 52-48 triple overtime win over #2 Central Bucks South.
• Lost to Upper Dublin 34-30 in a district playback game last year.
• Balanced attack directed by point guard Tori Dowd and led by Alana Cardona (11.5 ppg), Kate Connolly (11.3 ppg), Megan Walbrandt (10.2 ppg) and Megan Bealer (8.0 ppg)
• How they got here:  In Friday’s quarterfinal, Souderton defeated #1-9 Neshaminy 54-43. Kate Connolly, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark, led the Indians with 19 points. Megan Walbrandt (12 points) and Alana Cardona (10 points) also finished in double figures.
• In a second round contest, Souderton defeated #1-3 Easton 55-41, opening up a 16-2 lead after one quarter and leading wire to wire. Megan Bealer’s 22 points led the Indians. Kate Connolly added 16 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and five steals.
• In an opening round contest, Souderton defeated #3-7 Manheim Township 58-34. Junior Megan Bealer led the Indians with 18 points, which included five threes, and 10 rebounds. Kate Connolly added 17 points, and Megan Walbrandt contributed 13. Tori Dowd had a team-high 11 boards.
• Coach Lynn Carroll says:  “Upper Dublin obviously is playing their best basketball of the season right now. They’re playing with a lot of confidence, as they should be. They’re beating some very, very good teams. We know how that feels. I feel like that was us last year where you’re playing as the underdog and you have nothing to lose. That’s the run they’re making here. They’re very well coached. They run a lot of good sets on offense. They throw a lot of different things at you defensively, and they have some very talented players. We have a lot of preparing to do to get ready for that one.”

Upper Dublin

• 25-5 overall
• 12-2 SOL American Conference second place behind Plymouth Whitemarsh
• Young Cardinals’ offense led by sophomore Jackie Vargas (12.6 ppg), senior Nicole Kaiser (11.3 ppg) and freshman Dayna Balasa (7.9 ppg)
• Program’s first ever trip to state semifinals
• Defeated Souderton 34-30 in a district playback game last year
• How they got here:  In Friday’s quarterfinal, Upper Dublin edged #1-5 Abington 36-31. The nine-point effort of Jackie Vargas led the Cardinals, who connected on 10-of-11 from the foul line.
• In a second round contest, Upper Dublin knocked off #1-3 Garnet Valley 39-29.  The Cardinals used a 17-0 second-half tear to turn a 22-16 deficit into a 33-22 lead. Dayna Balasa buried four threes and led the Cards with 14 points. Jackie Vargas added 10.
• In an opening round shocker, Upper Dublin defeated #12-1 Cardinal O’Hara 42-35 in double overtime. Senior Maggie Weglos (13 points) and freshman Jess Polin (12 points) led the Cardinals.
• Coach Morgan Funsten says:  “Souderton is playing at an incredibly high level right now. We are familiar with them – we scrimmage them every year, and we faced them in the district playoffs last year. With them having everybody back – the reason they’re so good is because every girl on that team understands their role and doesn’t step out of their role and performs their role extremely well. I think Lynn (Carroll) has done a great job establishing the roles on that team, and they really take pride in performing those roles.
   
• “The key for us – if you watched our game against Abington, we really struggled to take care of the ball. As long as this season is, we’re continuing to try to improve as a team. We escaped with a quarterfinal win, and we’re the first Upper Dublin team – boys or girls – to ever make it to a Final Four state game, and we’re worried about continuing to improve and not getting caught up in this moment and not looking to the future or anything like that. We’re trying to enjoy the ride, embrace it but also continue to improve as a team. There’s mistakes we made against Abington that I think our girls are excited about improving upon.”

#1-2 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH vs. #1-7 NORTH ALLEGHENY at Chambersburg High School (Monday, March 18, 7:30 p.m.)
Central Bucks South

• 27-4 overall
• 10-2 SOL Continental Conference second place
• Lost to Souderton 48-29 in SOL Tournament title game
• District One 6A runner-up after falling to top-ranked Souderton 52-48 in triple overtime.
• Program’s first ever trip to Final Four
• Three of four losses this season were to Souderton
• Led offensively by Jefferson University-bound senior Haley Meinel (16.1 ppg) and junior point guard Alexa Brodie (12.9 ppg).
• How they got here: In Friday’s quarterfinal round, Central Bucks South raced out of the gate to a 12-0 lead on its way to a 60-40 win over #11-4 William Allen. Haley Meinel, who had 11 first-quarter points, ignited the Titans with 25 points. Lindsay Scott added 11.
• In a second round game, Central Bucks South defeated #1-7 Council Rock North 48-31. Alexa Brodie led the Titans with 16, and Haley Meinel added 13 points.
•  In an opening round game, CB South defeated #3-5 Cedar Cliff 43-40. Hailey Meinel, who became the program’s all-time leading scorer, led the Titans with 18 points. Alexa Brodie added 11 points.
• Coach Beth Mattern says:  “We’re really excited for this opportunity. There are only four teams left playing, so we’re going to enjoy it and try and make the most of the opportunity in front of us. As far as North Allegheny – they’re very good. The last game they lost was the state championship game last year. They have a little bit of an injury right now, but it looks like they’ve gone with the next-man-up attitude. We need to be ready to play (Monday) night. If we just play hard and attack, hopefully, we’ll put ourselves in a good position.”

North Allegheny

• 28-0 overall
• 10-0 WPIAL Section 1 6A champions
• WPIAL champions
• Most wins in program history
• Ranked 18^th in the latest USA Today Super 25
• Led by Radford commit Piper Morningstar, a 6-1 forward, and Seton Hill commit Madelyn Fischer
• Lost junior point guard Rachel Martindale, the team’s leading scorer, to a torn ACL.
• Defeated Abington 70-49 in the title game of the Wright Automotive Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29, 2017.
• Last loss came in last year’s PIAA 6A championship game on March 24, 2017, a 46-35 loss to Boyertown.
• How they got here: In Friday’s quarterfinal game, North Allegheny knocked off #7-4 Bethel Park 44-34. Courtney Roman led the way with 11 points, and freshman Lizzy Groetsch added 10 points, thanks to a perfect 10-for-10 effort at the free throw line.
• In a second round contest, North Allegheny defeated #6-2 Altoona 55-50. Senior Piper Morningstar’s 21 points led the way, and senior Madelyn Fischer added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
• In an opening round game, North Allegheny defeated #7-5 Upper St. Clair 46-21. Piper Morningstar’s 18 points included three three-pointers. Freshman Lizzy Groetsch added 11 points.