Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action on Friday night.
American Conference
UPPER MERION 61, NORRITOWN 56 (OT)
Tom Schurtz has dubbed his team the ‘Cardiac Kids.’
With good reason.
For the second time in as many games, the Vikings pulled out a dramatic win, this time rallying from 15 down in the second half to win in overtime.
“It was definitely quite the exciting game,” Schurtz said. “They have a good team – they have a lot of nice guard play. I just think we made some critical opportunities.
“They were calling a tight game. It could have easily gone the other way, and we could have been the team in foul trouble. It was an unbelievable finish.”
The Vikings needed a Regie Robinson three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
“She made a three-pointer with 00.04 on the clock,” Schurtz said. “We ran an inbounds play for her, she pump faked and buried a three as the buzzer sounded.”
Robinson finished with 29 points and did literally all of her damage in the fourth quarter and overtime. The junior standout had one point in the first period, none in the second and three in the third but exploded for 21 in the fourth quarter and tacked on four more in OT. Robinson took 31 foul shots, connecting on 20 of them. All told, the Vikings made 48 trips to the foul line while the Eagles took 33 foul shots and converted 22.
“Both teams dealt with foul trouble, obviously, with that many free throws shot,” Schurtz said of a game that featured 81 foul shots. “We managed to survive it a little bit better.”
Norristown starters Briana Hedgepeth, Devon Morse and Brianna Schools all fouled out in the fourth period.
“I think that was key because we were able to turn up the defensive pressure and create some turnovers,” Schurtz said.
The Vikings’ coach went on to laud a pair of unsung heroes in the win.
“They each only had one point, but given when those points happened, they were critical,” Schurtz said. “Liz Botto, a senior, had the first point of her career from the free throw line after a steal with two minutes left to put us down four.
“Tatum Thomas had a steal and free throw with under a minute left to put us down two. They went down and hit a free throw to go up three with 15 seconds to play. We had a jump ball inbounds under our basket with four seconds to go. I called timeout, we drew up a play, and Regie buried it to send it to overtime.”
The basket by Robinson capped a 26-14 fourth quarter tear by the Vikings.
“In overtime, I felt we survived the foul onslaught, and I felt as long as we kept the ball in our starters’ hands, we’d find a way to win it,” Schurtz said.
The Vikings outscored the Eagles 10-5 in OT to earn the dramatic win.
“A freshman really salted the game away for us,” Schurtz said. “In back-to-back league games, Jessie Michael has made big three-pointers for us.
“She had a three-pointer in the first quarter to kind of get us going when we were really struggling offensively, and she hit a big three-pointer in overtime to put us up three with two to go, and we never relinquished the lead.”
Michael and Tatiana Pleasant both finished with eight points while Eryn Brady had nine points.
For the Eagles, Hedgepeth led the way with 16 points. Keifonna Ferguson had 13 while Essence Williams added 11 and Schools had 10.
“Briana Hedgepeth played great for them,” Schurtz said. “She’s a great player, and we had trouble containing her all day off the dribble.”
The Vikings evened their SOL record at 4-4 and improved to 8-6 overall while the Eagles are 5-3 in the league (7-6 overall).
Upper Merion won’t have a whole lot of time to celebrate. The Vikings will face the Indians in the SOL Challenge at Souderton (2 p.m.).
“We’ll see if we can find a way to get our legs back under us,” Schurtz said. “We’ll do the best we can against another great team. We’ve played some tough teams this week. Upper Dublin, Norristown and Souderton – that’s a tough week.
“We’re a young team, and we’re starting to find our way.”
Norristown 9 10 17 14 5-56
Upper Merion 6 15 4 26 10-61
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 60, UPPER MORELAND 28
The Colonials sprinted out of the starting gate to a 15-0 lead and took a 39-8 lead into halftime on their way to the big win on their home court.
Asia Baker had another big game for PW on both ends of the court, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five steals and one blocked shot. Other big contributors were Alynna Williams (15 points, three rebounds, two steals), Rachel Konowal (seven points, three assists, five steals), Khadijah Hickson (seven points), Cara Sweeney (two points, eight rebounds) and Alison Spinelli (six points, four rebounds, two assists).
The Golden Bears, who were without senior point guard Lindsay Walder, were led by Karli Lynch with eight points. Amanda Getz and Madison Pisut each added seven points.
The Colonials upped their record to 7-1 in league play (11-2 overall) while the Golden Bears fell to 2-6 (4-10 overall).
Upper Moreland 4 4 11 9-28
Plymouth Whitemarsh 18 21 12 9-60
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 55, PENNRIDGE 38
Jordan Vitelli led a balanced South attack with 11 points while Lauren Mosher and Emma Gardy both added eight points. Taylor Dunn had seven and Brie Wade chipped in with four.
For the Lady Rams, Alex Villella had a team-high eight points, Jess Tennett added seven and Shelby Schoonover and Devan Rimmer both had six. Schoonover also had 10 rebounds, which included seven on the offensive end. Ashley George had five points and also pulled down 10 rebounds – eight on the defensive end. Lydia Constanzer added six rebounds. Kaeli White had a team-high three steals to go along with four rebounds and four points.
The Titans jumped out to an 18-10 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 29-21 lead into halftime. They all but sealed the Lady Rams’ fate with a 20-6 third quarter surge.
CB South is 5-2 in league play (11-3 overall) while the Lady Rams fell to 2-6 in the league (4-9 overall).
Central Bucks South 18 11 20 6-55
Pennridge 10 11 6 11-38
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 44, HATBORO-HORSHAM 33
Courtney Webster had a big game for the Patriots, delivering 17 points and 11 rebounds. Lindsay Nier also contributed under the backboards, pulling down 13 rebounds.
East took a 24-13 lead into halftime and then outscored the Hatters 12-7 in the third quarter.
The Patriots are 5-3 in league play (9-4 overall) while the Hatters saw their record drop to 1-6 in the league (1-10 overall).
Central Bucks East 17 7 12 8-44
Hatboro-Horsham 11 2 7 13-33
National Conference
PENNSBURY 50, BENSALEM 29
Sajanna Bethea had another double-double for the Falcons, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Teammates Kaitlin Kelly (eight points), Kate Foley (seven) and Sarah Anturuse (six) also contributed.
For the Owls, Bridget Watson led the way with 14 points. Sophomore Lyric Lewis, who was coming off a 34-point performance one night earlier in the team’s win against Academy Park, was injured in the first quarter and did not return. She finished with just two points.
“We played hard the entire game, and the game was within reach until early in the fourth quarter when Pennsbury pulled away,” said coach Don Bogan.
The Falcons led 13-6 at the end of one quarter and took a 22-8 lead into halftime after outscoring the Owls 9-2 in the second quarter.
The Falcons are 6-2 in league play (7-6 overall) while the Owls fell to 0-7 in the league (7-6 overall).
Bensalem 6 2 10 11-29
Pennsbury 13 9 7 21-50
MERION MERCY 53, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 49
The Indians led 16-11 at the end of one quarter and took a 31-23 lead into halftime, but Merion Mercy came out of halftime and outscored the Indians 19-11 in the third quarter and 30-18 in the second half.
Tara Garfield led the Indians with 16 points, which included three three-pointers. Jessica Gerber added 11 points, five rebounds, two steals and five assists, and Michaela Finneyfrock had 10 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Madison Attanasio had seven points for the Indians, who fell to 6-6.
Merion Mercy 11 12 19 11-53
Council Rock North 16 15 11 7-49
- Log in to post comments
