Check out all of Friday’s SOL girls basketball results. To view photos of the Upper Merion/PW and CR South/Bensalem games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
National Conference
BENSALEM 51, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 41
The Owls, according to coach Don Bogan, found themselves dealing with some internal issues this week. The players apparently ironed things out rather nicely because there were no signs of trouble when they took the court and handed the Golden Hawks a loss on their home court.
“We had some problems this week,” the Owls’ coach said. “I talked to them a little bit last night, and they got together, and they played like a team today.
“They pulled together, they played hard.”
Things didn’t start out all that promising for the Owls, who found themselves staring at a 17-9 deficit late in the first quarter. They came back to make it a 24-24 game at the intermission. The Owls turned up their defensive intensity in the second half, outscoring the Golden Hawks 11-6 in the third quarter to go on top 35-30 and then icing the win with a 14-7 fourth quarter.
“We played patient,” Bogan said. “We have a tendency to go too fast at times and make turnovers.
“Yesterday we worked on being patient, taking our time and making them come out to us, and it really worked. Patience was the key. We took our time, and we got more confident. We played great defense. We played a matchup zone. We guarded their shooters and did very well. I was really happy.”
Senior point guard Ashida Cooper scored just one point, but her teammates more than picked up the slack. Stephanie Unger had a team high 18 points, Tyra Roberts had 16 and Alexia Kohler added 13. Cooper made her presence felt by handing out 10 assists, pulling down eight rebounds and delivering five steals. Christine Cueto had four points but came up with three steals to spark the defense.
“Our second half defense was the key,” Bogan said. “The girls played hard the entire game, and I’m very proud of the effort by everyone on the team.”
Taylor Dillon led the Golden Hawks with 11 points while Shannon Boyle added 10. Courtney Brown had nine points and Alexis Hofstaedter, seven points.
While the Golden Hawks fell to 1-2 in league play (3-4 overall), the Owls upped their record to 1-3 in the league (4-4 overall).
“This is very big,” Bogan said. “South is a very good team. (Alex) Wheatley was a very big loss for them, but they’re a very good ball club.
“I think our girls going in were silently confident. The bus ride there was very calm. They’re very happy, but they know they have a big test against (Council Rock) North on Tuesday, so we have to get ready for that.
“Some of the girls that haven’t played a lot of varsity really contributed tonight. We just have to keep it going, but no matter what happens, I’m very proud of them.”
PENNSBURY 61, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 41
The Falcons rebounded from a disappointing showing at the Boardwalk Classic over the holiday break to earn a big win over the Indians.
“We got away from the things we were doing well,” coach Donna Nicholson said of her team’s two losses at Wildwood. “Tonight we just played well as a team.
“We were looking for each other and playing tough team defense.”
The Falcons established the tone early, opening up a 19-8 lead at the end of one quarter and extending that to 39-18 by halftime.
“It’s been a long time since we have beaten Council Rock North,” Nicholson said. “We were back to running, executing and hitting the shots. We were finishing.
“We were getting out on the floor and running and getting to our spots.”
Kaitlin Kelly led the Falcons with 16 points while Sajanna Bethea had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Taylor Ferguson added 12 points.
“Taylor hit some big shots, handled the ball well for us and played real good ‘D,’” Nicholson said. “Jae Jackson and Carly Kovin both had eight points.
“It was a team effort. If we can stay out of foul trouble and keep our players on the court, we’ll be okay. This was a nice win. The girls felt good about it. They were excited to play, and they performed well.”
Katie Budny led the Indians with 13 points while Tara Garfield added 11 and Jessica Gerber, seven points.
While the Indians fell to 2-2 in league play (5-4 overall), the Falcons improved to 3-0 in the league (6-2 overall).
To read Dan Dunkin’s full game story, please click on the following PhillyBurbs.com link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/falcons-fly-past-indians/article_87718369-3f85-5f3c-a65c-ee381e755114.html
NESHAMINY 40, WILLIAM TENNENT 35
Lori Paulits nailed a clutch three-pointer down the stretch, and Megan Schafer created her usual havoc defensively for the Redskins, collecting eight steals to go along with 10 points and eight assists.
“She is just unbelievable,” coach Joe Lally said of his junior point guard. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, but our defense and our press really drives us. We were really good on the boards, giving them no second chance shots.”
The Redskins opened up an 11-3 lead at the end of one quarter only to watch the Panthers answer with a 14-6 second quarter tear to knot the score 17-17 at halftime. The Redskins took a 30-28 lead into the final quarter, but it was still anyone’s game coming down the stretch.
With under two minutes remaining, Paulits, who finished with nine points and eight rebounds, hit a three-pointer that broke a 34-34 tie.
McKenna Mullin, according to Lally, was the Redskins’ best player on the floor on Friday night. She finished with eight points, three steals and five rebounds.
“She had a very nice game,” the first-year coach said.
The Redskins improved to 3-1 in league play (6-1 overall) while the Panthers fell to 1-3 in the league (6-3 overall).
ABINGTON 59, HARRY S TRUMAN 33
Michael Harris led a balanced Ghost attack with 15 points while Deja Rawls added 14. Gabby Nolan chipped in with nine points for the Ghosts, who opened up a 22-7 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 30-17 lead into halftime. Jasmine Wilson and Khristaijah Jackson led the Tigers with 11 points each.
The Ghosts are 4-0 in league play (7-3 overall) while the Tigers fell to 0-4 in the league (4-7 overall).
Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 46, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 32
It was a win that was a long time in coming for coach Lynn Carroll – eight years and 17 games, to be exact, but the ninth-year coach finally got that elusive win over perennial conference power Central Bucks East.
According to Carroll, there were two keys to the big win.
“Sarah Derstein had two fouls early,” she said of her sophomore forward. “She came out with two minutes left in the first quarter and sat the rest of the half.
“With Sarah out, Courtney Webster kind of had her way. She had six points in the first quarter and six more in the second, and most of them were when Sarah was out. She did not score again until the fourth quarter.”
With Webster stymied, the Patriots scored just three points in the third quarter, allowing the Indians – thanks to a 15-3 third quarter tear - to turn a 22-17 halftime lead into a 37-20 advantage.
“They only had three points in the third quarter, and a lot of it had to do with Sarah,” Carroll said. “She has such a unique ability to find a way to get a hand on the ball – deflect it out of bounds, get a steal. She had great weakside help from Libby Wetzler, and Libby had great help from the weakside guard. That was a huge part of it.”
The second key, according to Carroll, was the team’s patience on offense in the second half when the Patriots made a concerted effort to take Bianca Picard, who had 13 first-half points, out of the game.
“Our girls were so patient with the ball,” Carroll said. “Their goal clearly was to not let Bianca score and limit her touches. Bianca had two points in the second half, but we had 15 points in the third quarter.
“Everybody stepped up. They were patient, our shot selection was great.”
The Indians connected on 10-of-15 shots from two-point range in the second half.
“That sounds remarkably high, but a lot of that had to do with shot selection,” Carroll said. “They were focused on Bianca, and we didn’t force anything. We hit some big shots, and it was everybody.
“This was the first win that felt like we really had to earn it. We got lucky last week and got two wins, but we didn’t play well at all. This was a conference win against a team that has won the conference forever. This was big. I’m really, really proud of the girls. On both ends of the court, they executed the way we needed them to execute.”
Picard, who was 6-for-11 from the field, finished the game with 15 points to lead all scorers. She also had eight rebounds.
“She wasn’t forcing anything,” Carroll said. “She was letting the game come to her and finding her teammates. That’s going to be crucial moving forward.”
Wetzler added eight points while Allison Gallagher and Katie O’Connor both added seven points. Derstein contributed four points, eight rebounds and six assists. Webster led the Patriots with 14 points while Karoline White added 10.
The Indians evened their league mark at 2-2 (4-3 overall) while the Patriots fell to 1-3 in the league (5-4 
overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 65, PENNRIDGE 38
Sophomore Nicole Munger celebrated her return to the lineup after being sidelined with a broken wrist by contributing 14 points, four steals and four assists. Maggie Gratz also had a big night for the Bucks, scoring 14 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Peyton Traina added seven points.
West won this one with a 25-3 first quarter burst. The Bucks led 39-15 at halftime and never looked back.
The Rams were led by the 13-point effort of Alex Villella while Jordan Rimmer added eight points and Kaeli White had seven points.
The Bucks remain tie with North Penn atop the conference standings, boasting a perfect 4-0 mark (7-2 overall). The Rams are 0-4 in the league (1-7 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 68, HATBORO-HORSHAM 36
Lauren Mosher and Jordan Vitelli each had 13 points to pace a balanced South attack. Mosher scored nine of her points in a first quarter that saw the Titans sprint to a 25-2 lead.
Lauren Jester scored nine points to lead the Hatters, who fell to 1-3 in league play (2-6 overall). The Titans improved to 3-1 in the league (8-3 overall).
NORTH PENN 68, QUAKERTOWN 12
Ten players got into the scoring column for the Maidens, who opened up a 21-1 lead at the end of one quarter. Lauren Crisler led a balanced attack with 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Vicky Tumasz added 12 points while Jenn Halcovage, Mikaela Giuliani and Brianna Cullen each scored eight points.
While the Panthers fell to 1-3 in SOL play (2-7 overall), the Maidens are 4-0 in the league (9-0 overall).
American Conference
UPPER MERION 44, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 43
It’s always a war when neighboring rivals PW and Upper Merion do battle on the court. Five points have separated the two schools in the last five meetings at the end of regulation. Last year, the Vikings won by one in the first meeting and then earned an overtime win in the second go-round. Two years ago, the Vikings lost by one at the buzzer in one game and fell by two at the buzzer in the other.
“This was a typical Upper Merion/PW basketball game,” Upper Merion coach Tom Schurtz said. “It’s difficult to explain. When Upper Merion plays PW, you can take the (records) and throw them away. It doesn’t matter.
“Upper Merion and PW know each other by name up and down the lineup. These girls play each other in multiple sports. They know each other, and they really come out to play.”
There were heroes galore on both sides. The Vikings were led by the brilliant 26-point, 11-rebound effort of Regie Robinson. The sophomore standout scored 21 of those points in the second half, and it was Robinson who stole the ball with 10 seconds to go to preserve the win for the Vikings.
“If you don’t see her play, you don’t understand how talented she really is,” Schurtz said. “She is really becoming one of the most dominant players I have ever coached on both ends of the floor.
“Defensively, she’s a stopper. She’s one of the top two rebounders on the team, and she’s our leading scorer. She’s a great player, and she’s really starting to come into her own.”
Senior point guard Kristina O’Sullivan added 15 points – which included a pair of three-pointers - and 14 rebounds. She scored 12 of those points in a first half that saw the two teams battle to an 18-18 tie.
“She continues to offensively be our anchor,” Schurtz said. “It was a very physical game, and she was very under control.
“I thought their coach did a great job of getting their kids ready to play. PW really came out and played nice, solid team basketball. It was one of those games where you were just watching it go back and forth all night long.”
For the Colonials, senior Laurie Givnish came out of nowhere to score 18 points, which included three clutch three-point baskets down the stretch. Givnish shot 4-for-7 from three-point land and was three-for-three in the fourth quarter.
“I went up to Dan (Dougherty) at the end of the game and said, ‘Where did she come from?’” Schurtz said. “We were up seven (37-30) with three minutes to go, and she had three three’s in the last three minutes.
“There’s something about Upper Merion/PW. It’s just great basketball. It’s highly entertaining, and it’s energetic. We had a huge crowd. PW had a lot of people there. Everybody was entertained by a fun girls’ basketball game.”
Simone Jacques, Kayla Wisniewski and Maya Thomas each added six points for the Colonials, who fell to 2-2 in league play (2-5 overall). The Vikings improved to 3-1 in the league (7-1 overall).
WISSAHICKON 48, CHELTENHAM 39
The Trojans, according to coach Rodney Cline, were a team on a mission. Their goal was simple - to defeat the defending conference champion Lady Panthers, owners of 24 conference titles in 26 years.
“Our focus the last three days of practice was to play defense like we are capable of,” Cline said. “This was a total team effort this evening.
“The girls played with a lot of passion and grit. When it came time to make adjustments, they stayed focused and took care of their responsibilities as a unit.”
The Lady Panthers led 11-8 at the end of one quarter, but the Trojans allowed just five points in the second quarter and took a 23-16 lead into halftime. The Trojans outscored the Lady Panthers 11-7 in the third quarter to go into the final frame with a 34-23 lead. They never looked back.
Rachel Stone led the Trojans with 16 points, which included three baskets from beyond the arc. Donyea Tate and Dominique Earland both added 11 points.
“Rachel Stone was on fire from the outside,” Cline said. “Dominique Earland and Meredith Bryne were a little too tough down low for Cheltenham to stop, especially when they went man-to-man.
“Sierra Eskridge played great defense up top by dictating where we wanted the ball to go in our zone trap while adding four forced turnovers. Donyea Tate is starting to come alive with her scrappy play by creating turnovers on defense and her relentless fight on the offensive glass.
Cline tipped his hat to Alex Comonitski, a three-sport athlete, for delivering the play of the game.
“She had the most important bucket of the night when the momentum was swinging their way after a timeout, but her main contribution was her toughness on the boards and her ability to close out when we were in our 1-3-1 halfcourt trap,” Cline said of Comonitski, who is 5-7. “My coaching staff and I always talk to the girls about three things we can control on the court, and they are effort, energy and confidence in oneself and one another. Tonight it was a perfect storm. We are proud of them.”
The Lady Panthers were led offensively by sophomore Amarri Trueheart (13 points) and senior Sabrina Casseus (11 points).
Both teams are 2-2 in league play. The Trojans improved to 4-5 overall while the Lady Panthers fell to 3-6 overall.
NORRISTOWN 64, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 22
The Eagles opened up a 16-8 lead at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 29-14 by halftime on their way to the big win. Briana Hedgepeth, Keifona Ferguson and Brianna Kennedy led a balanced Eagle attack with 13 points each. Sydney Morse added 11 points. For the Spartans, Meghan Wheatley had five points while Sarah Dailey and Maisey Bradley both had four.
The Eagles upped their lead mark to 3-1 (6-3 overall) while the Spartans saw their record fall to 0-4 in the league (2-6 overall).
UPPER DUBLIN 57, UPPER MORELAND 14
Brianna Spector and Regan Gallagher both scored nine points to lead a balanced Upper Dublin attack. The Flying Cardinals led 24-5 at halftime and used a 22-0 third quarter scoring explosion to go on top 46-5.
While the Golden Bears saw their record drop to 0-4 in the league (1-9 overall), the Flying Cardinals, winners of eight in a row, improved to 4-0 in the league (8-1 overall).
UPPER MERION 70, ACADEMY PARK 36 (Thursday, Jan. 3)
The Vikings were led by the standout performances of Kristina O’Sullivan (24 points, 12 rebounds), Regie Robinson (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Katherine Bailey (career-high 15 points).
“We were trailing after the first quarter 10-9 but were up by 11 at the half,” said coach Tom Schurtz, whose team turned a 10-9 deficit into a 28-17 halftime lead. “In the third quarter, we played really solid defense and scored the first 10 points of the second half, and that was that. Our 10-point lead became 20 in two minutes.”
UPPER MORELAND 60, BRISTOL 22 (Wednesday, Jan. 2)
The Golden Bears started out 2013 on a high night, notching their first win of the season with their rout of the visiting Warriors on Wednesday. The win gave the players a much needed confidence boost after an 0-8 start.
“Not only that – it makes it more enjoyable out there,” junior Lindsay Walder said. “We’re smiling, we’re laughing because we’re having a great time and doing what we want to do out there.”
Walder led a balance Golden Bear attack with 20 points to go along with six steals. Senior Amanda Getz added 10 points while Julia Gatto had nine. Colleen Ward contributed eight points and Karli Lynch, six, on a night that saw the Golden Bears connect on seven three-pointers.
“The way they were playing us – it allowed us to get open,” Walder said. “Once we find our rhythm, I think we have a handful of shooters than can knock them down.”
The Golden Bears – sparked by seven points from both Getz and Walder – sprinted to a 21-3 lead at the end of one quarter.
“Mr. Decker had us start out in the fullcourt press,” Walder said. “He really wanted us to put the pressure on them early. Once we did that and got a couple of buckets, we could relax a little bit. We fell back into a three-two, which made it easier through communication to get some easy buckets.”
“We put a lot of hard work into our defense,” Getz added. “That’s your whole game.”
The Golden Bears are 1-8 overall.
“This is huge,” coach Ed Decker said. “Making a few shots and the way they’re playing defense - I think their confidence has to be high.
“Even though this was a huge win for us on the scoreboard, we still have to do the little things for us to be a better team.”
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