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In SOL action on Tuesday night, Cheltenham improved to 6-0, Abington upped its record to 4-0, and Central Bucks East remained perfect at 3-0. Upper Merion won its fifth straight game, North Penn its first, but the big story of the night was Emily Leer, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark in Abington’s 49-38 win over William Tennent.
Leer entered the game needing just six points to reach that magical plateau, and although she finished the night with 21 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks shots in yet another stellar effort, the Abington senior didn’t reach that historic milestone until the second quarter when she scored from the low post.
“She was really pressing early on and didn’t get it until the second quarter,” coach Dan Marsh said. “After that, once she relaxed, the game came to her.
“Emily has worked really hard. She was hoping to get it in her junior year, but she missed eight games last year. That kind of stuff really isn’t that important to Emily. She just wants to win, and that’s the only thing she cares about.”
While Leer stole the spotlight, teammate Aiyannah Peal added 13 points.
“She stepped up big for us,” Marsh said. “The game was pretty tight.
“Tennent did a real good job. They packed it in in a zone, and we didn’t make real many shots from the outside. Finally we hit a few in the second half and were able to open it up to 16, but Sarah Godfrey hit a couple of threes for them, and they were right back in the game, but we were able to hold on.”
Abington will host Central Bucks South in a non-league tilt on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
Patriots get offensive – Defense has always been a trademark of Tom Lonergan-coached teams, and that doesn’t figure to change any time soon, but this year’s Central Bucks East squad is showing that it can also put some serious points on the scoreboard.
All five East starters scored eight points or more in the Patriots’ 76-51 win over Quakertown on Tuesday. Courtney McManus led the way with 19 points while Liz Martin added 14 and Kristina Pogue, 13 points. Sarah Martin contributed 11 and Melissa Remmey – fresh off a 16-point effort in East’s win over North Penn – had eight points.
“We shot the ball well as a team,” Lonergan said. “We moved the ball extremely well around the floor – I don’t think we had too many bad looks.
“We got some transition baskets, and we got a couple of turnovers from our defensive sets. Most of the facets of the game we did fairly well, and generally that has to happen for you to get that many points.”
The Patriots were firing on all cylinders from the outset, opening up a 20-10 lead at the end of one quarter. McManus connected on a pair of three-pointers while Pogue also had six points.
By halftime, the Patriots led 39-20, and they weren’t finished yet, opening up a 54-24 lead midway through the third quarter on their way to the decisive win.
“I pointed out to the team that I was pleased (after) going in with a big lead and coming out of halftime and extending it from 19 to 30 in the first four minutes of the third quarter,” Lonergan said. “Defensively, we then kind of took a back seat, and sometimes that happens when you get a lead like that.”
While the Patriots received scoring from eight different players, three players did all of the scoring for Quakertown Kristine Jackiewicz scored 21 points while Lauren Starzecky added 16 and Dianiella Ciccarone, 14 points.
Vikings win fifth straight – Since falling to Quakertown in the opening round of its own tournament, Upper Merion has been on quite a tear. The Vikings won their fifth straight game on Tuesday when they downed Norristown 45-34.
“I think a game like this is tough for us,” Viking coach Tom Schurtz said. “They swept us last year, and while they have some new personnel, we have four returning starters, so that is still on their minds.”
The Vikings took an 8-5 lead at the end of one quarter and extended that to 21-10 by halftime.
“We never really established a tempo,” Schurtz said. “Both teams missed some easy buckets early, and there was never really a rhythm. We like to run the fullcourt and execute in the halfcourt, and none of that came to fruition tonight.
“We ran, and we didn’t finish. Then we got in the halfcourt and would miss open jump shots. I give them credit for hustling – they challenged a lot of our shots, and the game was just played frantically.”
Freshman Kristina O’Sullivan, who is averaging in double figures, led the Vikings with 13 points while Paola Tinari added 11 points.
“Every night it’s somebody different for us,” Schurtz said. “We have six players who have gone for double figures in multiple games.
“I think that’s one of the things that helps us out. Cassidy Koenig had 22 points last night (in a win over Kennedy-Kenrick), and tonight she had two. You just don’t know on any given night, and one thing I enjoy about this team is they do it as a full unit.”
The Vikings upped their record to 5-1 on the season, and all five of their wins have been by double digits.
“You return four starters, so you hope they go out and play as well as they did last year,” Schurtz said. “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to execute and finish teams off.
“We have been playing good, solid basketball. This is our second week in a row where we played three games in four days. That’s a lot of basketball, and I give the girls credit after having limited practice time still coming out and playing well enough to win games.”
The Eagles were led by the 11-point effort of Natasha Matthews.
Trojans continue winning ways – Wissahickon blew open a close game against Plymouth Whitemarsh with a 14-0 second quarter burst on its way to a 38-30 win on Tuesday. Colleen Hinde led the Trojans with 15 points.
“It was a game of runs,” Trojan coach Jerry Hartman said. “They got off to a quick start, and we came back and shut them out in the second quarter.
“They came out and played a nice second half.”
The Trojans helped their own cause down the stretch by connecting on 11-of-15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Jessica Keller, who had 13 points, led the way, burying 5-of-6 shots.
“Our foul shooting has been inconsistent, and we have been working hard at practice,” Hartman said. “Jess came through big for us.
“That’s how games are won and lost on the free throw line.”
Hartman lauded the effort of point guard Casey Bill.
“She only had four points, but she controls the offense and defense for us,” the Trojans’ coach said. “Her quickness and ball handling skills are so important to the team.”
The win was the third in a row for the Trojans, who dropped their first two games of the season at the Perkiomen Valley Tournament.
“We played very well in the tournament,” Hartman said. “We gave Prep Charter a real good game before we lost to them by three.
“Against Perk Valley, we were up the whole game, and our foul shooting kind of hurt us at the end of the game. I thought we played well, and it gave us some confidence, and we just seem to be building on it a little bit.”
The Trojans will host their own holiday tournament next week.
Maidens end December slump – The holidays will be just a little bit brighter for a North Penn Maiden squad in dire need of a win. After three straight losses to open the season, the Maidens took out their frustrations on Hatboro-Horsham, outscoring the Hatters 20-2 in the second and third quarters en route to a convincing 42-20 win on Tuesday night.
“We pressed tonight, and we mixed up our pressure a little bit and did a really nice job of trapping and stealing the ball,” Maiden coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “We also did a really good job on the offensive boards.
“Our halfcourt defense was really good as well – the help defense and jumping in the passing lanes, that kind of thing.”
Dara Nelson led the Maidens with 14 points, eight assists and six steals.
“She hasn’t played in almost two years in game competition,” deMarteleire said. “She played in our team camp this summer, and she played this fall, but she’s still getting acclimated to game speed and game situations.
“She’s going to get better and better as the year goes on. She’s very skilled – her ball handling and her passing, and she’s a good shooter. She’s very, very smart, and she does a good job.”
Steph Knauer added eight points for the Maidens while Taylour Alston had six points.
“Taylour did a really good job (defensively) on the inside,” deMarteleire said. “It was a good team effort tonight defensively.
“We needed a win, and for the most part, everybody played really well.”
Hatboro was led by the eight-point effort of Cailin Schmeer.
Vass leads Titans – Gab Vass had herself quite a night under the basket on Tuesday, turning in a double-double to lead Central Bucks South to a 56-38 win over Pennridge. The senior forward finished the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“Gab was huge on the offensive boards,” coach Beth Mattern said. “She had seven offensive rebounds. She had putbacks and was really grinding it out in the paint.”
Senior Sam Simononis did most of the damage for the Rams, scoring a game-high 21 points. The Titans led 14-10 at the end of one quarter and extended that lead to 31-19 at halftime.
“We played with a lot of intensity,” Mattern said. “We came out fairly strong, and we built a little lead in the second quarter.
“I felt like every time I turned around she (Simononis) was hitting another shot. She shot the ball well. She was driving, and some of that was because we were overly aggressive on the rotation, but we created a lot of turnovers and got to run transition, and that really helped.”
Panthers stay perfect – Led by the 19-point effort of Shayla Felder and the 16-point performance of Ciara Andrews, Cheltenham rolled to a 66-21 win over Upper Moreland on Tuesday night. Erin Dixon led the Golden Bears with 12 points.
The win was the sixth in a row for the Lady Panthers, who faced their toughest test of the season one night earlier when they traveled to Methacton for a non-league contest. The Panthers once again fell behind early but outscored the Warriors 39-23 in the second and third periods combined to earn a 64-52 win.
“We came out very cold, and they came out very hot,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “In the first quarter, they were hitting just about everything, and we were missing everything.”
The Panthers, according to Schaefer, fell behind 12-2 but rallied to make it a 17-14 game at the end of one quarter.
“We actually started getting some rebounds,” said Schaefer of his team’s comeback. “We were one-and-done for a while. They’re a nice sized team. They’re not gigantic, but compared to us, everybody is going to be big.
“Fortunately, Kira Ogden threw a few shots in and ended up with seven points in the first quarter and kept us in the game. In the second quarter, we finally got some defense going and started pushing the ball a little bit.”
Sophomore Ciara Andrews came off the bench to score nine of her 15 points in the second quarter as the Panthers outscored the Warriors 23-16 to go into halftime with a 37-33 lead.
“We actually had them down 11 in the second quarter, but they came right back,” Schaefer said.
In the third quarter, the Lady Panthers went into their patented spread-to-score offense. By the end of the quarter, they were in their spread offense, forcing the Warriors to foul.
“We couldn’t make any baskets,” Schaefer said of his reasoning for electing to go into the spread so early in the game.
Shayla Felder connected on 8-of-11 foul shots in the fourth quarter, 12-of-15 for the game. She finished the game with 20 points. It is the fourth game in five that the defending conference MVP has scored 20 points or more.
Ogden finished the game with 11 points while Monet Constant added nine.
“Monet is giving us a great game,” Schaefer said. “During the third and fourth quarters, she played forward.
“I’m gradually working in C.C. Andrews a lot more. She did a great job. She has a wonderful stroke, and she’s the one who could kill teams if they want to pack it in.”
The win was the fifth straight on the road for the Lady Panthers, who played their first home game on Tuesday night.
“For us to be 6-0 is wonderful,” Schaefer said. “We weren’t sure that we were going to do it because we have such a small team.”
Around the league: Senior Sarah Kiely had 18 points, six rebounds and five steals to lead Council Rock North to a 52-20 win over Harry S. Truman. Council Rock South kept pace with a convincing 70-48 win over Neshaminy. Rock North, Rock South and Abington share the top spot in the National Conference with 2-0 records.
Central Bucks West led 9-8 at the end of one quarter in Tuesday’s game against Souderton, but the Indians outscored the Bucks 29-18 in the second and third quarters on their way to a 45-34 win. Liz Mower scored 16 points to lead the Indians while Brittany Sandone added 10 points Jen Fabian led the Bucks with 14 points. The Indians, Central Bucks East and Central Bucks South share the top spot in the Continental Conference as all three teams boast identical 2-0 records.
Cheltenham, Upper Merion and Wissahickon are atop the American Conference standings with 2-0 records.
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