Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action on Friday night. Photos provided courtesy of Jesse Garber. To view Garber’s photos of the Neshaminy/CB East game, please click on the following link: http://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p903597183
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 44, NESHAMINY 34
Friday’s win over Neshaminy was a mixed bag for a young but veteran Patriot squad that returns all five starters from last year’s team that advanced to the district tournament.
The Patriots displayed an impressive transition game, most notably in the third quarter when they turned a 19-15 halftime lead into a 27-17 advantage. It was still a four-point game after Devon Storms connected on a pair from the foul line.
On East’s ensuing possession, Grace Stewart, who led all scorers with 15 points, buried a short jumper, and after a Redskin miss, Bailey McManus tracked down the long rebound and set up a fastbreak bucket by Bridget Birkhead. Another Neshaminy miss resulted in a layup at the other end by Kyra Scaliti, and just like that, the Redskins led 27-17.
“Transition has been a huge focus of ours because we have a quick team, we have an athletic team, and we think we can do a lot out of transition,” East coach Liz Potash said. “We’re happy to push the ball. We have kids that can get out and run, and now we just have to work on finishing.”
The Patriots led by as many as 12 late in the third quarter only to watch the Redskins – sparked by their pressure defense – pull to within five late in the fourth quarter.
“That’s not what we do usually,” Scaliti said of her team’s struggles against the press. “We definitely played for them and not for us when they were pressing.”
According to coach Joe Lally, the effectiveness of his team’s pressure defense may have been a matter of timing.
“We knew they had some ball handlers, and we know they’re a fast team,” he said. “To their credit, we thought the press had to be at the right time rather than just coming into the game and saying, ‘Let’s press them right off the bat.’
“They have a lot of team speed and a lot of good shooters. It was a timing thing. My coaching staff did a good job of picking the right time.”
When the dust settled, East won by 10 points in a battle of teams hoping to make some noise in their respective conferences.
“Playing teams like this is only going to make us better,” Storm said. “We have a strong (conference), and playing these teams will only help us.”
In the opening quarter, the Patriots – sparked by treys from McMichael and Birkhead – raced to an 11-2 lead.
“I give the credit to their defense – I thought their defense played really well early,” Lally said. “I thought our kids were a little bit tentative.
“We talked about taking care of the basketball, and I thought that was maybe a little more the focus than it needed to be and made them a little stagnant on offense. I think they shook it in the second quarter.”
The Redskins outscored the Patriots 13-8 in the second quarter with freshman Allison Harvey, who finished with nine points, connecting on a pair of three-pointers off the bench while Thyra Tuttle also had a trey to make it a four-point game at the intermission.
“Kyra (Scaliti) and Bri (Talbot) got into foul trouble, and that hurts us to have those two on the bench,” Potash said. “That really hurt us in the second quarter, and all of a sudden, it’s a brand new game.
“I thought we came out strong in the third quarter – they go into that soft trap, and that gave us all sorts of trouble. Look, it’s the first game of the year. You get some of those jitters out of us.”
Birkhead led the Patriots with 12 points and 14 rebounds – seven boards came in a second quarter when Scaliti and Talbot were on the bench.
“When Kyra came out of the game – for me it was like, ‘we have to step it up because our senior captain is not in the game,’” Birkhead said. “I think we all played with composure, and we definitely played for Kyra since she was out.
“I was trying to step it up and be a leader on the floor.”
Talbot added eight points, which included a 5-of-6 effort from the foul line down the stretch.
For the ‘Skins, senior captain Devon Storms – who is coming off surgery for a torn meniscus and is battling shin splints - had a big night, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds.
“She had no AAU in the offseason,” Lally said. “She played some summer league, but we monitored her closely.
“This is really her first heavy competition where she had to play all game and be counted on. I was pleased with her progress.”
CB East will travel to Upper Dublin on Monday night for a 7 p.m. game while Neshaminy will host Central Bucks South on Saturday (3 p.m.).
“We know exactly what we signed up for, and hopefully, we will be better because of it when we get in the league,” Lally said.
Neshaminy 2-13-8-11 34
Central Bucks East 11-8-13-12 44
Neshaminy: Thyra Tuttle 3, Morgan Goldenbaum 4, Tiara Porterfield 2, Josafinne McIlvaine 1, Devon Storms 13, Allison Harvey 9, Emily Alexis 2.
Central Bucks East: Bridget Birkhead 9, Kyra Scaliti 7, Bailey McManus 3, Bri Talbot 8, Grace Stewart 15, Megan Browne 3.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 42, UPPER DUBLIN 39
In the nearly deserted gym after the Titans’ exhilarating come-from-behind win over the Cardinals, Jordan Vitelli talked about the chemistry this year’s Titan squad developed over the summer.
“We’re a pretty close team,” the senior captain said. “On and off the court being close helps with the chemistry. We saw chemistry pretty quickly during summer league, and to me that was pretty surprising.
“I don’t think we had that freshman year so early, and I think that helped us tremendously tonight being able to have chemistry so quickly.”
While chemistry can go a long way toward pulling a team up when its down, there’s nothing quite like a shooter developing a hot hand to lift a team’s spirits.
That’s exactly what Vitelli did in Friday’s non-league opener. With her Titan squad staring at a 16-5 deficit early in the second quarter, Vitelli went to work, burying three three-pointers – the third trimmed Upper Dublin’s lead to 26-21 heading into halftime.
“The thing about Jordan – this is her fourth year playing varsity, and she’s the target,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “People are always aware of where she is, and I thought tonight she did a great job of coming up big in moments when we needed her leadership and her skill set.
“The other thing nice about Jordan – she’s also the first to dive on the floor and go for it and make some hustle plays.”
Taylor Dunn connected on a three-pointer to open the third quarter, and when Vitelli sank on a short jumper, the two teams were deadlocked.
“We started controlling the tempo of the game,” Vitelli said. “That was one thing we came into the second half knowing we had to change.
“We were down 11 points in the second quarter, and I’m really proud that we didn’t get our heads down and that we came back and fought and fought.”
The Cardinals went back on top 29-26 after Maggie Weglos scored on a reverse layup, but Vitelli hit nothing but net on a baseline three to knot the score. Vitelli pulled down the rebound of an Upper Dublin miss on the defensive end, took it coast to coast and – despite being fouled – converted the fastbreak layup with a nifty move. Her foul shot put the Titans on top 32-29 and capped a dazzling 17-point tear by the senior guard in the second and third quarters.
“We kind of lost track of Vitelli a few times, and if you ever lose track of her, she’s going to make you pay,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “I was obviously impressed with her. We saw her over the fall, and she’s improved a ton. She was already a great player, and their freshman point guard, (Alexa) Brody, she’s going to be something special.”
Josie Barrett’s three-pointer knotted the score, but Meghan Kuypers answered with a trey of her own to give the Titans a lead they would not lose. They opened up a 39-32 lead after a putback by Haley Meinel. The Cardinals pulled to within three late in the game, but they would get not closer.
“I thought we came out shooting the ball well,” Funsten said. “We made some early threes that gave us the lead.
“I didn’t necessarily think we were playing our best at the time, although we had a substantial lead. It certainly never felt comfortable, and obviously, it never was comfortable.”
Allison Chernow led the Cardinals with 15 points – 11 in the first half – and six rebounds. Weglos added 10 points and four assists. Vitelli led all scorers with 19 points while Dunn added eight.
“Win or lose, tomorrow is a new day, and we have to come out strong, but to start out with a ‘W’ against such a good team like Upper Dublin, it boosts our confidence just a little bit,” Vitelli said. “I’m very proud of our team tonight.”
“Upper Dublin is a great team,” Mattern added. “They win their league, they’re very active in the district, they’re very active making it into the state playoffs, and any time you can start your season off with a ‘W’ over a quality team, it’s a great start.
“As we talked about in our postgame, today means nothing tomorrow. We need to take it one day at a time. This was a nice start, but you have to build off of it.”
Central Bucks South will travel to Neshaminy for a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday. Upper Dublin will host Central Bucks East on Monday at 7 p.m.
Upper Dublin 14-12-6-7 39
Central Bucks South 5-16-14-7 42
Upper Dublin: Josie Barrett 6, Alison Gouveia 4, Allison Chernow 15, Demi Balasa 1, Maggie Weglos 10, Ashley Barber 3.
Central Bucks South: Alexa Brody 2, Taylor Dunn 8, Chloe Entenberg 3, Meghan Kuypers 3, Haley Meinel 4, Jordan Vitelli 19, Mackenzie Ehresman 3.
PENNRIDGE 66, BENSALEM 46
Senior Lydia Konstanzer turned in a stellar performance in Friday’s opener of the Pennridge Tipoff Tournament, finishing with a double-double that included a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds. She also had two steals, two assists and two blocked shots.
Senior Devan Rimmer also had a big night for the Lady Rams with 16 points, six rebounds and four steals. Gillian Anderson (seven points, three steals, eight rebounds), Claire Podraza (six points, three assists, five 
rebounds) and Margot Brill (five points, two steals, four rebounds) also made important contributions.
The Lady Rams – who were without Ashley George due to injury - led 15-10 at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 25-13 by halftime. They outscored the Owls 25-13 in the third quarter on their way to the big win.
The Owls were led by the double-figure performances of Savannah Jordan (20 points) and Lyric Lewis (19 points).
Pennridge will face Christopher Dock in the title game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Dock defeated Pennsbury 34-30 in opening round action. Bensalem will face Pennsbury in the consolation game.
Bensalem 10-3-13-20 46
Pennridge 15-10-25-16 66
Pennridge: Brooke Bachtle 3, Gillian Anderson 7, Devan Rimmer 16, Lydia Konstanzer 26, Margot Brill 5, Rose McCormick 2, Sam Muredda 1, Claire Podraza 6.
SOUDERTON 71, OVERBROOK 21
Ten players got into the scoring column in the Indians’ opening round win in their own Tipoff Classic on Friday night. Alana Cardona led the way with 15 points, and seniors Krista Schneider and Mia Shere also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. Erica Stephens and Marissa Sandone both had eight points on a night that saw the Indians open up a 28-7 lead after one quarter and extend that to 54-14 by halftime.
Souderton will face Germantown Academy in Saturday’s title game at 3 p.m. The Patriots defeated Allentown Central Catholic 38-22.
Overbrook 7-7-0-7 21
Souderton 28-26-17-10 71
Souderton: Tori Dowd 4, Krista Schneider 11, Megan Bealer 2, Liz O’Hara 2, Alana Cardona 15, Erica Stephens 8, Sami Falencki 4, Curran O’Donnell 2, Mia Sherer 10.
Overbrook: Abram 8, Scatteburg 3, Lewis 2, Richardson 8.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 47, OWEN J ROBERTS 26
Caroline McGovern scored 15 points to lead the Golden Hawks to a convincing win over the host Wildcats in an opening round game of their tipoff tournament.
The Golden Hawks led by just an 8-6 score at the end of one quarter but put some distance between themselves and the Wildcats with a 15-6 second quarter burst to go into halftime with a 23-12 lead.
Coach Jason Rapp attributed his team’s strong second quarter showing to made shots and great defense.
The Golden Hawks added to their lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Wildcats 17-5 to go on top 40-17.
Faith Turner also finished in double figures with 10 points while Payton Spadiccino and Carly Rizzo both added seven points.
Council Rock South will face Northampton in Saturday’s title game at 6:15 p.m.
Council Rock South 8-15-17-7 47
Owen J Roberts 6-6-5-9 26
Council Rock South: Caroline McGovern 15, Payton Spadiccino 7, Carly Rizzo 7, Rachel Millstein 4, Faith Turner 10, Christiana Deo 2, Allison McGowan 2.
Owen J. Roberts: Cahill 3, Evans 10, Arias 13.
UPPER MERION 49, UPPER PERK 15
Tatiana Pleasant scored 10 points, and Amya Anthoney added 10 to lead the Vikings to a rout of the Indians in Friday’s opening round of their own tournament.
The Vikings led 7-4 after one quarter and took an 18-9 lead into halftime. They outscored the Indians 31-6 in the second half to win going away.
Junior Tatum Thomas and freshman Hailey Kozuchowski both added six points while Jessica Michael had five.
Upper Merion will play in Saturday’s title game at 1 p.m.
Upper Perk 4-5-6-0 15
Upper Merion 7-11-17-14 41
Upper Perk: Gabi Marinelli 11, Sierra Kelly 4.
Upper Merion: Tatiana Pleasant 16, Amya Anthoney 10, Megan Gebhart 3, Andrea Davis 2, Jessica Michael 5, Tatum Thomas 6, Hailey Kozuchowski 6, Amber Owen 1.
WILLIAM TENNENT 41, PHOENIXVILLE 19
Kyla Gibson buried four three-pointers and finished with 24 points to lead the Panthers to the decisive win in Friday’s opening round game of the William Tennent Invitational.
In a preview of things to come, Gibson buried a pair of treys in the opening quarter as the Panthers sprinted to a 13-4 lead over the Phantoms. They took a 20-10 lead into halftime and then closed out the game with a 21-9 second half tear. Gibson accounted for 15 of those points.
Sophomore guard Kelly Scipione added seven points for the Panthers, who will face Lower Moreland game in Saturday’s title game at 7 p.m.
Phoenixville 4-6-4-5 19
William Tennent 13-7-8-13 41
Phoenixville: MacKenzie Smith 5, Jess Anthony 7, Liberty Allain 2, Ameerah Green 1, Paige Oustrich 2, Amanda Fields 2.
William Tennent: Braylin Dougherty 2, Kelly Scipione 7, Kyla Gibson 24, Jenna Rodebaugh 4, Brianna Broccardi 2.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 69, NORTH PENN 50
The Maidens trailed by just three points at halftime (31-28) but watched the game slip away in a second half that saw the Vikings close it out with a 38-22 tear.
“The biggest difference in the game was they had 24 offensive rebounds,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “In the first half, our defense was okay, but our offensive rebounding was so bad.
“They had 13 offensive rebounds in the first half and 13 points from the foul line, mostly because of that. I thought if we fixed that we would be fine, but in the second half, our offensive decision-making was poor, and our defense and rebounding was poor. We made a run at them and cut it to 10, but they hit a three, and that was like a pin popping a balloon. That was it.”
Six-foot sophomore center Megan Jonassen was unstoppable in the paint, leading all scorers with 24 points. Forward Taylor Hamm, who had just four points, also was a force on the boards.
“They killed us on the boards, absolutely killed us on the boards,” deMarteleire said of the sophomore duo. “They started three girls over six feet, and two girls are 5-10.
“They’re huge, and they’re pretty athletic. Their post players are just bruisers. They battle, battle, battle. We are usually a decent rebounding team, but we did a very poor job of boxing out tonight.”
Hanan Richmond, a junior transfer, added 19, and St. Joe’s-bound senior KT Armstrong had 15 points.
Irisa Ye led the Maidens with 20 points, Sam Carangi added 12 while Mia Melchior had seven and Bri Hewlett, six points.
“They’re very good, but it was very, very disappointing,” deMarteleire said. “The only good thing is it was the first game of the year, so we have a lot of time to correct things and fix things, which we’re going to have to do.”
North Penn will face Pope John Paul II on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the round robin Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament.
Perk Valley 13-18-15-23 69
North Penn 14-14-9-13 50
North Penn: Irisa Ye 20, Mikaela Giuliani 1, Jess Huber 2, Bri Hewlett 6, Sam Carangi 12, Jess McKenzie 2, Mia Melchior 7
HARRY S TRUMAN 46, MORRISVILLE 35
Sabria Lytes collected an impressive double-double to lead the Tigers to the win in Friday’s opening round of the Bristol Tournament, finishing with 15 points and 22 rebounds. Daeja Moore and Jayda Campbell each added nine points.
The Tigers led 9-6 after one quarter and took a 17-12 lead into halftime.
“We missed a lot of layups,” coach Colette Munford said. “Every time we play at Bristol, they have these bouncy balls, and we couldn’t adjust.
“To me, it was a very ugly game for us. I’ll accept the win, but I really didn’t like how we won. The score should have been much greater than it was. Girls were complaining about the ball, but some of our shot selections were not the best. We have some work to do for tomorrow’s game.”
Promising freshman Alexis McCoy as well as Lytes and Moore all fouled out in a contest that saw the Tigers hampered by foul woes.
Truman will face Pennington Prep in Saturday’s title game.
Truman 9-8-18-12 46
Morrisville 6-6-13-13 35
NORRISTOWN 35, NAZARETH 32
Patti Fortescue scored a game-high 14 points while Beyonce Collins added eight to lead the Eagles to the win in Friday's opening round of the Haverford Tournament. The Eagles led 14-6 after one quarter but were outscored 16-4 in the second quarter and trailed at halftime, 20-18. They outscored Nazareth 17-10 in the second half, 4-0 in the fourth quarter.
Nazareth 6-16-10-0 32
Norristown 14-4-13-4 35
FREEDOM 50, QUAKERTOWN 43
Meghan Klee has signed a letter of intent to play softball at Shippensburg University, but the senior captain proved she’s got some serious talent on the basketball court as well.
Klee accomplished the remarkable feat of earning a triple-double, finishing Friday’s game with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals.
“She was an animal tonight,” coach Brittany Remmey said. “She definitely stepped up. She wanted the ball in her hands, and when she was feeling it, she was shooting, and when she wasn’t, she was passing it and making good decisions and good passes.
“We had a lot of kids in foul trouble, so she played really smart to make sure she stayed in the game, but she didn’t let up. Some kids let up because they don’t want to foul – that was not her whatsoever. She would dribble down the court, pull up and bomb the three. She’s got a great shot.”
Thanks to Klee’s hot hand – she was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, the Panthers rallied from a 26-21 halftime deficit to knot the score 34-34 in the third quarter. Although they hung tough, they could not get over the hump.
Olivia Morano and Jill Martin both added seven points for the Panthers.
Quakertown will return to action on Saturday in the Emmaus Tournament.
Quakertown 4-17-13-9 43
Freedom 10-16-8-16 50
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 30, WISSAHICKON 21
Julie Weber scored seven points to lead the Trojans in Friday’s opener at the Hatters Tipoff Tournament.
Wissahickon will face Hatboro-Horsham on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Wissahickon 6-2-10-3 21
New Hope-Solebury 2-9-10-9 30
PHIL-MONT CHRISTIAN 55, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 33
Molly Dugan exploded for 24 points, and Maura Ryan added six. Only one other player contributed scoring for the Spartans, who trailed 10-4 after one quarter and 27-11 at the intermission.
Springfield will face Bishop McDevitt in Saturday’s consolation game of the Oreland Lions Tournament at 3:30 p.m.
Phil-Mont 10-17-8-20 55
Springfield 4-7-10-12 33
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 42, BAYARD RUSTIN 29
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