Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action on Friday night.
NORRISTOWN 45, ABINGTON 42
The Eagles stunned the Ghosts in the opening round of their own tournament.
“I can’t begin to tell you how courageous these girls played,” Norristown coach Vince Catanzaro said. “The pressure they put on us – we have been working with the kids about the pressure.
“We didn’t press them at all. All we did was put a girl on Deja (Rawls) the whole game. From top to bottom we covered her. We made sure that when we got in a matchup zone, we always knew where she was, and we always kept a girl right next to her. A lot of the girls stepped up big time.”
Sophomore Pattie Fortescue was given the unenviable task of defending Rawls. She also scored nine points.
“She just played unbelievable,” Catanzaro said. “She covered Deja the whole game.”
Junior point guard Brianna Schools handled the ball much of the night.
“I can’t even tell you how much pressure was on her,” Catanzaro said. “It was fullcourt almost the whole game.”
Briana Hedgepath was the Eagles top scorer with 14 points.
“She did a great job in the second half,” Catanzaro said.
Colleen Kennedy connected on a pair of key three-point baskets, including a three with one second remaining in the second quarter to send the Eagles into halftime with a 24-21 lead.
“Three quarters out of four, we ran about a minute off the clock to end each quarter,” Catanzaro said.
The Eagles’ first-year coach also lauded the effort of Keifonna Ferguson, who scored eight points – six in the third quarter.
“In the fourth quarter, she just wore their big girls down,” Catanzaro said. “She was so far up there rebounding the ball – they couldn’t even jump with her because they were so tired. Keifonna just beat the backboard up.
“We have a lot of speed. We just don’t have any height, and they have mega height, but we pounded the boards. Nobody had more than a four-point lead the whole game, and most of the time we were down. We were up three at half, and immediately they came back and took the lead on us in the third quarter.”
The Eagles trailed 34-30 heading into the final quarter when they outscored the Ghosts 15-8.
“We came out with a new sense in the fourth quarter,” Catanzaro said. “I told the kids before the game – ‘If we win tonight, it will be because you played good ‘D.’
“We had turnovers, but they did so many good things out there that I can’t even fault them for the turnovers. Abington is a very good team.”
While the Eagles connected on their first 10 shots from the foul line, the Ghosts were just 12-of-24 from the charity stripe.
The Eagles will face Archbishop Prendergast in Saturday’s title game at 3 p.m.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 71, WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 55
The Bucks found themselves staring a 14-2 hole early in Friday night’s battle between two of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s top teams.
It was hardly cause for concern.
By the end of the first quarter, the Bucks led 18-14 and took a 41-22 lead into halftime. Mackenzie Carroll, who led the Bucks with 22 points, ignited the Bucks offensively, scoring nine points in the second quarter and 15 in the first half. Payton Traina, who finished with 12 points, had eight point in the second quarter, including a pair of three-pointers, but it wasn’t the Bucks’ offense, according to coach Terry Rakowsky, that triggered the turnaround.
“To be honest, I think it was defense,” the Bucks’ coach said. “I don’t know what it was – we weren’t moving very well early.
“They were beating us backdoor, and I thought we were just sluggish. Mackenzie Mason made a defensive play in the first quarter – our defense picked up, and all of a sudden we started transition, knocked some three’s down and started pressing them. Mackenzie came in with our second substitutions, played great defense and just did a good job.”
Rustin staged a mini-comeback in the second half when the Bucks had a pair of starters – Corrine Godshall and Taylor Moylan – on the bench in foul trouble. Rustin trimmed the Bucks’ lead to eight but would get no closer.
“We ran into foul trouble, and we were playing with five kids,” Rakowsky said. “We got a little tired, and we let them back in the game.
“When Corrine went back in, we went right back up by 20. She played a great game but only played half of it.”
Nicole Munger scored 18 points – nine in a fourth quarter that saw the Bucks connect on 12-of-14 shots from the foul line. Traina added 12 points, and Godshall had 10 on a night that saw four West players finish in double figures.
“They’re very good,” Rakowsky said. “They’re big inside. They’re going to be a 20-win team.
“They finished fourth in the district last year and won a state playoff game, and they return every kid.”
Central Bucks West 18 13 10 20-71
West Chester Rustin 14 8 19 14-55
GARNET VALLEY 54, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 47
A slow start to the first and third quarters proved to be the difference in Friday’s opener for the Patriots. East was outscored 10-5 in the first quarter and 22-10 in the third quarter of a game that was a rematch of last year’s district playoff contest that saw the Jaguars send the Patriots home for the season.
“It’s always hard the first game of the year because you don’t have a whole lot to go off of,” East coach Liz Potash said. “They were in a strange situation because this is who they played the last game of the year.
“I went back and watched that game. We knew they graduated a couple of kids, but we knew for the most part they were five guards. We talked the last two days that long shots equal long rebounds. You have to get a body, you have to box out.”
The Jaguars capitalized on a pair of second-shot opportunities to open up a 9-3 lead before Courtney Webster, who led all scorers with 16 points, connected on the Patriots’ first field goal with less than a minute remaining in the opening quarter. The Jaguars led 12-6 early in the second quarter but then endured a five-minute scoring drought that allowed the Patriots to go on top 14-12, thanks to a run that featured a pair of Kyra Scaliti baskets. The Jaguars came back to take a 17-16 lead into halftime. A 15-3 Garnet Valley tear to open the third quarter all but sealed the Patriots’ fate.
East trailed by as many as 15 and still trailed by double digits late in the fourth quarter but outscored the Jaguars 12-7 to close out the game.
“The fourth quarter we kept fighting,” senior Karoline White said. “We came back. We don’t let down. That’s something at East basketball we don’t do.”
Garnet Valley 10 7 22 15-54
Central Bucks East 5 11 10 21-47
UPPER MERION 42, MARPLE NEWTOWN 37
Regie Robinson battled serious foul problems in Friday night’s opener of the Upper Merion Classic, but that didn’t prevent the talented junior from scoring 25 points to lead the Vikings to the win.
“She only played three quarters today and had 25,” coach Tom Schurtz said. “She sat most of the third and most of the fourth, but she had a huge second quarter to kind of get us going.”
The Vikings needed a boost after scoring just three points in the first quarter. Robinson connected on four field goals and nine points as the Vikings outscored Marple Newtown 13-4 to go into halftime with a 16-10 halftime lead. Robinson accounted for 11 of Upper Merion’s points in the half.
“We got on track in the second quarter,” Schurtz said. “Our defense kind of took over. We created some turnovers, we got in the open court, and we kind of shook loose.
“Ten players played. Five players scored. We were having difficulty adjusting to the style of officiating.”
A key stretch in the game came with Robinson on the bench in the fourth quarter.
“With about five minutes to go, we were holding two, and Tatiana Pleasant made back-to-back layups to kind of hold off Marple until we got Regie back on the floor,” Schurtz said. “Katherine Bailey did a nice job sort of shepherding what was going on.
“It was a typical opening day. Both teams are searching for their identity. Their number 10 - Rylee Power – had 18 points and was a nice player. She’s one of the better players we’ll see this year. She played point guard and did a nice job of making big shots for them most of the game and sort of let them hang around.
“The loss of Kristina O’Sullivan will take a little bit of adjusting, but we had one of those games – we had a gut check moment, and the girls did what they needed to do to win the game. Everyone contributed. I thought we did a tremendous job on the offensive and defensive glass, which limited them to one shot and done.”
The Vikings will face Conestoga in Saturday’s title game. The Pioneers defeated Upper Perk 55-26.
Marple Newtown 6 4 8 19-37
Upper Merion3 13 9 17-42
NORTH PENN 52, PENNSBURY 34
Vicky Tumasz led a balanced attack with 14 points while Bri Cullen added 12 and played some standout defense as well. It was Cullen who helped limit Pennsbury’s Sajanna Bethea to just three points in the final three quarters after the St. Peter’s-bound senior scored eight points in an opening quarter that saw the Falcons battle the Lady Knights to an 11-11 tie.
“We went over our game plan in practice,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “The kids saw a little bit of tape on them, but we don’t have that much on them.
“I just think the kids got more aggressive in our game plan and did what we needed to do. You have to put more than one person on (Bethea) or you can’t stop her. She’s very, very talented.
“Bri had a great game. She defended her most of the game, and freshman Irisa Ye defended her as well. They did a really nice job, and our kids helped a lot, and I thought that was the key.”
Ye finished with 10 points, and freshman Sam Carangi had nine while senior Erin Maher, who had just two points, led the Lady Knights under the boards with 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Mikaela Giuliani added five points.
For the Falcons, Kaitlin Kelly added 10 points. Sarah McDonald have five points while Tara Israel and Maggie Kane both had three points. Sarah Alturuse had two points.
In Saturday’s title game at 2:30 p.m., the Maidens will face Gwynedd Mercy, a 53-41 winner over Perk Valley. Pennsbury will take on Perk Valley in the consolation game at 1 p.m.
Pennsbury 11 10 7 6-34
North Penn 11 16 12 13-52
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 43, NOTRE DAME 30
The Titans received big performances from seniors Lauren Mosher (14 points) and Alysha Lofton (13 points) in Friday’s opening round win in the Springfield-Delco Tournament.
The Titans took a 29-16 lead into halftime and never looked back.
“The first half we played very good defense, and we were able to create transition,” coach Beth Mattern said. “We controlled the boards in the first half, and we really controlled the whole tempo of the game.
“In the second half, they took the air out of the ball a little bit, tried to slow it down, and we played even with them. We also had some foul trouble.”
The Titans will face Penn Wood in Saturday’s title game at 3 p.m.
Central Bucks South 15 14 6 8-43
Notre Dame 6 10 9 5-30
HARRY S TRUMAN 69, MORRISVILLE 42
Khristaijah Jackson had a monster game for the Tigers, contributing 25 points, 20 rebounds, four steals, two blocks and two assists. Jasmyn Wilson added 10 points, 13 rebounds, one block, two steals and an assist. Taylor Gasperi had eight points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists, and Daeja Moore added eight points, three rebounds, four steals and two assists. Jayda Campbell chipped in with seven points, five rebounds, two steals and four assists for the Tigers.
UPPER DUBLIN 50, DOWNINGTOWN WEST 29
The Flying Cardinals blew open a close game in the second quarter, turning a 9-8 lead into a 25-12 halftime lead. Upper Dublin outscored West 33-9 over the middle two quarters.
Kayla McAneney led the Flying Cardinals with 18 points and seven rebounds. Regan Gallagher added 12 points, and Julie Cross had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Upper Dublin will face St. Hubert’s in the title game of the Upper Darby Tournament on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Downingtown West 8 4 5 12-29
Upper Dublin 9 16 17 8-50
MASTERY CHARTER 51, BENSALEM 49
The Owls fell behind 12-1 coming out of the gate but trimmed that deficit to five by halftime. Mastery Charter used a strong third quarter to take a 12-point lead into the final quarter when the Owls rallied to make it close.
“Our kids never stopped fighting,” coach Don Bogan said. “We had our chances, but not boxing out at the end caused us to miss two chances to take the lead.”
The loss overshadowed the glittering 29-point effort of point guard Bridget Watson, a junior transfer from Nazareth Academy. Lyric Lewis added eight points and Kelsey Long, seven points.
The Owls, who missed 17 foul shots in the loss, will face Christopher Dock in Saturday’s consolation game.
METHACTON 39, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 30
Cara Barlow scored 15 points, and teammate Emily DeAngelis added nine points. Allison Taub led the Golden Hawks under the backboards with 14 rebounds to go along with five steals.
The Golden Hawks will face Souderton in an all-SOL matchup in Saturday’s consolation game.
MOUNT ST. JOSEPH 43, SOUDERTON 32
The Magic opened up a 16-7 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 26-13 lead into halftime on their way to the win. Bianca Picard led the Indians with 12 points while Katie O’Connor added six.
The Indians will face Council Rock South in Saturday’s consolation game.
LOWER MORELAND 60, UPPER MORELAND 36
Karli Lynch scored 14 points and Lindsey Walder added seven to lead the Golden Bears in Friday’s battle against the defending BAL champion Lions, who had three players in double figures.
The Golden Bears trailed by just one (14-13) at the end of one quarter but watched the Lions go on a 12-2 tear in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 26-15 lead. A 21-4 third quarter sealed Upper Moreland’s fate.
Upper Moreland 13 2 4 17-36
Lower Moreland 14 12 21 12-60
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 47, HATBORO-HORSHAM 34
The Crusaders jumped out to a 16-6 lead at the end of one quarter and extended that to 28-15 by halftime on their way to the win. Sophomore Cassidy Quattro led the Hatters with nine points while Emily Fox added eight points.
Former Quakertown standout Taylor Herd, who transferred to LC this year, led all scorers with 24 points, which included an 11-for-14 effort from the foul line. She also had five steals and eight rebounds. No other Crusader scored more than five points.
WILLIAM TENNENT 34, WISSAHICKON 22
PENNRIDGE 49, CHRISTOPHER DOCK 31
Ashley George scored 11 points and teammate Devon Rink added 10 to lead the Rams to the opening round win in their own tournament. Devan Rimmer had nine points, and Alex Villella and Jess Tennett both chipped in with eight as the Lady Rams featured a balanced scoring attack in the win.
Pennridge will face Mastery Charter in Saturday's title game.
PHIL-MONT CHRISTIAN 48, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 32
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