Seven SOL girls’ basketball teams will be in action in Wednesday’s District One AAAA second round. Check back for recaps of all the games.
The following article is sponsored on behalf of the Central Bucks South girls’ basketball team by KMRD Partners Inc. To read about their services, please visit their web site by clicking on the following link: http://www.kmrdpartners.com/ 
By Mary Jane Souder
Beth Mattern admits she wasn’t sure what to expect entering the 2014-15 season.
“This summer we did not play well or look good,” the Central Bucks South coach said. “That’s when it really hit me – you have to remember, this is going to be a young team. We’re going to have some growing pains.”
Most of the growing pains apparently happened during the summer for a Titan squad that lost its top two scorers and rebounders with the graduation of Alisha Lofton and Lauren Mosher.
“This fall we were up and down but getting better,” Mattern said. “Once we finally got in the gym every day and really got to work on our team defense and got everyone on the same page, we kind of took off pretty quickly.”
That’s an understatement.
The Titans sprinted out of the gate to an 11-1 record, capturing the title in the Springfield-Delco Tournament to open the season.
“Those first couple of weeks I was impressed with where we were at,” Mattern said. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough to finish with the record we did, but I knew we were in a good place to put our best effort out.”
On Wednesday, the Titans will face Abington in the second round of districts, assured of at least two more games, and if Mattern was surprised by her team’s turnaround after a tough summer, her players were not.
“I was not really worried because I knew we could work together and put in the effort and become the team we’ve become,” junior Jordan Vitelli said.
“I had the feeling we would get used to each other,” senior Kaley Smith added. “I had faith in our team.”
The Titans finished third in the tough SOL Continental Conference with a 10-4 record. They are 18-5 overall.
“I think they just needed time, they needed the repetitiveness of being in help defense and just really getting familiar with each other and being able to move forward as a group instead of as individuals,” Mattern said. “I told them yesterday – I consider us to be a young team. I know we’re not the youngest team out there, but overall in terms of experience, we’re a fairly young team.”
Six of the 12 players on the Titans’ roster were on the varsity last year and six were not. Of the six varsity veterans, only three saw significant playing time.
“I look at Sam Clevenstine, my starting center this year,” Mattern said. “She was playing behind Lauren Mosher last year. She didn’t get as many minutes as maybe she would have liked.”
There are others who have stepped into starting roles for the Titans, whose roster includes three seniors, two sophomores and two freshmen with the rest juniors.
“If you think about it, we only have three seniors graduating this year, so it was a different setup with new faces, new players,” Smith said. “Everyone had new skills, so it took some getting used to, but once the season started and we spent more time together, we got better as a team.”
According to Vitelli, there was another key ingredient in the Titans’ success.
“The secret is giving 110 percent every day at practice and just helping each other out and really just working together as a team,” the junior guard said. “Our main goal was never to go into a game with the mindset that we were going to lose, giving ourselves a chance to win every game and just really never giving up on ourselves.”
Vitelli has been the Titans’ top scorer, averaging 10.6 points a game, but this squad does not rely on one player. All 12 players routinely see action.
“They’re not equal minutes because it does get tough, especially when a group has found their groove,” Mattern said. “In the same respect, they work hard at practice every day.
“We have a lot of the same type of players, and I try to get my rotation in. That’s just out of respect for the effort they put in on a daily basis.”
For the Titans, it’s been a recipe for success.
“We all have different traits and skills that we bring to the court, and it works very well together,” said Smith. “No matter which five she puts on the court, we all work well together.”
In Saturday’s 42-40 opening round win over Coatesville, it was Smith contributing 10 important points off the bench.
“It’s always someone different every game,” Smith said. “Either it’s one or two people off the bench or the starting five. It doesn’t matter. Everyone brings something to the court when they go in.”
“It’s awesome,” added Vitelli. “It’s great that we can have subs coming off the bench that can keep up the intensity that was in the game and get fresh legs in there that we can rely on.”
The Titans will face a formidable foe in fifth-seeded Abington, but win or lose, their season is not over.
“I would love to make it as far as we can get, but even if we don’t make it past these next couple of playoff games, as long as we keep playing and giving it our all and giving it the best effort we can,” Smith said. “I don’t want the season to end. I remember tryouts happening in November, and now we’re a couple of steps closer to the end of the season. I just hope we get as far as we can.”
“We really enjoy it,” Vitelli said. “We’ve become a very close team.”
#15 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH at #2 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST
Central Bucks West
- 14-0 SOL, 24-1 overall
- SOL Continental Conference champions
- Captured first ever SOL Tournament title with 51-38 win over fifth-seeded Abington
- Led by first team all-state senior Nicole Munger (18.0 ppg) and a supporting cast that includes Mackenzie Carroll (11.2), Corrinne Godshall (9.8) and Mackenzie Mason (9.0)
- Wins over #7 Upper Dublin (63-41), #8 North Penn (60-50 & 56-44), #12 CB South (59-35, 73-29), #23 Neshaminy (61-25), #26 Pennridge (71-50, 71-39) & #32 CB East (64-38, 67-37)
- Only loss came at the hands of Lake Taylor (Va.) in the Boo Williams Holiday Classic (68-57)
How they got here: The Bucks defeated #32 Owen J Roberts 75-31, opening up an 18-8 lead after one quarter and taking a 35-15 lead into halftime. Mackenzie Carroll (19 points), Corrinne Godshall (15 points) and Nicole Munger (15 points) led the Bucks.
Council Rock North
- 11-3 SOL, 16-6 overall
- Second place SOL National Conference
- Led by senior Jessica Gerber (15.8 ppg), Michaela Finneyfrock (8.5 ppg) and Becca Margolis (7.3 ppg)
- Wins over #12 CB South (35-31, #23 Neshaminy (57-48), #24 William Tennent (56-43, 66-48) and #27 CR South (45-24, 56-53).
- Won eight of nine games to close out regular season
How they got here: The Indians defeated #18 Unionville 49-37, extending their lead down the stretch of a close game. Leading Rock North were Jessica Gerber (17 points) and Becca Margolis (12 points).
#12 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH at #5 ABINGTON
Abington
14-0 SOL, 21-4 overall- SOL National Conference champion
- Fell to second-seeded CB West 51-38 in SOL Tournament title game, a loss that snapped a 10-game winning streak.
- Wins over #7 Upper Dublin (39-38), #8 North Penn (51-25), #13 Cheltenham (58-52), #15 CR North (44-32, 64-51), #23 Neshaminy (61-25, 32-23), #24 William Tennent (59-31, 74-39) and #27 CR South (50-30, 50-29)
- Led by senior point guard Deja Rawls (11.7 ppg), sophomore Liz O’Leary (11.7 ppg), junior Leah Simmons (8.5 ppg) and junior Sammy Lochner (8.3 ppg)
How they got here: Abington rolled to a 56-29 win over #28 Conestoga in an opening round game. Deja Rawls led the way with 16 points while Sammy Lochner had 12 and Liz O’Leary, 11.
Central Bucks South
- 10-4 SOL, 18-5 overall
- Third place SOL Continental Conference
- Led by junior Jordan Vitelli (10.6 ppg)
- Wins over #7 Upper Dublin (35-33), #8 North Penn (53-35), #25 Downingtown West (53-39), #26 Pennridge (44-40, 51-44), #27 Council Rock South (44-42) and #32 CB East (50-38, 51-41)
How they got here: The Titans eked out a 42-40 win over #21 Coatesville. Jordan Vitelli (12 points) and Kaley Smith (10 points) led a balanced attack.
#10 PERKIOMEN VALLEY at #7 UPPER DUBLIN
Upper Dublin
- 14-0 SOL, 19-5 overall
- SOL American Conference champion
- Led by senior Julie Cross (14.5 ppg.), who averages a double-double, as well as junior Allison Chernow (11.1 ppg) and sophomore Josie Barrett (11.1 ppg)
- Wins over #6 West Chester Rustin (47-42), #13 Cheltenham (49-30, 47-42), #29 Upper Merion (35-32, 47-19) and #32 CB East (44-26)
How they got here: The Flying Cardinals received monster performances from senior Julie Cross (career-high 30 points, nine rebounds) and sophomore Josie Barrett (21 points – 17 in the first half on five three-pointers) in a 65-38 opening round win over Pennridge.
Perkiomen Valley
· 9-4 PAC-10, 20-5 overall
· Second place in PAC-10 Liberty Division
· Runner-up to Boyertown in PAC-10 Tournament
· Led by PAC-10’s top scorer in KT Armstrong (18.3 ppg) and Megan Jonassen 9.1 ppg).
· Averaged 48.0 points a game while allowing 40.3
· Wins over #8 North Penn (46-44), #11 Downingtown East (51-44), #16 Spring-Ford (61-58), #25 Downingtown West (43-36), #30 Methacton (43-41, 55-42), #31 OJR (59-49, 54-47) and #32 CB East (44-32)
How they got here: The Vikings needed overtime to defeat Neshaminy 39-33. KT Armstrong was limited to just nine points in regulation but scored all nine of her team’s points in OT.
#9 BISHOP SHANAHAN at #8 NORTH PENN
North Penn
- 11-3 SOL, 18-6 overall
- Second place in SOL Continental Conference behind CB West
- Led by junior Mikaela Giuliani (12.5 ppg) and sophomore Sam Carangi (11.1 ppg)
- Wins over #12 CB South (39-38), #26 Pennridge (49-42, 63-60), CB East (54-37, 62-51) and top-seeded Class AAA Gwynedd Mercy 42-40
How they got here: Sparked by 12 points from senior Taylor Thames, the Lady Knights, who led 13-8 after one quarter, allowed just 12 points over the final three quarters in a 45-20 opening round win over Downingtown West.
Bishop Shanahan
- 11-1 Ches-Mont, 22-3 overall
- Ches-Mont National Division Champion
- Defeated Downingtown East 27-25 to capture Ches-Mont Tournament title
- Led by Ciara Forde (11.1 ppg) and Devon Adams (9.2 ppg)
- Regular season wins over #11 Downingtown East (42-39, 37-31), #18 Unionville (47-31), #21 Coatesville (50-20, 51-49) and #24 Downingtown West (42-34)
How they got here: Propelled the performances of Grace Phillips (18 points) and Ciara Forde (12 points), the Eagles defeated 24th-seeded William Tennent 60-48, taking control of a close game with a 22-16 fourth quarter.
#13 CHELTENHAM at #4 GARNET VALLEY
Cheltenham
- 12-2 SOL, 18-5 overall
- Second place SOL American conference
- Regular season wins over #20 Penn Wood (51-43), #29 Upper Merion (54-46, 49-36) and #30 Methacton (55-46)
- Led by sophomore Ashley Jones (24.6 ppg) and senior point guard Amarri Trueheart (11.9 ppg)
How they got here: The Lady Panthers sprinted to an early lead over 20th-seeded Penn Wood to earn a convincing 71-56 win in an opening round game. Ashley Jones (28 points), Amarri Trueheart (21 points) and Gabrielle Wright (12 points) led Cheltenham.
Garnet Valley
- 16-0 Central League, 21-2 overall
- Central League champion
- Won 13 of last 14 games, including five in a row, to close out regular season
- Wins over #14 Strath Haven (61-46, 40-31), #18 Unionville (45-24), #22 Haverford (44-37, 56-39), #27 CR South (43-23) and #28 Conestoga (44-29, 37-30).
- Led by sisters Jordan and Maddie Ireland
How they got here: The Jaguars sprinted to a 25-6 halftime lead and then watched 29th-seeded Upper Merion pull to within 12 before earning a 43-28 win. Macy Goldbach led the way with 14 points.
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