SOL PIAA Girls' BB Preview (Quarterfinals)

North Penn and Abington will represent the SOL in Friday night’s PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal round.

North Penn and Abington will both travel to Colonial Elementary School on Friday night for PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal showdowns.

The Lady Knights will face a familiar foe when they take on West Chester Rustin in a rematch of a district semifinal game. North Penn won that game 74-59, thanks to a remarkable display of outside shooting. The Lady Knights led 17-10 at the end of one quarter and took a 32-27 lead into halftime. They did most of their damage from beyond the arc, burying seven three-pointers in the first half. They added four more in the second half to finish with 11.

North Penn also sank 23-of-30 shots from the foul line, including 20-of-24 in the fourth quarter. It will be difficult to duplicate those numbers, but it’s no secret the Lady Knights will have to generate offense from the outside against a team that features St. Joe’s-bound senior Adaisha Franklyn, who measures in at 6-2 and is an intimidating presence in the paint.

If North Penn can get past Rustin for the second time this season, the team will ensure itself a spot in the history books as the first team in program history to advance to the state semifinals. Last year, the Lady Knights fell to Cumberland Valley in the program’s first trip to the state quarterfinals. In 1991 – the Lady Knights best season prior to coach Maggie deMarteleire taking over the helm, North Penn reeled off 27 straight wins before falling to Downingtown in the district title game. In the second round of states, they watched a 15-point second half lead disappear, falling to Pottsville 61-56.

Abington has spent the postseason playing the role of giant killer, most recently sending District 3 champion Wilson home for the season. The Ghosts will need to pull off yet another big upset if they hope to move on. Spring-Ford senior Sammy Stipa has made a career out of willing her team to comebacks, and thanks to Stipa, whose competitive drive is difficult to match, they have spent the postseason staging one dramatic comeback after another.

The Ghosts also are hoping to make their first trip to the state semis under coach Dan Marsh. Their 2010 district championship squad fell to Red Lion 44-42 in a double overtime heartbreaker in the state quarterfinals. The Ghosts had a seven-point lead with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter but saw that lead slip away.

Both North Penn and Abington are hoping to rewrite history when they take the court on Friday night.

1-1 NORTH PENN vs. 1-4 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN (Friday, March 14, 6 p.m., at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School)

North Penn

• 26-3 overall
• 12-2 SOL Continental Conference champions
• Captured program’s first District One AAAA title
• Only losses have come at the hands of fifth-seeded Central Bucks West (44-36), sixth-seeded Upper Dublin (35-34) and 14^th-seeded Central Bucks South (61-53).
• Led by senior tri-captains Vicky Tumasz, Erin Maher and Bri Cullen.
• Won 10 of 11 games to close out regular season and have won 17 of 18 entering state quarterfinals. Boast a 12-game winning streak.

Players to watch:  Vicky Tumasz (Sr., Guard, 14.6 PPG), Erin Maher (Sr., Forward, 8.2 PPG, 9.3 rebounds), Sam Carangi (Fr., Point Guard, 9.1 PPG)
How they got here: 

• Defeated Council Rock South 83-51 in their district opener. Vicky Tumasz, who scored a game-high 21 points, surpassed the 1,000-point mark. Erin Maher added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Freshmen Irisa Ye and Jess Huber both had 12 points, and freshman point guard Sam Carangi contributed 10 points. North Penn had a season low six turnovers.
• Earned a 43-40 win over Central Bucks South in second round of districts. Maher had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Mikaela Giuliani had nine points and 10 rebounds. Carangi added eight points.
• In a quarterfinal game, NP defeated Central Bucks East 55-43. Maher (14 points, six assists, five rebounds), Tumasz (14 points), Bri Cullen (10 points) and Giuliani (six rebounds) all made important contributions.
• In a district semifinal game, the Lady Knights defeated West Chester Rustin 74-59. Four players – Tumasz (22), Maher (19), Carangi (17) and Cullen (11 points)  -finished the game in double figures.
• The Lady Knights avenged their loss to Spring-Ford in the 2012 district title game with a 63-51 win over the Rams to capture their first district crown. Tumasz scored a game-high 27 points while Ye (12 points), Carangi (11 points) and Maher (10 points) also finished in double figures.
• In an opening round state game, the Lady Knights defeated District 3’s seventh-place team, Lebanon, 53-41. Maher (14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) led the Lady Knights, who also received important contributions from Giuliani (15 rebounds, 8 points), Cullen (10 points, four assists, three steals), Carangi (11 points) and Tumasz (7 points).
• The Lady Knights received double-digit performances from four players in Tuesday’s second round 73-45 rout of District 3’s third place team, Northampton. Tumasz led the way with 22 points, which included a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line and two three’s. Carangi added 18 points, which included an 11-point third quarter. Giuliani (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Maher (12 points, 13 rebounds) owned the paint.

West Chester Rustin

• 24-6 overall
• 12-0 Ches-Mont American Division champion
• Only regular season losses came at the hands of Central Bucks West (71-55), Mount St. Joseph (59-42), Archbishop Ryan (42-35) and Archbishop Wood (75-55).
• Senior forward Adashia Franklyn has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at St. Joe’s.
• Franklyn, a 6-2 forward, and Noelle Powell are both 1,000-point scorers and provide an impressive one-two punch for the Golden Knights.

How they got here: 

• Rustin defeated West Chester East 64-34 in an opening round district game. Four players – Adashia Franklyn (15), Noelle Powell (15), Katie O’Hare (11) and Casey Warley (10) – finished the game in double figures.
• In second round action against Neshaminy, the Golden Knights turned a 21-20 halftime lead into a 56-26 win. Franklyn scored 16 of her game-high 25 points in the second half and Powell scored 16 of her 20 points after the intermission.
• The Golden Knights opened up a 25-14 halftime lead on their way to a 65-46 win over Abington in a district quarterfinal game. Franklyn (22 points) and Powell (15 points) were once again unstoppable.
• Saw 12-game winning streak snapped in 74-59 loss to North Penn in district semis. Powell and Franklyn both scored 17 points to lead the Golden Knights while Courtney Warley added 11.
• Fell to Mount St. Joe’s 60-48 in third place district game. Franklin (16 points), Courtney Warley (10) and Katie O’Hare (10) led the Golden Knights.
• Franklyn exploded for 31 points – 15 in the fourth quarter - in her team’s 71-47 rout of Manheim Central. Casey Warley added 12 points.
• Rustin used a 16-4 second quarter tear to turn an 11-10 deficit into a 27-16 halftime lead on its way to a 56-36 romp over District 11 champion Parkland. Franklin (15), Powell (14) and Courtney Warley (11) led the Golden Knights.

1-2 SPRING-FORD vs. 1-6 ABINGTON (Friday, March 14, 7:30 p.m., at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School)

Abington

• 21-8 overall
• 12-2 SOL, second to Neshaminy in National Conference
• Won nine of 10 games to close out regular season.
• Saw their eight-game winning streak snapped in district quarterfinal loss to Rustin
• Led by American University-bound Michael Harris and junior point guard and Division One recruit Deja Rawls.

Players to watch:  Deja Rawls (Jr., G, 14 PPG), Michael Harris (Sr., 14 PPG, 12 RPG), Sammy Lochner (Soph., 8 PPG), Gabby Nolan (6 assists, 3 steals per game), Leah Simmons (8 PPG, 8 RPG)
How they got here: 

• The Ghosts travelled to Downingtown East for their district opener and sent the Cougars home for the season. Senior Michael Harris led the Ghosts with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Gabby Nolan and Deja Rawls both had nine points, and Leah Simmons had eight.
• The Ghosts continued to work their road magic with a 38-33 win over second-seeded Garnet Valley in a second round game. Rawls led the Ghosts with 15 points while Harris had nine points and 12 rebounds. Nolan had eight rebounds, and Sammy Lochner, eight points.
• In a quarterfinal district game, Abington fell to Rustin 65-46. Rawls scored 20 points – 19 after the intermission – and surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career. Simmons added 14 points.
• In a double overtime playback 51-49 win over Central Bucks East, Rawls scored a layup at the buzzer to win it. Rawls finished with 14 points while Harris had 17.
• In the Ghosts’ 74-52 loss to CB West in a fifth place game, Rawls had 13 and Harris, 10 points.
• In Friday’s state opener, the Ghosts defeated District 11 runner-up Pocono Mountain West 55-36. Harris (22 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks) led the Ghosts. Bre Bermel came off the bench to add 16, and Rawls had 12 points, five assists and four steals.
• Gabby Nolan was the star in Abington’s 53-43 upset of District 3 champion Wilson in a second round game, scoring 10 of her team-high 18 points in a first quarter that saw the Ghosts open up an 18-12 lead. Harris added 16 points and nine rebounds while Rawls (9 points) and Lochner (8 points) also contributed.

Spring-Ford

• 25-6 overall
• 12-1 PAC-10 champions
• Third consecutive league title
• 2013 PIAA Class AAAA champion
• Led by senior guard Sammy Stipa (13.6 ppg, 4 apg, 3 spg, 37 treys) and senior forward Shelby Mueller (12.1 ppg. 8 rpg)
• Rams have come from behind in five of their six postseason wins

How they got here:

• The Rams earned district wins over Chester (77-19), Penn Wood (55-49) and Central Bucks West (53-52).
• Came from behind to defeat Mount St. Joseph Academy 34-33 in the district semifinals. Shelby Mueller led the Rams with 10 points.
• Fell to North Penn in district title game. Stipa paced the offense with 19 points while Mueller (13 points) and Locke (12 points) also finished in double figures
• Stipa scored 16 points to lead the Rams to a 51-45 win over Red Lion in the opening round of states. The Rams were without Locke (concussion)
• The Rams, who were once again without Locke, rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to defeat Mechanicsburg in a second round state game. Stipa led the Rams with 14 points while Mueller added 11 points and six rebounds.