Souderton Edges CB South in Triple OT Thriller to Capture District Title

Souderton needed triple overtime to defeat Central Bucks South 52-48 in the District One 6A title game at Temple University on Saturday. Photos provided courtesy of Donna Longacre Photography. Check back for a gallery.

#1-1 SOUDERTON 52, #1-2 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 48 (3 OTs)
Lynn Carroll called it a game for the ages.

By any name, Saturday’s district final pitting Souderton against Central Bucks South went from just another grind-it-out battle between the SOL Continental Conference rivals to instant classic in a heartbeat, and at the end of three heartstopping overtimes, it was the Indians doing the celebrating.

“We’re tired, but the adrenalin is still there – it’s over, and we came out on top,” senior Kate Connolly said. “They’re a great team. It was a great fight all three overtimes, but it was great to win.”

“We were definitely tired,” senior Tori Dowd said. “We almost were like – I forgot this is a big deal because it’s been going on for so long.

“It feels amazing. Especially coming in as a freshman and barely winning any games, I never thought this would happen in four years. It’s an amazing feeling.

“It’s just happiness,” senior Alana Cardona said. “I’m so happy for my teammates and coaches.

“And the community as well - I was in Wawa this morning, and somebody came up to me and said, ‘Good luck today, you got this.’ Coming from such a small area, there are so many people that will be so happy when we bring this home.”

Bringing the title home turned out to be anything but easy for the Indians, who were less than three weeks removed from a 19-point win over the Titans in the SOL Tournament title game.

And in a contest where points were difficult to come by, a Souderton win seemed all but assured with less than a minute remaining in regulation and the Indians on top by six. No one apparently told Alexa Brodie, who sank a tough three with 46 seconds remaining and – after a Souderton turnover on the ensuing inbounds – made an even tougher three from well beyond the arc with 15 seconds remaining to knot the score, 35-35.

“I thought our defense was really good, and Alexa Brodie just found a way,” Carroll said. “The shots that she made – Tori could not have defended her any better. They were tough shots.”

“Those were nice,” Connolly said of Brodie’s bombs. “She was well-contested – it was crazy, but I think we knew we had to keep playing the defense that we were, the best defense that we possibly could and try to make those shots as difficult as possible.”

Souderton’s shot for the win fell short, setting the stage for the first of three riveting overtimes. A pair of Halley Meinel foul shots gave the Titans an early lead, and after Cardona sank one-of-two at the line, Brodie buried both ends of a one-and-one to give the Titans a 39-36 advantage with 27.8 seconds remaining.

Then came an unlikely play that saved the day for the Indians. With time winding down, Connolly hit nothing but net on a tightly contested three-pointer to knot the score.

“I just knew that a shot had to be taken – someone had to take that shot, so I took it, and it went in, thank God,” Connolly said. “I saw it above the rim, and I thought. ‘This might go in,’ and it did.”

Connolly’s basket – which she followed with a steal on the defensive end - did even more than knot the score, it restored the Indians confidence, although the game was still far from over.

Brodie opened the second overtime by making an acrobatic three, but Dowd answered with a three-point play at the other end. A Connolly block on the defensive end was followed by a Titan miss that was rebounded by Cardona. Connolly sank a pair at the foul line to give the Indians a 44-42 lead with 17.2 remaining. South freshman Caroline McSorley – just off the bench – scored on a drive to the hoop in the closing seconds to knot the score, ensuring there would be overtime number three.

On the Indians’ opening possession of the third overtime, Cardona scored on a drive, and after a Titan miss, the senior forward – despite being fouled – scored on a tough putback and completed the three-point play. Brodie turned a steal into a layup to make it a 49-46 game, but Cardona sank one-of-two and later buried a pair at the line to put the Indians on top 52-46 with nine seconds remaining. South’s Sofia Sonnet scored at the buzzer as a jubilant Indian squad began celebrating their program’s first ever district crown.

“They made a comeback and basketball is a game of runs, so you know that they are going to make a comeback at some point,” Cardona said. “They’re a really good team, and they were knocking down some incredible shots.

“When Kate (Connolly) made that really tough three-pointer, I was like, ‘You know what – I think we can do this.’ However many it was – two or three overtimes later, we finally did it.”

“It was definitely a roller coaster,” Dowd said. “We had confidence in ourselves and weren’t going to give up, but there were sometimes when you thought – this could go either way, and you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“The third overtime we were like, ‘Okay, let’s get the job done,’ so that’s what we did. It’s amazing. I can’t even describe how it feels.”

Saturday’s game was the fourth meeting between the two teams. Souderton won three of the four, but this was the fiercest battle.

"This was probably our hardest time playing them, definitely harder even than when we lost to them,” Dowd said. “They had players step up, which we knew they would. They had people making big shots.”

“This is the way it is against South,” Carroll said. “They get you out of your rhythm, you can’t get into a flow.

“They have some tough defenders, some tough kids on their team. You play South, and you know it’s going to be a little bit ugly offensively.”

Although her team came up short, coach Beth Mattern had nothing but praise for her team’s performance.

“I’m really proud of the effort they put out there,” the Titans’ coach said. “We talked about – this was an opportunity we had to play in the district final that you don’t get very often and you don’t know when it’s going to happen again. I tell you what – I thought they battled and left it all on the floor. They can’t ask more of themselves than what they did today. They played so hard. It’s a testament to their make-up.

“We needed to hit a couple more shots, and we didn’t. We finally took the lead in overtime for the first time. Give Souderton credit. They kept after it.”

EXTRA SHOTS: Connolly scored a team-high 18 points and also blocked six shots. Her seven first-quarter points propelled the Indians to a 9-7 lead. Cardona had an impressive double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Dowd added 12 points, six in the second quarter as the Indians opened up a 21-14 halftime lead…Brodie’s 23 points led all scorers. “I see Alexa every day at practice, so those shots don’t surprise me, but those were clutch,” Mattern said. “And Caroline McSorley at the buzzer. It was not the way we drew it up, but we’ll take it. I thought both sides just battled” Meinel added 11 for the Titans, who lost three starters to fouls in the three overtime periods…Souderton (26-2, 11-1 SOL) will face Manheim Township, District 3’s seventh place team, in Friday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A Tournament. Manheim Township entered the District 3 Tournament as the top seed, and after an opening round bye fell to Wilson in a second round game. Central Bucks South (24-4, 10-2) will take on Cedar Cliff, the fifth place team from District 3.

Central Bucks South           7-7-11-10-4-5-4  48
Souderton     9-12-7-7-4-5-8   52
Central Bucks South (48) - Caroline McSorley 1 0-0 2; Lindsay Scott 1 0-0 2; Haley Meinel 4 3-3 11; Natalie DiSandro 1 0-0 2; Alexa Brodie 6 8-10 23; Maddie McShane 2 0-0 4; Sofia Sonnet 1 0-0 2; Mackenzie Ehresman 1 0-0 2; Totals 17 11-13 48.
Souderton (52) - Tori Dowd 4 4-13 12; Megan Bealer 1 2-4 4; Alana Cardona 3 7-9 13; Megan Walbrandt 1 3-4 5; Megan O'Donnell 0 0-0 0; Sami Falencki 0 0-0 0; Kate Connolly 5 6-9 18; Totals 14 22-39 52.
3-point goals:  CB South – Alexa Brodie 3; Souderton – Kate Connolly 2.
 

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