Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Friday. To view photos of the CR North/CR South game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
National Conference
ABINGTON 72, WILLIAM TENNENT 39
The Ghosts clinched at least a share of the National Conference title, and they did it in style, winning in convincing fashion on the road.
“Four years ago, we identified this group as the team that could really boost our program to the next level,” coach Dan Marsh said. “We won the league in 2008, and we’ve been second every other year.
“I’m very proud of them and very happy. That was our first goal – our first goal was to go out and win a league championship, and we did that tonight. It’s a lot of hard work over four years these girls have put in to make sure that would happen.”
The Panthers kept it close for one quarter, trailing 17-15 at the end of one frame, but a 23-11 second quarter by the Ghosts made it a 40-26 game at the intermission. For good measure, the Ghosts added to their lead with a 22-9 third quarter tear and outscored the Panthers 32-13 in the second half.
“William Tennent always plays hard,” Marsh said. “He (coach Paul Veltre) always gets the most out of his players, and they were scrapping and clawing and making it a fun game.
“I know the score doesn’t really indicate that. They tested us a little, and it was fun.”
The Ghosts owned the paint. Liz O’Leary finished with 19 points and eight rebounds while Leah Simmons added 15 points and 10 boards. Gabby Nolan had 10 points, four steals and six assists while Deja Rawls added five points, six assists and three steals.
“They tried to do a different strategy with us,” Marsh said. “They tried a triangle-and-two on Deja Rawls and Sammy Lochner, which took us a minute to adjust, but we were scoring a lot. It wasn’t very effective.”
For the Panthers, Kyla Gibson led the way with 12 while Angie Pomponio had 10 and Kelly Scipione, six points.
Abington is 12-0 in the league (16-3 overall) while the Panthers are 5-7 in league play (11-9 overall).
Abington 17-23-22-10 72
William Tennent 15-11-9-4 39
Abington (72) – Gabby Nolan 10, Sammy Lochner 8, Liz O’Leary 19, Bre Bermel 4, Deja Rawls 5, Taylor Deal 2, Brittany James 2, Leah Simmons 15, Jordyn Allen 5, Sam Brusha 2.
William Tennent (39) – Braylin Dougherty 5, Angie Pomponio 10, Kelly Scipione 6, Kyla Gibson 12, Julia O’Donnell 2, Rachael Ebert 4.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 45, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 24
It looked as though it was going to be another barn burner when the neighboring rivals found themselves deadlocked 6-6 after one quarter, but the Indians began to take control with a 14-7 second quarter to go into halftime with a 20-13 lead. Megan Haggerty buried a clutch three-pointer to spark the Indians’ offense.
The Indians made a concerted effort to take Allison Taub out of the game, doubling the senior standout in the post and their defensive strategy paid dividends as they limited Taub to nine points and held the Golden Hawks to single digits in all four quarters.
Jessica Gerber led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points, and freshman Becca Margolis had 13, including three three-pointers.
“Becca played great,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “I guess all baseball players have slumps, and Becca has been in a slump.
“She broke out of it tonight. She was 3-for-4 from the three-point line. She didn’t break out of the slump because she just shot more in the game. She broke out of it because (she) was texting me, calling me, e-mailing me – ‘coach, can you come early, and coach, can you stay late.’ She reminds me of Jess Gerber when it comes to the work ethic of any player I’ve had.
“There was no way she was going to stay in a slump. She was going to shoot her way out of it. I give her a lot of credit.”
The Indians have plenty of youth on their roster, but with the return of Madison Attanasio, Palkovics is starting four seniors and a freshman.
“It’s like now or never, girls,” he said. “I’m happy with the way they’re playing right now.”
Also for the Indians, Emily Mackin had six points.
Council Rock North is alone in second place with a 9-2 record in conference play (13-5 overall). The Golden Hawks, who were without Shannon Taub (track meet), are 7-5 in the league and 10-10 overall.
Council Rock South 6-7-5-6 24
Council Rock North 6-14-10-15 45
Council Rock South (24) – Cara Barlow 4, Payton Spadaccino 5, Christiana Deo 4, Rachel Milstein 2, Allison Taub 9.
Council Rock North (45) – Becca Margolis 13, Tara Garfield 3, Jessica Gerber 14, Michaela Finneyfrock 2, Madison Attanasio 2, Megan Haggerty 3, Emily Mackin 6, Hailey Burns 2.
PENNSBURY 42, HARRY S TRUMAN 26
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 56, HATBORO-HORSHAM 38
The Bucks sprinted to a 12-0 lead after one quarter and took a 29-12 lead into halftime. The two teams played each other even in the second half, but that was more than enough for the Bucks to – quietly and without fanfare – clinch sole possession of the SOL Continental Conference crown.
Senior Corrine Godshall led all scorers with 18 points while teammate Mackenzie Carroll had 13. Maddie Maio added eight and Nicole Munger had seven.
The Hatters were led by the 10-point efforts of Hannah Mallon and Cassidy Quattro while Bergen Sims had nine.
The Bucks are 12-0 in league play (19-1 overall) while the Hatters are 1-11 in the league (5-14 overall).
Central Bucks West 12-17-13-14 56
Hatboro-Horsham 0-12-13-13 38
Central Bucks West (56) – Mackenzie Carroll 13, Maddie Maio 8, Peyton Traina 4, Makenzie Mason 4, Corrine Godshall 18, Nicole Munger 7, Maggie Rakowsky 2.
Hatboro-Horsham (38) – Rachel Helton 4, Bergen Sims 9, Amanda Brett 3, Hannah Mallon 10, Julia Thornton 2, Cassidy Quattro 10.
SOUDERTON 50, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 36
The Indians undoubtedly can’t help wondering what might have been if senior captain Sarah Derstein had not been sidelined for four months with a concussion. Two days after stunning Pennridge – in Derstein’s return – with a dramatic fourth quarter comeback, the Indians were back at it again, this time seizing early control of their game against the Titans and maintaining command until the final horn.
“Sarah attracts so much attention, and it makes what everyone else now does on offense so much easier,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “They’re so much more open, and they all look more confident and like they’re having fun.
“It’s great to see, and it’s really, really fun to watch.”
The Indians led 18-6 after one quarter and took a 30-13 lead into halftime. A key, according to Carroll, was the Indians’ defensive effort on Jordan Vitelli, who was 24 hours removed from a 25-point effort in the Titans’ win over CB East.
“All five players were really committed to not letting Jordan get hot and not giving her any room because she’s been playing so well,” the Indians’ coach said. “I watched them play last night, and her first quarter performance (13 points)- she just does stuff with ease.
“She’s smart, she’s smooth, and the first time we played them I felt like we lost because of the first quarter performance that she gave. We changed up who was on her, but everyone who was – Marissa (Sandone), Olivia (Kaunert) and Tori (Dowd) – they played hard and tough, and we offensively played as well as one of my teams have played in a long time.
“Everything was working. We were getting the ball down to Sarah, and she was finding the open player, we were moving the ball around. In the first quarter, we had six different people score. We were patient, we had long possessions and just really played well. If I’m thinking about game planning against us, I’m thinking about trying to take Sarah and Marissa out of it, but we had Krista (Schneider) step up and hit a couple of three’s in the first half. Olivia (Kaunert) had eight points, Tori (Dowd) had one of her best games of the year, and Noelle (Noble) is continuing to give us good minutes, so everyone is contributing.”
Carroll had a little piece of advice for Derstein – who had four first-half points – heading out of halftime.
“I told her she was passing well, but I think she’s passing up too many shots, and she scored all nine of our third quarter points,” said Carroll. “She can do either – she finds the open player, and she can go one-on-one with success.”
The Indians took a 39-20 lead into the fourth quarter and coasted to the finish line. Dowd, who finished with 13 points, scored nine points in the fourth quarter. She was 7-for-8 from the foul line and also pulled down six rebounds in the game.
Derstein’s line was once again impressive. The senior center finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks shots. Kaunert added eight points while Schneider and Sandone both had six.
For the Titans, Mackenzie Ehresman led the way with 11 points while Emma Gardy had eight and Haley Meinel added six. Vitelli finished with five points.
The Indians evened their league mark at 6-6 (8-12 overall) while the Titans are 9-3 in the league (15-4 overall).
Central Bucks South 6-7-7-16 36
Souderton 18-12-9-11 50
Central Bucks South (36) – Melissa Veal 4, Haley Meinel 6, Jordan Vitelli 5, Sam Clevenstine 2, Emma Gardy 8, Mackenzie Ehresman 11.
Souderton (50) – Tori Dowd 13, Krista Schneider 6, Olivia Kaunert 8, Noelle Noble 4, Marissa Sandone 6, Sarah Derstein 13.
NORTH PENN 63, PENNRIDGE 60
With January all but in the books, coach Maggie deMarteleire is already looking to next year with plans of using the holiday break to give her squad a break and some valuable practice time instead of traveling to a tournament.
“All these games in January are just killing us,” the Lady Knights’ coach said. “Between three games a week and the weather – it’s hard. I told them, ‘I know this doesn’t sound appealing to you, but I can’t wait to have five days of practice before district playoffs.’”
On a night when the Lady Knights needed a hero, junior Mikaela Giuliani – despite battling foul woes and eventually fouling out – stepped to the fore, contributing 12 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and intangibles that don’t show up on the stat sheet.
“Mikaela Giuliani just showed great leadership tonight,” deMarteleire said. “Playing probably half the game because of foul trouble, she still scored 12 points and was a great leader.
“Even when she fouled out, she was encouraging kids. After the game, one of the freshmen was upset, and she was talking to her.”
Sam Carangi led the Lady Knights with 18 points while Jess Huber had 16 and Taylor Thames, nine. Irisa Ye had nine rebounds to go along with four points.
“Sam Carangi only had one three,” deMarteleire said of her sophomore sharpshooter. “Her three-point shot was off, but I was really pleased because she drove to the basket and attacked the basket, which is something we’ve really been encouraging her to do. She did a great job.
“Jess Huber really had a good game today, and Taylor Thames made big plays in the fourth quarter.”
The Rams had to be thinking upset when they opened up a 27-19 lead in the second quarter, but the Lady Knights – 24 hours removed from a tough loss to Central Bucks West – had other ideas, closing out the quarter with a 17-5 tear to go into halftime with a 36-32 lead.
“Part of the problem was we played CB West last night, so our total focus was on that game,” deMarteleire said. “I watched film and talked about today’s game, but we didn’t practice.
“I told the kids – we won by three points. Pennridge is much improved. It doesn’t matter how much we win by – we won, and that’s really all that matters right now. We played a team that plays real tough, and we made good decisions at the end of the game, which will hopefully help us down the road.”
Pennridge had more than a few big performances as well, none bigger than Lydia Konstanzer’s. Konstanzer led all scorers with 26 points, which included a 10-for-12 effort at the foul line. She also had 16 rebounds. For the game, the Rams buried 24-of-28 from the foul line, which translates to 86 percent.
Shelby Schoonover also had a big night, finishing with 17 points (4-for-4 at the foul line). Devan Rimmer had seven points, and Kaeli White added seven points, three assists and two steals. Monika Brill pulled down six rebounds.
North Penn improved to 9-3 in league play (15-5 overall) while the Lady Rams are 4-8 in the league (10-9 overall).
North Penn 18-14-15-16 63
Pennridge 15-21-11-13 60
North Penn (63) – Irisa Ye 4, Taylor Thames 9, Mikaela Giuliani 12, Jess Huber 16, Taylor Putnam 3, Sam Carangi 18, Bri Hewlett 1.
Pennridge (60) – Monika Brill 1, Ashley George 2, Lydia Konstanzer 26, Devan Rimmer 7, Shelby Schoonover 17, Kaeli White 7.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 50, QUAKERTOWN 42
The Panthers, coming of their first league win in two years, gave the Patriots all they could handle but they pulled away down the stretch. The two teams were deadlocked 32-32 heading into the final quarter when the Patriots exploded for 18 points.
Megan Browne scored six of her eight points in the final four minutes of the game while Bridget Birkhead, who led all scorers with 20 points, and Bailey McManus were clutch from the foul line. Birkhead was 4-for-6 while McManus buried 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
East led 17-12 after one quarter but took just a 25-22 lead into halftime. The Panthers outscored the Patriots 10-7 in the third quarter to knot the score.
Marina Cooke and Meghan Klee led the Panthers with 12 points each while Jill Martin added eight and Olivia Morano, seven.
The Patriots are 6-6 in league play (11-9 overall) while the Panthers are 1-11 in the league (3-16 overall).
Central Bucks East 17-8-7-18 50
Quakertown 12-10-10-10 42
Central Bucks East (50) – Bridget Birkhead 20, Kyra Scaliti 4, Megan Browne 8, Courtney McManus 8, Melanie Wetzel 1, Bri Talbot 2, Abby Charlton 7.
Quakertown (42) – Makenna Kressley 1, Brooke Alwine 2, Olivia Morano 7, Marina Cooke 12, Meghan Klee 12, Jill Martin 8.
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 35, UPPER MERION 32
The Flying Cardinals clinched at least a share of their third consecutive conference crown with Friday’s hard earned win over the Vikings. This one is the most unexpected.
“We set goals for ourselves in the beginning of the year, and to be honest, the goals we set for ourselves this year were not quite as high as they were two years ago or even last year,” coach Morgan Funsten said. “Even though we had good experience coming back in Julie Cross and Allison Chernow, we had a lot of new faces.”
The Cardinals’ coach pointed to the leadership of Cross, fellow senior captain Alissa Klammer and Chernow as significant.
“They’ve really carried us through, and we’ve gotten great help,” Funsten said. “Josie Barrett has stepped up and is having a great year and scoring the ball. Demi Balasa doesn’t get a lot of recognition in the box scores, and she’s so solid. Maggie Weglos stepped in as a freshman, and tonight she played 32 minutes. For her to give us those type of quality minutes – the ultimate compliment you can pay a freshman is to tell them you forgot that they were a freshman, and that’s pretty much where we’re at with Maggie.
“In terms of clinching the conference, it’s something we really wanted. I think it’s happened one other time in the school’s history that we’ve won three in a row, and that was in the 80’s.”
Over the past three years, the Cardinals have lost just two league games – both losses were last year with one at Plymouth Whitemarsh and the other at Upper Merion. The Cardinals traveled to both schools for key games this week.
“We kind of felt like we could breathe a little bit after we beat Cheltenham to get a two-game lead in the league, but PW is playing well, and we played a solid game against them Tuesday,” Funsten said. “My girls – especially Julie and Allison – didn’t forget last year, so that was a great win.
“To avenge our loss at Upper Merion last year – it’s a real tough gym to play in, the crowd is pretty loud, and the game can feel even more intense than it is. I was really proud of my girls’ mental toughness tonight.”
The Vikings had to have visions of last year’s upset when Regie Robinson drained a three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter of Friday’s showdown to knot the score 30-30.
“Regie played great tonight – Regie played really great,” Funsten said. “That’s what you expect out of a great player like that.
“We did a great job shutting her down the first time, and she really came ready to play tonight and had 21.”
The Vikings had just seconds to celebrate that tie as Allison Chernow immediately answered with a three-pointer at the other end to give the Cardinals a lead they would not lose.
“We did a good job of taking care of the ball down the stretch,” Funsten said. “Julie got fouled, and that’s what you want – you want your senior leader to step to the line and shoot a clutch one-and-one.
“We were up three with 18 seconds to go, and she made both. Julie just had a real dominant game again.”
Cross contributed 16 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and three assists while Chernow added 13 points.
“Upper Merion plays tough, and we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Funsten said. “The last time we played them we handled them pretty easily (a 47-19 win), but it was pretty much the perfect storm type of game.
“We shot the ball incredibly, we took care of the ball, we played great defense, and they didn’t play their best. We knew we were going to be in for a fight tonight. A lot of credit to them – they came ready to play. It was really intense as they always are when you play Upper Merion. It was kind of a playoff atmosphere type of game.”
After Cross buried a pair of foul shots to put the Cardinals on top 35-30, the Vikings scored a basket in the closing seconds to pull to within three.
“In the last three minutes, we had what I consider four good looks to cut into the lead and just couldn’t get it to rattle down,” coach Tom Schurtz said. “We made a shot to trim it to three with four seconds to go and Regie got a steal with two seconds to go but couldn’t get the ball outside the three-point arc to get a three off, and the clock ran out.
“We just didn’t have enough time. It was back and forth all game. Upper Dublin made one more shot than we did, and that was the difference. Chernow’s deep three really was the difference because they were able to chew up some clock. We missed some shots, and they made the big shots.”
Schurtz pointed to the return to the lineup of Anna Davis as the biggest difference between this game and the initial meeting between the two teams.
“Anna Davis played extended minutes tonight for the first time since the fourth game of the year,” Schurtz said. “She didn’t score, but just having her on the floor. Katie Valeri has been battling flu-like symptoms, and both Katie and Anna played extended minutes today under really tough circumstances and I thought did a tremendous job on (Josie) Barrett and Chernow.”
“I know Tatiana (Pleasant) only had four points, but she had 10 rebounds, and she battled Cross all night. Regie just played like Regie plays. I was real happy with the way the girls played. I’m never happy with a loss, but I was real happy with the execution and the effort.”
The Flying Cardinals are 12-0 in league play (15-4 overall) while the Vikings are 6-6 in the league (12-8 overall).
Upper Dublin 12-4-11-8 35
Upper Merion8-7-10-7 32
Upper Dublin (35) – Josie Barrett 3, Julie Cross 16, Allison Chernow 13, Demi Balasa 3.
Upper Merion (32) – Jordan Wilson 2, Regie Robinson 21, Jessica Michael 3, Tatiana Pleasant 4, Eryn Brady 2.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 58, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 49
Alynna Williams scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half and also threw some defense at the Spartans, limiting high-scoring Molly Dugan to just four points in the second half – none in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Taylor O’Brien was a near-perfect 8-of-9 from the foul line and scored a team-high 14 points while pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Alison Spinelli hit 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and finished with seven points, and Laurel Suchsland had eight rebounds to go along with four points. Lauren Coscia added five points and six rebounds.
“Both were big on the boards while playing tremendous defense versus Maura Ryan,” coach Daniel Dougherty said.
The Colonials led 14-7 after one quarter, but the Spartans outscored PW 19-12 in the second quarter to go into halftime deadlocked 26-26. The Colonials held a 19-15 edge in the third quarter and added to that lead with a 13-8 fourth quarter.
“Khadijah Hickson and Ali Diamond both made crucial shots during the third quarter run to take the lead,” Dougherty said. “The game was very back and forth.
“PW played excellent defense to slowly pull away at the end.”
Hickson finished with nine points while Diamond added four.
The Spartans had three double-figure scorers, led by Jewell Ringgold with 14 and Dugan and Maura Ryan with 11 apiece.
“It really was an exciting game,” coach Bill Krewson said. “We unfortunately came out on the losing end, but we were very proud of our girls.
“They worked hard – stuck with it and played great defense.”
The Colonials improved to 8-4 in league play (12-7 overall) while the Spartans are 5-7 in the league (10-10 overall).
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14-12-19-13 58
Springfield 7-19-15-8 49
Plymouth Whitemarsh (58) – Taylor O’Brien 14, Alynna Williams 15, Laurel Suchsland 4, Alison Spinelli 7, Khadijah Hickson 9, Ali Diamond 4, Lauren Coscia 5.
Springfield (49) – Jayla Greene 6, Bailey Krewson 2, Jewell Ringgold 14, Molly Dugan 11, Maura Ryan 11, Savanna Shakleford 2, Caroline Pape 3.
CHELTENHAM 57, UPPER MORELAND 23
Ashley Jones (16 points) and Amarri Trueheart (11 points) led a balanced Lady Panther effort that saw nine players get in the scoring column. Norreal Robinson added six points.
Jenna Getz’s 11 points led the Golden Bears, who trailed 14-5 at the end of an opening quarter that saw Ashley Jones bury three treys. By halftime, the Lady Panthers led 30-10 on their way to the big win.
The Lady Panthers are 9-2 in league play (14-4 overall) while the Golden bears are 0-12 (1-17 overall).
Cheltenham 14-16-12-15 57
Upper Moreland 5-5-3-10 23
Cheltenham (57) – Ashley Jones 16, Monet McGorda 4, Danielle Brown 4, Amarri Trueheart 11, Caitlyn Wallace 5, Dejah China 4, Gabrielle Wright 5, Norreal Robinson 6, Nashira Brown 2.
Upper Moreland (23) – Jenna Getz 11, Julia Gatto 5, Emily Zanine 1, Carly Wasson 1, Veronia Baez 2, Maddie Pisut 3.
NORRISTOWN 57, WISSAHICKON 22
The Eagles jumped out of the gate to 18-3 lead after one quarter and took a 31-9 lead into halftime. They never looked back.
“We couldn’t embrace the moment,” Wissahickon coach Rodney Cline said. “We had a packed house. Our eighth grade played at halftime.
“It was just a great atmosphere, and we couldn’t embrace it. We’re too young and inexperienced. You get the opportunities, and you have to put it in.”
Tatiana Jones led the Eagles with 13 points while Patti Fortescue added 10 and Tatiana Dewalt, nine points. Lauren Fortescue had seven.
Julie Weber led the Trojans with seven points.
The Eagles are 5-6 in league play (8-10 overall) while the Trojans are 2-10 in the league (2-17 overall).
Norristown 18-13-18-8 57
Wissahickon 3-6-9-4 22
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