Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. CB East/North Penn photos are provided courtesy of Lisa Henderson. Check back for a gallery of the game.
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 41, CHELTENHAM 22
First place was on the line when Upper Dublin travelled to Cheltenham on Tuesday night. In the initial meeting between the two squads, the Flying Cardinals – who brought a perfect league mark into Tuesday’s game – eked out a 42-39 win.
This time around, the Cardinals needed no late-game heroics, and according to senior Ashley Barber, the team had a singular focus.
“Just to get out there and take it all,” she said. “It was the biggest game of the whole season, and we just had to take over and come out and make a point – play 10 times better than we did the first time and just own it and show who we really are.”
The Lady Panthers had the early advantage, opening up a 13-8 lead after Ashley Jones buried a three-pointer early in the second quarter. The Cardinals came back to make it a 13-10 game, but a conventional three-point play by Jones upped the Lady Panthers’ lead to 16-10 with 3:33 remaining in the half. They did not score again until midway through the third quarter when Jones buried one-of-two from the foul line. By that time, the Cardinals had a 24-17 lead and never looked back.
Cheltenham scored just six points in the second half, and Jones – who finished with 17 points to lead all scorers – had only five after the intermission. Her teammates combined for just five points.
Coach Morgan Funsten pointed to the defense of Maggie Weglos as the key.
“She defended (Jones) all night – she wanted her,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “You question it – do girls really want to cover the best player on the other team, and Maggie always wants to cover the best player on the other team.
“If you want to play the best player on the other team, you have to prepare for them. You have to know their strengths and weaknesses. Maggie watched tape on (Jones), and Maggie studied her. I thought Maggie not only carried us defensively in the first half. She also carried us offensively in the first half.”
Trailing 16-10, UD’s Alison Gouveia connected on a pair from the foul line, and when Weglos buried a clutch three-pointer, the Cards had trimmed the Panthers’ lead to one. The Cardinals took a lead they would not lose when Barber finished off a fast break. A driving basket by Allison Chernow sent the Cardinals into halftime with a 19-16 lead.
The Cardinals opened up a 24-16 lead after Barber scored on a putback, and they still led by seven when Josie Barrett found Nicole Kaiser for an easy basket to close out the third quarter.
Barber sealed the Panthers’ fate, scoring seven of her team high 13 points in the final frame. Twice she scored on drives to the bucket.
“Coach Funsten gives me a lot of confidence in myself,” Barber said. “I know I’m a bigger girl, and I can beat someone off that dribble.
“I have to do it more because I’m either going to the line or it’s going in. I just needed to be confident and take over.”
Barber dominated the backboards, pulling down 18 rebounds. Chernow finished with nine points while Demi Balasa and Weglos both had six.
“We got contributions offensively from people that usually specialize in their defensive ability,” Funsten said. “They tried to face guard Chernow, and Chernow worked to get the ball.
“We were able to get into some of our sets. We executed when we needed to. It was a team effort. Everyone was stepping to the ball. Demi Balasa is so reliable. I’m kind of at a loss. I’m just so proud of the girls.”
Tuesday’s win came after a pair of losses last weekend to area powers North Penn and Germantown Academy.
“Those two games basically got us ready for this game,” Barber said. “They’re two great teams.
“Now we know who we are, we adjusted some things and we took the energy we had Saturday and Sunday and put it to them.”
Upper Dublin (12-4, 8-0 SOL) is scheduled to play at Upper Moreland on Friday, and Cheltenham (11-3, 7-2) will play at Springfield on Friday.
Upper Dublin 8-11-9-13 41
Cheltenham 10-6-5-1 22
Upper Dublin: Nicole Kaiser 4, Josie Barrett 1, Alison Gouveia 2, Allison Chernow 9, Demi Balasa 6, Maggie Weglos 6, Ashley Barber 13.
Cheltenham: Ashley Jones 17, Dannielle Brown 1, Mia Leonard 2, Gabrielle Wright 2.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 46, UPPER MERION 35
The Colonials opened up a 13-3 lead after one quarter and took a 25-14 lead into halftime. The two teams exchanged baskets in the second half.
Taylor O’Brien had a big night for the Colonials, scoring a game high 27 points. Laurel Suchsland added seven points, and Sarah Putsch had six points.
For the Vikings, Jordan Wilson scored 11 points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-4, 7-2 SOL) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Friday, and Upper Merion (4-12, 2-7) will travel to Central Bucks South for a non-league contest Thursday.
Upper Merion 3-11-12-9 35
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13-12-11-10 46
Upper Merion: Tatiana Pleasant 5, Amya Anthoney 2, Jordan Wilson 11, Hailey Kozuchowski 2, Andrea Davis 2, Jessica Michael 3, Tatum Thomas 4, Maddie Harvey 6.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Taylor O’Brien 27, Gia Schweitzer 4, Sarah Putsch 6, Laurel Suchsland 7, Lauren Coscia 1.
UPPER MORELAND 33, WISSAHICKON 26
The Trojans led 9-6 after one quarter, but the visiting Golden Bears trimmed that advantage to one by halftime (15-14). An 11-5 third quarter burst by the Bears all but sealed the Trojans’ fate.
Noelle Woodman’s nine-point effort led the Golden Bears. Julia Gatto added eight points while Jenna Getz and Sydney Ott both scored six points.
Upper Moreland (5-11, 2-7 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Friday, and Wissahickon (0-14, 0-9) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday.
Upper Moreland 6-8-11-8 33
Wissahickon 9-6-5-6 26
Upper Moreland: Jenna Getz 6, Julia Gatto 8, Madison Pisut 6, Emily Zanine 4, Noelle Woodman 9.
Wissahickon: Brianna Tilghman 5, Daria Earland 4, Sydney Ott 6, Helma Meiby 2, Carolina Mack 3, Lexi Carradorini 6.
NORRISTOWN 70, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 29
The Eagles raced out of the gate to a 22-9 lead after one quarter and took a 47-16 lead into halftime on their way to the convincing win.
The Fortescue sisters were double trouble for the Spartans. Patti led all scorers with 18 points, and Lauren scored 16. Beyonce Collins added 10 points for the Eagles, who also received seven points from Taijah James. Lauren Green scored six points.
Molly Dugan led the Spartans with 13 points, and Maura Ryan added eight.
Norristown (10-6, 5-4 SOL) will travel to Upper Merion on Saturday for a 10 a.m. contest, and Springfield (6-10, 4-5) will host Cheltenham on Thursday night.
Springfield 9-7-6-7 29
Norristown 22-25-20-3 70
Springfield: Molly Dugan 13, Emily Giampietro 2, Maura Ryan 8, Jamy Krewson 3, Siana Wynn 3, Bri Vetter 1.
Norristown: Beyonce Collins 10, Patti Fortescue 18, Tiajah James 7, Lauren Fortescue 16, Lauren Green 6, Precious Milan 5, Touvanah Wright 2, Morgan Culbreath 1.
Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 48, QUAKERTOWN 33
Tori Dowd turned in a glittering all-around performance for the Indians, scoring a career high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. The sophomore point guard had zero turnovers as she directed the Indians’ attack. Dowd buried 12-of-14 from the foul line.
“Her rebounds don’t come easily,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “She’ll go through and around people, knocking it out of their hands and going and getting it. She, as always, was just relentless.”
The win was the Indians’ first since they defeated Council Rock South on Dec. 29.
“We really needed a win,” Carroll said. “I give our girls a lot of credit – to lose of string of basketball games in a row like that can be crippling, and you can start into this downward spiral.
“They have maintained focus and positivity, they have not let up at all in terms of work ethic no matter what is happening on the court, and that goes for the last few games that we’ve lost. I’m really happy for them that they got this win. It’s nice to see that they were rewarded for their hard work tonight.”
The two teams were deadlocked 9-9 after one quarter, but the Indians began to open things up with a 19-9 second quarter to go into halftime with a 28-17 halftime lead.
“This is the best we’ve played in a while, especially offensively, and we played great defensively,” Carroll said. “Defensively, we really wanted to try to limit (Jill) Martin and (Meghan) Klee as much as we could, and I think our girls really stepped up to the challenge.
“It was mainly Krista (Schneider) and Alana (Cardona) that were denying them, but they had so much help that it was successful. There were a lot of things that don’t really show up in the stat column that kids did that really contributed to our success tonight. This is one of those games were everyone played their part and knew what they needed to do and went out and did it.”
Souderton added to its lead in the third quarter, outscoring the visiting Panther 15-7. Senior Marissa Sandone scored seven of her 11 points in the frame. The Indians took a 43-24 lead into the final quarter.
“Offensively, we played with much, much more patience and got good looks at the basket instead of some of the desperation shots that we’ve been taking lately,” Carroll said. “We got them into some foul trouble.”
For the game, Souderton buried 22-of-30 from the charity stripe.
Freshman Megan Walbrandt scored nine points while Schneider and Cardona both added six points. Cardona also had nine rebounds.
For the Panthers, Maggie Garlick led the way with 12 points. Meghan Klee added seven points, and Brooke Alwine had six.
Souderton (6-10, 3-6) will celebrate Senior Night on Monday when the Indians will host Central Bucks West. Quakertown (3-12, 1-8) will host North Penn on Friday.
Quakertown 9-8-7-9 33
Souderton 9-19-15-5 48
Quakertown: Brooke Alwine 6, Samantha Howard 3, Maggie Garlick 12, Olivia Morano 4, Meghan Klee 7, Jill Martin 1.
Souderton: Tori Dowd 16, Krista Schneider 6, Alana Cardona 6, Megan Walbrandt 9, Marissa Sandone 11.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 56, PENNRIDGE 41
Junior Maggie Rakowsky scored a game high 16 points, and senior Makenzie Mason collected a double-double with 11 points – which included a 5-of-6 effort at the foul line – and 11 rebounds to lead the Bucks to the win. Rakowsky also had six rebounds.
The Bucks – sparked by their pressure defense – opened up a 15-6 lead after one quarter and took a 27-8 lead into halftime.
West freshman Tori Abelson also finished with 11 points, Abby Spratt added seven, and Izzy Treon had six points. Maddie Maio contributed five points and three rebounds.
For the Lady Rams, seniors Devan Rimmer (10 points, nine rebounds) and Lydia Konstanzer (nine points, 15 rebounds – 10 offensive, four steals) led the way. Sam Muredda added eight points while Brooke Bachtle and Gillian Anderson each had seven. Anderson also had eight rebounds while Bachte had three steals.
Central Bucks West (12-4, 7-2 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Monday for a 7 p.m. contest. Pennridge (9-7, 3-6) is scheduled to host Central Bucks South on Friday.
Pennridge 6-2-14-19 41
Central Bucks West 15-12-13-16 56
Pennridge: Brooke Bachtle 7, Gillian Anderson 7, Sam Muredda 8, Devan Rimmer 10, Lydia Konstanzer 9.
Central Bucks West: Makenzie Mason 11, Maggie Rakowsky 16, Maddie Maio 5, Tori Abelson 11, Abby Spratt 7, Izzy Treon 6.
NORTH PENN 47, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 34
The Lady Knights took a 19-14 lead into halftime only to watch the Patriots score the first five points of the 
second half to knot the score. The Lady Knights responded with a 13-1 run to close out the frame, taking control of the game on their way to the win.
“We picked up fullcourt man,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said of her team’s third quarter tear that put the game away. “We just had to do something because they were doing a great job in their halfcourt offensive set.
“Staying in the halfcourt game, they were actually – offensively and defensively – playing better than us so we had to pick up the pressure, and that was effective.”
Sam Carangi scored 13 points to lead the Lady Knights, who were without Mia Melchior (injury).
“Sam Carangi played really well – she had steals and just had a really good game,” deMarteleire said.
Jess Huber added 11 points, Irisa Ye had nine points, and Bri Hewlett contributed eight.
East senior Kyra Scaliti scored a team high 13 points and combined with teammate Bridget Birkhead to score all 14 of the Patriots first-half points. Bailey McManus added six points.
North Penn (14-2, 9-0 SOL) will host Quakertown on Friday night, and Central Bucks East (10-6, 5-4) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
North Penn 9-10-13-15 47
Central Bucks East 3-11-6-14 34
North Penn: Irisa Ye 9, Mikaela Giuliani 2, Jess Huber 11, Bri Hewlett 8, Sam Carangi 13, Jess McKenzie 4.
Central Bucks East: Bridget Birkhead 4, Kyra Scaliti 13, Megan Browne 2, Bailey McManus 6, Melanie Wetzel 4, Bri Talbot 5.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 59, HATBORO-HORSHAM 29
The Titans opened up a 15-9 lead after one quarter and took a 32-18 lead into halftime. They outscored the visiting Hatters in each of the four quarters.
On a night that saw the Titans receive scoring from 11 players, junior Meghan Kuypers led a balanced attack with 12 points, and Jordan Vitelli added 11. Taylor Dunn scored nine points.
Cassidy Quattro led the Hatters with nine points.
Central Bucks South (12-4, 7-2 SOL) will host Upper Merion in a non-league contest on Thursday. Hatboro-Horsham (5-11, 1-8) will be on the road at Central Bucks East on Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 9-9-9-2 29
Central Bucks South 15-17-14-13 59
Hatboro-Horsham: Kylie Halko 2, Bergen Sims 5, Erin Wingen 3, Cassidy Quattro 9, Haley Seifert 5, Julia Thornton 5.
Central Bucks South: Alexa Brodie 5, Courtney Taylor 4, Taylor Dunn 9, Chloe Entenberg 1, Melissa Veal 2, Meghan Kuypers 12, Tricia DeCesare 3, Haley Meinel 2, Jordan Vitelli 11, Mackenzie Ehresman 6, Madeleine McShane 4.
National Conference
NESHAMINY 57, ABINGTON 48
The Redskins exploded for 25 points in the fourth quarter, turning a 32-32 tie into a win that gives the ‘Skins a two-game lead in the battle for the top spot in the SOL National Conference.
“I’m really proud of the girls,” coach Joe Lally said. “They really stepped up. That’s a tough place to win in general.
“It was just a really good all-around effort. We knew we had to stay with them. They play really well in that gym.”
The Ghosts led by four after one quarter, but the Redskins rallied to make it a two-point game by halftime (23-21). The ‘Skins knotted the score with an 11-9 third quarter. Freshman Allison Harvey broke the 32-32 tie when she buried a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter.
“Then we got a stop and got a two from Ali going to the basket,” Lally said. “They answered with two, and then Ali (Harvey) answered with another three in the opposite corner.
“From there, I think they felt like they needed to get more aggressive on defense, and our girls did a really good job of reading it and taking the ball to the basket more.”
Morgan Goldenbaum finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. She had just two turnovers.
“Morgan Goldenbaum controlled the tempo,” Lally said. “She got to the basket a couple of times and really made some big plays.”
Harvey led all scorers with 20 points, and she also had eight rebounds.
“She got some really good open looks in the first half, and her teammates really believe in her,” Lally said. “That’s what makes it so nice, and in the fourth quarter we fight back to get a tie game.
“Tiara Porterfield and Devon Storms played great defense. Brooke Mullin won’t show up in a stat sheet, but she’s just all over the floor. She played awesome defense all night. She was doubling in on (Lizzie) O’Leary and firing out at shooters. She worked her tail off all night.”
Storms and Porterfield both added 10 points for the Redskins, who had four players in double figures.
Goldenbaum and Porterfield were cool customers from the charity stripe – both connected on 7-of-8 from the foul line on a night that saw the Redskins seal the win with a 15-for-16 effort at the line in the fourth quarter.
“We’re playing two freshmen almost the entire way in Brooke Mullin and Allison Harvey,” Lally said. “There are mistakes along the way, but boy, they do a ton of things.
“Devon Storms, Tiara Porterfield and Morgan Goldenbaum deserve a ton of credit because they’ve embraced these kids. A lot of kids get intimidated by younger kids with talent. All the credit to those kids because they’ve embraced them, and they’ve made them feel like – ‘you’re part of this and we need you to win,’ and that helps the freshmen so much.
Senior Sammy Lochner led the Ghosts with 16 points while Lizzie O’Leary added 11, and Britney James had seven.
The win was the 13th in a row for the Redskins, who dropped their first three games of the season but haven’t lost since.
“I can’t be more proud of them and the way they came out,” Lally said. “ We talked about winning in a difficult environment, and we would see how much improvement we made as a team and how we’ve evolved. All the credit to the girls because they’re completely focused on one game at a time. They’re not looking past anyone, and that’s going to make them tough down the stretch.
“That schedule could have doomed us. I still would have liked to have won one of those games, but all three of those teams were really good teams. I think along the way we’ve played some really good teams and got victories. We’ll enjoy the moment, and we get a really good William Tennent team on Thursday.”
Neshaminy (13-3, 9-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Thursday night, and Abington (10-6, 7-2) will be on the road at Council Rock South on Thursday.
Neshaminy 5-16-11-25 57
Abington 9-14-9-16 48
Neshaminy: Morgan Goldenbaum 16, Tiera Porterfield 10, Devon Storms 10, Brooke Mullin 1, Allison Harvey 20.
Abington: Britney James 7, Sammy Lochner 16, Lizzie O’Leary 11, Tami Wessels 3, Leah Simmons 3, Sam Brusha 3, Miranda Liebtage 2, Kassondra Brown 3.
WILLIAM TENNENT 55, HARRY S TRUMAN 43
Kyla Gibson exploded for 26 points – 20 in the first half to lead the Panthers to a 30-19 halftime lead. The Panthers outscored the visiting Tigers in all four quarters.
Also for the Panthers, Kelly Scipione added 10 points and Emily Vickalitis contributed nine. Brianna Broccardi scored eight points.
Sabria Lytes had a big game for the Tigers, finishing with 17 points, and Jayda Campbell added eight. Maylissa Clarke had six points.
William Tennent (7-9, 3-6 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Thursday night, and Truman (4-11, 1-8) will host Council Rock North on Thursday at 6 p.m.
William Tennent 12-18-11-14 55
Harry S Truman 6-17-12-8 43
William Tennent: Kelly Scipione 10, Kyla Gibson 26, Jess Rutowsky 2, Brianna Broccardi 8, Emily Vickalitis 9.
Harry S Truman: Darnella McMillan 2, Jayda Campbell 8, Alexis McCoy 3, Sabria Lytes 17, Briana Ciney 5, Maylissa Clarke 6, Roneisha James 2.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 53, BENSALEM 25
The Golden Hawks took a tenuous 19-18 lead into halftime. Senior Lyric Lewis kept the Owls in it with nine of those points while Caroline McGovern had nine to lead the Hawks.
Sparked by five points from Faith Turner, the Hawks went on an 11-6 run in the third quarter to up their advantage to 30-24. A 15-1 fourth quarter tear by the Hawks to close it out was sparked by seven points from Kasey Schlupp.
Turner led the Hawks with 16 points, and Payton Spadaccino also finished in double figures with 10 points. Schlupp and McGovern both had nine points.
Lewis and Destiny Rogers led the Owls with nine points each. Lewis scored all of her points in the first quarter.
Council Rock South (8-8, 6-3 SOL) will travel to Abington on Thursday night, and Bensalem (6-9, 2-7) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Thursday.
Council Rock South 16-3-11-15 53
Bensalem 10-8-6-1 24
Council Rock South: Caroline McGovern 9, Payton Spadaccino 10, Emma Jones 1, Kasey Schlupp 9, Rachel Millstein 6, Faith Turner 16, Alison McGowan 2.
Bensalem: Destiny Rogers 9, Lyric Lewis 9, Julia Rymarczuk 3, Savannah Jordan 3, Alayna McSeed 1.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 53, PENNSBURY 18
The Indians held the visiting Falcons off the scoreboard in the opening half as they rolled to the convincing win. Nine players contributed scoring to a balanced Indian attack. Mackenzie Tinner and Kaelin Mealey led the way with 10 points each. Becca Margolis added nine. Niasia Boone’s five points led the Falcons.
Council Rock North (9-6, 7-2 SOL) will be on the road at Harry S Truman on Thursday (6 p.m.). Pennsbury (1-13, 1-8) will host Bensalem on Thursday.
Pennsbury 0-0-2-16 18
Council Rock North 12-10-16-15 53
Pennsbury: N. Bianno 3, Dani Cady 2, Niasia Boone 5, Kate Mix 2, Chante Jackson 3, Meredith Webber 3.
Council Rock North: Becca Margolis 9, Camryn Polinsky 6, Megan Haggerty 3, Tara McGuigan 3, Kaelin Mealey 10, Olivia Boyle 2, Sydney Blum 10, Mackenzie Tinner 10, Hannah Weiler 3.
About the Author
