Check out the results for SOL basketball teams in action Friday.
Boys
UPPER DUBLIN 58, UPPER MORELAND 49
The Flying Cardinals took a 24-20 lead into halftime, and then seized control of Friday’s game with a 17-9 third quarter effort to go on top 41-29.
“In the second half, we really picked up our defensive effort,” coach Josh Adelman said. “We started to really play well defensively.
“We switched from a man to a zone, and offensively, we just started to get it to Ryan Stover and Will Derr, and they just took off. Ryan was really unstoppable at times. He got the ball down low, and they really didn’t have an answer.”
Stover – who was 7-of-8 from the field – led a balanced UD attack with 16.
“It just seemed like every time we dumped the ball down to him – he would score,” Adelman said.
Also for the Cardinals, Derr added 15 and John Barrett had 14.
“We had really good defensive efforts from a bunch of the guys,” Adelman said. “We had Stover on (Damian) Washington, who gave us a hard time at their place, and we held him to six points. He followed him everywhere.
“Gary Fields has been coming in and doing a really nice job defensively, and Jimmy Gallagher is another guy that did a really nice job.”
Brendan O’Donnell led the Golden Bears with 19 points while Shane Stone added 16.
Upper Dublin (7-9, 5-5 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (7-11, 3-7) will be on the road at Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 7-13-9-20 49
Upper Dublin 11-13-17-17 58
Upper Moreland: Brendan O’Donnell 19, Damian Washington 6, Casey Decker 1, Brett Brossman 2, Mike Lyons 2, Shane Stone 19.
Upper Dublin: Ben Abel 2, John Barrett 14, Will Derr 15, Gary Fields 4, Jimmy Gallagher 5, Ian McGonagle 2, Ryan Stover 16.
NORTH PENN 59, QUAKERTOWN 50
Lance Lindsay-Ford and Reece Udinski both scored 14 points to lead a balanced North Penn attack to a win over the visiting Panthers, and for Lindsay-Ford, it was another strong effort since he’s received more playing time in the absence of a regular battling mono.
“He’s been playing at that level for a while now,” coach John Conrad said. “He’s been playing a lot more, and he’s just getting better and better with each game.
“He’s scoring from the perimeter, he’s scoring from the inside, and he’s really rebounding well for us. He benefited from the extra minutes.”
The Knights, who led 16-11 after one quarter, took a 29-26 lead into halftime and then outscored the Panthers in both the third and fourth quarters.
Quakertown sharpshooter Griffin Schmidt scored 21 points, but some of those points came late in the game after the outcome had been decided.
“He’s amazing,” Conrad said. “He’s just so crafty, he’s smart, and he knows how to score and how to get open.
“Chris Coleman started on him, and (sophomore) Justis Henley finished the game on him and kind of face guarded him. I thought he did a nice job.”
Coleman, JJ Melchior and Noah Kwortnik each added seven points for the Knights.
“Overall, I thought our kids played well defensively, and it really started with Chris and then Justis Henley,” Conrad said. “They’re good athletes, they’re quick, and they did a nice job of face guarding and just made Griffin work for everything he got because you’re not going to shut him out. They didn’t give him anything real easy.”
Conrad credited Coleman and Lindsay-Ford for turning in strong efforts under the backboards.
In addition to Schmidt, Branden Lewis scored 11 points, Nick Drosnock had eight, and JR Grimmage had seven.
North Penn (8-10, 3-7 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Tuesday night, and Quakertown (5-12, 1-9) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Quakertown 11-15-15-9 50
North Penn 16-13-19-11 59
Girls
NORTH PENN 64, QUAKERTOWN 37
Mikaela Giuliani had a huge day for the Lady Knights, scoring a game high 24 points while also pulling down seven rebounds and collecting three steals.
“The first couple of times she got her shot blocked, but then she adjusted and the kids adjusted too – we made good entry passes, and Mikaela is pretty agile,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “Jill Martin did block her shot a couple of times, but Mikaela stuck with it, and she really did finish nicely.”
The visiting Lady Knights led 16-4 after one quarter and took a 34-13 lead into halftime.
Jess Huber added 15 points for the Lady Knights, connecting on five three-pointers. Point guard Sam Carangi contributed eight points, seven assists and four steals while Irsia Ye had seven points, and Bri Hewlett, six points.
The Panthers were led by the 10-point efforts of Spenser Gray and Meghan Klee. Maggie Garlick added nine points.
North Penn (15-2, 10-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Tuesday night, and Quakertown (3-13, 1-9) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday night.
North Penn 16-18-22-8 64
Quakertown 4-9-13-11 37
North Penn: Maddie Stotler 2, Irisa Ye 7, Mikaela Giuliani 24, Jess Huber 15, Bri Hewlett 6, Sam Carangi 8, Jess McKenzie 2.
Quakertown: Maggie Garlick 9, Spenser Gray, Olivia Morano 3, Meghan Klee 10, Jill Martin 5.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 58, PENNRIDGE 53
Jordan Vitelli came out on fire on Friday, burying four three-pointers in the first quarter and propelling the visiting Titans to a 22-15 lead after one frame. Points didn’t come quite as easily after that, and South took a 28-22 lead into halftime.
A 16-9 third quarter – which included a 12-0 run – sent the Titans into the final quarter with a 44-31 lead. Vitelli and Taylor Dunn accounted for 14 of those points as both players scored seven in the quarter.
“That definitely helped seal the deal because we needed those points,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “It was 22-15 after one quarter, and I think everyone thought both teams would keep scoring like that.”
The Lady Rams didn’t go down quietly, outscoring their visitors 22-14 in the final frame. Lydia Konstanzer scored eight of her team high 20 points in the quarter while Sam Muredda added a pair of three-pointers.
“They shot the ball extremely well – I think they shot about 75 percent from the three-point line,” Mattern said of the Rams. “Even when you think you have a good closeout, they put it in the hoop. They got to the foul line a lot – they had 16 points from the foul line.”
Pennridge connected on 16-of-16 from the charity stripe while the Titans made 6-of-7 – all in the fourth quarter when Alexa Brodie, Vitelli and Mackenzie Ehresman each went 2-for-2.
Vitelli finished with 23 points – which included five three-pointers – to lead all scorers. Dunn added nine points and Brodie, eight. Ehresman and Haley Meinel both had six points.
“I thought everyone played hard,” Mattern said. “Jordan Vitelli definitely had a great offensive night.”
In addition to Konstanzer, Devan Rimmer scored 11 points, and Brooke Bachtle added nine. Anderson finished with seven and Muredda added six.
Central Bucks South (14-4, 8-2 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks East on Tuesday, and Pennridge (9-8, 3-7) will host Souderton.
Central Bucks South 12-6-16-14 58
Pennridge 15-7-9-22 53
Central Bucks South: Alexa Brodie 8, Taylor Dunn 9, Melissa Veal 2, Meghan Kuypers 2, Tricia DeCesare 2, Haley Meinel 6, Jordan Vitelli 23, Mackenzie Ehresman 6.
Pennridge: Brooke Bachtle 9, Gillian Anderson 7, Sam Muredda 6, Devan Rimmer 11, Lydia Konstanzer 20.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 54, WISSAHICKON 21
The Colonials received double-digit scoring efforts from Taylor O’Brien (17 points), Ali Diamond (17 points) and Laurel Suchsland (14 points) in Friday’s win. Sarah Putsch added six points for the visitors.
The Colonials, who led 10-4 after one quarter, took a 23-12 lead into halftime and extended that to 33-17 heading into a final frame that saw both teams score 21 points.
For the Trojans, Julianne Griffin led the way with eight points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-4, 8-2 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday, and Wissahickon (0-15, 0-10) will host Upper Merion on Wednesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-13-10-21 54
Wissahickon 4-8-5-4 21
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Taylor O’Brien 17, Ali Diamond 14, Sarah Putsch 6, Laurel Suchsland 14, Lauren Coscia 5.
Wissahickon: Brianna Tilghman 2, Daria Earland 4, Sydney Ott 3, Julianne Griffin 8, Victoria Selverian 1, Lexi Carradorini 1, Carly Fadel 2.
CHELTENHAM 52, INTERBORO 43
On the heels of back-to-back losses, the Lady Panthers needed a boost, and they got one with Friday’s non-league game over Interboro.
Despite the absence of junior standout Ashley Jones from the lineup (shin splints), the Lady Panthers turned in a strong performance, sprinting out of the gate to a 16-6 lead after one quarter and extending that to 32-14 by halftime. Interboro never threatened.
“It was actually kind of exciting for kids to get a chance to prove what they can do,” coach Brendan Nolan said. “Someone else had to handle the ball, and kids stepped up really well.”
No one stepped up more than Gabbi Wright. The senior forward finished with a game high 20 points and scored 13 points in the opening half, including a pair of three-pointers.
“Gabbi probably played her best game of the year,” Nolan said. “They actually went box-and-one on Gabbi for a while.
“We’ve gotten into a little bit of ball watching at times, and we haven’t been very good in our offense – nothing close to what we were at the beginning of the year, and the stats are bearing it out. The number of assists were down as a team. Today was certainly a chance for everyone to take a little bit of a greater role. It was nice.”
Friday’s win came on the heels of a 77-71 upset at the hands of Springfield less than 24 hours earlier. On Tuesday, the Lady Panthers fell to Upper Dublin in a battle for first place in the conference standings.
“Springfield games have always been tough,” Nolan said. “They never seem to be what the score indicated. They were always closer than that.
“I remember being very unhappy with how we played against them the first time and gave up 55 points (in a 74-55 win). As well as I thought we defended Upper Dublin when our offense was the issue – for us to turn around and put up such a poor defensive effort just revealed a lot of things that we’ve been talking about.
“We’re not concentrating on keeping kids from driving down the middle of the lane, and we get burned by a lot. That’s something that Springfield thrives off of – they really like to attack.”
D’ajah Bouchereau also finished in double figures for the Lady Panthers with 10 points, and Mia Leonard added nine. Nashira Brown scored six points.
“The flow of the game was much better tonight,” Nolan said. “Last night was another one of those games where there were 40 fouls where today I don’t know if there were 20 fouls called, and I don’t think we suddenly changed the way we played.
“Hopefully, there are lessons learned, and maybe the lessons we learned from that (Springfield) game will end up being more valuable than the two-tenths of a point that it costs us in the district seedings. At least that’s what I hope for.”
Cheltenham (12-4, 7-3 SOL) will host Norristown on Tuesday night.
Interboro 6-8-14-15 43
Cheltenham 16-16-12-8 52
Interboro: Seaman 6, Huddell 7, Huddell 6, Gina McNamee 15, Tansey 4, Worlewski 5.
Cheltenham: Savannah Roberts 2, D’ajah Bouchereau 10, Danielle Brown 4, Mia Leonard 9, Caitlin Wallace 1, Gabrielle Wright 20, Nashira Brown 6.
Thursday, Jan. 21
PENNSBURY 36, BENSALEM 31
The Falcons – who outscored the Owls 12-0 in the first quarter – took a 27-4 lead into halftime of Thursday’s SOL National Conference game.
“Any time you’re able to hold Lyric Lewis down – that was a great defensive effort,” Pennsbury coach Keith Gabor said. “I just challenged the girls – when we played them before, Lyric Lewis got the best of us.
“We put the challenge out to them and they responded real well. All five girls – Abby Wick, Kate Mix, Meredith Webber, Sydney Buell and Niasia Boone – were able to put it together. As far as the season has gone, we’ve had two girls put it together and three girls weren’t. We didn’t have a total team effort in a lot of our games.”
The visiting Owls didn’t go down quietly, outscoring the Falcons 16-2 in the third quarter and 27-9 in the second half, but the Falcons refused to let the game slip away.
“I knew that Bensalem was going to come out swinging, and they did,” Gabor said. “They had a tremendous third quarter.”
Destiny Rogers led the Owls’ third quarter surge with seven points while Lewis added six points on a pair of three-pointers. Lewis, who finished with eight points, didn’t score the rest of the way.
“We went man and put Meredith Webber – who’s going to be a Division One soccer player – on (Lewis),” Gabor said. “Her athleticism is off the charts, and we told Meredith that her job was to defend number 11 (Lewis), and she did a great job. She pretty much shut her down.”
Webber led a balanced Falcon attack with 11 points while Mix and Buell each added eight points.
“Sydney Buell played well on the boards,” Gabor said. “She had about 12 rebounds. She was constantly getting hammered by two or three Bensalem girls, and she was coming out with the rebound.
“Kate Mix had a great first half. She was scoring a lot of points for us – she was getting to the basket and she was finishing.”
The win was the second in conference play for the Falcons and avenged a 46-34 loss to the Owls in the first go round.
“It’s been tough sitting on the bench, seeing their faces when I know they’re trying so hard,” Gabor said. “Let’s go back over the season – we’ve been in so many games, but we shoot 50 percent from the free throw line and we lose by three or four.
“It was good after Tuesday night at Council Rock North because we didn’t do really well there (in a 53-18 loss), and Wednesday was tough. It was tough getting energy going at practice. The pregame talk it wasn’t really about – ‘This is what Bensalem is going to do.’ It was more about challenging them as athletes. To their credit, they stepped up offensively. In the second half, they were mentally tough because Bensalem was coming on strong.”
Pennsbury (2-13, 2-8 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Tuesday, and Bensalem (6-10, 2-8) will be on the road at Abington.
Bensalem 0-4-16-11 31
Pennsbury 12-15-2-7 36
Bensalem: Destiny Rogers 13, Lyric Lewis 8, Julia Rymarczuk 4, Savannah Jordan 6.
Pennsbury: Abby Wick 5, Niasia Boone 2, Mackenzie McGill 2, Kate Mix 8, Meredith Webber 11, Sydney Buell 8.
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