Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. CB East/CB South photos provided courtesy of Lisa Henderson. Please check back for a gallery of game photos. Neshaminy/CR South photo provided courtesy of Jesse Garber (http://jsgarber.zenfolio.com/p135263894)
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 43, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 30
What a difference a couple of weeks can make.
On Dec. 22, the Patriots lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Central Bucks West to fall to 1-4 on the season. Since then, they have not lost, reeling off five straight wins. Tuesday’s win over previously undefeated CB South was by far the Patriots’ biggest.
Credit for the turnaround, according to senior Bridget Birkhead, is the team’s camaraderie.
“Our team is so close – we are such a family,” the senior captain said.
“I think we got to know how (each other) plays,” senior Bri Talbot added. “We kept sharing the ball, we got used to driving and kicking.
“In the beginning (of the season), our shots weren’t falling. We’re working hard to get our shots back on, and it’s really helping us out.”
The Patriots led Tuesday’s game from wire to wire. At no place was their offensive execution more apparent than at the foul line where they buried 15-of-18 in the fourth quarter, refusing to allow a suddenly inspired Titan squad back in the game. Birkhead was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the frame while Talbot was 8-for-10.
“I think it’s our experience,” said Talbot. “We start four seniors and a junior. Us four seniors have been starting for three years, and we’re getting used to putting teams away.”
“We shoot foul shots a ton at practice,” Birkhead added. “We have had games in the past where it’s a little iffy when it matters. Today when it really did matter, we put them in and sealed the win. I just really couldn’t be more proud of my team. I’m so happy.”
The Patriots had plenty of reasons to be happy. Their win not only snapped the Titans 11-game winning streak to open the season, it was East’s first in close to five years over Central Bucks South.
The Titans might have had an idea it wasn’t going to be their night when – on their opening possession – Megan Browne came up with a steal and turned it into a bucket at the other end. South didn’t get on the scoreboard until Alexa Brodie sank one-of-two foul shots on a technical with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter. By that time, the Patriots had a 12-0 lead, thanks to a pair of Birkhead three-pointers and four points from Talbot.
The Patriots suffered a setback when Talbot was lost for the remainder of the half after picking up her third foul with her team on top 12-0. When she returned to the court to open the third quarter, East led 21-7.
“It definitely hurt us, but I think we all stepped it up even more, knowing that our point guard wasn’t in the game,” Birkhead said. “Coming back in the second half definitely helped us.”
“I really wanted to get on the court and help us get the win because we’ve been working so hard,” Talbot said. “My team did a great job when I was out, but I really wanted to help us get the win.”
A three-point play by Brodie to open the third quarter pulled the Titans to within 11, but Talbot answered with a basket at the other end. When Grace Stewart buried a shot from the foul line, the Patriots led 25-10. A three-point play by Haley Meinel and a three from Meghan Kuypers made it a 25-16 game, but Birkhead’s three-point play with 26 seconds remaining sent the Patriots into the fourth quarter with a 28-16 lead.
They upped their advantage to 32-16 after Birkhead buried both ends of a one-and-one with 6:20 remaining. The hot hand of Kuypers – who buried three three-pointers in the quarter – pulled the Titans to within eight (38-30) with 1:26 remaining.
Talbot sank one-of-two-from the foul line, and after a Titan miss, Birkhead, who came up with the rebound, was fouled. She buried both. The Titans didn’t score the rest of the way.
“We know that games are won and lost at the foul line,” Potash said. “We shoot a whole lot of foul shots at practice every day. We do some pressure foul shooting at the end.
“We went into the fourth quarter, and we knew they had six teams fouls, so we knew the next one we were shooting the rest of the way, and the girls were really able to convert at the line.”
Birkhead led al scorers with 18 points, which included three three-pointers and a 7-for-7 effort at the foul line.
“She is definitely a rock that we’ve been counting on, not just this season but for the last couple of years,” Potash said.
Talbot added 14 points.
Kuypers led the Titans with 15 points on five treys while Brodie added 10.
“Anything I tell you would just be an excuse,” coach Beth Mattern said of her team’s first loss of the season. “We’ve had quite a run up to this point.
“East executed well offensively and defensively, and it’s tough to beat a team who’s out-executing you.”
Central Bucks East (6-4, 3-2 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Friday, and Central Bucks South (11-1, 4-1) will be on the road at Souderton on Friday.
Potash is hoping her team can carry its momentum into the weekend.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the performance, but we know we have a really tough week ahead of us,” the Patriots’ coach said. “We have North Penn on Friday and Council Rock North on Saturday. We needed a good start to the week, and we certainly got it tonight.”
Central Bucks East 12-9-7-15 43
Central Bucks South 1-6-9-14 30
Central Bucks East (43) – Bridget Birkhead 18, Megan Browne 2, Bailey McManus 2, Bri Talbot 14, Grace Stewart 4, Sophia Mancuso 3.
Centra Bucks South (30) – Melissa Veal 2, Meghan Kuypers 15, Haley Meinel 3, Alexa Brodie 10.
SOUDERTON 47, WILLIAM TENNENT 25
Sparked by nine points from Alana Cardona, the Indians took a 17-14 lead into halftime. Their offense came to life in the third quarter, and a 20-4 tear by the Indians effectively put the game out of reach.
Megan Walbrandt buried a pair of threes in the frame, and Sami Falencki added five points.
Cardona led a balanced Indian attack with 13 points while Kate Connolly added 11. Walbrandt contributed eight.
For the Panthers, Kyla Gibson led the way with 12 points. No other player had more than three.
Souderton (8-3, 3-2 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Friday, and William Tennent (4-8, 0-5) will host Central Bucks West.
William Tennent 5-9-4-7 25
Souderton 10-7-20-10 47
William Tennent (25) – Kelly Scipione 2, Kyla Gibson 12, Jenna Rodebaugh 2, Emma Stanfield 2, Bryn Evans 3, Jess Rutkowsky 2, Emily Vickalitis 2.
Souderton (47 ) – Tori Dowd 5, Megan Bealer 2, Alana Cardona 13, Megan Walbrandt 8, Erica Stephens 2, Sami Falencki 5, Megan O’Donnell 1, Kate Connolly 11.
NORTH PENN 61, PENNRIDGE 26
Sam Carangi scored 16 points and Irisa Ye added 13 to lead the Knights to the convincing win.
The Knights, who led 15-3 after one quarter, took a 34-12 lead into halftime and then outscored their hosts 35-15 in the second half.
For the Rams, Brooke Bachtle led the way with eight points.
North Penn (8-2, 3-2 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Friday, and Pennridge (5-8, 1-5) will host Harry S Truman in a non-league game Wednesday.
North Penn 15-19-16-11 61
Pennridge 3-9-7-8 26
North Penn (61) – Jenny Hulmes 5, Irisa Ye 13, Jess Huber 4, Aarti Boghura 4, Sam Carangi 16, Carley Adams 5, Jess McKenzie 4, Bri Hewlett.
Pennridge (26) – Brooke Bachtle 8, Gillian Anderson 4, Olivia Pennie 2, Madison Stolarski 5, Rose McCormick 2, Emilee Cramer 5.
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 64, AUDENREID CHARTER 32
Three players finished the game in double figures in West’s no-doubt-about-it non-league win. Maddie Burke and Izzy Treon led a balanced attack with 11 points each while Tori Abelson added 10 on a night that saw 11 West players contribute scoring.
Central Bucks West (9-2, 4-1 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday night.
American Conference
CHELTENHAM 42, HATBORO-HORSHAM 39 (OT)
When Mia Leonard completed a three-point play late in Tuesday’s contest to give her team a three-point advantage, the Lady Panthers appeared poised to pick up the win in regulation, but the Hatters had other ideas.
Julia Thornton buried a three-pointer in the closing seconds, knotting the score and setting the stage for overtime. Another Thornton trey on the first possession of overtime gave the Hatters the early lead only to watch the Lady Panthers rally for the win.
“I called a timeout with three minutes and three seconds left in overtime, and it was not a real happy huddle,” coach Brendan Nolan said. “We should never have let (Thornton) get off the three to send it to overtime. We were screaming, ‘No threes,’ and we helped on a drive, and she stepped back and hit a three. Then she got open again right away in overtime. I said, ‘Girls, we deserve to lose right now, but you have three minutes and three seconds to fix it or it’s going to be a long ride home,’ and boy, did they respond.”
Free throws by Kai Williams and Courtney Murray knotted the score 39-39, and it was a three-pointer by Caitlin Wallace that gave the Lady Panthers a lead they would not lose. Thornton’s three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
“Caitlin Wallace was guarding Julia Thornton when she got the three off to send it to overtime,” Nolan said. “As poorly as she felt, Caitlin hit a huge three with about 45 seconds left that put us up two, and we never lost the lead, so that was big. I was happy for her.”
Nolan went on to credit Williams, a sophomore forward, for coming up big in OT.
“With about a minute and a half left, she got a defensive rebound and was fouled,” the Panthers’ coach said. “She went to the other end of the floor and made two free throws which cut the lead to one. On the ensuing possession, she forced a five-second call on the perimeter.”
The Panthers capitalized with Wallace hitting the three that turned out to be the game winner.
Wallace led the Lady Panthers with 14 points. Leonard contributed another double-double with 10 points and a remarkable 23 rebounds and six blocked shots.
“She only had six blocks, and I say only because she had most of them in the first half,” Nolan said. “I really felt like in the second half – and I know I’m exaggerating when I say this, but it felt like Hatboro shot nothing but threes in the second half.
“They just were spreading it around, so Mia was put in some tough spots having to get out in the perimeter. But 23 rebounds – any ball that gets anywhere near her she just eats it up. Mia has just been playing so well. They did a really nice job trying to double on her and not let the ball into the post in the second half. That opened things up for our shooters a little bit. Caitlin Wallace hit four threes, and Courtney Murray hit a three. I can’t remember the last time we had five threes in a game. That’s not really our forte, but they had to do it because they were taking the inside away. Caitlin and Courtney really stepped it up.”
The Lady Panthers, who led 14-6 after one quarter, took a 20-12 lead into halftime and a 33-26 advantage into the final quarter when the Hatters – behind 10 points from Thornton – rallied to knot the score.
Thornton led all scorers with 16 points, which included four threes. She also had four assists. Kylie Halko – who had a pair of threes – added 10. Katie Fisher chipped in with six points. Bergen Sims led the Hatters under the boards with seven rebounds.
For the Lady Panthers, Tuesday’s win snapped a three-game losing streak.
“We had won five in a row, and we played some tough teams last week,” Nolan said. “We were on the road for two of three. I think the loss at Wissahickon and the loss the next night at Penn Wood took a lot out of us.
“We knew we had our work cut out for us against PW at home. We knew it was going to take almost a perfect game to pull that off, and PW played great. They’re a great team. We said, ‘Last week is last week.’ We have three games in a row this week. We’re just taking them one at a time. Winning tonight was good. We’re at Interboro tomorrow, and we think we can get a win, which will give us a winning record going into Upper Dublin Friday, and we’ll see how things go there.”
Cheltenham (6-6, 4-2 SOL) will be on the road for a non-league game at Interboro on Wednesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (4-9, 3-4) will host Springfield on Thursday.
Cheltenham 14-6-13-3-6 42
Hatboro-Horsham 10-2-14-10-3 39
Cheltenham (42) – Mia Leonard 10, Caitlin Wallace 14, Courtney Murray 7, Taylor Johnson 2, Danielle Brown 4, Kai Williams 4, Nashira Brown 1.
Hatboro-Horsham (39) – Bergen Sims 2, Julia Thornton 16, Katie Fisher 6, Kylie Halko 10, Lexie Brett 1, Nikki Williams 2, Cam Ryan 2.
WISSAHICKON 46, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 34
The Trojans trailed by three at the end of one quarter but used a 16-5 second-quarter run to go into halftime with a 22-14 lead. They went on to outscore their hosts 24-20 in the second half.
The difference in the game, according to Rodney Cline, was his team’s defensive pressure in the second quarter.
“We were playing a little bit of zone to stop (Molly) Dugan from penetration – she likes to penetrate, and she’s good at finishing and is going to get to the free throw line,” the Trojans’ coach said. “Our staple is our man-to-man defense.
“We trap well, we communicate well, and that pressure just created a tempo where we feel most comfortable. That pressure kind of confused them. It created turnovers, and we created offense from defense.”
Cline credited Victoria Selverian and Brianna Tilghman for helping to ignite the defense.
“Especially on the perimeter – they played great defense, and that’s where we created our points,” Cline said.
Selverian led the Trojans with 14 points, and Tilghman was right behind with 12. Julianne Griffin added eight points.
For the Spartans, Dugan led the way with 18 points, and Grace Barraclough added 10.
Wissahickon (7-4, 3-3 SOL) will host Quakertown on Friday, and Springfield (4-8, 2-5) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday.
Wissahickon 6-16-12-12 46
Springfield 9-5-11-9 34
Wissahickon (46) – Brianna Tilghman 12, Jasmine Bishop 2, Sydney Ott 4, Hilma Meiby 4, Julianne Griffin 8, Victoria Selverian 14, Carly Fadel 2.
Springfield (34) – Molly Dugan 18, Mary Kate Smith 1, Siana Wynn 3, Grace Barraclough 10, Rileigh Serroni 2.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 69, QUAKERTOWN 29
Taylor O’Brien turned in another glittering offensive performance, scoring a career high 35 points. It was the fourth time in five games that she’s reached the 30-point mark. The junior standout connected on four three-pointers and buried 5-of-7 at the foul line.
Ali Diamond – who had three three-pointers – added 11 points, and Lauren Coscia had eight points. All told, the Colonials connected on eight three-pointers as Gia Schweitzer also had a trey.
For the Panthers, Maggie Garlick had a team-high 13 points, which included three three-pointers. Jill Martin added eight, and Caitlin Rosenberger had six points on a pair of treys.
The Colonials seized control of the game with a 26-10 first quarter an took a 37-12 lead into halftime.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-0, 6-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Friday, and Quakertown (5-6, 2-3) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Friday.
Quakertown 10-2-15-2 29
Plymouth Whitemarsh 26-11-19-13 69
Quakertown (29) – Maggie Garlick 13, Marina Cooke 2, Caitlin Rosenberger 6, Jill Martin 8.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (69) – Taylor O’Brien 35, Shallyn Dickson 2, Gia Schweitzer 3, Ali Diamond 11, Haley Zygmunt 5, Laurel Suchsland 5, Victoria Betterly 2, Lauren Coscia 8.
UPPER DUBLIN 56, UPPER MORELAND 10
Ten players contributed scoring for the Flying Cardinals, who led 18-0 after one quarter on their way to the win.
Josie Barrett led the Cards with 17 points, which included five three-pointers – three in the third quarter. Nicole Kaiser added 10 points, which included a 6-for-8 effort at the foul line. Kara Grebe and Jackie Vargas both added six points.
Cassidy Murphy led the Golden Bears with six points.
Upper Dublin (7-4, 4-1 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Friday and Upper Moreland (0-12, 0-6) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday.
Upper Dublin 18-11-18-9 56
Upper Moreland 0-0-4-6 10
Upper Dublin (56) – Taylor Purshock 3, Meghan Barbera 4, Nicole Kaiser 10, Josie Barrett 17, Hannah Reape 2, Kara Grebe 6, Demi Balasa 3, Maggie Weglos 3, Becky Browndorf 2, Jackie Vargas 6.
Upper Moreland (10) – Noelle Woodmand 4, Cassidy Murphy 6.
National Conference
NESHAMINY 46, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 29
The Redskins wasted little time before taking control of Tuesday’s contest, racing to a 16-3 lead after one quarter. The Golden Hawks outscored the ‘Skins 15-10 in the second quarter to make it a 26-18 game at the intermission. Brooke Mullin accounted for nine of those points.
The Redskins added to their lead in the second half, outscoring their visitors 20-11.
Devon Storms led a balanced Redskin attack with 10 points while Mullin and Allison Harvey both added nine. Mullin also had 13 rebounds and seven assists in a solid all-around outing. Harvey pulled down six boards. Kristin Curley contributed seven points while Meghan Ansel had six.
Faith Turner led the Golden Hawks with 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Hannah Binder added seven.
Neshaminy (9-2, 5-1 SOL) will face Wissahickon in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at Bensalem at 11 a.m. Council Rock South (6-6, 3-2) will be on the road at Abington on Thursday.
Council Rock South 3-15-4-7 29
Neshaminy 16-10-10-10 46
Council Rock South (29) – Kasey Schlupp 2, Payton Spadaccino 4, Jones 2, Allison McGowan 2, Faith Turner 12, Hannah Binder 7.
Neshaminy (46) – Thyra Tuttle 3, Emily Alexis 2, Brooke Mullin 9, Kristin Curley 7, Meghan Ansel 6, Devon Storms 10, Allison Harvey 9.
ABINGTON 76, BENSALEM 15
HARRY S TRUMAN at PENNSBURY (Ppd.)
Monday, Jan. 9
NESHAMINY 54, LAWRENCEVILLE (N.J.) 38
Allison Harvey had the hot hand in Monday’s non-league game at Lawrenceville, exploding for 13 points in the first quarter to propel the Redskins to a commanding 19-5 lead. Harvey buried three three-pointers in the frame.
By halftime, the Redskins led 35-11 with Harvey accounting for 16 of those points while Kristin Curley and Brooke Mullin both had six.
Harvey finished with 16 points while Mullin added 12. Curley had nine points, and Devon Storms contributed eight.
Neshaminy 19-16-9-10 54
Lawrenceville 5-6-15-12 38
Neshaminy (54) – Emily Alexis 4, Olivia Scotti 2, Brooke Mullin 12, Kristin Curley 9, Kelli Kowalick 3, Devon Storms 8, Allison Harvey 16.
Lawrenceville (38) – Cuffee 16, Jones 3, Baginski 2, Dugan 2, Chidum 7, Beller 5, Bebel 3.
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