Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Neshaminy/Abington photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of action photos.
National Conference
ABINGTON 73, NESHAMINY 65
#PTP
It’s a hash tag that might not mean a whole lot to most, but for Abington’s players, it represents their mantra – Press, Trap, Push.
“That’s what we want to do – we want to press, trap, push,” coach Dan Marsh said. “We don’t care if we don’t turn you over. We just want you to speed up and take quicker shots. Our game plan going in was to dictate the pace and speed them up, and we were successful doing it.”
Led by the glittering 26-point performance of senior Lizzie O’Leary, the Ghosts avenged a 43-38 overtime loss to the Redskins in a marquee conference matchup.
Marsh credited point guard Britney James who – in addition to scoring 15 points – had seven rebounds and six assists and was a key to the Ghosts’ up-tempo game.
“Britney is more comfortable playing fast,” Marsh said. “We pressed the whole game so we could keep the tempo up.
“That’s what we want to do. We want to force them into taking quicker shots. There was a possession that we watched on film before the game where they had the ball against us in the first game for a minute and 34 seconds. We said, ‘We can’t let them do that again.’ We feel that if we get more possessions that we going to get more baskets than most people. We want to get as many possessions as possible, so that’s why we were speeding them up.”
The Ghosts led 15-5 after one quarter and 36-25 at the intermission. The Redskins came out of halftime and outscored their visitors 21-13 to make it a 49-46 game heading into the final quarter.
“We actually were up 36-20 with a minute to go in the first half,” Marsh said. “They scored five straight points.
“We turned it over and (Allison) Harvey hit a three, and (Brooke) Mullin made a shot at the buzzer to cut it to 11. Then Neshaminy came back and had a really good third quarter. I felt like we started playing slow, and we weren’t pushing, and we weren’t pressing. We kind of got back to that, and we got up 10 or 12 in the fourth quarter. We were basically trading buckets the whole fourth quarter. It was a good game. I knew they wouldn’t quit, I knew they had a run in them. Fortunately, we were able to withstand it.”
If their early season loss to the Redskins wasn’t enough motivation, the Ghosts – according to Marsh – got additional ammunition from a quote by one of Neshaminy’s players that made its rounds via a group text.
“They said in the paper they were mad that they lost to (Council Rock) North and they were going to beat everybody that was in their way until they played North again, and I said, ‘I’m pretty sure they forgot about somebody,’” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Our kids were not very happy about that because they beat us in overtime in a game that we probably beat ourselves.
“To just dismiss us and say they need to beat everybody until they play North – somebody took a picture of it, and they sent it in a group text.”
In addition to scoring a game-high 26, O’Leary also had nine rebounds.
“They don’t have the size to compete with (Kassondra) Brown or O’Leary,” Marsh said. “Lizzie did a really good job of getting herself in a position to be able to score. Basically, they were drop-step post moves.”
Sam Brusha finished in double figures with 10 while Kassondra Brown added eight points and Tamia Wessels, seven points.
For the Redskins, freshman Kristin Curley led the way with 18 points, and sophomore Meghan Ansel added 15. Allison Harvey added 12.
Abington (11-4, 6-2 SOL) will travel to Perkiomen Valley for a non-league contest on Saturday (5:15 p.m.).
“We have a tough three-game stretch,” Marsh said. “Saturday we play Perk Valley and Tuesday we play Council Rock North.
“Our goal was to win these three games, and if we win these three games, we put ourselves in a really good spot for districts.”
Neshaminy (11-4, 6-2) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Abington 15-21-13-24 73
Neshaminy 5-20-21-19 65
Abington (73) – Britney James 15, Lizzie O’Leary 26, Sam Brusha 10, Jordyn Allen 3, Cam Lexow 4, Tamia Wessels 7, Kassondra Brown 8.
Neshaminy (65) – Emily Alexis 4, Brooke Mullin 8, Kristin Curley 18, Meghan Ansel 15, Devon Storms 6, Allison Harvey 12.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 45, HARRY S TRUMAN 40
For the second time this season, the Golden Hawks derailed the Tigers – this time on Truman’s home court.
“Our girls played very hard,” coach Jason Rapp said. “Truman is athletic, they’re tough, and their big girl, (Sabria) Lytes, is very good.
“We just really had to be scrappy to rebound and hang in the game. We took care of the ball, and we made some shots. Defensively, we were able to keep them in the 40s because if you look at their box scores, they can really score. It was nice that we were able to keep the game slower. The first quarter was a little hectic, and that’s not our pace. We were able to stay in our zone and keep the game in the 40s.”
The Indians led 10-9 after one quarter, but the Tigers rallied to go into halftime with a 17-15 advantage. The Golden Hawks outscored their visitors 16-13 in the third quarter and 30-23 in the second half. Faith Turner scored nine of her 11 points in the second half to lead the Hawks.
“Faith Turner was terrific,” Rapp said. “It might not show in the scoring numbers, but Hannah Binder did an excellent job.
“(Payton) Spadaccino did her normal thing, took care of the ball, made some free throws, handled their pressure because they’re physical. Defensively, Kasey Schlupp is aggressive and rebounds. She hit a couple of shots tonight. It was a really good team win. I was really, really, pleased.”
Turner was one of the three Golden Hawks in double figures. Payton Spadaccino led a balanced attack with 12 points – which included a 10-for-14 effort at the foul line. Schlupp added 11, which included a pair of three-pointers. Allison McGovern contributed eight points.
Lytes had a double-double to lead the Tigers with 12 points an 10 rebounds.
“We did struggle with her on the glass, but we tried to front her and play behind her,” Rapp said. “We tried to make no catch easy for her.
“Their number three (Daeja Moore) was tough. She was in a little bit of foul trouble, but she made some unbelievably tough shots. She’s good.”
Moore added 12 points, and Alexis McCoy added nine points and eight rebounds.
“Collette (Munford) does a really good job with them,” Rapp said. “They play really hard.”
Council Rock South (7-9, 4-4 SOL) will host Jenkintown in a non-league contest on Monday, and Harry S Truman (10-5, 1-5) will travel to Pennington School for a non-league contest on Monday.
Council Rock South 10-5-16-14 45
Harry S Truman 9-8-13-10 40
Council Rock South (45) – Kasey Schlupp 11, Payton Spadaccino 12, Emma Jones 2, Allison McGown 8, Faith Turner 11, Hannah Binder 1.
Harry S Truman (40) – Roneisha James 1, Alexis McCoy 9, Sabria Lytes 12, Daeja Moore 12, Daisha Campbell 6.
Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 59, WILLIAM TENNENT 20
Jess Huber continued her torrid offensive production, exploding for 23 points in just over a half of action Thursday. It was her third 20-or-more-point performance of the week, following on the heels of a 20-point effort in a win over Episcopal on Sunday and a 24-point showing in the Knights’ win over Central Bucks West Tuesday. Do the math – the senior guard has scored 67 points in an explosive five-day span.
Irisa Ye (13 points) and Bri Hewlett (10 points) also finished in double figures. Sam Carangi handed out six assists to go along with five points for the Knights, who led 23-5 after one quarter and never looked back. They connected on nine three-pointers.
North Penn (12-2, 6-2 SOL) will take on Council Rock North at Lower Merion High School on Saturday at 1 p.m. as part of the Kobe Bryan Boosters Classic. William Tennent (5-11, 0-7) will travel to Villa Joseph Marie for a non-league game Monday.
North Penn 23-25-6-5 59
William Tennent 4-5-7-4 20
North Penn (59) – Cayla Sharkey 2, Emily Groarke 1, Irisa Ye 13, Jess Huber 23, Alaina Mullaly 3, Sam Carangi 5, Jess McKenzie 2, Bri Hewlett 10.
William Tennent (20) – Kelly Scipione 2, Kyla Gibson 6, Emma Stanfield 6, Bryn Evans 4, Brianna Broccardi 1.
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 50, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 31
Sophia Mancusco turned in a standout performance for the Patriots, posting a double-double with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five steals. Grace Stewart added 11 points. Their performances loomed large in the absence of junior Bailey McManus.
“Bridget (Birkhead) and Bri (Talbot) were also in foul trouble in the first half, and Sophia and Grace really stepped up,” coach Liz Potash said.
The Patriots, who led 13-6 after one quarter, took a 25-13 lead into halftime. They never looked back.
Birkhead finished with eight points while Talbot added seven.
For the Crusaders, Brady Wassel led the way with 14 points, and Lauren Crim added seven.
Central Bucks East (8-6, 3-4 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. contest.
Lansdale Catholic 6-7-11-7 31
Central Bucks East 13-12-13-12 50
Lansdale Catholic (31) – Carolyn Ferko 5, Lauren Vetter 2, Kristina Finkelston 3, Lauren Crim 7, Brady Wassel 14.
Central Bucks East (50) – Sophia Mancuso 16, Bridget Birkhead 8, Gina Russo 4, Megan Browne 2, Mel Wetzel 2, Bri Talbot 7, Grace Stewart 11.
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