PW, North Penn and Souderton survived Thursday night’s second round of the PIAA 6A Tournament and will advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. Abington/Northampton photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Souderton/CB South and North Penn/CB East photos provided by Donna Longacre. Check back for galleries of action photos.
And then there were eight.
Three of the eight teams still standing in the PIAA 6A Tournament are from the SOL. Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated Council Rock North 60-47, North Penn earned a 44-38 win over Central Bucks East, and Souderton silenced Central Bucks South 40-27. Abington fell to Northampton 73-68.
#1-2 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 60, #1-7 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 47
The Colonials’ dream season continued with a win over the Indians in a rematch of a district quarterfinal contest. The win was the 27th in 29 games for PW and ties the program record for wins in a season.
“What an exciting win tonight,” coach Dan Dougherty said. “It was a really passionate atmosphere.
“Council Rock North had a really passionate student section travel there tonight, and we had a really intense faculty following and a community following. It very much reminded me of the atmosphere of our district playoff games.”
The Colonials, according to Dougherty, inherited some of the neutral fans who stayed around for the third game of the tripleheader at Cheltenham.
“I think they kind of felt bad for us with the size of the fan base that Council Rock North had, so there were a lot of neutral fans cheering our kids on,” the PW coach said. “The Cheltenham girls’ basketball team was there cheering us on. It was fun.”
Taylor O’Brien continued to elevate her game to lofty heights in the postseason. The junior guard scored a game-high 31 points, and she set the tone with 11 points in the first quarter to spot the Colonials an early 15-11 lead.
The two teams exchanged baskets in the second quarter, and PW took a 24-20 lead into halftime. Mackenzie Tinner accounted for 10 of Rock North’s first-half points.
“We didn’t dig ourselves a hole like we did the first game,” said Dougherty, whose team earned a 56-48 come-from-behind win in the initial meeting. “Taylor O’Brien was her normal special self. She probably had close to double-digit rebounds, and she had five assists.”
The third quarter belonged to Taylor, who scored 12 of her team’s 14 points as the Colonials extended their lead to 38-26. The Colonials took 14 trips to the foul line in the fourth quarter, connecting on 13. Lauren Coscia scored all seven of her points in the quarter while Ali Diamond was 6-for-6 at the foul line, and O’Brien was 4-of-4 with six points in the frame.
“I had to calm the kids down twice during the game,” Dougherty said. “Taylor O’Brien hits a 30-foot buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter, and at some point in the fourth quarter, we hit a backdoor lob pass to Taylor, and the kids are celebrating like the game was over.
“I said, ‘The game’s not over. What are you doing?’ I think we were only winning by eight points at the time, and the kids are running out on the court congratulating each other like the game’s over. It was just a real intense environment. The kids really, really wanted to win. It’s really special. The kids are really bonded together. They’re really a tight-knit special group.”
Diamond scored 12 points in a supporting role. She also had four assists. Coscia finished with seven points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.
“Every night it’s someone else,” Dougherty said. “The last game (Lauren) Fortescue really stepped up, but tonight it was Ali Diamond and Lauren Coscia that stepped up.
“Laurel Suchsland hit another timely three, Fortescue hit a big three in the fourth quarter to kind of put the game away. It was a great team effort.
“Council Rock North’s game plan – and it was working for a while – was to really play up-tempo, full court man defense on Taylor and make other kids beat them, and the rest of the team is good enough to handle that.”
Tinner led the Indians with 16 points and also had a team-high eight rebounds and one blocked shot.
“Number 45 had a great game for them,” Dougherty said of Tinner.
Becca Margolis added 13 points and four steals. Dana Bandurick had eight points, three rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (27-2, 14-0 SOL) will face Souderton in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Council Rock North, the SOL National Conference champion, closed its season with a 19-10 record (11-1 SOL).
EXTRA SHOTS: Thursday’s game started on an unusual note when the Indians were assessed a technical for wearing their away instead of home uniforms…Dougherty acknowledged the role of assistant coaches TJ DeLucia and Bridgette McKnight in the win. “I have to give so much credit to my assistant coaches,” the PW coach said. “I was not feeling good heading into tonight’s game because our scout team was just destroying our first team at practice this week. They were running Council Rock North’s offense, I think, better than Council Rock North did tonight. They had it so memorized. Bridgette McKnight is a former Division One player, and the work that DeLucia has done with Taylor O’Brien, Fortescue and Diamond, and the work McKnight has done with Lauren Coscia and our post players – there are multiple times at practice where I get to stand back and let my assistant coaches coach. They know what I expect, and just having that different voice and letting them do what they do for 20 minutes or 30 minutes of practice has paid huge dividends this year. The two of them really deserve a tremendous amount of credit.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 15-9-14-22 60
Council Rock North 11-9-6-21 47
Plymouth Whitemarsh (60) – Taylor O’Brien 11 8-11 31; Lauren Fortescu 2 0-1 5; Ali Diamond 2 7-9 12; Laurel Suchsland 1 0-0 3; Victoria Betterly 1 0-0 2; Lauren Coscia 2 3-3 7; Totals 19 18-24 60.
Council Rock North (47) – Becca Margolis 5 0-0 13; Camryn Polinsky 1 0-0 3; Olivia Boyle 1 2-2 5; Emily Mackin 0 2-2 2; Dana Bandurick 3 2-2 8; Mackenzie Tinner 7 2-2 16; Totals 17 8-8 47.
3-point field goals: Taylor O’Brien, Lauren Fortescue, Ali Diamond, Laurel Suchsland, Becca Margolis 3, Camryn Polinsky, Olivia Boyle.
#1-5 NORTH PENN 44, #1-10 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 38
North Penn’s senior tri-captains have been through their share of wars over their four-year varsity careers, and when push came to shove in Thursday’s second round game against the Patriots, they responded like the seasoned veterans they are. After watching the Patriots trim a once double-digit lead to two at the end of the third quarter, Jess Huber responded with five straight points to open the fourth period – the second a three-pointer after Sam Carangi came up with a steal on the defensive end.
“We just knew that in order for us to win the game we had to make big plays like that,” Huber said. “Everyone stepped up.
“J-Mac (Jess McKenzie) played great. She had good takes on offense. Sam had the steals. Bri (Hewlett) played great on Bridget (Birkhead). I think everyone stepped up at big times.”
A basket by Grace Stewart pulled the Patriots to within five, but McKenzie turned an inbounds pass by Carangi into an easy bucket and a 37-30 North Penn lead. McKenzie gave the Knights a lift with nine points.
“I know that offense comes from defense, so I work really hard on the boards, just trying to do what I can,” McKenzie said. “If offense comes, I just work with what I can get.
“We expected a comeback because we knew they would give their all because we have a big target on our backs..”
A three-pointer by Bailey McManus made it a four-point game, but a Huber steal resulted in a short jumper by Bri Hewlett that put the Knights on top 40-33.
“When they pulled within two a couple of times, we just needed to get big stops on defense, and that’s what we did,” Huber said.
A bucket by Bri Talbot was followed by a North Penn turnover, and McManus made it hurt, burying her second three of the quarter to make it a 40-38 game with 2:24 remaining.
Neither team scored again until Carangi buried both ends of a one-and-and-one with 35.7 seconds remaining. Irisa Ye put the finishing touches on the win by sinking a pair at the line.
“They’re a senior-dominated team, and they’re not going to just give up,” NP coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “I thought they played very well, inspired, which does not surprise me. They got very close to us, but we were able to hold them off.
“Defensively, I thought we played pretty well. The second quarter I thought we played outstanding defense, so I was very pleased.”
The Knights – sparked by a pair of Huber threes – led 11-9 after one quarter, and they took a 21-13 lead into halftime.
North Penn led 27-17 after a Ye steal resulted in a basket by Huber, but Stewart scored on a putback, and then Sophia Mancuso reeled off five straight points to make it a 27-24 game. McKenzie turned a Huber dish into an easy bucket, but Stewart connected on a short jumper to make it a three-point game. After Hewlet sank one-of-two at the line, Bridget Birkhead buried a shot to make it a 30-28 game after three quarters.
“They had different kids step up for them tonight,” deMarteleire said. “McManus hit a couple of big shots, and number one, Mancuso, comes out of nowhere.
“I’m thinking – what the heck because we’re concentrating on Birkhead and Talbot, but my kids didn’t panic. They came down and made timely shots.”
Huber led all scorers with 15 points while Hewlett added 11, McKenzie nine, and Ye, seven.
For the Titans, Mancuso’s nine points led the way. Birkhead added seven while McManus, Talbot and Stewart had six each.
“We just got ourselves in too many holes, and it was hard to keep coming back,” East coach Liz Potash said. “We weren’t getting the spacing that we wanted in the first half, so in the second half we came out, and we wanted to spread the floor more. I think that was giving us more room to attack the basket and kick out for more open shots. We hit a couple of them in the second half.”
North Penn (25-4, 10-2 SOL) will face District 12 champion Cardinal O’Hara in Saturday’s quarterfinal in a rematch of last year’s state semifinals. Central Bucks East closed out its season with a 17-11 record (8-4 SOL).
“It’s tough,” Potash said. “We wanted to win this game, but I’m extremely proud of them. I don’t have one first team player, I don’t have one thousand-point scorer, but my kids battle with the top teams.”
Central Bucks East 99-4-15-10 38
North Penn 11-10-9-14 44
Central Bucks East (38) – Bridget Birkhead 3 0-0 7; Megan Browne 1 2-2 4; Bailey McManus 2 0-0 6; Bri Talbot 3 0-3 6; Grace Stewart 3 0-0 6; Sophia Mancuso 4 0-0 9; Totals 16 2-5 38.
North Penn (44) – Irisa Ye 2 2-2 7; Jess Huber 6 0-0 15; Sam Carangi 0 2-2 2 Jess McKenzie 4 1-3 9; Bri Hewlett 4 2-4 11; Totals 16 7-11 44.
3-point field goals: Jess Huber 3, Irisa Ye, Bri Hewlett, Bailey McManus 2, Sophia Mancuso, Bridget Birkhead.
#1-11 SOUDERTON 40, #1-4 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 27
The Indians struggled mightily to earn the 11th and final district berth in the state tournament. Those struggles became nothing but a distant memory when they rolled to a 21-point win over District 3 champion Central Dauphin in an opening round game, and the fun continued in Thursday night’s second round contest against a familiar foe.
“How we played through districts – we were a different team,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “For whatever reason, we’re playing without putting any pressure on ourselves, and I think we’re having fun, and we didn’t do that in districts.
“I think the result is that we’re playing a lot looser on the offensive end, and no matter who we’re playing, we’re playing with determination and effort on the defensive end, and we played great defense tonight.”
From the outset, points were hard to come by for both teams. Alexa Brodie turned a Souderton miscue on its opening possession into a basket at the other end, but Megan Walbrandt’s three-pointer gave the Indians their first lead. Megan Kuypers answered with a three at the other end, but when Tori Dowd turned a steal into a layup, the score was deadlocked 5-5 midway through the period.
The Indians – after a basket by Alana Cardona – led 11-8 after one quarter, and they stretched that lead to 15-8 after back-to-back baskets by Connolly to open the second quarter. A Connolly three-pointer put the Indians on top 18-10. The Drexel-bound junior scored seven of her team-high 12 points in the quarter.
“They made it as difficult on her as possible,” Carroll said of Connolly. “They had our game against Central Dauphin (on tape), so they got to watch the show she put on last week.
“They made her earn every basket tonight. She wants to step up, she’s going to try to step up, and she did step up.”
With three minutes remaining in the second quarter, Brodie scored on a jumper off the dribble out of a South timeout to pull the Titans to within six, but the Indians received a huge lift when Sam Falencki buried a three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining in the half, sending Souderton into halftime with a 21-12 lead.
More importantly, Falencki’s bucket marked the beginning of a 14-4 Souderton tear that effectively put the game out of reach.
“My mindset was just to help my team get the job done,” Falencki said.
Falencki accounted for eight of her team’s points in the run with a pair of threes, and she also finished off a fast break after a Dowd steal to put the Indians on top 32-16.
“She really stepped up,” Carroll said. “She never really knows how long she’s going to be in. It could be two minutes or six minutes, and it could be hard to play that way some of the time.
“She was huge tonight. The two threes she had and the finish at the basket – she was great.”
The Indians led by double digits the rest of the way, opening up an 18-point lead after Cardona sank both ends of a one-and-one early in the fourth quarter, and a Souderton squad that had never been to states before this season finds itself in the Elite Eight.
“We have a great group of girls, we all really work together,” said Connolly, a starter and key contributor on Archbishop Wood’s PIAA 3A state championship squad last season. “I thought maybe we could try to make a run this year.”
“It’s so great being this far in states,” Falencki said. “Being the first time in history ever being here is just fantastic. It’s a great experience.”
The Indians, according to the junior guard, are feeling no pressure.
“We were so excited,” Falencki said. “We were calm as can be.
“Coming in as the last seed, we have no pressure. All the pressure is on the higher seeded teams.”
Brodie led all scorers with 18 of her team’s 27 points. No one else had more than four.
“It was a struggle today,” coach Beth Mattern said. “That was a credit to Souderton. They came out and played really well and executed.
“We just didn’t execute. We didn’t ever pull ourselves together. We struggled against them the first time we played them (a 35-29 loss). It was their night. They fought real hard to make it into the state tournament, and they’re still fighting. They have that fighter’s mentality, but I’m really proud of (my) team and what they have been able to accomplish.”
Mattern bids farewell to seniors Kuypers, Edwards and Melissa Veal.
“The seniors for four years have dedicated themselves to this program,” the Titans’ coach said. “They have been very coachable, really enjoyable to have on the court.
“It’s a shame their time has to come to an end. They’ve been a pleasure to coach, and I think our work ethic is a lot because of them.”
Souderton (21-7, 8-4 SOL) will face Plymouth Whitemarsh in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Central Bucks South closed out its season with a 20-8 record (7-5 SOL).
Central Bucks South 8-4-7-8 27
Souderton 11-10-11-8 40
Central Bucks South (27) – Meghan Kuypers 1 0-0 3; Alexa Brodie 7 3-4 18; Lexi Edwards 2 0-0 4; Maddie McShane 0 2-2 2; Totals 10 5-6 27.
Tori Dowd 1 0-2 2; Alana Cardona 1 4-6 6; Megan Walbrandt 3 0-1 7; Megan Bealer 1 3-4 5; Kate Connolly 5 1-1 12; Sami Falencki 3 0-0 8; Totals 14 8-14 40.
3-point field goals: Sami Falencki 2, Kate Connolly, Megan Walbrandt, Alexa Brodie, Meghan Kuypers.
#11-3 NORTHAMPTON 73, #1-1 ABINGTON 68
Coach Dan Marsh makes no secret of the fact that he prefers an up-tempo game. The Ghosts got what they wanted and then some when they faced the Konkrete Kids at Souderton Area High School.
“Honestly, we played the fast game, and they were better at it than us tonight,” Marsh said. “Their point guard (Victoria Keenan) was really good, and their big kid (Aja Blount), who is listed as six-foot and might be 5-11 – is super strong and has a great base.
“I didn’t think she could score on Lizzie (Oleary), but she did. She just backed her down, bodied her down. She reminded me of Sajanna Bethea of Pennsbury but much more of a power player. She is a very powerful player and was tough to stop on the block. I thought Lizzie could stop her, but she shot right over her.”
Keenan (26 points) and Blount (22 points) combined for 48 points and were pretty much unstoppable all night. In a preview of things to come, Keenan scored 11 points in the first quarter, propelling Northampton to an early 22-16 lead. The Ghosts trailed 39-34 at the intermission. Keenan had 15 points and Blount added 11, and Jenna Rogers had 10.
The Ghosts spent the second half playing catch-up, and in the end, the Konkrete Kids prevailed.
“Really what it came down to was our transition defense,” Marsh said. “We couldn’t get back. Their point guard really pushed the tempo, and for the first time in 20 games, we looked like the tired team.
“We actually cut it to one with under a 
minute to go, but then we turned it over. We took the lead once in the fourth quarter, but we gave up way too many close shots.”
Four Abington players finished the game in double figures. Sophomore Kassondra Brown led the way with 20 while junior point guard Britney James and Oleary both added 16. Sam Brusha had 14 points.
“I’m super proud of my team,” Marsh said. “No one on this team should put their head down. No one expected us to win a district championship, and we did.
“There’s only one district championship and one state championship, and we won one of those and we should be proud of that.”
Marsh bids farewell to just one senior, but Oleary has been an integral part of the program the last three years.
“Lizzie played in two district championships in her three years here,” Marsh said. “She led us to three straight 20-win seasons, this is our fourth straight state playoff experience.
“They should have nothing but pride. They were better than us tonight. It’s high school basketball. I don’t know what they’ll do from here on out, but tonight they were better than us. They outplayed us. If we played that team 10 times, that might not be the case, but tonight they were better and that’s all that matters.”
Abington closed out its season with a 23-6 record (10-2 SOL).
Abington 16-18-14-20 68
Northampton 22-17-15-19 73
Abington (68) – Britney James 16, Cameron Lexow 2, Lizzie Oleary 16, Kassondra Brown 20, Sam Brusha 14.
Northampton (73) – Aja Blount 22, Devon Saul 2, Jade Rindock 9, Victoria Keenan 26, Jenna Rogers 14.
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