Souderton, CR North, Pennsbury, Truman and North Penn were winners in SOL girls’ basketball action. Check out all of Thursday’s results.
SOUDERTON 53, ABINGTON 36
Ten months have passed since Abington defeated Souderton 44-36 in a second round District One 6A game on the Indians’ home court. Although the Indians regrouped to make a magical run to the state semifinals, the players hadn’t forgotten.
On Thursday night, they not only avenged that loss but made an emphatic early season statement with their resounding win over the defending district champions.
“I think we wanted to make a statement to ourselves and to other teams,” junior Lindsay Walbrandt said. “They did beat us in our first game in districts (after an opening round bye), so I think we wanted to make a statement that we have grown from last year and we are a better team. Even though we have the same people, we all grew as a team and individuals. We’re back and ready to compete again.”
Walbrandt – who sprained her ankle in the team’s second scrimmage – is back at full strength after sitting out the first half of the Indians’ season opener against Lansdale Catholic.
“I never really was hurt before, and I didn’t know how to handle it,” Walbrandt said. “It feels fine now, and it feels good to play together as a team.”
On a night that saw Alana Cardona (19 points, seven rebounds) and Kate Connolly (16 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots) once again come up huge for the Indians, Walbrandt’s line on the heels of a 22-point effort two days earlier included seven points, four assists, two steals and three blocked shots.
“She stretches the floor,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “If you’re a coach and you see your opponent puts up 22 points the game before you play them, all of sudden you’re like, ‘This kid is on my radar. How do we contain her defensively?’
“You pick someone on our team to contain, and the next person is going to step up. Every kid on the court can score, and Megan, defensively, is so versatile.
“Again, we got great contributions from Kate and Alana – that duo is very, very difficult to defend, and their unselfish play is really part of what makes them so tough to defend.”
In Thursday’s win, the Indians looked a whole lot like the team that is projected to once again be a force in the postseason, answering any questions that may have arisen after the Indians twice needed second half comebacks to win their own tournament last weekend.
No comebacks have been necessary in two lopsided wins this week. In Thursday’s win, the Indians – behind six points from Walbrandt and five from Cardona – set the tone early, racing to an 18-5 lead after one quarter.
“I think last weekend –not that we took the games for granted, but we expected ourselves to come back just as we left off last year,” Walbrandt said. “We know we have to work and really push ourselves. I think it’s good we learned that early in the season that we can’t take any game for granted.”
Tori Dowd converted a drive into a bucket to open the second quarter, putting the Indians on top 20-5. The two teams exchanged baskets in the second quarter, and the Indians took a 30-17 lead into halftime.
A putback by Miranda Liebtag on the opening possession of the second half pulled the Ghosts to within 11. It turned out to be their last hurrah as the Indians reeled off 15 unanswered points that began with a Connolly layup and – after an Abington miss – a baseline 3-pointer by Megan Bealer. Dowd capped the drive five minutes later with a drive that put the Indians on top 45-19.
The Ghosts answered with a run of their own, outscoring the Indians 17-4 to make it a 49-36 game. Kassondra Brown accounted for seven points and Camryn Lexow had back-to-back baskets. That’s as close as they would get.
“Their length bothered us,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “Not only are they long and skilled, but they’re well coached. They’re fundamentally sound.
“They’re the best team in the area, and they proved it tonight. They might have struggled their first two games, but they had this one circled on their calendar, that’s for sure.”
Also contributing for the Indians was Dowd, the Indians’ floor general who scored six points while Bealer added five points, seven rebounds and four steals.
“It’s a veteran team (that) is as unselfish as any team that I’ve ever coached and any team that exists, I think,” Carroll said. “They are so smart defensively, and our offensive execution is getting better every day.
“It seems like they were ready to make a statement tonight, and I think that they did. We got great contributions from everyone in the game. It’s a great win, but more than that, I’m just so pleased with how we played at both ends of the court.”
Brown led the Ghosts with 15 points, but she had to work for every one of those as Cardona played her tough.
“Alana must be exhausted – to front somebody with that kind of size is no easy task,” Carroll said. “Every year her game has grown. She’s so confident, and the other kids feed off of that.”
Lexow and Sam Brusha both added six points for the Ghosts.
“We have a long way to go,” Marsh said. “There was nothing that we did well.
“There was a three-minute stretch in the fourth quarter where we played the way we wanted to play. There’s zero chance of us beating Souderton if they dictate the game, and they dictated the game from start to finish.
“We played GA, and they’re every bit as talented as Souderton – they have four DI kids, but we dictated the pace, and that’s why we were in the game. We came in against Souderton, and they completely dictated everything – offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, defense, offense. There was no part of the game that we dictated, and we can’t win like that.
“We’ve been down this road before. We have to get back to work. Our league play begins Tuesday, and that’s what we’re going to have to hang our hat on.”
Souderton (4-0) will be on the road Saturday for a 1 p.m. game at Lower Merion. Abington (2-2) is off until Tuesday’s SOL opener at Council Rock South.
Souderton 18-12-15-8 53
Abington 5-12-4-15 36
Souderton (53) – Tori Dowd 6, Megan Beaer 5, Aana Cardona 19, Megan Walbrandt 7, Megan Walbrandt 7, Kate Connolly 16.
Abington (36) – Miranda Liebtag 4, Camryn Lexow 6, Kassondra Brown 15, Sam Brusha 6, Brittney James 3, Tamia Wessels 2.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 50, WILLIAM TENNENT 30
Sydney Blum scored a game-high 20 points off the bench – 13 in the fourth quarter – to lead the Indians to the big win in the title game of the William Tennent Tipoff Tournament. The game was rescheduled for Thursday night after it was postponed on Saturday night because of snowy conditions.
Becca Margolis jumpstarted the Indians in the first quarter. The senior point guard scored eight points – which included a pair of threes – to propel the Indians to a 15-6 lead. By halftime, the Indians had opened up a 27-16 advantage. Mackenzie Tinner had six points and Blum – in a preview of things to come – buried a three and added five points in the frame.
It was a 34-22 game heading into the final quarter when Blum got the hot hand, burying four 3-pointers to finish the game with five threes.
Tinner contributed 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds, and Margolis added nine points. Dana Bandurick had six rebounds, four blocks and four assists to go along with four points.
Haley Crossley’s 19 points led the Panthers.
“My biggest fear going into tonight’s game was whether or not we were going to have a letdown after our big win on Tuesday,” coach Laura Whitney said of Tennent’s 53-50 overtime win over CR South. “We expended so much energy to come from behind that I wasn’t sure if we could match that intensity tonight for 32 minutes.
“Council Rock North is a very good team, and they make you pay for your mistakes. Defensively, we gave up too many offensive rebounds and left shooters wide open, and to their credit, they knocked them down.
“The last two games we have struggled to get our offense going and been inconsistent defensively. We must find a way to come out stronger and avoid putting ourselves in these tough positions where we’re playing from behind.”
Council Rock North (2-1) will be back in action on Tuesday at Harry S Truman for the SOL opener for both squads. William Tennent will travel to Pennsbury on Saturday for a non-league game at 12:30 p.m.
Council Rock North 15-12-7-16 50
William Tennent 6-10-6-8 30
Council Rock North (50) – Becca Margolis 9, Juliana Shields 2, Camryn Polinsky 1, Dana Bandurick 4, Sydney Blum 20, Olivia Boyle 2, Abby Jones 2, Mackenzie Tinner 10.
William Tennent (30) – Kelly Scipione 2, Emma Stanfield 4, Bryn Evans 3, Brianna Broccardi 2, Haley Crossley 19.
HARRY S TRUMAN 71, INTERBORO 48
Sophomore Daisha Campbell exploded for 28 points and freshman Haniyyah Jones added 21 to lead the Tigers to their first win of the season on Thursday.
“This was real important,” coach Collette Munford said. “It’s our bigs – they have to get on the board.
“They got in early foul trouble Tuesday against Pottstown. I said, ‘We’re home tonight. We have to start out good,’ and they played well tonight. They got on the boards and got rebounds. Our backcourt of Daisha and Haniyyah is fine, but we have to get our bigs involved.”
The Tigers, who led 11-10 after one quarter, blew the game open with a 19-5 second-quarter burst to go into halftime with a commanding 30-15 halftime lead. They took that 15-point lead into the final quarter when they erupted for 27 points.
Roneshia Jones added 10 points for the Tigers and Briana Cliney had eight.
“We’re young again,” Munford said. “Briana Cliney is our only senior.
“We have a player who’s ineligible because of grades, so we have to do a lot of readjusting. It’s killing us, but hopefully tonight they saw they could do it.”
Harry S Truman (1-3) will open league play on Tuesday when the Tigers host Council Rock North.
Interboro 10-5-14-19 48
Harry S Truman 11-19-14-27 71
Harry S Truman (71) – Haniyyah Jones 21, Zuri Clark 3, Daisha Campbell 28, Roneshia James 10, Briana Cliney 8, Amerera Smith 1.
PENNSBURY 43, BISHOP McDEVITT 38 (2 OT)
Behind the hot hand of Kate Mix – who scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the first half, the Falcons took a 22-10 lead into halftime and appeared to be in the driver’s seat. McDevitt, however, had other ideas, outscoring its visitors 17-4 in the third quarter and eventually forcing overtime. It took two overtimes to determine a winner.
“Two things showed some progression for us,” coach Frank Sciolla said. “We defended really well. They have two really good interior players, and I thought we played great team defense. We really got some great individual defensive performances from Mary Miller and Sydney Buell.
“We had a pretty good lead at halftime, but you’re on the road, we have a freshman point guard and other girls that are still getting their footing, and it was a new experience for them to face that type of pressure and to come back.
“McDevitt came all the way back and actually took a lead, but we came back ourselves. I thought we showed really good poise down the stretch and finishing the game. It was a nice road win for us.”
The Falcons led 9-6 after one quarter and appeared to seize control with a 13-6 second quarter that featured nine points from Mix and a 3-pointer from Buell. The shots stopped falling in a four-point third quarter that saw the Falcons manage just one field goal – a three-pointer by Mix, who had five points in a fourth quarter that saw the Falcons even the score.
“We survived them missing a layup in regulation, and we had a shot to win it in the first overtime and we didn’t hit it,” Sciolla said. “In the second overtime, we took a one-point lead, and we were able to make free throws down the stretch.
“Kate Mix played well offensively for us all game. She made a big three that gave us a one-point lead in overtime.”
Also for the Falcons, Buell added 11 points. Miller had seven and Bella Arcuri, six points.
Pennsbury (3-1) will host William Tennent in a non-league game on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Pennsbury 9-13-4-6-4-7 43
Bishop McDevitt 6-4-17-5-4-2 38
Pennsbury (43) – Bella Arcuri 6, Kate Mix 19, Mary Miller 7, Sydney Buell 11.
Bishop McDevitt (38) – Johnson 9, Burrell 9, Mizelle 14, Francis 4, Posey 2.
NORTH PENN 45, MOUNT ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY 41
Sophomore Kate Early delivered an impressive 18-point performance, but points didn’t come easily for the Knights, who found a way to win and improved to a 4-0 on the young season.
“We scored 10 points in the first quarter, and Alli Lindsay, our freshman, came off the bench and scored eight of those,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “She played in the first half of the jayvee game because I want to make sure she’s getting playing time.
“It’s funny because she didn’t make any perimeter shots in the jayvee game at all, and she comes into the varsity game and hits three perimeter shots in the first quarter. She really did help because we were just struggling to score. We were missing layups, open jumpers. She came in and scored eight points, and obviously, it helped us.”
The Knights, who led 10-9 after one quarter, took a tenuous 18-17 lead into halftime. The Magic took a 33-31 lead into the fourth quarter when the Knights outscored the Magic 14-8.
Bri Hewlett, who scored 10 points, contributed a pair of clutch 3-pointers.
“She hit a three late in the third and another one in the fourth when we were struggling to score,” said deMarteleire, whose team trailed 35-31 early in the fourth quarter.
Also coming up big down the stretch was Early.
“Kate Early really had a great game,” deMarteleire said. “She was aggressive in the post, and she made big foul shots. She had two legitimate three-point plays in the fourth quarter where she made the layup and got fouled.
North Penn (4-0) will be on the road at Upper Dublin on Saturday night at 6 p.m.
North Penn 10-8-13-14 45
Mount St. Joseph 9-8-16-8 41
North Penn (45) – Alli Lindsay 8, Alaina Mullaly 2, Kate Early 16, Carley Adams 6, Morgan Farrell 3, Bri Hewlett 10.
Mount St. Joseph (41) – Grace DiGiovanni 2, Lauren Vesey 8, Kelly Rothenberg 4, Cunningham 2, Grace Niekelski 10,Deidre Regan 13, Megan Dodaro 2.
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