Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Wednesday. CB South/CB West photos provided courtesy of Lisa Henderson. Check back for a gallery of action photos. Neshaminy/Abington photos provided courtesy of Jesse Garber (http://jsgarber.zenfolio.com/p652487230)
SOL National Conference
NESHAMINY 60, ABINGTON 53
Joe Lally has been waiting for his team to play a complete game. The Redskins’ coach got exactly what he was looking for on Wednesday night, and anything less would not have been enough in the tightly-contested game.
“The girls definitely had more focus tonight and played a complete game from start to finish,” coach Joe Lally said. “The game was close throughout.
“They’re really good. They’re district champs for a reason. They got a lot of strengths, but I have to give my girls a lot of credit. They fought for 32 minutes.”
Sparked by eight points from sophomore Olivia Scotti, the Redskins opened up a 19-16 lead after one quarter. Camryn Lexow accounted for seven of the Ghosts’ points. The Redskins took a 32-30 lead into halftime. Britney James had a big half for the Ghosts, scoring 11 points.
The teams exchanged baskets in the third quarter, and the Redskins took a 45-43 lead into the final frame. Kassondra Brown scored 10 of the Ghosts’ 13 points in the quarter.
In a fourth quarter that saw the Redskins put the game away, Kristin Curley scored six points, Brooke Mullin had four and Allison Harvey had a big 3-pointer.
“There was a solid four minutes in the fourth quarter where we were exchanging buckets,” Lally said. “They’re such a well-rounded team.
“(Kassondra Brown) is going to get hers, but she’s got a really nice surrounding cast around her.”
Brown led the Ghosts with 18 points, James finished with 13 and Sam Brusha had 12. Lexow finished with nine.
Curley and Scotti led the Redskins with 15 points each. Mullin had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Harvey added eight.
“We got a nice effort from everyone,” Lally said. “I just felt the key for us was playing the full 32 minutes. I don’t think anybody is playing better than Central Bucks South right now, and we lost to them by three. We had a solid five to seven minutes in our game against South when we just did not play well, and that’s not going to beat the good teams.
“Hopefully, we’re learning that quickly because I think all three of our losses were against really good teams. When you don’t play for three, four or five minutes at the same level they do, you lose. Regardless of our opponent, we need to play a full 32 minutes.”
Wednesday’s win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Redskins, who dropped a pair of close games at the Boardwalk Classic during the holiday break.
“We felt we should have won both games in Wildwood, and we just weren’t able to finish,” Lally said. “We went through a pretty detailed game plan tonight, and at the end of the game, John Mullin , my assistant, made a comment to the girls in the locker room – ‘You did everything on that board. You should be proud.’ And they really did. It was a 4×8 whiteboard, and it was pretty filled up. I’m proud of their effort. Hopefully, it’s a season changer for us. You’ve got to learn how to win those games.”
Neshaminy (5-3, 2-0 SOL) will not play its scheduled game against Pennsbury on Thursday due to school closings. Abington (5-4, 2-1) will host Council Rock North on Friday.
Abington 16-14-13-10 53
Neshaminy 19-13-13-15 60
Abington (53) – Britney James 13, Camryn Lexow 9, Tamia Wessels 1, Kassondra Brown 18, Sam Brusha 12.
Neshaminy (60) – Brooke Mullin 14, Allison Harvey 8, Kristin Curley 15, Oliva Scotti 15, Kelli Kowalick 1, Meghan Ansel 2, Emily Tantala 5.
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 53, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 47
Lindsay Scott is more than happy to defer to her teammates when it comes to taking shots in crunch time. That’s easy to understand since the Titans boast two of the SOL’s most dangerous offensive weapons in senior Haley Meinel and junior Alexa Brodie.
“They’re amazing players – I can’t credit them enough,” Scott said. “They’re two of the best players I’ve ever played with. The defense pinches in on them, especially tonight, and they do such a good job of driving in the lane, and they kick it out to you when you’re open.”
Scott found herself open in some of the game’s biggest moments on Wednesday, none bigger than in the closing seconds of the third quarter. With 28 seconds remaining, the senior guard buried a 3-pointer that gave the Titans a 10-point lead. Fourteen seconds later, sophomore Maddie Burke hit nothing but net on a three off the dribble, and it looked as though the Bucks would have momentum heading into the final quarter.
That didn’t happen. With the final seconds ticking off the clock, Brodie drove into the paint and kicked the ball out to a wide open Scott, who sank a three at the buzzer to send her team into the final quarter with a 38-28 lead.
“We just try to find the open player, and Alexa was doing a really good job – when someone was on her, she was getting the ball to the open player, and I was able to knock down the shots,” Scott said. “Once I hit one, I was feeling it, so I felt like I should just keep shooting. Hopefully, they were going in.”
The game was still far from over. Diane Nicholoson scored on the Bucks’ opening possession of the fourth quarter, and after a South miss at the other end, Julia Krieder converted a three-point play after a putback, pulling the Bucks to within five.
Meinel scored on a drive, but Izzy Treon returned the favor for the Bucks, and when Nicholson – who was on fire – sank a 3-pointer, the Bucks pulled to within two, 40-38. A Titan turnover set the stage for a driving bucket by Nicholson that knotted the score.
The Bucks had the chance to take the lead but turned the ball over, and Meinel scored on a drive to give the Titans a two-point advantage. Nicholson scored off the dribble to knot he score, but Scott sank her third three of the half, and the Titans had a lead they would not lose.
“Her shots were obviously game changers – they came at huge moments in the game where she just knocked down shots,” South coach Beth Mattern said of Scott. “We gave up that three to Maddie Burke at the end of the (third) quarter, and Lindsay comes back and drains it to negate her three. That was huge.
“There’s no one who I think the team could be happier for than Lindsay right now.”
Mattern lauded her team for withstanding the Bucks’ run and closing out the game strong.
“When we play CB West or CB East, district schools, I always think it takes a lot of energy and a lot out of you because there’s a big crowd, everyone is excited leading up to it,” Mattern said. “Maybe it was just a lapse of energy, but to their credit, I felt they really did a good job of taking control of the game again after we let them tie it up.”
Brodie led all scorers with 21 points – 15 in the first half. Meinel added 16 – 10 in the first half.
“You have two players in Alexa and Haley who play a ton of basketball – they’ve played together for three years,” Mattern said. “It’s really fun to coach them and have them out on the court together.”
Nicholson had the hot hand for the Bucks, finishing with 19 points – 14 in a torrid second-half performance. Burke added 12 – nine in the first half. Spratt had eight points.
Central Bucks South (9-0, 3-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday, and Central Bucks West (3-5, 2-1) will be on the road at Central Bucks East for a 4:30 p.m. contest on Friday.
Central Bucks South 15-12-11-15 53
Central Bucks West 8-13-7-19 47
Central Bucks South (53) – Lindsay Scott 11, Haley Meinel 16, Alexa Brodie 21, Mackenzie Ehresman 5.
Central Bucks West (47) – Abbey Sprat 8, Diane Nicholeson 19, Maddie Burke 12, Izzy Treon 5, Julie Kreider 55.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 49, PENNRIDGE 38
The Patriots raced out of the gate to a 15-5 lead after one quarter and took a 25-16 lead into halftime. They maintained an advantage the rest of he way.
Seniors Sophia Mancuso and Bailey McManus combined for 30 of East’s points with Mancuso leading all scorers with 18 and McManus adding 12. McManus also had seven rebounds. Audrey LaBouliere added seven points and six rebounds – five offensive and, according to coach Liz Potash, was a great spark off the bench. Elyse Shine added six points and five steals.
For the Rams, Brooke Bachtle’s 13-point effort led he way. Sam Muredda added nine points.
Central Bucks East (7-3, 2-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks West as part of a girls/boys doubleheader on Friday in a 4:30 p.m. contest. Pennridge (3-4, 0-2) will travel to Souderton on Friday.
Central Bucks East 15-10-12-12 49
Pennridge 5-11-14-8 38
Central Bucks East (49) – Sophia Mancuso 18, Skylar Krause 2, Gina Russo 4, Audrey LaBouliere 7, Bailey McManus 12, Elyse Shine 6.
Pennridge (38) – Sam Muredda 9, Brooke Bachtle 13, Gill Anderson 8, Rose McCormick 4, Evelyn Loughery 2, Emilee Cramer 2.
Non-league
HARRY S TRUMAN 68, CHICHESTER 27
Daisha Campbell scored 23 points and Hanniyyah Jones added 18 to lead the Tigers to the no-doubt-about-it non-league win.
Briana Cliney contributed nine points while Roneshia James and Zuri Clarke both had eight in a contest that saw the Tigers open up a 31-15 halftime lead. They outscored Chichester 37-12 with a dominant second-half effort.
“Zuri Clarke was on the board – she hasn’t been scoring for us, and I was happy about that,” coach Collette Munford said. “I wasn’t happy with the first half that we played. We literally played down to the competition, and we just can’t do that.
“I’m happy that we won, but I’m not real happy with this win. I told the girls – this week we have three games, and we have to win all three to get back close to the .500 mark. Tonight is done and over. We have Bensalem on Friday and New Hope-Solebury on Saturday.”
Harry S Truman (2-5, 0-1) will host Bensalem on Friday night.
Harry S Truman 13-18-20-17 68
Chichester 8-7-5-7 27
Harry S Truman (68) – Hanniyyah Jones 18, Zuri Clarke 8, Daisha Campbell 23, Roneshia James 8, Marcelle Crichlow 2, Briana Cliney 9.
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