Council Rock North earned a big conference win over Abington, and CB East won big in non-league action.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 57, ABINGTON 50
Becca Margolis is one cool customer.
The Indians’ fearless senior point guard saved her best for last in Wednesday’s conference showdown, scoring 16 of her game-high 22 points in the second half when it mattered most.
With the score deadlocked 43-43 in a contest of runs for both sides, Margolis hit nothing but net on a three from the top of the circle with 3:30 remaining. The Indians had a lead they would not lose.
“We work on those in practice, and I felt confident,” Margolis said. “I’ve always been able to get off that screen with the help of my teammates. I was wide open.”
“We all felt confident looking for Becca to make the big plays at the end of the game,” teammate Kaelin Mealey said. “She always steps up.”
“Becca hit some big threes,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “She came off that one double screen and stepped back – that was huge. That was a big shot.”
The game was far from over. Kassondra Brown scored on a strong drive at the other end, but Camryn Polinsky buried 1-of-2 at the foul line to give the Indians a 47-45 advantage. Margolis, after coming up with a clutch steal, found Dana Bandurick for an easy bucket, and after an Abingon miss, Polinsky connected on a pair at the foul line to give the Indians a six-point lead.
Brown scored at the other end, but Mealey – who was clutch down the stretch – buried the front end of two one-and-one opportunities, turning a four-point lead to eight with 27 seconds remaining to ice the big win.
“Foul shots – it’s something I can control always, and coach always puts a huge emphasis on it in practice, so we’re always ready for the game, no matter who gets fouled,” Mealey said. “I really felt confident going up to the line, especially with my teammates patting me on the back. It always gives extra help.”
Both teams had one conference loss entering Wednesday’s contest. With the win, the Indians remain within a game of first place Neshaminy.
“This was a really big win for us,” Mealey said. “It was really a morale booster. We had a tough loss here last year when we were up going into the second half. We ended up losing by a point on a buzzer beater. To get this win, especially for our seniors and everybody, really meant a lot for our energy and our motivation.”“
It didn’t look as though the game would come down to the wire when the Indians raced out of the gate to a 22-8 lead. The Ghosts suffered a major setback when Brown was whistled for her third foul in the first quarter.
“Both Brit James and Kassondra had three first-half fouls,” coach Dan Marsh said. “As did their big kid (Mackenzie Tinner). I wish they would let us play like they do the boys.”
The Ghosts cut into the Indians’ lead and trailed by just a 26-21 score at halftime. Abington opened the second half with an 8-0 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers by Sam Brusha and Camryn Lexow with Lexow’s giving the Ghosts a 29-26 advantage.
The Indians lost Tinner to four fouls just seconds into the third quarter.
“Our biggest problem was – when we jumped up 22-8 and Brown’s out of the game, we proceeded to turn the ball over 14 times in the first half,” said Palkovics said. “I think we were looking to be a little too cute and making 50-foot passes instead 15-foot passes.
“Instead of us hopefully going in up 30-12 or 30-14, which it should have been, they made a run and cut it to five by halftime. They come out of the half and go on a run to go on top by three. We go from up five to down three and Mackenzie (Tinner) is sitting on the bench, and we’re wondering where we’re getting a lot of our points from.”
In the closing second of the third quarter, Brusha sank both ends of a one-and-one, and the Ghosts took a 38-37 lead into the final quarter, setting the stage for the Indians’ strong finish.
“Shots fall at different times, but one thing you can always make sure you’re in control of is your own team’s hustle,” Mealey said. “We just kept at it with our aggressiveness and the heart that we played with, and I think that kept us in the game.
“Even if shots don’t fall, you can still get loose balls, and really that pushed us through, and then Becca hit a couple of great shots, and then we got some momentum going.”
Margolis also had five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Bandurick also had a huge night, collecting an impressive double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Bandurick, who scored 11 of her points in the first half, also had four steals and four blocked shots. Polinsky had seven rebounds, three steals and two assists, and Tinner – despite being hampered by fouls – had six points, four rebounds and one blocked shot. Mealey added seven points.
“Sometimes you take things for granted,” Palkovics said. “I always look at Dana (Bandurick), Becca (Margolis) and Mackenzie (Tinner), and I expect things, but then you have other kids step up. Kaelin (Mealey) had those huge foul shots, she had a huge take for a three-point play when we made our run, she took a charge. She did so many things on the court. She’s really a leader, and it was great to see her have a breakout game like that.”
The Indians connected on just 17-of-51 shots from the field (33 percent), but the Ghosts made only 15-of-52 shots (29 percent). Rock North was effective at the foul line, burying 21-of-24 (88 percent) while the Ghosts were 16-of-24 (67 percent).
Brown led the Ghosts with 16 points while Brusha added 14 and Lexow, eight points.
“It was a tough game,” Marsh said. “We buried ourselves early, down 22-8. We battled back to take the lead, but give them and Margolis credit.
“They didn’t panic, they hit some big shots and beat us, but that being said, this is pretty much the same exact scenario as last year. We lost to both Neshaminy and then CR North, so here’s hoping we can get back to where we belong.”
Council Rock North (10-4, 5-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Friday, and Abington (7-5, 4-2) will host Council Rock South.
Council Rock North 18-8-11-20 57
Abington 8-13-17-12 50
Council Rock North (57) – Becca Margolis 22, Camryn Polinsky 3, Dana Bandurick 17, Olivia Boyle 2, Kaelin Mealey 7, Mackenzie Tinner 6.
Abington (50) – Jordyn Allen 2, Camryn Lexow 8, Tamia Wessels 5, Kassondra Brown 16, Miranda Liebtag 5, Sam Brusha 14.
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 71, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 39
The Patriots took care of business early, opening up a 28-9 lead after one quarter. The Golden Hawks answered with a 16-9 second quarter to make it a 37-25 game at the half, but the Patriots outscored their hosts 34-14 in the second half.
Senior Bailey McManus led a trio of East players in double figures with 18. Caroline Pla added 11 and Gina Russo had 10. Sophia Mancuso added nine while Audrey LaBouliere and Elyse Shine both had six.
Russo finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. She also had six steals in another strong outing. Mancuso and Shine both had seven rebounds.
For the Golden Hawks, Nicole Blaustein led the way with 13 points while Claudia Steinmetz had 12. Allison McGowan added six points.
Central Bucks East (11-4, 4-2 SOL) will host North Penn on Friday, and Council Rock South (5-8, 1-4) will be on the road at Abington.
Central Bucks East (71) – Sophia Mancuso 9, Skylar Krause 9, Mia Salvati 2, Gina Russo 10, Caroline Pla 11, Audrey LaBouliere 6, Bailey McManus 18, Elyse Shine 6.
Council Rock South (39) – Carley Irvin 2, Claudia Steinmetz 12, Bailey Vetter 2, Emma Jones 2, Nicole Blaustein 13, Allison McGowan 6, Hannah Binder 2.
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