Souderton, Central Bucks South, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Council Rock North and Neshaminy advanced to the state tournament with wins in Wednesday’s second round of the District One 6A Tournament. CB South/Great Valley photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery.
It was another good night for the SOL. Punching their tickets to the state tournament and joining Abington were (1) Souderton, (2) Central Bucks South, (6) Plymouth Whitemarsh, (9) Council Rock North and (10) Neshaminy. All three SOL National Conference tri-champions are in states.
“I think it’s a pretty good league we’re in,” Neshaminy coach Joe Lally said. “I understand the other league (Continental Conference) is really good, but Abington and North always seem to be standing at the end.”
A highlight of the night was CB South senior Haley Meinel surpassing the 1,000-point mark.
#1-1 SOUDERTON 46, #1-16 HAVERFORD 25
Midway through the second quarter of Wednesday’s second round game – with Souderton leading 33-15 and a win all but in the books, the Indians turned the ball over under their own basket. It was their first turnover of the second quarter, and it didn’t seem all that important.
Except to the Indians, who re-defended with the kind of determination that suggested they were trailing by two instead of winning by 18. Kate Connolly and Tori Dowd made it impossible for the Fords to get the ball out of their defensive end with Dowd stealing the ball and finding Connolly for an easy layup.
“Defense is what we always try an focus on,” said Connolly. “When you’re playing defense, that will roll into your offense, and you’ll start getting offensive looks from your defense, so I think that’s always a focal point of what we do.”
The play didn’t have an impact on the outcome of the game. The top-seeded Indians were going to win with or without that steal and basket, but it was a moment that effectively captured the kind of tenacious defense that allowed the Indians to survive a slow start and win going away.
“We talked about (it) at halftime – we can afford to miss shots, have a couple of turnovers and be a little rusty when we defend the way that we defended the first half,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “I’m sure they missed a few they wished they would have made, but we defended really, really well. We made them work for everything they got on the defensive end.
“One of our keys to the game was not getting outworked. What we saw on film was how hard they work and they’re really scrappy. They go hard after offensive rebounds, so not getting outworked was one of the keys to the game, and I think we accomplished that for most of the 32 minutes.”
The Indians – in their first game action in eight days – did not get on the scoreboard until Connolly connected on a pair at the foul line with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter. The Fords, however, just held a 3-2 lead, a lead they’d maintained since Erin Doherty scored on her team’s first shot of the night. It turned out to be the Fords’ final points until Lindsay Lane scored at the 4:21 mark of the second period, almost 11 minutes later.
“When we couldn’t make those shots, it definitely put a damper on things, but our defense stepped up, and we used the intensity from our defense to get offense,” said senior Alana Cardona.
By the time the Fords broke their scoring drought, the Indians – who led 8-3 after one quarter – had opened up a 15-5 advantage. Cardona – who had eight second-quarter points – connected on back-to-back baskets. The Indians closed out the quarter with five straight points from Megan Bealer. The junior guard buried a three after Cardona came up with an offensive rebound and kicked the ball out. A Ford turnover resulted in Megan Walbrandt finding Bealer for a fast break layup and a 24-5 halftime lead. Bealer had 10 first-half points and Cardona added eight.
Lost in the shuffle of the Indians’ offensive flurry in the first half was the effort of Connolly, who set the tone for the defense with three blocks in the first quarter to go along with three rebounds and four points in the frame.
“She was another level of determination on defense, picking up full court and getting some steals and deflections,” Carroll said. “Between Kate and Tori getting up like that, that helps when you’re struggling to score.
“We had some kids who were struggling to finish tonight, but at this point in the season, we don’t have anybody that has to do more than she’s capable of because we have so many offensive weapons. No one has to carry the team. If someone’s not playing well, other kids can step up offensively. I think that’s a huge reason why we’re playing so well because no one individual has to feel any pressure. I think we saw that again tonight.”
Cardona opened the third quarter with a conventional three-point play and then Connolly went to work, reeling off 11 straight points for the Indians. The senior forward’s run included three 3-pointers.
“I think we were just looking for the best shot – who was open, and that ended up being what happened,” Connolly said.
Cardona led the Indians with 17 points and nine rebounds. Connolly added 16 points and eight rebounds. Dowd ignited the defense with seven steals.
The win vaulted the Indians into states, a welcome change from the four-game playback they endured last year.
“It’s like a weight is off your shoulders,” Cardona said. “You don’t have to worry about the stress of playing back because those games are always stressful. We can focus on the next team.”
“It’s the first time we qualified this way,” Carroll said. “Those playback games are brutal.
“I much prefer qualifying this way.”
Souderton (23-2, 11-1 SOL) will host eighth-seeded Council Rock North in a quarterfinal game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“Council Rock North is not an eight seed in my opinion,” Carroll said. “They’re playing really well. They lost a couple of games early, which is the only reason why they’re an eight seed.
“Obviously, they’re well coached, they’re balanced, they have speed, they have size, they have shooters, they have kids that can go to the basket. I’m glad we have two days to prepare because we’re going to have to play well on Saturday.”
Haverford 3-2-14-6 25
Souderton 8-16-16-6 46
Haverford (25) –Arden Guilfoil 0 1-2 1; Elli Keown 0 0-0 0; Erin Doherty 1 1-2 4; Erin Kelly 2 0-0 6; Sara Walsh 0 0-2 0; Lindsey Lane 5 3-7 14; TOTALS 8 5-13 25.
Souderton (46) – Tori Dowd 0 1-2 1; Megan Bealer 4 0-0 10; Alana Cardona 7 3-3 17; Megan O'Donnell 1 0-0 2; Kate Connolly 5 3-4 16; TOTALS 17 7-9 46.
#1-2 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 44, #1-15 GREAT VALLEY 28
Haley Meinel stole the spotlight when she scored a basket late in the first half that vaulted her to the 1,000-point plateau.
“There was about 30 seconds left in the second quarter, and Alexa (Brodie) fed her a great pass cutting through the lane,” coach Beth Mattern said. “She hit nothing but net and all of a sudden – boom, 1001 points. The girls were really excited.”
The senior standout entered the game needing just 11 points to reach the milestone. She finished the first half with 12 points and led all scorers with 17 points.
The Titans – another team back in action after an eight-day break – also got off to a slow start and led 6-2 after one quarter.
“You know what – you’ve been sitting at home for a week practicing, and you’re so excited to finally get on the court,” coach Beth Mattern said. “There’s a lot of energy. We had the anticipation of Haley’s 1,000th point.
“We had some great looks – we missed them, and we missed some foul shots, but we got ourselves together, we got the nerves worked out, the adrenaline and ended up having a great first half.”
The Titans put the game out of reach with a 23-point explosion in the second quarter to go into halftime with an insurmountable 29-8 lead.
“I was really happy with our defensive intensity,” Mattern said. “I felt like we put great ball pressure on, did a nice job boxing out and just really put pressure on them to have to execute. We forced some turnovers, and good things happened for us from the defensive end.”
Mackenzie Ehresman added 13 points – 10 in the first half – and was a force in the paint.
“Mac was huge,” Mattern said. “I don’t know how many offensive rebounds she had. It may have been as many points as she scored.
“She just works so hard, and she’s someone who is so excited to be playing basketball right now. Her energy she brings, her defense – she’s such a competitor and she showed it tonight.”
Brodie added 12 points for the Titans who earned their third bid to states in as many years.
“It’s exciting,” Mattern said. “It’s hard to do. We’ve played a tough schedule this year and done a great job. I’m really proud of the team for keeping it one game at a time, thinking about what we want to achieve.
“Now we’re in the top eight, and it just gets tougher, so we have to keep staying focused in practice and ready to execute in games.”
Central Bucks South (22-3, 10-2 SOL) will host Neshaminy in a quarterfinal game on Saturday.
Great Valley 2-6-6-14 28
Central Bucks South 6-23-7-8 44
Great Valley (28) – Porreca 0 0-1 0 Liberatosciolli 3 b4-6 10; Flynn 0 2-2 2; Sullivan 3 0-0 6; DeRobertis 1 0-0 2; Burns 1 0-0 2; Buzan 1 0-0 3; Bullock 1 0-0 2; D’Imperio 0 1-2 1; West 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 10 7-11 28.
Central Bucks South (44) – Haley Meinel 7 2-3 17; Alexa Brodie 2 6-6 12; Mackenzie Ehresman 6 1-5 13; Madison Aldinger 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 16 9-14 44.
3-point goals: CB South – Alexa Brodie 2, Haley Meinel; Great Valley – Buzan.
#1-6 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 58, DOWNINGTOWN EAST 27
Taylor O’Brien was unstoppable, torching the visiting Cougars for 32 points, which included five 3-pointers. She also pulled down 11 rebounds to complete a double-double and added four assists.
Ali Diamond and Lauren Fortescue both added 12 points with Diamond burying four 3-pointers and Fortescue, two threes in a contest that saw the Colonials sink 11 shots from beyond the arc.
“We shot the ball really well,” coach Dan Dougherty said. “We had eight threes in the first half and 11 in the game.
“Taylor O’Brien exploded and had 16 points in the first half. A couple of our role players really stepped up – Ali Diamond hitting four threes tonight was huge. Gia Schweitzer played just tremendous defense tonight. She guarded a kid that was way bigger than her and held her to six points. Anna McTamney guarded the big girl – Bella Smuda – and held her to 10 points, and a couple of them came in the fourth quarter after we were winning by 30 points.”
The Colonials led 11-5 after one quarter and extended that to 34-13 by halftime. Not a whole lot changed in a second half that saw PW close it out with a 24-14 tear.
“We were just really well prepared,” Dougherty said. “Given all that time to prepare and have the chance to go watch their first round game, it gave us a chance to put together a really good game plan.
They had a huge size advantage. They have a 6-5 girl and two other 5-10 kids. We wanted to get the ball out of their point guard’s hands. Once we got it out of the point guard’s hands, they got a little disrupted offensively.
“It was just two very different teams. They have a lot of size, and we have a lot of speed, and our speed just won tonight. We were able to spread the ball up and down the floor and disrupt their entry passes to the post.”
Bella Smuda – the Cougars’ 6-5 center – led her team with 10 points, and Erin Phelan added six.
“(Smuda) averages about 16 a game, and their other post player – Phelan – is about 5-10, and she averages almost 20 a game, and we were really able to hold them in check tonight,” Dougherty said. “They’re good. You don’t make it to the second round of districts by mistake. The difference was our three-point shooting in the first half. They came out in a zone to try and take away the driving angles to the basket.
“We haven’t played a game in so long, we weren’t able to get any scrimmages in. We came out with a little nervous energy and missed on a few shots. Once the first one went in, it was kind of like the floodgates opened.”
The Colonials return to states for the second time in two years.
“We so excited,” Dougherty said. “It’s back-to-back years. We don’t think we’ve made it to states in back-to-back years in almost 40 years.
“It’s really special. It was a goal of this team. We had two epic battles with Upper Dublin this year to win the league, and after winning the league, the next huge goal is to try and make it to states. We were lucky enough to get a top eight seed. I kept telling the girls – you have one game in your own gym to make it to states. We really talked about that a lot tonight. It’s about wanting it more, focusing and just the want-to.
“We had a couple of letdown games at the end of the season that we just didn’t have the want-to the other team did. Tonight the rebounding effort against a much bigger team – Taylor (O’Brien) was up near the rim on one of the rebounds that she ripped down. To see a 5-9 guard in the middle of a game just elevate and rip a rebound up by the rim is something special to see.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (21-3, 14-0 SOL) will travel to third-seeded Spring-Ford for a quarterfinal game. The day and time will be determined.
Downingtown East 5-8-5-9 27
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11-23-16-8 58
Downingtown East (27) – Crum 2 0-0 5; Smuda 5 0-0 10; Phelan 3 0-0 6; Williams 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 12 0-0 27.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (58) – Taylor O’Brien 12 3-3 32; Lauren Fortescue 4 2-3 12; Ali Diamond 4 0-0 12; Anna McTamney 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 21 5-5 58.
3-point goals: PW-Taylor O’Brien 5, Ali Diamond 4, Lauren Fortescue 2; Downington East – Williams 2, Crum.
#1-10 NESHAMINY 57, #1-7 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 47
Allison Harvey scored eight first-quarter points, which included a pair of 3-pointers, and point guard Kristin Curley added six points, and the visiting Redskins – looking anything but the part of the underdog – opened up a 21-10 lead.
The tone had been set as the Redskins led from wire to wire.
“The fast start always helps, especially when you’re on the road and you’re in a playoff atmosphere – you can’t put enough emphasis on it because it really quiets things down and allows us to get into our game plan because we started out so well,” coach Joe Lally said. “That opened things up for Brooke (Mullin).
“We were able to pressure the ball. We know their bigs (Megan Jonassen and Taylor Hamm) are really good, and we respected their other players, but the lesser of two evils is to make those other two players beat you. That’s pretty much what we tried to do. We knew that Hamm and Jonassen were going to get theirs. We just didn’t want them to go off. I’m happy with that effort.”
Jonassen led all scorers with 24 points while Hamm added 11. Jonassen scored 11 of her points in the final quarter. By that time, the Redskins – who led 50-27 after three quarters – had the game well in hand. The remaining Vikings combined for just 12 points.
The win vaulted the young Redskins into the state tournament after a one-year absence last year.
“I think it’s significant for them to get in and get some more experience and more playoff experience,” Lally said.
Harvey led a balanced Redskin attack with 15 points – 11 in the first half. Point guard Kristin Curley added 14 points, and Brooke Mullin had 11 as the team’s tri-captains combined for 40 points.
“Kristin (Curley) wasn’t healthy the first game of the playoffs, and for her to come back tonight and play the defense she did – we were pressuring the ball,” Lally said. “I’m proud of all of them, but for giving that effort, especially not feeling well – Kristin was tremendous tonight.
“Everything comes easier for everyone if Kristin is playing her game. She’s just so unselfish. We spend so much time telling her she needs to shoot the ball more, she needs to be more active in our offense. Tonight she did a great job. She got involved early, she moved well without the ball, and she’s always going to be unselfish. She made three or four highlight reel passes because that’s what she does.”
Neshaminy (18-6, 10-2 SOL) will travel to second-seeded Central Bucks South on Saturday for a quarterfinal game.
Neshaminy 21-9-20-7 57
Perkiomen Valley 10-3-14-20 47
Neshaminy (57) – Brooke Mullin 3 3-6 11; Allison Harvey 6 0-0 15; Kristin Curley 7 0-2 14; Olivia Scotti 2 1-2 5; Kelli Kowalick 3 0-0 6; Meghan Ansel 2 0-0 5; Emily Tantala 0 1-2 1; TOTALS
#1-8 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 37, #1-9 UPPER DUBLIN 34
Nicole Kaiser drove around the right side, putting up a shot that danced around the rim and finally dropped, giving the Cardinals a 34-32 lead with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter.
It would be the high point of the evening for the ninth-seeded Cardinals, who didn't score another point the rest of the way and saw a good second half effort come apart with a series of turnovers and miscues. Some of that is on the Cardinals and the rest goes to CR North's defensive effort, which ratcheted up at just the right time.
Fittingly, it was a couple of defensive plays that would seal up the win and send the No. 8 Indians back to the state tournament.
"I was so proud of my teammates," Indians senior point guard Becca Margolis said. "Mackenzie (Tinner) stepped in and took a big hit on a charge from (Jackie) Vargas, I think that was the game-winner right there.
“Sydney Blum hit a three to give us a lead. Cammy Polinsky hit a big three. Dana (Bandurick) got the steal at the end which sealed the deal. I owe it to my teammates."
After topping Pennsbury in the first round Saturday, UD coach Morgan Funsten felt like the impending matchup against the Indians had a chance to be the best game of the second round. He wasn't wrong. It wasn't a high-scoring game, but it was a very good one.
Both teams spent most of the night trading runs and tilts in momentum. UD took an early edge, only to give it back as CR North closed the first quarter with a 6-2 run to go on top 12-8. Margolis and Bandurick tied for the team lead with 10 points each, though Margolis played through an uncharacteristically off shooting night.
It's been a bit of an odd week all around for the Indians. Coach Lou Palkovics has been battling a virus and wasn't well enough to attend practice the last two days.
"I give my two assistants all the credit, they must have watched film for 14-16 hours," Palkovics said. "I basically dealt with my assistants on the phone, and I give the two of them, Jen Casper and Stephanie Brennan, they were unbelievable and with my three seniors, kept everybody in line."
After Margolis hit a step-back three to put the Indians up 15-8 early in the second, the Cardinals scored the next 10, taking a lead on Maggie Weglos' straightaway three midway through it. Margolis connected again on a deep trey to slice the lead down to 20-19, but the senior knew she was going to have to find other ways to impact the game.
Upper Dublin took a 21-19 lead into the break but saw that erased by a 6-0 Indians spurt to open the third quarter. CR North went up 28-23 on Camryn Polinsky's three, but only took a three-point edge into the final quarter after Kaiser, who led all scorers with 11, beat the buzzer on a putback.
Polinsky gave her team a five-point lead again to start the fourth, but UD put together a 7-0 run that ended with Kaiser's tap-dancing shot to take its final lead of the game. Margolis came up big for her team not with a shot, but a pass to Sydney Blum for the go-ahead triple.
"I thought because they were so compact the entire game – they always had a girl in the paint, forcing it inside the paint wasn't going to give us anything," said Margolis, who posted three assists. "I think the three was the best option and I trust my teammates. I was happy Syd got to hit it, she deserved that shot."
Margolis, who was also a standout midfielder for the Indians girls' soccer team, played every second of the game and showed her clutch gene late. First, she swept in to steal a ball after Tinner knocked it out of an Upper Dublin player's hands and later stepped to the foul line and knocked down two free throws with 16.2 seconds for the final scoring margin.
Tinner, who battled with UD's Vargas in the post all night, won the battle with a defensive play in the final 30 seconds. With Vargas backing down trying to put UD back in front, Tinner set her feet and absorbed the contact, hitting the floor and drawing the charge, which was also Vargas' fifth foul.
It was a costly turnover, one of four the Cardinals made in the final two-plus minutes of play. Funsten noted that his team went far too many possessions after taking the lead without even attempting a shot in the fourth quarter.
"Whether it was an offensive foul, a throwaway, a walk, whatever it was, this has been the story of our year in close games," Funsten said. "We've had a fourth quarter lead in every game except the first game and we just haven't been able to close out."
Even after Margolis hit those two freebies, it was only a three-point lead and UD had a chance to go for the tie with 10.8 seconds left. Bandurick made sure the Cardinals didn't get that chance.
The junior, who also scored 10 points, intercepted UD's inbound pass.
"Dana's exceptionally quick and has long arms and we were telling her we thought Kaiser was kind of having her way a little bit taking her to the basket," Palkovics said. "We said 'you're a guard, you may be listed as a forward, but you're a guard so stop playing off her like she's a 6-foot-5 center you're waiting to come into the lane.’ Dana started to play up and put on a little more ball pressure and I thought that was the difference."
CR North will travel to No. 1 Souderton for a quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Upper Dublin will host No. 16 Haverford in a playback game the Cardinals must win to extend their season. Last year, UD won its way through the playback bracket to get to states.
Margolis and her teammates aren't concerned about seeding at this point, and while they know Souderton will be a formidable opponent, they're just focused on themselves and enjoying the moment.
"I was impressed by how we came out tonight compared to a team that's already been through a playoff game and probably got all that adrenaline and nerves out," Margolis said. "We were very excited to play in this game but we also settled in pretty well."
Council Rock North 12-7-11-7 37
Upper Dublin 8-13-6-7 34
CRN: Becca Margolis 10, Camryn Polinsky 6, Dana Bandurick 10, Mackenzie Tinner 6, Sydney Blum 5
UD: Nicole Kaiser 11, Jess Polin 2, Maggie Weglos 8, Dayna Balasa 6, Jackie Vargas 6, Sarah Eskew 1
About the Author
