SOL Continental Conference rivals Souderton and Central Bucks South will meet for the fourth time in Saturday’s District One 6A title game at Temple University (4 p.m.).
Central Bucks South and Souderton.
The two SOL Continental Conference rivals took turns occupying the top spot in the District One 6A power rankings for the better part of the 2017-18 season. CB South owned that distinction after reeling off 13 straight wins to open the season, but by season’s end, Souderton was number one in the rankings. The two squads finished in that same order in the conference standings, and if they haven’t seen enough of each other this year, the Titans and Indians will meet for the fourth time on Saturday on the big stage when they do battle at Temple University’s Liacouras Center for a district title.
For both teams, it is their first trip to the district title game. The Titans survived a 39-36 thriller against third-seeded Spring-Ford in Wednesday’s district semifinal, and the third time proved to be the charm for a squad that played in its third straight district semifinal and this time saw its way to the title game.
“I went back the other day and re-read their goal sheets,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “It stuck out to me at the beginning of the season how may of them really wanted to make the SOL Tournament because we’ve always been shut out of that and also obviously to qualify for states.
“Not a single one of them wrote down that their goal was to reach the district final. We’ve just kept that mentality of playing one game at a time, and they knew if they got to the SOL Tournament we had done a better job than we’d done before. Once we qualified for states, we can try and move on to the next level. I’m really proud of the effort and what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
The players, according to senior Maddie McShane, may have had their reasons for not listing the district title game as a goal.
“I think all season it was a goal, but we didn’t want to jinx anything,” McShane said. “This really means a lot, especially senior year – just because the past two years we’ve made it (to the semifinals), but no team in South history has ever gone to the district championship. It means a lot to our team and the school too.”
“This definitely was a goal,” junior point guard Alexa Brodie said. “Especially because we got here two years in a row, and we couldn’t get past that hump. Obviously, we had a little more motivation. We didn’t want to get here three years in a row and not get over the hump of making it into the championship, so we had that little extra chip on our shoulder coming into this game. We tried to make the most of the opportunity. Not many teams can say they went to the district semifinal three years in a row. We wanted
Souderton, meanwhile, led from wire to wire in its 47-30 win over fourth-seeded Garnet Valley in Wednesday’s semifinal, opening up a 17-4 lead and never looking back.
“It’s a mix of emotions – obviously, we’re really excited because we never played in an atmosphere like this before,” senior Tori Dowd said. “Being in the district final is really cool for us and a good experience, but at the same time, we don’t want to celebrate yet. Just being there isn’t enough.”
The Indians were picked by many as the team to beat this season after last year’s trip to the state semifinals where they suffered a heartbreaking loss to North Allegheny.
“Our general goal for the season was to win as many championships as possible, and that starts with opening weekend, winning the tip-off tournament and then going from there,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “We have been very much one game at a time and really not looking further ahead than the next opponent, and ultimately, that’s how you accomplish goals.
“I think we all had the sense coming off last season that there was no goal out there that we wouldn’t be capable of accomplishing. Obviously, you’re not guaranteed anything, and we had a couple of hiccoughs in there, but I think we felt there was no goal that was unattainable.”
The Indians used their one-point loss in the state semifinals as fuel heading into the season.
“Coming off a really emotional game and knowing we had five of our starters back, our bench is back and how motivating our bench is day in and day out, how we just take it one game at a time and how our defense powers our offense – it really works for us,” Dowd said. “After our run last year, coming back this season with everyone – definitely districts was one of our goals, but it wasn’t our only goal.”
An Indian squad that is all business on the court also knows how to have fun off of it, and Dowd, for one, expects Saturday’s bus ride to Temple on Saturday.
“We’ll probably be playing loud music, and the cheerleaders are on it, so it’s really loud and really fun,” Dowd said. “It’s definitely different than regular season. Usually in the regular season, we nap, but it’s just a different feeling now.
“I think once we get there and see everything in the locker room and get dressed, that’s when we switch to more serious and buckle down. This is an awesome feeling, and I wouldn’t want to be part of any other team. It’s so fun to be with your best friends all the time accomplishing things together.”
The conference rivals split their regular season games with South winning the first 40-25 and Souderton earning a 41-30 win in the rematch. The Indians defeated the Titans 48-29 in the SOL Tournament title game.
Saturday’s district title game is scheduled to tip off at Temple University at 4 p.m.
#1-1 SOUDERTON vs. #1-2 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH at Temple University (Saturday, March 3, 4 p.m.)
Souderton
- 25-2 overall
- 11-1 SOL Continental Conference champions
- Won program’s first conference title since 2004
- SOL Tournament champions with 48-29 win over #2 Central Bucks South
- Balanced attack directed by point guard Tori Dowd and led offensively by Alana Cardona (11.5 ppg), Kate Connolly (10.8 ppg), Megan Walbrandt (10.2 ppg) and Megan Bealer (8.0 ppg)
- Winners of 16 straight games heading into district tournament
How they got here: In Wednesday’s district semifinal, Souderton opened up to a 17-4 lead on its way to a 47-30 win over #2 Garnet Valley. The Jaguars pulled to within seven in the third quarter, but that’s as close as they would get. Alana Cardona’s 15 points led the Indians. Megan Walbrandt added 11 while Kate Connolly and Megan Bealer had eight each. Bealer had a game-high 10 rebounds. Tori Dowd led the defense with six steals and Connolly had five blocked shots.
In a quarterfinal contest, Souderton edged #8 Council Rock North in each of the four quarters on its way to a 49-39 win. Megan Bealer and Megan Wabrandt led the Indians with 11 points each. Alana Cardona had 10 points – all in the second half.
In a second round game, Souderton opened up a 24-5 halftime lead on its way to a 46-25 win over #16 Haverford. Finishing the game in double figures were Alana Cardona (17 points), Kate Connolly (16 points) and Megan Bealer (10 points).
Opening round bye
Central Bucks South
- 24-3 overall
- 10-2 SOL Continental Conference second place
- Fell to #1 Souderton 48-29 in SOL Tournament title game
- Led offensively by Jefferson University-bound senior Haley Meinel (15.0 ppg) and junior point guard Alexa Brodie (12.5 ppg).
- Opened season with 13 straight wins
How they got here: In Wednesday’s semifinal, Central Bucks South edged #3 Spring-Ford 39-36. The two teams were deadlocked 19-19 at halftime and 25-25 heading into the fourth quarter. Haley Meinel (15 points) and Alexa Brodie (15 points) led the Titans.
In a quarterfinal game, Central Bucks South rallied from a 28-20 third quarter deficit to defeat #10 Neshaminy 43-39. Alexa Brodie led all scorers with 15 points, and Haley Meinel added 12.
In second round action, Central Bucks South – which opened up a 29-8 halftime lead – rolled to a 44-28 win over #15 Great Valley. Haley Meinel , who led all scorers with 17 points, surpassed the 1,000-point milestone. Mackenzie Ehresman contributed 13 points and Alexa Brodie had 12.
Opening round bye
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