Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Friday. CB West/CB East photos provided courtesy of Marge Bullock Photography. To view the game photos, please visit her web site at the following link: http://www.margebullock.com
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 62, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 55
Diane Nicholson wasn’t especially happy with her team’s performance in Friday’s SOL opener.
“Terrible game,” the Bucks’ senior point guard said as she left the gym after the visiting Bucks defeated their archrival in front of a full house at Central Bucks East. “Terrible game.”
Her coach had a decidedly different opinion.
“I honestly was really happy with how we played today,” West coach Terry Rakowsky said. “I thought our kids moved the ball, we switched defenses. I didn’t think we looked like it was the first game for us.”
One thing everyone would agree on was the fact that the game was a spirited one between the archrivals, and while the Bucks – behind the 16-point effort of Nicholson – earned the win, a young Patriots’ squad certainly displayed its mettle, refusing to go away despite the loss of Jefferson University-bound senior Elyse Shine early in the second quarter.
Shine went down with a knee injury with 6:19 remaining in the second quarter. She was helped off the court and did not return. In her absence, sophomore Emily Chmiel came off the bench to deliver an inspired 17-point performance. She also was a force under the backboards. Gabby Wilga added seven points and also made her presence felt in the paint.
“You’re not happy with a loss, but we were happy with the effort, especially after Elyse went down,” East coach Liz Potash said. “We do a lot to get Elyse shots, so we all stood there thinking, ‘Okay, what are we going to do now?’
“Emily Chmiel had a big game against Neshaminy, Gabby Wilga had a big game against Upper Dublin, so some of our sophomores are starting to step up and get in positions we need them to, and it will only make us better moving on.”
Both teams spent a lot of time on the foul line – the Bucks took 33 trips and converted 21 of those attempts. Seventeen came in the fourth quarter. The Patriots were 20-of-28 from the foul line.
“We put them on the foul line too much,” Rakowsky said. “It doesn’t help us when other teams are shooting foul shots.”
On several occasions, the Bucks appeared to be on the verge of taking control of the game only to watch the Patriots crawl back in it. Late in the opening quarter, the Patriots took an 11-8 lead after a three-point play by Shine only to watch the Bucks reel off eight straight points to close out the frame. Nicholson and Maddie Burke buried back-to-back threes, and Izzy Treon turned a pass from Jess Broskey off a Patriot miss into a fast break bucket that put the Bucks on top 16-11.
The Patriots trailed by just two (21-19) after Sydney Ives sank a pair at the foul line, but the Bucks closed out the half with a 10-2 tear that featured a three-point play by Treon and a basket by Tori Abelson as well as five points from the foul line to go into halftime with a 31-21 lead. They still led by 10 late in the third quarter until Wilga’s basket in the closing seconds trimmed the Bucks’ lead to 47-39.
Things got real interesting in the fourth quarter, and the Patriots trailed 51-49 after Wilga sank both ends of a one-and-one with 2:39 remaining. Nicholson answered with a pair at the line for the Bucks, but a Skylar Krause basket made it a two-point game with under two minutes to play.
A Treon layup put the Bucks on top by four, and an East turnover led to a pair of Burke foul shots, upping the Bucks’ lead to 57-51. The Patriots would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
“First game jitters,” Nicholson said. “The crowd was insane, and at some points, we tried to do too much, but it was fun. It’s always fun.”
The senior point guard is confident things will only get better for a West squad with high expectations.
“I think we’re going to be more together, the offense is going to be set,” Nicholson said.
In addition to Nicholson, Treon (12 points) and Burke (10 points) also finished in double figures. Oresky added nine points and Abelson, seven.
“I was absolutely pleased,” Rakowsky said. “In an East-West game – I thought we were in control of the situation. I know it got close, but I never felt like we were out of control of the situation.
“We got beat on the boards in the second half. They were physical – give them credit. Their big kids were good. They made shots. We just put them on the foul line too much, and they made everything.”
For East, Ives added 11 points while Krause had eight and Pla, seven points.
“The first three games of the year we knew were going to be really tough games – it was Neshaminy, Upper Dublin and West, so all along looking at the schedule we said – those are probably top 10 teams in the state, so we knew it was going to be a tough test early on,” Potash said. “It’s a tough test for a pretty inexperienced varsity team.
“After we saw how we played last weekend and hung with both Neshaminy and Upper Dublin, had it to single digits in the fourth quarter with both teams, we knew we could hang at that point.”
Central Bucks West (1-0 SOL) will host Bethlehem Catholic in a non-league game Saturday at 3 p.m., and Central Bucks East (0-3, 0-1) will face Hatboro-Horsham in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at North Penn at noon.
Central Bucks West 16-15-16-15 62
Central Bucks East 11-10-18-16 55
Central Bucks West (62) – Diane Nicholson 16, Paige Gilbert 5, Olivia Irons 3, Jess Broskey 9, Maddie Burke 10, Izzy Treon 12, Tori Abelson 7.
Central Bucks East (55) – Mia Salvati 8, Sydney Ives 11, Gabby Wilga 7, Caroline Pla 7, Emily Chmiel 17, Skylar Krause 8, Elyse Shine 4.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 55, QUAKERTOWN 17
Eleven players contributed scoring for the Titans, but all eyes were on one player – senior Alexa Brodie, who entered Friday’s game needing 19 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
The all-state point guard brought an end to the suspense with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter when she converted a drive in traffic into the historic basket.
“Obviously, the first thing is you want the win, but something like this is always in the back of your head when you know you’re that close,” Brodie said. “I knew a bunch of my friends were going to be here. The girls from last year and the past couple of years were here.
“I knew if I got it tonight it would be really special for all my close friends to be here and support me. It’s super relieving. The first priority is to get wins and keep improving as a team, but it’s good to know that this is off my chest. I can focus on playing the way I usually do and keep getting wins.”
The senior point guard is the fourth Central Bucks South female to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She joins Haley Meinel (2018), Jordan Vitelli (2016) and Colleen Christian (2007).
“Alexa scored it a lot like Jordan did and then fell,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “It’s just how she plays. She plays so hard and she really leaves it all on the court every day. You can’t ask for more than that from your senior leader.
“I’m just really proud of her, and as a school, we’re proud of her and happy she reached this milestone.”
Brodie finished the game with 19 points. Freshman Taylor Hinkle added eight points, and sophomore Mary Kate McShane had seven.
Brianna Lefkoski and Kimmy Best each had four points to lead the Panthers.
Central Bucks South (2-2, 1-0 SOL) will face Pennsbury in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at Central Bucks West at 11 a.m. Quakertown (0-4, 0-1) will take on Springfield Township in the SOL Challenge at Pennridge at 1:30 p.m.
Quakertown 0-0-6-11 17
Central Bucks South 11-10-18-16 55
Quakertown (17) – Alexis Miccuci 1, Brianna Lefkoski 4, Abigail Dickson 3, Kimmy Best 4, Maddie Sinta 2, Emma Pizzullo 3.
Central Bucks South (55) – Mary Kate McShane 7, Taylor Hinkle 8, Lauren Spear 2, Mackenzie Erb 3, Erin Kelly 2, Madelyn Tantum 2, Kirsten Schaller 2, Samantha Schiesser 4, Fatima Cervera 2, Alexa Brodie 19, Sofia Sonnet 2.
SOL American Conference
UPPER MORELAND 47, CHELTENHAM 31
It was a reunion of sorts when the Golden Bears traveled to Cheltenham for Friday’s SOL opener that pitted a pair of former Souderton assistants – Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman and UM coach Matt Carroll.
“Coaching against Coach Bo was as weird and as cool as I expected,” Carroll said of the Panthers’ first-year coach. “Coaching with him for three years at Souderton, as assistants for my sister (Lynn Carroll), I have so much respect for him as a coach.
“We played Cheltenham in the summer league, and the growth that team has made in a short amount of time is pretty remarkable. That team and that program are going to be a problem in the coming years. I grew up watching girls’ basketball in that gym as a kid, and to have the opportunity to coach against one of my close friends with many people I grew up watching sitting in the stands was a really neat experience.”
Carroll’s team had the final word on Friday, opening up a 13-6 lead at the end of one quarter and extending that to 24-10 by the intermission. Bean Hughes had the hot hand for the Bears, scoring 11 of her game-high 17 in the half.
“Tuesday we really struggled to finish offensively,” Carroll said of UM’s 36-27 loss to Lower Moreland. “Our defense was good, but we couldn’t make anything.
“Thankfully, tonight the girls came out fast and didn’t look back. We had eight girls score, but it was so much more than scoring for us tonight. Covering Kai Williams in the lane and then trying to help against their stud freshman Sulayman isn’t easy. It required all five defenders to focus and communicate, and they were superb. Kaiya Herb had the responsibility for denying Sulayman the ball the whole game and as always did a great job. We did so many things that don’t show up in a box score that helped us win tonight. It was a complete team effort.”
Sulayman’s 10 points – six in the third quarter – led the Lady Panthers. Kelia Williams added six.
For the Golden Bears, Phoebe Longstreth had eight points and Hannah Finn had six.
Upper Moreland (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Phil-Mont Christian Academy in a non-league game on Monday at 5 p.m. Cheltenham (0-3, 0-1) will host Academy Park on Monday in a non-league contest at 7 p.m.
Upper Moreland 13-11-14-13 47
Cheltenham 6-4-11-10 31
Upper Moreland (47) – Phoebe Longstreth 8, Kathryn Morrow 2, Kaiya Herb 3, Kaitie Opferman 3, Emma Meakim 4, AbbyEllen Wood 4, Bean Hughes 17, Hannah Finn 6.
Cheltenham (31) – Madison Rorer 5, Yanisha Dormil 4, Umayrah Sulayman 10, Kelia Holmes 6, Kai Williams 4.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 57, WISSAHICKON 25
Sophomore Anna McTamney had another big game for the Colonials, leading all scorers with 16 points. Freshmen Lainey Allen (14 points) and Jordyn Thomas (10 points) also finished in double figures for the Colonials. Sophomore Gabby Cooper had six points.
If you’re getting the idea the Colonials are young, they are. Eleven players on their roster are freshmen or sophomores. The squad has just two juniors and two seniors.
The Colonials took control of Friday’s game from the outset, opening up a 21-4 lead after one quarter and extending that to 33-12 by halftime.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will host William Tennent in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at 5:30 p.m. Wissahickon (1-3, 0-1) will travel to Pennridge for Saturday’s SOL Challenge at noon.
Wissahickon 4-8-8-5 25
Plymouth Whitemarsh 21-12-10-14 57
Plymouth Whitemarsh (57) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 2, Mackenzie Leszczynski 2, Fiona Gooneratne 1, Sydney Kesselman 3, Gabby Cooper 6, Haley Felgoise 1, Anna McTamney 16, Lainey Allen 14, Jordyn Thomas 10, Lily Belle McGrorty 2.
ABINGTON 86, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 24
The Ghosts wasted little time before making their presence felt in their new conference, opening up an early lead and rolling to the big win in Friday’s SOL opener.
Cam Lexow led four players in double figures with 19 points -17 in the opening half. She also had six assists and five steals. Kassondra Brown added 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Tamia Wessels had 14 points and five steals. Freshman point guard Khalis Whiting added 15 points and six assists.
For the Spartans, Emily Smith’s 12 points led the way.
Abington (3-0, 1-0 SOL) will face Council Rock North in a battle of unbeaten squads in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at Council Rock South at 12 noon. Springfield Township (1-2, 0-1) will take on Quakertown on Saturday at Pennridge at 1:30 p.m.
Springfield Township6-5-3-10 24
Abington 36-20-18-12 86
Springfield Township (24) – Leejah Sistrunk 2, Rileigh Serroni 3, Maddie Yoder 4, Emily Smith 12, Sydney Hannings 3.
Abington (86) – Tamia Wessels 14, Cam Lexow 19, Kassondra Brown 18, Miranda Liebtag 2, Khalis Whiting 15, Becca Pohle 2, Amanda Jackson 8, Kaeleigh Sierianni 2, Hope Brower-Archer 1, Krysten Brown 3, Allison Holden 2.
Non-league
PENNRIDGE 51, WILLIAM TENNENT 41
Julia Kreider scored 20 points – which included an 8-for-11 effort at the foul line in the second half to propel the Rams to the non-league win.
The two teams battled to a 10-10 tie after one quarter, but the Rams took a 22-18 lead into halftime.
“We knew going in that it was going to be a dogfight,” Tennent coach Laura Whitney said. “The last two years that we’ve played them, it always came down to the end, and this one did as well.
“The biggest thing I told our girls prior to the game was that we had to match their intensity because I knew they were going to come out ready to play. Our girls definitely did. They came out, they were focused, they showed a lot of patience on offense, got some great ball movement.”
Whitney pointed to a pivotal stretch in the closing moments of the half.
“Haley Crossley picked up her second foul in the middle of the second quarter, so we had to pull her out,” Whitney said. “We got some open looks, but they just didn’t drop.
“Pennridge knocked down a three, they got a jump ball and ended up scoring on the out-of-bounds play, so they took the lead at halftime.”
Whitney said she preaches to her players that the first five minutes of the second half will determine how the rest of the game unfolds.
“Unfortunately, we seemed to get a little bit out of offensive rhythm, they extended their pressure, got a couple of turnovers,” Whitney said. “They jumped out on us and got the lead to 10 or 12
“We did respond and managed to get it down to four at one point. I think we just ran out of gas. We missed some open opportunities. They were trying to use some clock at the end, and we were forced to foul. They hit their free throws when it mattered most. Our girls fought to the final buzzer. They didn’t quit. It was a great effort on our part. You’d rather come out on the other end, but we told them to keep their heads up high because they had a lot to be proud of the way that they played.”
Pennridge (3-1) will host Wissahickon in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at noon. William Tennent (2-2) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for a 5:30 p.m. contest against the Colonials.
William Tennent 10-8-14-9 41
Pennridge 10-12-14-15 51
William Tennent (41) – Chelsea Meltzer 5, Hannah Reimel 5, Jenna Rodebaugh 10, Haley Crossley 21.
Pennridge (51) – Corinn Mart 7, Sophie Cweiber 9, Julia Kreider 20, Evelyn Loughery 4, Ashley Gordon 6, Emilee Cramer 5.
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