Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Friday.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 61, WILLIAM TENNENT 21
Olivia Boyle and Dana Bandurick each scored 17 points to lead the Indians to the no-doubt-about-it conference win. Both players helped jumpstart their squad with seven-point first quarters. In the frame, Bandurick had a conventional three-point play while Boyle buried her first of three 3-pointers on the night.
The Indians held a 17-6 lead after one quarter and extended that to 36-14 by halftime. Abby Jones had six points in a 19-point second quarter. The third quarter belonged to Boyle and Bandurick, who combined for 13 of their team’s 21 points as the Indians opened up a 57-16 lead heading into the final quarter.
Bandurick completed her double-double with 13 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots. Sydney Blum added eight points, and Jones had six. Camryn Polinsky’s four assists led the Indians while Anna Cairone had three.
The Indians connected on 25-of-56 shots from the floor (45 percent), and they were 6-for-16 from beyond the arc. The visiting Panthers made just 16 percent of their shots (7-for-43). They connected on 2-of-13 from 3-point range.
Haley Crossley's eight points led the Panthers.
Council Rock North (5-1, 3-0 SOL) will face Archbishop Ryan on Friday (2 p.m.) in a showcase game at the Boardwalk Classic in Wildwood. William Tennent will take on West Chester East on Friday at 6 p.m. in the opening round of its own tournament.
William Tennent 6-8-2-5 21
Council Rock North 17-19-21-4 61
William Tennent (21) – Chelsea Meltzer 1, Hannah Reimel 5, Jenna Rodebaugh 3, Haley Crossley 8, Erin Hart 4.
Council Rock North (61) – Camryn Polinsky 5, Sydney Blum 8, Olivia Boyle 17, Jill Hopkins 4, Dana Bandurick 17, Emma Benson 2, Abby Jones 6.
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 43, PENNRIDGE 34
The Bucks struggled to find any kind of offensive rhythm, but they never lost their defensive focus, opening up an early lead and holding on for the win.
It was their first game since senior point guard Diane Nicholson left the team.
“I have been sick with vertigo problems for a while, and I recently got two concussions, one after the other,” Nicholson said. “I never should have came back as soon as I did, but I pushed it so I didn’t let everyone down, but I decided it was best to rest my body before I go off to college.”
Nicholson has signed a letter of intent to accept a full scholarship to Radford University, and in her absence, coach Terry Rakowsky isn’t looking for one person to fill the role of floor general.
“In the past, we’ve never really played with a point guard,” the Bucks’ coach said. “We’ve always had anybody who has the ball (bringing) it up – with the exception of one or two of our kids, so we play it that any kid can run the point.
“It just depends who gets the rebound, where it comes off. We don’t call a play and say, ‘You’re the point guard, go get the ball.’ We’ve never done that. We’ve gotten away from it a little bit in the past, but that’s not really how we want to do it anyway.
“At any given time, Izzy (Treon) could be the point guard, Tori (Abelson) could be the point guard, Maddie (Burke) could be it, Liv (Irons) could be it, Emily (Spratt) could be it. We have a list of five kids that at any given time on a rebound could be taking it up.”
The Bucks had their best offensive quarter of the night in the opening quarter. Sparked by five points from Burke and four from Treon, West opened up a 15-7 lead. The Bucks managed just six points in the second quarter and took a 21-14 lead into halftime.
The two teams exchanged baskets in the second half. Treon scored seven points in a pivotal fourth quarter that saw the Rams pull to within five when Ashley Gordon found Emilee Cramer for a layup at the end of the Bucks’ press. Treon sank both ends of a one-and-one at the other end, and after a Pennridge miss, Burke buried a pair at the line to stretch the Indians’ lead to 39-30.
Cramer scored nine of her team-high 12 points in the final quarter. Treon’s 11 points led the Indians while Burke had eight, Spratt, seven, and Abelson, six points.
Central Bucks West (2-2, 2-1 SOL) will once again travel to Hampton Virginia to compete in the Boo Williams Classic. The Bucks open play in the three-day event on Thursday at 6 p.m. with a matchup against Virginia powerhouse Lake Taylor. Pennridge (5-2, 1-1) will compete in the Boyertown Holiday Tournament on Friday.
Central Bucks West 15-6-8-14 43
Pennridge 7-7-8-12 34
Central Bucks West (43) – Paige Gilbert 2, Olivia Irons 4, Jess Broskey 5, Maddie Burke 8, Emily Spratt 7, Izzy Treon 11, Tori Abelson 6.
Pennridge (34) – Corinn Mart 5, Sam Muredda 5, Sophie Cweiber 3, Julia Kreider 2, Evelyn Loughery 4, Ashley Gordon 3, Emilee Cramer 12.
SOUDERTON 41, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 18
Defense was the calling card for an Indian squad that captured both league and district titles last year. Three starters from that team are now playing at the collegiate level, and while the Indians have lost some serious firepower, there’s no mistaking the team’s defense is still operating on all cylinders.
Souderton’s defense was on full display on Friday night at South, and leading the way was the inspired play of Megan Walbrandt, whose suffocating defense limited all-state point guard Alexa Brodie to just three field goals and 11 points.
“Megan Walbrandt was outstanding,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “She was just really, really good.
“One of my biggest concerns as a coach is when you have a kid like Megan that we need offensively and you put her on the other team’s best player – your concern is foul trouble, but she just played really smart, really hard.
“It truly takes a team to stop Alexa Brodie, and it was a group effort, for sure, but it started with Megan on her. She had three blocks on Brodie drives – I don’t know how many kids can make the plays that Megan Walbrandt made a couple of times down the court. The refs were letting us play – in a good way, so that certainly helped. There were a combined 18 foul shots in the game.”
The Indians set the tone early, allowing just four points in each of the first two quarters. They took a 20-8 lead into halftime. Six of the Titans’ points came at the foul line as they managed just one field goal in the half. Mikaela Reese’s eight points led the Indians.
“Mikaela stepped up again offensively,” Carroll said. “A few of (her baskets) were her teammates just finding her and giving her really nice passes, but she had a really really strong first half for us.”
While Walbrandt was keeping Brodie under wraps, Megan Bealer was doing the same to freshman Taylor Hinkle.
“Megan Bealer did a really good job on Hinkle, who’s going to be a very good player,” Carroll said. “We went in with a defensive game plan, and our girls did a really good job of executing it.”
Not a whole lot changed in a second half that saw the Indians outscore their hosts 21-10.
Reese’s 12 points led the Indians. Bealer added seven points and a team-high seven rebounds. Curran O’Donnell also had seven points. Point guard Megan O’Donnell had six rebounds, five points and three assists.
“Megan O’Donnell is really playing well for us,” Carroll said. “She’s great at distributing the ball, getting the defenders to collapse on her and finding a teammate. She’d rather get an assist than score.”
Walbrandt had a team-high five assists to go along with three blocks and two points.
Souderton (6-1, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Perkiomen Valley for a non-league game on Friday at 3 p.m. Central Bucks South is off until Friday, Jan. 4, when the Titans will travel to Pennridge.
Souderton 11-9-9-12 41
Central Bucks South 4-4-7-3 18
SOL American Conference
UPPER MORELAND 36, HATBORO-HORSHAM 28
The Golden Bears rode the hot hand of Phoebe Longstreth – who scored a game-high 24 points – and a stingy defense that allowed just 12 second-half points to defeat an improving Hatboro-Horsham squad.
“Coach (Dennis) Steinly has Hatboro-Horsham playing really well, and we knew we had our hands full tonight,” UM coach Matt Carroll said. “They have two really good freshmen in (Alice) Hall and (Emily) Thomas, a deadly shooter in (Kylie) Halko and a poised point guard in (Cam) Ryan.
“Our girls were so focused the last two days and in film. They knew what to expect from all of Hatboro’s top seven and played near-perfect defense. Hatboro-Horsham really looks to push the ball in transition and have put up double-digit quarters to start games.”
That changed on Friday night as the visiting Golden Bears held the Hatters to single digits in each of the four quarters. The Hatters led 8-6 after one quarter, but in the second quarter, Longstreth went to work, scoring all 11 of her team’s points, which included three 3-pointers. The Golden Bears held a tenuous 17-16 lead at halftime.
Both teams managed just three points in the third quarter, and it was still a one-point game heading into the final frame when Longstreth once again came up huge, scoring 11 points in the quarter. She not only buried a three in the quarter but was a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line.
Teammate Bean Hughes – who finished with 10 points – added four points in a fourth quarter that saw the Golden Bears outscore the Hatters 16-9.
“Our girls were unbelievable in transition tonight,” Carroll said. “Offensively, we had two players who led us, but everyone who got in was spectacular on defense.
“Phoebe (Longstreth) was huge for us tonight. The game was close in the fourth, and she put it out of reach by going 8-for-8 from the line in the fourth. You could tell she wanted the ball in her hands. As a coach, that makes my job easier.”
For the Hatters, freshman. Alice Hall’s 10 points led the way. Kylie Halco added eight.
Upper Moreland (5-2, 2-1 SOL) is off until Thursday, Jan. 3, when the Golden Bears will host Calvary Christian in a non-league game. Hatboro-Horsham (3-5, 1-2) will play Upper Merion on Friday at 5 p.m. in an opening game of the Vikings’ tournament.
Upper Moreland 6-11-3-16 36
Hatboro-Horsham 8-8-3-9 28
Upper Moreland (36) – Phoebe Longstreth 24, Kaitie Opferman 1, Emma Meakim 1, Bean Hughes 10.
Hatboro-Horsham (28) – Emily Thomas 3, Cam Ryan 2, Sydney Kemp 4, Kylie Halko 8, Alice Hall 10, Kara Kaminski 1.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 54, CHELTENHAM 20
The young Colonials have very quietly and without fanfare raced out of the gate to a perfect 6-0 record. They’ve done it with a whole lot of new faces in their lineup. Anna McTamney – a rare familiar face – had an impact as a freshman, and she continues to make her presence felt, scoring a game-high 14 points to lead a balanced PW attack.
The Colonials led 12-6 after one quarter and took a 26-10 lead into halftime. They outscored their visitors 28-10 in the second half.
Also contributing for the Colonials were freshmen Lainey Allen (11 points) and Jordyn Thomas (nine points) in a contest that saw 11 Colonials put their names in the scoring column.
The Lady Panthers were led by the eight-point effort of Kai Williams. Kelia Holmes added six.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will face Harriton on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the opening round of its own holiday tournament. Cheltenham (0-6, 0-3) will take on Downingtown West on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. in the opening round of the Whippets’ own tournament.
Cheltenham 6-4-6-4 20
Plymouth Whitemarsh 12-14-12-16 54
Cheltenham (20) – Madison Rorer 2, Cashmear Moore 2, Kyla Ogden 2, Kelia Holmes 6, Kai Williams 8.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (54) – Ally Zolty 3, Kaitlyn Flanagan 5, Mackenzie Leszczynski 2, Fiona Gooneratne 2, Leah Kaye 2, Sydney Kesselman 2, Gabby Cooper 2, Anna McTamney 14, Lainey Allen 11, Jordyn Thomas 9, Lily Belle McGrorty 3.
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