Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Wednesday.
SOL American Conference
ABINGTON 52, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 46
Abington pretty much had its way in a 63-40 win over PW on Jan. 4. Any thoughts that Wednesday’s rematch would be a rerun of that game were put to rest in a hurry. The visiting Colonials stunned the Ghosts, racing out to a 21-11 lead after one quarter and forcing the Ghosts to play catch-up for the majority of the game.
“They came out and played really well early,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “We expected a tougher game than the first one. I didn’t expect how well they came out.
“They proved that they’re a legitimate playoff team now, in my eyes. We had to fight all night to try to get back into it. We finally took the lead in the fourth quarter and were able to persevere through it.
“This is where our experience pays off. We’ve had a really tough schedule, and we have kids who have been through this before. I’m ready to panic a little bit, but the kids didn’t. They just kept battling.”
The Ghosts welcomed Tamia Wessels back into the lineup after being sidelined for several weeks with concussion symptoms. The senior sharpshooter had nine points, and Amanda Jackson, who saw extended minutes when Wessels was out, also had nine points.
“That’s huge anytime we can get those outside shots going from the two of them,” Marsh said.
Kassondra Brown turned in another double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Khalis Whiting added 13 points.
The Ghosts got back into the game with a 15-6 second quarter to trim the Colonials’ lead to 28-26 at the intermission. Doing most of the damage for the Colonials was Anna McTamey, who scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the first half. Lainey Allen added eight first-half points and finished with 15.
The Ghosts outscored the Colonials 15-12 in the third quarter. Brown had seven points and Whiting, six. Allen had seven points for the Colonials. The Ghosts won it with an 11-6 fourth quarter.
“We were turning the ball over a lot early against their press, just not doing good stuff,” Marsh said. “Give them the credit for making us uncomfortable, but I don’t think we turned the ball over against their press in the second half. We were able to adjust, and that’s how we took control.
“We still missed free throws down the stretch. We made some mistakes, but I think because of our experience we were able to win that game. I don’t think that anything else won it for us except for the fact that I have four seniors that have played at every level – state playoffs, district playoffs, district championship. We’ve been here, done this, and we were able to survive, but hats off to PW. They came in, and they had one mission on their mind, and that was to beat us, and they almost did.”
Abington (16-2, 10-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-3, 8-3) will host Upper Dublin on Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 21-7-12-6 46
Abington 11-15-15-11 52
Plymouth Whitemarsh (46) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 6, Sydney Kesselman 3, Gabby Cooper 4, Anna McTamney 16, Lainey Allen 15, Jordyn Thomas 2.
Abington (52) – Tamia Wessels 9, Cam Lexow 4, Kassondra Brown 17, Khalis Whiting 13, Amanda Jackson 9.
UPPER DUBLIN 45, UPPER MORELAND 28
The Flying Cardinals opened up a 12-3 lead after one quarter en route to a 24-10 halftime lead. They outscored the Golden Bears 21-18 in the second half.
Dayna Balasa had the hot hand from beyond the arc, connecting on five three-pointers and finishing with a game-high 19 points. Jackie Vargas added 10 points and seven rebounds, Kara Grebe had six points and four rebounds, and Jess Polin added five points, eight assists, three rebounds and three steals.
The Flying Cardinals had assists on 17 of 19 field goals made.
Bean Hughes led the Golden Bears with 12 points. Phoebe Longstreth added six.
Upper Dublin (15-3, 10-1 SOL) will be on the road at Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday, and Upper Moreland (12-6, 6-5) will travel to Springfield Township on Friday.
Upper Dublin 12-12-8-13 45
Upper Moreland 3-7-11-7 28
Upper Dublin (45) – Anajae Smith 3, Jess Polin 5, Kara Grebe 6, Sarah Eskew 2, Dayna Balasa 19, Jackie Vargas 10.
Upper Moreland (28) – Phoebe Longstreth 6, Emma Meakim 5, AbbyEllen Wood 3, Bean Hughes 12, Hannah Finn 2.
SOL Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 58, QUAKERTOWN 19
Alli Lindsay scored 13 points – nine in a 20-point third quarter – to lead a balanced Knight attack. Alaina Mullaly added 11 points – all in a first half that saw the Knights open up a 20-10 lead. Carley Adams and Val McGriff both added eight points, and Rachel Strobel had six points in a contest that saw nine Knights put their names in the scoring column.
Morgan Sipprell and Abigail Dickson both had five points to lead the Panthers.
North Penn (8-11, 4-5 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Friday, and Quakertown (2-17, 0-9) will host Central Bucks East on Friday.
North Penn 12-18-20-8 58
Quakertown 5-5-5-4 19
North Penn (58) – Cayla Sharkey 2, Alayna Faison 5, Laynie Doran 3, Alli Lindsay 13, Rachel Dunn 2, Alaina Mullaly 11, Rachel Strobel 6, Carley Adams 8, Val McGriff 8.
Quakertown (19) – Bri Lefkoski 3, Abigail Dickson 5, Morgan Sipprell 5, Fallon Grandinetti 4, Abigail McClaskey 2.
Non-league
VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 64, HARRY S TRUMAN 35
About the Author
