Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Monday. Cheltenham/Wissahickon photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 39, UPPER MORELAND 23
The Golden Hawks opened up a 24-16 halftime lead and then limited their visitors to just seven second-half points for a Senior Night win that brought a welcome end to a five-game losing streak.
“This was a good win for our girls,” coach Blair Klumpp said. “Their program has improved so much under coach (Matt) Carroll’s leadership. They have some girls who can shoot and do really good in drive and kick situations.
“I was really happy for our seniors – Emily Helmich, Chelsea Jameson and Bailey Vetter – to get a win on senior night. This season hasn’t gone as anticipated from my expectations, so to get this win was good. We received contributions from a lot of girls.”
Vetter celebrated Senior Night by contributing eight points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
“Not to separate the seniors, but I was really happy for Bailey Vetter,” Klumpp said. “She’s been a four-year player and three-year contributor for the program as well as a two-time captain. She is very selfless and never once worries about her points or shot attempts in comparison to the end result. So for her to have such a major role in this win was nice. She’s kind of an unsung hero type because she doesn’t generate headlines with double-digit games, but her leadership and impact she has on our team is held in high regard amongst our staff. She’s someone who has grown so much as a person – confidence and leadership-wise. I am very happy for her.”
The Golden Hawks were led by the 11-point efforts of Jenna Culp and Hannah Binder. Binder also had nine rebounds and two steals.
“Defensively we executed really well tonight, we were working as a unit, our rotations were crisp, hands were active and we controlled the backboard,” Klumpp said. “It’s probably the closest we came to playing a full four quarters defensively. We won a lot of loose ball battles and had a lot of deflections. Bailey (Vetter), Hannah (Binder) and Ryann (Szydlik) did a great job of controlling the back line.
“Hannah very quietly just missed another double-double. She’s been very consistent in that regard this year and works really hard. Ryann has been having some really good practices and playing well in jayvee and is taking in everything we are asking of her and she’s seeing an uptick in minutes.”
Nicole Blaustein and Carley Irvin each had a pair of steals.
“Up top Carley Irvin and Jenna Culp did a really good job communicating personnel,” Klumpp said. “They have stepped up vocally. Carley does such a good job of knowing the team’s personnel, how we want to defend it and communicating it. She’s become an extension of the coaches out on the floor.
“Maddie (Broaddus), Nicole (Blaustein), and Montanna (Chambers) did a good job of picking spots to apply pressure to the ball. Bailey, Carley and Jenna did a really good job with time and score situations in the fourth as we faced some trapping and pressure, and that’s an area we have really improved in this year so the girls deserve a lot of credit for that. I was really proud of the team effort tonight especially defensively working as a unit. We will look to build on it tomorrow versus Tennent.”
Council Rock South (7-13, 3-7 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (13-7, 7-5) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 5-11-0-7 23
Council Rock South 9-15-6-9 39
Upper Moreland (23) – Phoebe Longstreth 9, Kaiya Herb 2, Kaitie Opferman 9, Hannah Finn 2, Kiera Coyle 1.
Council Rock South (39) – Montanna Chambers 3, Carley Irvin 2, Ryann Szydlik 3, Nicole Blaustein 1, Bailey Vetter 8, Jenna Culp 11, Hannah Binder 11.
PENNSBURY 47, WILLIAM TENNENT 20
Ava Sciolla had a big night for the Falcons. The freshman point guard collected a double-double with a game-high 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds. She also had two assists and one block. Senior Kate Mix added 11 points – all in a first half that saw the Falcons open up a 23-11 lead.
“William Tennent came out with a nice game plan – they were really good defensively,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “It was only 6-3 after the first quarter.
“Haley Crossley, who’s their best player, got into foul trouble, so that made it difficult for them. I thought they defended really well. Even at the half, I thought the game was still close. It was a weird type of game. There wasn’t a great deal of flow. Nobody shot the ball particularly well in terms of the first half.”
The Falcons led 36-14 after three quarters on their way to the convincing win.
“We have been really solid defensively over the past month, especially on the backboards,” Sciolla said. “After we got done playing (Council Rock North), we made them watch all 107 offensive rebounds that we had given up on tape. We didn’t say a word. I just pushed play on Hudl, and after about four minutes, I saw their faces, and I thought, ‘This is incredibly embarrassing’ because without saying anything, everyone’s weaknesses are brought to light with regard to who’s attacking the rim, who’s rebounding out of position.
“Since we showed that tape, Ava (Sciolla) has been double digits in rebounds every time. In her case specifically, she was doing what a lot of ninth graders do, and she was watching the ball at times instead of running to the rim. She’s been really solid, Kate Mix has been solid. Everyone else is rebounding a little bit better, and now we’re finishing possessions, and I think that’s why our scores have been so low.”
Chelsea Meltzer’s 10 points led the Panthers.
Sciolla had high praise for Tennent coach Laura Whitney.
“Most people consider her one of the best coaches in the area,” the Falcons’ coach said. “I always look at things and say ‘Who would I want my daughter to play for?’ She’s one of the people that’s high up on that list.
“She’s doing everything she can, but the challenge at Tennent, as it’s always been, is getting numbers out for girls’ basketball. They just have to keep getting kids out. If everybody comes back who played this year and they’re healthy, then they’re going to make a jump.
“She’s already proven she’s one of those people who can do more with less. As she gets a little bit more in terms of girls who have an ability to score and make plays, they’re going to be tough because they always defend, they always play hard, and they’re disciplined.”
Pennsbury (16-4, 7-3 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Tuesday, and William Tennent (4-16, 1-9) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 6-17-13-11 47
William Tennent 3-8-3-6 20
Pennsbury (47) – Lily Hochhausler 1, Madison Donovan 2, Bella Arcuri 4, Kate Mix 11, Mary Miller 2, Ava Sciolla 19, Cailyn Bethel 4, Cami Wiegand 4.
William Tennent (20) – Haley Crossley 1, Kirstin Hansen 3, Chelsea Meltzer 10, Hannah Reimel 3, Jenna Rodebaugh 2, Kirsten Scott 1.
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 53, PENNRIDGE 38
The Titans celebrated the team’s three seniors – Alexa Brodie, Sofia Sonnet and Fatima Cervera – with a convincing win over the visiting Rams.
“I thought we played well,” coach Beth Mattern said. “I was happy with the effort by everyone. It was a great night to celebrate our seniors.”
Freshman Taylor Hinkle stole the spotlight with an impressive 22-point effort. Brodie added 12 points, and Cervera had 11.
“Cervera had herself a night to remember,” Mattern said.
Sparked by a pair of Hinkle threes, the Titans led 12-6 after one quarter, and they took a commanding 30-14 lead into halftime. Hinkle – who had four threes in the half – accounted for 14 of those points while Brodie had 10. Cervera scored seven points in the third quarter as the Titans opened up a 43-22 lead over their visitors.
Emilee Cramer’s 14 points, which included a pair of threes, led the Rams. Evelyn Loughery also had two threes and added eight points.
Central Bucks South (12-8, 7-3 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday, and Pennridge (8-10, 2-8) will be on the road at Central Bucks East.
Pennridge 6-8-8-16 38
Central Bucks South 12-18-13-10 53
Pennridge (38) – Corinn Mart 2, Sam Muredda 3, Sophie Cweiber 2, Julia Kreider 3, Kiersten Moyer 2, Evelyn Loughery 8, Jillian Coughlin 2, Ashley Gordon 2, Emilee Cramer 14.
Central Bucks South (53) – Taylor Hinkle 22, Lauren Spear 2, Allie Burke 4, Fatima Cervera 11, Alexa Brodie 12, Sofia Sonnet 2.
SOL American Conference
WISSAHICKON 41, CHELTENHAM 32
The Trojans – sparked by seven points from Anna Schools and a pair of threes from Lily Hyatt – opened up a 15-4 lead after one quarter. Kai Williams scored nine points in the second quarter for the Lady Panthers, who outscored their hosts by two in the frame but still trailed 29-20 at the intermission.
“We went out early, hit some shots, executed well, moved the ball well and found the open person,” Wissahickon coach Rodney Cline said. “We got the A-plus shot instead of the C-plus shot. We trusted each other, and shots were falling.
“Then we kind of roughed it for a bit, got a little bit full of ourselves in the second quarter.”
Both teams scored 12 points in the second half.
“We got to play all 13 girls on the varsity roster, which was a plus,” Cline said. “Our younger girls stepped up. A freshman came in when our starting point guard, Anna Schools, went down with an ankle (injury). She played well.
“I thought our veterans rallied around our younger girls like Rebecca Selverian, Lauren Fadel and Kelly Dickson and helped them finish the game and bring it home. I’m proud of the camaraderie through a long season. We’ve had a lot of injuries. Our girls have continued to stay focused, buy into the system and know what we’re doing. They showed a lot of character, especially through adversity. I’m proud of the girls.”
Schools led all scorers with 18 points – 15 in an inspired first-half performance. Hyatt finished with nine points, and Lauren Fadel had seven.
Williams led the Lady Panthers with 17 points.
“A slow first quarter put us in a hole we couldn’t get ourselves out of,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “It was a great effort to the end, but we just came up short.”
Wissahickon (7-12, 4-8 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday, and Cheltenham (2-18, 0-12) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Cheltenham 4-16-3-9 32
Wissahickon 15-14-6-6 41
Cheltenham (32) – Mikahila Leighton 2, Madison Rorer 2, Maycie Cedeno 5, Kelia Holmes 4, Shannon Nichols 2, Kai Williams 17.
Wissahickon (41) – Lily Hyatt 9, Anna Schools 18, Leah Dubin 2, Lauren Fadel 7, Rebecca Selverian 2, Julia Verrier 2, Kelly Dickson 1.
Non-league
SOUDERTON 67, ABINGTON 57
With Queen’s “We are the Champions” blasting over the public address system and her players preparing to cut down the net, coach Lynn Carroll wasn’t quite sure what she found most amazing.
“There are so many things – (Was it the) 67 points? Was it the halftime score? (Kassondra) Brown having 17 at the half?” the Indians’ coach said. “And we won.”
Sixty-seven points was a season high for the Indians as was the 57 points they allowed. The end result was a classic battle between the SOL heavyweights.
“I think we came out tonight like it was a playoff game,” Carroll said. “Win or lose tonight, this was such a great game at the perfect time to get us ready for playoffs.”
The Ghosts got the Indians’ attention in a hurry, opening up a 10-2 lead when freshman point guard Khalis Whiting buried a three from the top of the circle. Megan Bealer answered with a three for the Indians, but a Camryn Lexow basket put the Ghosts on top 12-5. A Megan Walbrant trey made it a four-point game, and the Indians had served notice that they weren’t going to go away.
A basket by Brown – who had eight points in the quarter – gave the Ghosts an 18-13 lead after one quarter. That lead grew to seven after another Whiting three-pointer, but the Indians came roaring back. Megan Walbrandt blew by her defender for an easy basket, and after an Abington miss, Megan O’Donnell scored.
A fastbreak off another Abington miss resulted in a three-point play by Curran O’Donnell, who made the shot despite a hard foul, knotting the score 21-21.
“I’ve been in a little bit of a slump, so I’ve needed to find some confidence,” said O’Donnell, who finished with a team and career high 19. “Coach has been helping me with that, talking me through it, trying to relax in the paint and just finish.
“I think today I was just really settled, and I had help from my teammates – ‘Shoot the ball, let’s go.’”
Brown buried a three and – after an Indian miss – took it coast to coast for a layup and a 26-21 Ghost lead. Abington went on to open up a 35-28 lead after another basket by Brown, but the Indians reeled off five straight points to close out the half. Megan O’Donnell scored on a drive and Bealer connected on 3-of-4 at the foul line to trim the Ghosts’ lead to two at the half, 35-33.
Brown was magnificent in the first half, scoring 17 points that included a pair of three-pointers as well as a nifty baseline jumper. The University of Rhode Island-bound senior becomes even more dangerous with an outside game.
“I think I’ve always had it, but now that the playoffs are starting and this is my last year, I want to go out with a bang,” Brown said.
A Bealer steal on the Ghosts’ opening possession of the second half resulted in a Megan O’Donnell to Curran O’Donnell fast break bucket that knotted the score. It was a 37-37 game after Curran O’Donnell scored off the dribble, but back-to-back threes by Tamia Wessels ignited an 8-1 Abington run that was capped by a three-point play by Whiting, giving the Ghosts a 46-38 lead midway through the quarter.
Three straight threes by the Indians – two by Mikaela Reese and one from Curran O’Donnell put the Indians on top 47-46, but Wessels answered with a three for the Ghosts. When the quarter ended, the score was knotted 51-51.
The Ghosts led by one, 55-54, after Brown sank one-of-two at the line. It would be their final lead. A basket by Reese was followed by an Abington turnover, and Walbrandt made it hurt, hitting nothing but net on a three to put the Indians on top 59-55.
After an Abington miss, Reese buried a pair at the foul line. Brown did the same for the Ghosts, and the Indians – armed with a four-point lead – pulled the ball out. With 58 seconds remaining, Walbrandt was fouled and sank both ends of a one-and-one. An Abington miss set the stage for the prettiest play of the night when Walbrandt spotted a cutting Megan O’Donnell for a layup that sealed the Ghosts’ fate.
“We were really excited for this game,” Megan O’Donnell said. “We knew Abington was going to be a really good competitor and would show us what we’re going to see in the (postseason). Coming out with a win will give us a lot of confidence.”
The Indians’ crafty point guard spent the night attacking the basket. Forget the fact that she measures in at 5-1 – O’Donnell is fearless. She finished the game with 13 points, which included a 7-for-10 effort at the foul line.
“I could hear them saying, ‘Push her left, she’s going to pass it,’ so I thought, ‘I’m going to go right, and I’m going to go all the way,’ and that’s what I did,” she said. “They were leaving the lane open, covering out on our shooters.”
The senior point guard’s gutsy performance didn’t surprise Dan Marsh.
“Twenty-five – she’s their engine,” the Ghosts’ coach said of O’Donnell. “We knew going in that we had to take her out of the game. We tried and we weren’t able to.”
Walbrandt finished with 12 points, Reese had 10 – all in the second half, and Bealer added eight.
“Mo again was such a difference maker for us,” Carroll said of Megan O’Donnell. “Having her in foul trouble was tough for us, but Curran (O’Donnell) had a career night.
“Another game for Megan Walbrandt where she plays tough defense for 30 minutes. As the game’s progressing, I’m looking up at our scoring, and it’s so well balanced – four kids in double figures. I think that’s pretty much it. That’s why we’re playing as well as we’re playing and why we’re as successful as we are because of how unselfish they are offensively.”
Brown led all scorers with 24 points, Wessels had 16 with four threes, and Whiting had 13 points.
“Brown played just great – she was dominant in the first half,” Carroll said. “When you play man-to-man against a team like that, it’s the same principles any coach would have – you have to front her and have weak-side help, but they have such good shooters. Tamia (Wessels) hurt us from the outside.
“The second half – our defense was a little bit better, and offensively, we played smart, especially down the stretch.”
For the second time in as many years, the Indians – after Monday’s big win – cut down the net to celebrate capturing sole possession of the SOL Conference title with Friday’s win over Pennridge.
“We kind of just played – we just wanted to accomplish as much as we could,” Curran O’Donnell said of the season. “Not thinking about the future helped us succeed. We were just taking one game at a time and conquering each task that we were given.”
“Coach was trying to make us feel how special this is because we did it last year,” Megan O’Donnell said of winning the conference title. “It is a really big accomplishment for us, and all five of us seniors – we’re just really proud.
“It was a really special night to win this game against Abington and then cut down the net.”
Souderton (18-2, 10-1 SOL) will travel to Gwynedd Mercy Academy for a non-league game Tuesday at 5:15 p.m., and Abington (17-3, 11-1) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham.
Abington 18-17-16-6 57
Souderton 13-20-18-16 67
Abington (57) – Tamia Wessels 16, Camryn Lexow 2, Kassondra Brown 24, Miranda Liebtag 2, Khalis Whiting 13.
Souderton (67) – Megan Bealer 8, Olivia Schneider 3, Megan Walbrandt 12, Erica Stephens 2, Curran O’Donnell 19, Megan O’Donnell 13, Mikaela Reese 10.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 69, VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 49
The Patriots – behind eight points from Gabby Wilga – opened up a 22-7 lead after one quarter. They led 36-27 at the intermission and 53-45 after three quarters before blowing the game wide open with a 14-6 fourth quarter burst.
Senior Caroline Pla led the Patriots with 20 points, and Wilga finished with 15. Emily Chmiel had 13, Emily Barry had eight, Skylar Krause had seven, and Mia Salvati chipped in with six.
Central Bucks East (11-9, 6-5 SOL) will host Pennridge on Tuesday.
Villa Joseph Marie 7-20-18-4 49
Central Bucks East 22-14-17-16 69
Villa Joseph Marie (49) – Maggie Tomaselli 2,Elle McLaughlin 8, Julia Beck 9, Brooke Morrell 2, Keeley Connor 7, Ana Postowski 3, Kaitlyn Zink 6, Carly Austin 2, Jackie Skalski 8, Anna Needle 2.
Central Bucks East (69) – Mia Salvati 6, Gabby Wilga 15, Caroline Pla 20, Emily Chmiel 13, Skylar Krause 7, Emily Barry 8.
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