Pennsbury & PW were winners in Tuesday’s District One 6A second round action. Pennsbury/Owen J Roberts photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson; Plymouth Whitemarsh/Baldwin photos provided by Larry Small. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos. (CB East photos provided courtesy of CB East basketball)
#1-2 PENNSBURY 50, #1-9 OWEN J ROBERTS 27
The Falcons – just four years removed from a four-win season – are in the Elite Eight, thanks to their decisive win over the Wildcats in a second round game at Bensalem High School, and what has been a magical season continues for the young squad.
“I thought about it this morning – I don’t like to say I can’t believe it, I hate stuff like that because I’m so anti-cliché,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “I just look at it now, and when I’m thinking about where we were to where we are, I can’t believe it.
“That’s not a knock on our kids or our coaches or anything. This has been an incredible run.”
The Wildcats brought a modest four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s second round game. The Falcons took care of business in a hurry, opening up a 24-9 halftime lead and rolling to the decisive win.
“We saw a lot of tape,” Sciolla said. “They went on that incredible run where they won all those road games at Ridley, at Garnet Valley, at Souderton after being down big. They start four seniors, so they have a great deal of experience.
“They had several losses to Spring-Ford, but obviously, that’s not shabby because they were all close, and they had been in every game. We felt like we were really prepared. Our girls do such a good job preparing to take away what the other team does well on offense, getting ready defensively.
“The big concern tonight was rebounding. I think they had not been outrebounded since December, and they are really good on the backboards, and we kind of made that a focus.”
Ava Sciolla had a big night on the boards, pulling down 10. Abbi Nassivera had five tough rebounds.
“We were good enough, and we do make it difficult for people to score,” Sciolla said. “When we played (Central Bucks) West in the district title game, they shot 9-for-40, but they rebounded, they got to the foul line.
“We were in major foul trouble early on which forced us to change and play some zone. Mary Miller got three quick fouls, and Nicole Pompili was in foul trouble, so we adjusted a little bit.”
Bella Arcuri jumpstarted the Falcons with seven first-quarter points. The Falcons led 13-5 after one quarter and extended that lead by halftime on their way to the big win.
“Out of the chute off the tap, we ran a little low post play for Bella Arcuri, who’s our point guard, and she scored,” Sciolla said. “Bella did a good job settling us down again.
“It had been a strange day. A couple of the girls are sick. Nicole is sick, Ava is really sick. We were concerned this afternoon, but she battled through it. We were up big, they made a little run, but they just had a difficult time operating against us, and we were able to take away their primary scoring options.”
Nicole Pompili’s 12 points led a balanced attack. Arcuri added 10 points and Sciolla had nine. Mary Miller added eight points. Sciolla also had three assists and two steals, and Arcuri had three assists and one steal. Nassivera had a pair of assists and a steal while Miller had three rebounds and one assist.
Pennsbury (24-5, 11-1 SOL) will face District 12 champion Cardinal O’Hara in a quarterfinal game Friday.
“Cardinal O’Hara is probably the most tradition rich program,” Sciolla said. “They lost on a buzzer beater at (Archbishop) Wood earlier in the year.
“I student taught there, and one of the best people I met in education was from O’Hara. I know a load of O’Hara people, being a Catholic League guy. For me, this is special. I think this is going to be a pretty big night for our school and our community.”
Owen J Roberts 5-4-8-10 27
Pennsbury 13-11-5-21 50
Owen J Roberts (29) – Hannah Clay 1 0-0 3; Avery White 2 4-8 8; Olivia LeClaire 2 0-2 4; Alexa Vogelman 0 0-1 0; Brooke Greenawald 3 1-3 7; Maddi Koury 2 0-0 4; Allie Iyoob 1 1-2 3; Totals 10 6-16 27.
Pennsbury (50) – Makayla Bethea 1 0-0 3; Ava Sciolla 2 5-6 9; Kiley Haws 0 2-2 2; Bella Arcuri 4 1-3 10; Emily Friel 0 1-2 1; Mary Miller 3 2-2 8; Jill Haley 0 2-2 2; Mia Spinelli 0 3-4 3; Nicole Pompili 5 1-1 12; Totals 15 17-22 50.
3-point goals: OJR – Hannah Clay, Pennsbury – Makayla Betha, Bella Arcuri, Nicole Pompili.
#1-3 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 53, #7-5 BALDWIN 27
The Colonials made their long trek to Chambersburg worth their while, opening up a 29-12 halftime lead on their way to a no-doubt-about-it win over the Fighting Highlanders. With the win, the young Colonials – who do not have a senior on their roster – earned a spot in the Elite Eight.
“We are all excited – we had several loyal fans make the trip tonight,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “The school and community are buzzing about this group of kids. The message is ‘the future is now.’
“We are hoping the disappointment of the way our run in districts ended continues to fuel these kids in practice. Next year, years after aren’t promised. We need to seize the opportunity in front of us.”
The Colonials led 13-8 after one quarter and then blew the game open with a 16-4 second quarter. In the second quarter, freshman Deja Evans stepped in for Jordyn Thomas, who was saddled with fouls, and contributed three points, four blocked shots and five rebounds.
“She gave us really big minutes,” Dougherty said of Evans. “Baldwin came out fired up and physical. They committed 14 first-half fouls, and we were able to capitalize at the foul line.”
With the game well under control, the Colonials outscored Baldwin 24-15 in the second half.
“Our press just wore them out, and we continued to extend our lead as they had to become more desperate defensively,” Dougherty said.
Kaitlyn Flanagan and Anna McTamney led a balanced attack with 12 points each. Flanagan was 8-for-11 at the charity stripe while McTamney was 4-for-4. Abby Sharpe added nine points, and Jordyn Thomas had eight. Gabby Cooper finished with seven points.
This is the third time in program history the Colonials have advanced to the quarterfinals. The 1985 squad was the state runner-up, and in 2017, the Colonials lost to Souderton in the quarterfinals.
“The girls are enjoying the journey – literally and figuratively, which is the most important thing,” Dougherty said.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (25-4, 13-1 SOL) could well be making another long road trip when it faces District 7 runner-up Bethel Park in a quarterfinal contest Friday.
Baldwin 8-4-12-3 27
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13-16-13-11 53
Baldwin (27) – Emiley Hillgartner 4 0-0 10; Anna Lucarelli 3 2-8 8; Meghan Dryburgh 1 0-0 2; Kayla Radomsky 3 1-2 7; Totals 11 3-10 27.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (53) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 2 8-11 12; Fiona Gooneratne 1 0-0 2; Abby Sharpe 4 1-2 9; Gabby Cooper 3 1-2 7; Anna McTamney 4 4-4 12; Jordyn Thomas 3 1-2 8; Deja Evans 1 1-2 3; Totals 18 16-23 53.
3-point goals: Baldwain – Emiley Hillgartner, PW – Jordyn Thomas.
#11-2 FREEDOM 60, #1-1 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 47
Dreams die hard, and seeing the dream of winning a state title slip away was undeniably heartbreaking, but in the midst of their tears, the players turned to each other.
Senior Jess Broskey draped her arms around teammates Maddie Burke and Emily Spratt and said simply, ‘I love you guys’ as the trio walked out of the locker room together. Just as they had always won together, they lost together.
“I remember thinking so many times this season that I didn’t want it to end,” Broskey said. “It’s a shame to see it cut so short especially knowing how much every single person in the locker room wanted it. We’re family here.”
“It’s just a group of best friends – a special group,” Burke said. “And it had to end because of something so out of our control. It’s a shame, it’s actually a shame because we’re so close, and we could have gone so much further than we already did.”
The Bucks haven’t had many nights when things didn’t go their way, but Tuesday was one of those nights. A one-minute span in the first quarter forever changed the course of the game. It came when Burke was whistled for her second and third fouls in a one-minute span. The third – which many believed was assessed to the wrong West player – was the one that changed everything.
West trailed 7-4 at the 3:46 mark when the call was made that sparked a 16-4 Freedom tear. By halftime, three starters – Burke, Paige Gilbert and Olivia Irons – were on the bench with three fouls, and a West team that has made its living playing tough, physical defense was handcuffed from the outset. The Bucks were whistled for 13 first-half fouls while Freedom had five.
“Defense is our trademark,” Broskey said.
“How we play is physical defense,” Burke said. “We couldn’t play that way tonight because of something that’s out of our control, and that’s a shame.”
The Bucks, who trailed 32-17 at halftime, still found themselves on the short end of a 41-26 score heading into the final quarter. A basket by Maddy McGarry made it a 41-29 game, but on Freedom’s ensuing possession, Burke was whistled for her fourth and fifth fouls.
The Bucks continued to battle, forcing a turnover, and when sophomore Emily Spratt – despite being fouled – scored on a tough drive and sank the foul shot, the Bucks found themselves within nine. Another basket by Spratt, who all but willed her team back, made it a 41-34 game with 5:16 remaining,
“She’s a great kid,” Sibel said of Spratt. “She’s someone that fights so hard and someone that’s grown so much and is going to continue to grow as a player. I’m really proud of the way she responded and stepped up and what she did. That’s special, and that’s someone that’s going to continue to do amazing things.”
Just when momentum appeared to be swinging in West’s favor, along came another game-defining call when Paige Gilbert was whistled for her fifth foul that – to the dismay of the West faithful – was deemed flagrant by the officials.
Freedom buried both foul shots, maintained possession and connected on a basket to go back on top 45-34. The Bucks would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
“Words are tough to come by,” West coach Zach Seibel said. “When we got in that locker room, I looked every girl in the eyes and I saw the emotions that they had. That shows how much they wanted it and how much they gave this season.
“Every single girl that wore that jersey gave everything she had every practice, every game, every workout, every film session. I told them – this loss won’t define them. It’s how they handled adversity and how they continued to fight when some of the cards were stacked against them. To be able to continue to respond and fight is toughness, and it’s going to be something they take with them to the real world.”
Spratt’s 21 points led all scorers. The sophomore standout scored 13 of those points in the fourth quarter to spearhead the Bucks’ comeback.
“I just wanted to play for the seniors – it’s their last year,” Spratt said. “With Maddie and Paige on the bench, it was really hard.
“Knowing how much they wanted to be out there actually made us want to play even more together, but it’s hard to play so together when you can’t even play defense.”
Burke, signed to play at Penn State, scored five points in her final high school game. Although she played less than half the game, she never stopped cheering for her teammates.
“You’ve got to control what you can control,” Burke said. “You can control what you do for your teammates and your reaction to adversity.”
Also for the Bucks, Irons finished with nine points and Anna Blue had six, but on this night, it wasn’t enough to extend what had been an extraordinary season.
“We’ve been together every single day since September,” Spratt said. “Sometimes you can give it your all, play really well together, do all the right things, and every time we would get a shot, we’d get a foul called, and they’d get two foul shots. We couldn’t even get a run.”
“If nothing else, I think it showed on the court how much we play for each other,” Broskey said. “I think we’re the most unselfish team in the state, we’re the most together team in the state, and I stand by my word – we’re the best team in the state.”
Sibel acknowledged that saying good-bye to the team’s four seniors – Burke, Broskey, Irons and McGarry – was not easy.
“I’m a fortunate person, a better person for knowing them, I’m a better coach for having coached them,” the Bucks’ first-year coach said. “Hopefully, I’ll stay in touch with them. They’re the type of kids you want to stay in touch with.”
Central Bucks West (25-4, 12-0 SOL) closed out its successful season with a SOL Continental Conference title, the SOL Tournament crown and a District One 6A crown.
Extra shots: Freedom coach Dean Reiman, the former girls’ basketball coach at Palisdes, could relate to West’s frustration. “We lost our district championship game in double overtime, and our best player, (Jennifer) Kokolus, fouled out on a play that the ref made from behind, and she was ahead of the play,” Reiman said. “The ref e-mailed me the next day and apologized. It’s a part of the game. It’s unfortunate. Honestly, I didn’t want to see their best player out of the game. I want to play teams in the state playoffs when they’re at full strength and play their best game. That’s our true measuring stick of how good can we be. That being said, I don’t make the calls. It was a fortunate break for us, and we took advantage of it.” Freedom, which was impressive in the win, was led by the double-digit efforts of Brenna Ortwein (17 points), Jennifer Kokolus (16), Kailey Turpening (12) and Corinn Gill (11).
Freedom 13-19-9-19 60
Central Bucks West 8-9-9-21 47
Freedom (60) – Brenna Ortwein 4 9-10 17; Corrin Gill 2 7-10 11; Kailey Turpening 4 1-3 12; Levy Jewell 2 0-0 4; Jennifer Kokolus 4 7-7 16; Totals 16 24-30 60
Central Bucks West (47) – Olivia Irons 4 1-2 9; Anna Blue 2 0-0 6; Emily Spratt 9 3-3 21; Jess Broskey 1 2-4 4; Maddie Burke 2 1-2 5; Maddy McGarry 1 0-0 2; Totals 19 7-11 47.
3-point goals: Freedom – Kailey Turpening 3, Jennifer Kokolus, CBW – Anna Blue 2.
#7-2 BETHEL PARK 47, #1-5 UPPER DUBLIN 40
A special era in Upper Dublin basketball came to an end on Tuesday night. The loss marked the end of quite a run for the Flying Cardinal seniors, who were part of the team’s 2018 state title run.
“The coaching staff was walking to the locker room still talking about the game, and then it kind of trailed off,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “I guess it started to hit me that this team that has been so special over all four of their years but especially the success we’ve had the last three years – it started to hit me that this was the last time I was going into the locker room with this group. It was an emotional locker room after the game.
“They don’t know anything other than playing in March. These girls spent a lot of time together. The work they put in and their ability to bounce back over the years – it’s what I admire and probably what I’m most proud of. What would you say about Upper Dublin? You’d normally say they’re playing their best basketball at the end of the season. In order to do that, you need to have a team-first mentality. You need to be able to handle adversity. You can’t point fingers, you have to stick together, and for that, I’m extremely proud of what this group has accomplished.”
The Cardinals suffered a setback before they ever stepped on the court. They received word Monday that Dayna Balasa had been diagnosed with mononucleosis. The junior long-range shooter was at the game in street clothes.
“A team that’s primarily a zone team – you’d like to have Dayna to shoot them out of their zone, but sometimes those things happen,” Funsten said.
The Black Hawks had a big first quarter, opening up an 18-10 lead that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.
“One of their starters must have hurt her hand in the Governor Mifflin game because she played the whole game, but she wasn’t dressed tonight,” Funsten said. “So they started a freshman (Sophia Nath), and she made a three and a two to start the game.
“You have to put so much attention on their two top players. Their three top scorers pretty much score 95 percent of their points, so you want to make those other girls beat you. Credit to that freshman, she stepped up and made two shots to start the game. Our defense the rest of the quarter – we got away from our game plan because we overreacted to her making shots.
“Whereas we should have been still ready to help on their best players – what it did it opened up the game for those girls to drive. After the first quarter, I thought we played much better defense, but that freshman (Nath) stepping up and making her team’s first two shots of the game changed our team’s defensive mindset for the rest of the quarter, and we needed to be better than that.”
Behind six points from Vargas, the Cardinals trimmed five points off Bethel Park’s lead and went into halftime trailing by just a 25-22 score. The Black Hawks extended their lead to 36-27 heading into the final quarter. The Cardinals – sparked by seven points from Kara Grebe – hung tough in the final quarter but never could make up the ground they lost early in the game.
Nath had a pair of clutch baskets in the second half as well and finished with 10 points in a significant supporting role.
“It’s not that we were just leaving her alone – we were going to use whoever was defending her to help on the girls who required more attention,” Funsten said. “The rest of the game after the first quarter we were much better defensively.
“The girls showed a lot of fight. We watched a bunch of Bethel Park’s games. I saw them play almost as well against North Allegheny in the district championship game when they lost in overtime. Outside of that, I did not see them come close to playing as well as they did tonight. We could have been better, but this is one of those – the other team was good, they were just better than us tonight.”
Leading the charge for Bethel Park was junior Olivia Westphal, who surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in January and led all scorers with 23 points. Seven of those – including two 3s – came in the fourth quarter.
“They have two thousand-point scorers – one’s a senior and is going to St. Bonaventure,” Funsten said of Madelyn Dziezgowski. “I was talking to one of their coaches, and Olivia Westphal is getting Power 5 looks. She’s a special player, she’s got unlimited range.
“We had a lot of fight in us, and we got it to three two different times late in the game. We were pressing at the time, we came extremely close to getting steals both times in the back court. I thought the girls did a good job pressing. Bethel Park scrambled, and both of the shots that (Westphal) took were from extremely far out. They were shots – as good of a shooter as she is – we were actually glad she took them because it was giving us a chance to get a rebound and come back the other way, but she drained both of them.
“When she made the first one, we came back and made a three to cut it back to three. The girls showed so much fight.”
Vargas, whose stellar four-year career spanned 122 games, led the Cardinals with 13 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Grebe added nine points, and Jess Polin had eight points, five assists, four rebounds and one steal. Sarah Eskew had seven points. Bliss Brenner had four rebounds, three assists, one steal and three points.
Funsten will lose regulars Vargas, Grebe and Anajae Smith to graduation.
“Even the two seniors who don’t get as much playing time as they wanted – Jackie Gorman and Brianna Felgois – they show up every day, they work hard, they put the time in that everybody else does, but you don’t hear about them,” Funsten said. “I’m proud of the entire team, especially the seniors for what they’ve accomplished and all the work they’ve put in. They’re going to be missed for sure.”
Upper Dublin (12-2 SOL) closed out its season with a 21-9 record.
Upper Dublin 10-12-5-13 40
Bethel Park 18-7-11-11 47
Upper Dublin (40) – Bliss Brenner 1 0-0 3; Jess Polin 2 2-2 8; Kara Grebe 4 0-0 9; Sarah Eskew 2 1-2 7; Jackie Vargas 5 3-4 13; Totals 14 6-8 40.
Bethel Park (47) – Lauren Mullen 1 3-3 5; Madelyn Dziezgowski 2 3-4 9; Sophia Nath 4 0-0 10; Olivia Westphal 8 4-5 23; Totals 15 10-12 47.
3-point goals: UD – Jess Polin 2, Sarah Eskew 2, Kara Grebe, Bliss Brenner, BP – Olivia Westphal 3, Sophia Nath 2, Madelyn Dziezgowski 2.
#3-2 CENTRAL YORK 49, #1-7 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 47
The Patriots had possession on the sideline trailing by three with eight seconds remaining in regulation but came up empty. The Panthers buried a pair of foul shots, and a three at the buzzer by Mia Salvati made it a two-point game.
A successful season for an East squad that returns its entire lineup next year had come to a disappointing end.
“It was one of those things that we keep saying – you can’t count on next year,” East coach Liz Potash said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, so you’ve got to make the most of this year.
“For the most part, we’re happy with the season, knowing you’ll bring everybody back. How can it not be a successful season when you’re still playing on March 10? It was absolutely a great experience, and bringing everybody back, how can you not learn from everything we went through.”
The Patriots fell behind early – trailing 20-12 after one quarter. It was still an eight-point game entering the fourth quarter when the Patriots made things interesting.
“It was 43-41 and I remember looking up and thinking, ‘We are going to pull this off,’” Potash said. “It was a shame. We didn’t play 32 minutes.
“If we had played 32 minutes, I’m not going to say we win that game, but I would have liked to have seen us play 32 minutes because it’s a team we matched up well with because they had two forwards and three guards just like us. We don’t find many of those teams around any more.”
Emily Chmiel scored 18 points to lead the Patriots – she scored 15 of those in the first half to keep the Patriots in it. Salvati added 14 points, and Gabby Wilga had 10.
“They have a real nice freshman point guard, and I thought Emily Barry did a great job on her,” Potash said. “They have a nice shooter, and Aubrey DeAngelis did a nice job on her.
“We gave up 20 points in the first quarter – that’s kind of the game. We played pretty well defensively the next three. They had six 3s in the first half. They came out shooting the ball really well. There weren’t any surprises. It was everything we watched on film. It was all the kids making shots we anticipated making shots, but the intensity was not there for 32 minutes. I think that’s what we’ll kick ourselves about.”
Central Bucks East (8-4 SOL) closed out its season with a 19-10 record.
Central Bucks East 12-6-10-19 47
Central York 20-6-10-13 49
Central Bucks East (47) – Emily Chmiel 7 4-6 18; Mia Salvati 6 1-2 14; Gabby Wilga 4 0-2 10; Aubrey DeAngelis 1 1-2 3; Emily Barry 0 2-2 2; Totals 18 8-14 47.
Central York (49) – Bella Chimienti 3 0-0 8; Georgia Panopaulos 1 0-2 2; Sarah Berman 4 0-2 12; Abby McFerren 3 2-4 8; Mackenzie Wright-Rawls 2 1-2 5; Emily Prowell 5 2-4 14; Totals 18 5-14 49.
3-point goals: CBE – Gabby Wilga 2, Mia Salvati, Central York – Sarah Berman 4, Bella Chimienti 2, Emily Prowell 2.
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