New Hope-Solebury and Upper Dublin were winners in SOL girls’ basketball action Saturday.
Non-league
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 51, BENSALEM 18
Rachel Saxton found her stride in the second quarter of Saturday’s non-league contest, erupting for 11 points and propelling the Lions to a commanding 31-11 halftime lead on their way to their fourth straight win.
“It was a great bounce-back game after last night – we got after it today,” NHS coach Steve Polinsky said.
Saxton led all scorers with 21 points while Madi Fasti also finished in double figures with 11. Reagan Chrencik added nine points, and Kate Dougherty had six.
“I was happy for Madi Fasti – she had 11 points and played really well the whole game,” Polinsky said. “She’s a total team player – plays great defense and runs the one and two for us.
“Rachel and Madi have played very good together, feeding off each other.”
Bensalem was led by the six-point efforts of Amber Howard and Mackenzie Kramer.
“Amber Howard is a very good player for Bensalem, and we wanted to contain her,” Polinsky said. “Kate Dougherty and our team held her to six points, which was huge.
“Reagan Chrencik did a great job helping on Howard. She is very athletic and rebounded and blocked a number of shots.”
New Hope-Solebury (4-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Tuesday, and Bensalem (1-4, 0-3 SOL) will be on the road at Neshaminy Tuesday.
Bensalem 2-9-4-3 18
New Hope-Solebury 13-18-1010 51
Bensalem (18) – Delaney Bell 1 0-2 3; Amber Howard 3 0-0 6; Erin Devlin 1 0-0 2; Mackenzie Kramer 2 2-2 6; Peyton Miller 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 7 3-6 18.
New Hope-Solebury (51) – Madi Fasti 5 1-1 11; Reagan Chrencik 2 4-4 9; Julianna Covino 2 0-0 4; Kate Dougherty 1 4-4 6; Rachel Saxton 10 0-0 21; TOTALS 20 9-9 51.
3-point goals: Bensalem – Delaney Bell, NHS – Rachel Saxton, Reagan Chrencik.
UPPER DUBLIN 31, PENNSBURY 17
In a non-league contest that saw both teams minus a key starter, it was the Flying Cardinals displaying their trademark defense and taking control of the game with a 12-0 second quarter that broke a 9-9 tie and gave UD control of the game.
The Cardinals outscored their visitors 17-1 over the middle two quarters.
“It sounds crazy in such a low-scoring game, but I thought we ran our offense as well as we have all year,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “There weren’t a lot of possessions in the game tonight.
“I thought our girls played really well. At the end of the game, you could make an argument that all six of our girls who played – each one of them was the most important player out on the court at different times.”
The Cardinals were without senior sharpshooter Dayna Balasa while the Falcons were minus senior Bella Arcuri, who was injured in Friday night’s win over Truman.
Stepping up for the Cardinals yet again was Amy Ngo – whose nine first half points sparked UD to a 21-9 halftime advantage. The promising rookie led all scorers with 15 points on the heels of a 16-point effort 24 hours earlier in the Cardinals’ win over Wissahickon. She also had a team high four steals to go along with four rebounds and one assist.
“She can do a little bit of everything,” Funsten said. “She’s got great speed, she’s got great quickness, she’s got a great shot, she can get to the basket, and she can finish with both hands.”
Sarah Eskew added six points, for the Cardinals and Jess Polin had five points, four rebounds, six deflections, four assists and two steals.
“Jess Polin struggled shooting the ball, but she did a great job running the offense,” Funsten said. “She disrupts things defensively with getting deflections and steals.
“Sarah Eskew made a couple of three’s early to give us a little bit of a lead, and defensively, she’s so important to us.
“Defensively, Bliss Brenner played Ava (Sciolla) the whole night and held her to 11. She had help from her teammates out there, but she worked extremely hard back-to-back nights. The night before she worked against (Wissahickon’s) Kaitlyn McGeary, who is a big size mismatch. She really didn’t come out for two games on back-to-back nights, so Bliss was important.
“Rachel Bilger had a really good weekend. We need her out on the court. She stabilizes things offensively, and she’s been a great big help defensively as well.
“Colleen Klammer came off the bench and gave us incredibly important minutes when Sarah Eskew got in foul trouble.”
Sciolla’s 11 points led the Falcons.
“I know Pennsbury having Bella (Arcuri) out wasn’t at full strength, but we were still really happy with how we played tonight,” Funsten said.
Upper Dublin (5-0, 2-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday, and Pennsbury will host Council Rock North Tuesday.
Pennsbury 9-0-1-7 17
Upper Dublin 9-12-5-5 31
Pennsbury (17) – Ava Sciolla 4 1-2 11; Abbi Nassivera 1 1-2 3; Emily Friel 0 1-2 1; Daniella MacDonald 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 5 5-10 17.
Upper Dublin (31) – Bliss Brenner 1 0-0 3; Rachel Bilger 0 2-2 2; Jess Polin 1 2-2 5; Amy Ngo 6 0-0 15; Sarah Eskew 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 10 4-6 31.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 2, UD – Amy Ngo 3, Sarah Eskew 2, Bliss Brenner, Jess Polin.
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