Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls basketball teams in action. William Tennent/Lower Moreland photos provided courtesy of Greg Zesinger. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Boys
SOL Freedom Division
WILLIAM TENNENT 47, LOWER MORELAND 43
The Panthers notched their fifth win in as many games, but this one was anything but easy.
The visiting Lions refused to go away, keeping the outcome in doubt until the final seconds when – with the Panthers holding a three-point lead – Derrik Cosenza buried one-of-two at the foul line to give the Panthers their final margin of victory.
“We’d get the lead to six or eight, and they’d hit a three,” Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “They hit a runner at the end of the half, they threw in a half-court shot at the end of the third quarter.
“It was just one of those games when we had opportunities to capitalize and extend our lead we either made a mistake or missed an easy shot or we did execute and score, and they would answer right back.”
The Panthers, who led 7-2 after one quarter, took a 15-12 lead into halftime.
“They really controlled the tempo in the first half,” Mulville said. “I think their second possession was about a minute and 45 seconds, and we were rushing. We had two good looks at the basket on our first two possessions and we missed them both.
“They held the ball for so long, we tried to hit a guy on a break, and we overthrew him. It was like we were playing defense the entire quarter. We had chances to be up 12-2 or 13-2, and instead, it was 7-2.”
The tempo picked up in a third quarter that saw the Panthers outscore their visitors 21-20. Both teams scored 11 points in the final frame.
“In the end, I thought our defense was pretty good,” Mulville said. “We were up three with about 30 seconds left. They called a timeout.
“They took a shot with about 12 seconds left, but we had a hand up on it and were able to get the rebound and then made one-of-two foul shots to make it a four-point game.”
Cosenza and Matt Miller each scored nine points to lead the Panthers. Miller also had six assists, and Cosenza collected 15 rebounds.
“Matt Miller just stepped up tonight,” Mulville said. “He had six assists and was all over the place on defense. He hit a three late in the game.
“It’s funny how someone different is stepping up every night, and he was the guy tonight.”
Also for the Panthers, Walter Young and Jay Stanfield both had eight points, and Mike Scheller added seven.
The Lions were led by the 12-point effort of Jack Doneker. Eval Khakin added nine points on three 3-pointers, and Brian Grant had eight. Matt Ernst chipped in six.
William Tennent (5-0, 4-0 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham on Friday, and Lower Moreland (0-1) will host Upper Moreland Friday.
Lower Moreland 2-10-20-11 43
William Tennent 7-8-21-11 47
Lower Moreland (43) – Justin Sandler 0 1-2 1; Brian Grant 4 0-0 8; Eyal Khakin 3 0-0 9; Matt Ernst 2 0-0 6; Brayden Alicia 1 0-0 3; Jack Doneker 5 0-0 12; Joey Morozin 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 17 1-2 43.
William Tennent (47) – Dom Sulpizio 1 0-0 3; Walter Young 3 0-0 8; Matt Miller 4 0-1 9; Jay Stanfield 2 2-3 8; Mike Scheller 3 0-0 7; Cosenza 4 1-3 9; Ryan Emmerich 1 0-0 3 JP McAnulty 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 18 3-9 47.
3-point goals: LM – Eyal Khakin 3, Matt Ernst 2, Jack Doneker 2, Brayden Alicia, WT – Walter Young 2, Jay Stanfield 2, Matt Scheller, Ryan Emmerich, Matt Miller, Dom Sulpizio.
Girls
SOL Freedom Division
WILLIAM TENNENT 27, LOWER MORELAND 22
The roller coaster ride that has been the 2021 season continued for the Panthers, who – after managing just 14 points through three quarters – scored 13 in the fourth, erasing a six-point deficit and earning the dramatic come-from-behind win.
“We just kept clawing our way back in the game,” Tennent coach Laura Whitney said. “Each girl at different moments in the second half stepped up and made big shots or big plays when we needed to. We were still down six going into the fourth quarter, but we held them to two points, and we exploded for our best offensive performance.
“Our trend in the past – when things get tough or we faced adversity, we kind of packed it in, but they really showed a lot of resiliency, a lot of character. They kept playing hard even though the situation they were faced with wasn’t easy. They kept grinding. We keep saying, ‘The game isn’t over until the clock shows zero.’ They just fought to the end. They deserved this win. I’m happy for them.”
The Panthers were on the short end of a 20-14 score heading into the fourth quarter when numerous players delivered big plays.
“Chase (Dubzak) had a big three, and Kailyn (Hansen) had two possession where she had a nice post-up inside and finished the play and then got an offensive rebound for a putback,” Whitney said. “They made it tough on Courtney (Bragen) the whole game, but she can impact the game in so many ways. Even though at times she was having a hard time scoring, she’s just a great defensive player as well. She was putting pressure on the other players and got a couple of key steals and big rebounds for us. She made two key baskets down the stretch for us.”
With the Panthers on top by three, Dubzak put an exclamation point on the win, sinking both ends of a one-and-one with three seconds remaining for the final margin of victory.
“That kind of iced the game,” Whitney said. “It was a nail-biter.”
Bragen and Dubzak both had nine points to lead the Panthers, and Hansen had seven.
E
arly on, the Panthers trailed 15-7 at the intermission.
“Defensively, our rotations weren’t great – we gave up a lot of easy points in the lane,” Whitney said. “We struggled offensively to score. Teams know Courtney (Bragen) is our best player, so they made it tough on her to get any easy looks.
“In the second half, we switched up our defense to give them a different look. It was the tale of two halves. We couldn’t score the first half, and us switching things up defensively in the second half seemed to throw them off. It took them out of their rhythm.
“We’ve had a tough start to the season, playing the top two teams in our league and then Council Rock South the other night. We definitely needed this one.”
For the Lions, Jess Dugo had seven points and Liz Neeld had six, connecting on a pair of three’s.
“We got off to a solid start and then went cold in the second half,” said LM coach Rich Becker, whose team scored just seven points in the second half. “Tori Finnegan got into foul trouble, and with our youth and lack of depth, some of our young girls had to play out of position, but they were competitive and played hard the entire time. Freshman Amelia Brown was asked to play their best player most of the game and did a nice job of it.”
William Tennent (2-3, 2-2 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Friday, and Lower Moreland (1-1) will be on the road at Upper Moreland Friday.
William Tennent 5-2-7-13 27
Lower Moreland 6-9-5-2 22
William Tennent (27) – Kailyn Hansen 3 1-2 7; Courtney Bragen 4 1-3 9; Chase Dubzak 3 2-2 9; Morgan Volz 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 11 4-7 27.
Lower Moreland (22) – Tori Finnegan 1 0-0 2; Ofek Gur 1 0-0 2; Jess Shem 1 0-0 2; Liz Neeld 2 0-2 6; Jess Dugo 3 1-3 7; Amelia Brown 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 9 1-5 22.
3-point goals: WT – Chase Dubzak, LM – Liz Neeld 2, Amelia Brown.
SOL Liberty Division
QUAKERTOWN 41, WISSAHICKON 36
Sparked by a glittering 17-point effort of sophomore Katie Catalano, the Panthers notched their first win of the young season.
“This was a really important win for our team and a first league win for our team in a few years,” Quakertown coach Brittany Bamford said. “We left a strong league and came into another one so this was important for our girls to gain some confidence in their hard work.”
The Panthers coach lauded the play of Catalano, who buried three 3-pointers and was a perfect 2-for-2 at the foul line.
“Katie Catalano is a young player but she doesn’t play that way,” Bamford said. “She handled the pressure very well tonight. She is very hard on herself but I’m hoping she’s proud of her efforts tonight for the team to get this win.”
The Panthers set the tone for the game with a 13-7 first quarter and took a 23-19 lead into halftime.
“We were able to hit some major outside shots in the first quarter by Fallon Grandinetti and Katie Catalano, which gave us that lift that we needed along with a strong effort on defense,” Bamford said. “It’s no secret that Katie runs the offense and is a little fire starter on defense.
“Laney Mitchell also created a lot of energy defensively tonight. Wissahickon responded well in the second half defensively, which gave our girls a hard time.”
The Panthers edged the Trojans 5-4 in a defensive third quarter and took a 28-23 lead into the final quarter that saw both teams score 13 points.
“At the end of the game, our girls were able to hit from the line which is nerve racking, but they went 5-for-6 – Carolyn (Sipprell) 2-2, (Katie) Catalano 2-2, and (Laney) Mitchell 1-2,” Bamford said. “Katie Offner also had two baskets going into the last couple of minutes and kept us comfortable with the ball.”
In addition to Catalano, Fallon Grandinetti added eight points, Carolyn Sipprell had six points and nine rebounds, and Katie Offner also had six points.
For the Trojans, Lilly Hyatt – who connected on three 3-pointers – led the way with 11 points. Kylie Friedman added nine, Julia Verrier had seven and Kaitlyn McGeary chipped in with six.
“We just didn’t take advantage of opportunities we created for ourselves,” Wissahickon coach Rodney Cline said. “That’s what it came down to.
“They hit some big shots in big moments, and we came back and hit some big shots at key moments. We played great defense, but we didn’t reward ourselves when we created opportunities. They did. All the credit to them.
“We have to work harder and clean up the things that are not allowing us to be successful. It’s back to the drawing board. It’s a learning moment. This loss is definitely tough.”
Quakertown (1-3, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday, and Wissahickon (1-5, 0-3) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham Friday.
Quakertown 13-10-5-13 41
Wissahickon 7-12-4-13 36
Quakertown (41) – Carolyn Sipprell 1 4-8 6; Fallon Grandinetti 3 0-0 8; Katie Catalano 6 2-2 17; Laney Mitchell 0 1-2 1; Kayla Horning 0 1-2 1; Katie Offner 3 0-0 6; Abigail McClaskey 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 8-14 41.
Wissahickon (36) – Lily Hyatt 3 2-2 11; Leah Dubin 1 1-4 3; Kylie Friedman 4 1-2 9; Julia Verrier 3 1-3 7; Kaitlyn McGeary 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 14 5-11 36.
3-point goals: Quakertown – Katie Catalano 3, Fallon Grandinetti 2, Wissahickon – Lily Hyatt 3.
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