Seven SOL girls’ basketball teams were winners in District One Tournament action Wednesday. Six of eight remaining teams in Class 6A are from the SOL. CB East/CB South photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Upper Dublin/Haverford photos provided courtesy of Geanine Jamison Photography. Upper Moreland/Bishop Shanahan photos provided by Jon Sklut & PW Souderton photo courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for galleries of all four games.
Class 6A
#2 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 45, SOUDERTON 18
Senior Anna McTamney scored seven first-quarter points, jumpstarting the Colonials who led 16-4 after one quarter. They added to that lead in the next two quarters on their way to the no-doubt-about-it win.
The game marked the return to the lineup of junior point guard Kaitlyn Flanagan, who had been sidelined with an injury, and with their floor general back, the Colonials looked like a well-oiled machine.
“Defensively, we were just outstanding from the tip,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “Offensively, with Flanagan back, even though she didn’t score, she ran the offense perfectly, had four assists and three steals.
“Anna McTamney, Gabby Cooper, and Erin Daley each had spots where they made important shots at the start of the game; Abby Sharpe and Lainey Allen gave great energy and effort off the bench.”
There’s no mistaking it was a team effort by the Colonials, who received scoring from eight different players. By halftime, McTamney had 11 points, and the Colonials had a 26-5 lead over the visiting Indians, who never could find their offensive stride.
McTamney’s 14 points, which included a 5-for-5 effort at the foul line, led a balanced PW attack. Gabby Cooper added eight points, Erin Daley had seven, and Abby Sharpe finished with six.
For the Indians, Jordan Zimmerman’s eight points led the way.
“We’re excited to be moving on, we have a lot to prepare for going against CB West,” Dougherty said.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-1, 10-0 SOL) will host #10 Central Bucks West in a district quarterfinal game Saturday at 3 p.m. The Colonials notched a 62-51 win over West during the regular season.
Souderton closed out its season with an 8-9 record overall (6-4 SOL).
Souderton 4-1-2-11 18
Plymouth Whitemarsh 16-10-11-8 45
Souderton (18) – Jordan Zimmerman 3 0-0 8; Erin Bohmueller 0 1-2 1; Olivia Schneider 0 1-2 1; Casey Harter 1 0-0 2; Teya McConnaha 2 0-0 4; Hayley Fenchel 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 6 4-6 18.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (45) – Ally Zolty 0 1-2 1; Erin Daley 3 0-0 7; Abby Sharpe 2 1-2 6; Gabby Cooper 3 2-5 8; Anna McTamney 4 5-6 14; Lainey Allen 2 0-0 4; Jordyn Thomas 1 1-2 3; Deja Evans 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 16 10-17 45.
3-point goals: Souderton – Jordan Zimmerman 2, PW – Abby Sharpe, Erin Daley, Anna McTamney.
#3 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 37, #19 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 32
Although the Patriots had a pair of regular season wins over South under their belt – one by eight points and the other by 10, no one thought beating the Titans a third time was going to be easy, and it wasn’t.
“It’s pretty tough because we’re making adjustments, we know they’re making adjustments,” East senior captain Mia Salvati said. “They played us close both times in the season, so we knew it would be a close game coming in.”
The Titans – who led early but trailed by as many as 10 in the second half – battled back to make it a one-point game late in the fourth quarter after a basket by Allison Sauers. The Patriots, however, calmly sank 4-of-6 foul shots down the stretch to seal the Titans’ fate
“Basketball is just a game of runs,” Salvati said. “Whoever can make the last run – you just have to keep your composure.
“South is a young team. We knew they would come in and play us tough. We’ve been in this situation before. It’s just about keeping your composure.”
Wednesday’s win was anything but easy.
“It’s exactly how I thought this game was going to go,” East coach Liz Potash said. “You see the team three times. Everyone knows what everyone is going to do at that point.
“South is playing really hard – they’re aggressive, they’re physical, they’re doing everything they can to get advantages.”
And the Titans – behind the hot hand of Taylor Hinkle – certainly had the early advantage. South’s junior captain scored nine points in the first quarter, propelling the Titans to an 11-6 lead after one quarter. A jump shot by Caroline McSorely gave the Titans a 13-6 lead, but Salvati scored on a putback of her own miss, and then Emily Chmiel scored after an offensive rebound.
A South turnover resulted in a layup for Salvati, and then the senior captain turned another Titan miscue into a short jumper that gave the Patriots a 14-13 lead. Another Chmiel putback gave East a three-point lead, but Hinkle buried a pair at the foul line to make it a one-point game.
The Patriots answered with a Salvati 3-pointer and a Chmiel putback to go on top 21-15, but Maddy Tanyum scored after pulling down an offensive rebound, and a Mackenzie Erb basket off an inbounds pulled the Titans to within two. Salvati took a South miss coast to coast, scoring at the buzzer to send East into halftime with a 23-19 advantage.
East opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run, going on top 31-21 after Anna Barry scored on a drive. Four straight points by Hinkle made it a 31-25 game heading into the final quarter. The Patriots still led 33-25 less than a minute into the final quarter but then did not score again until Salvati – after the Titans pulled to within one on an Allison Sauers putback – sank the front end of a one-and-one with 39.8 seconds remaining to give the Patriots a 34-32 lead. The Titans misfired on the front end of a one-and-one, and Chmiel hit on both ends of her one-and-one at the other end to put the Patriots on top 36-32 with 16.9 seconds remaining to seal the Titans’ fate.
“They gave a great effort,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “They left it all out on the court. It stinks to lose the last game of your season, but it’s nice to know your team gave everything they had to give you there.
“The effort of the bench to the players on the court – the energy has been great, and they just really made the year fun to coach.”
Hinkle’s 17 points led the Titans.
Salvati led all scorers with 18 while Chmiel had 13.
Central Bucks East (16-1, 10-0 SOL) will host #11 Pennsbury in a quarterfinal game on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Patriots defeated the Falcons 46-32 in a regular season contest.
Central Bucks South closed out its season with a 9-9 record (4-6 SOL).
Central Bucks South 11-8-6-7 32
Central Bucks East 6-17-8-6 37
Central Bucks South (32) – Taylor Hinkle 5 6-7 17; Mackenzie Erb 2 1-2 5; Maddy Tantum 1 0-0 2; Allison Sauers 1 0-0 2; Caroline McSorley 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 12 7-9 32.
Central Bucks East (37) – Devon Burns 1 0-0 2; Anna Barry 1 0-0 2; Mia Salvati 7 3-5 18; Emily Chmiel 5 3-4 13; Emily Barry 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 15 6-9 37.
3-point goals: CBS – Taylor Hinkle, CBE – Mia Salvati.
#4 UPPER DUBLIN 23, #13 HAVERFORD 18
As the final score suggests, this was not your ordinary basketball game. A whole lot of things didn’t go the Cardinals’ way, but at the end of the day, they found a way to win..jpg)
“You go down the list of things we’re good at and we just weren’t good at tonight,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “At this time of year, the experience our girls have – they were actually really great after the game.
“They understood at this time of year you need to put it behind you immediately, and you’ve got to get ready for the next game. After we leave the hallway – our locker room – and go into the gym, we had as good a crowd as you could have these days, and people are going to question you on things. I think our girls were ready to say, ‘Whatever…let’s move on to the next thing,’ which is why they’re such a great group to work with.”
Wednesday’s low-scoring game wasn’t a case of Upper Dublin slowing the game down but rather featured a stat sheet filled with numbers that don’t typically show up in a winning effort.
“We played tight tonight – there were a lot of nerves,” Funsten said. “They’re a very physical team, they have good size.
“There are some laughable statistics from the game and not just the final score. We got outrebounded 44-15. We obviously don’t have great team size, but we really haven’t actually struggled all year to rebound the ball. We had one offensive rebound, and we gave up 21 offensive rebounds. It was just a weird game.”
The Flying Cardinals weren’t just outrebounded on the offensive end 21-1, they also uncharacteristically missed the front end of three-and-ones down the stretch and connected on just one 3-pointer.
“The play of the game was – Bliss Brenner got fouled with 20 seconds to go,” Funsten said. “They had just made back-to-back baskets to cut it to two, 20-18, and we had missed the front end of three consecutive one-and-ones. Bliss stepped to the line and made both foul shots to get it to four points.
“(Haverford) never really had possession of the ball with a one-possession game. It was 7-2 at the end of the first quarter, and they had never gotten to five the rest of the way. There were times we thought we could extend it, and a lot of credit to them – they really fought hard, and they wanted it a little more than us tonight. A combination of that, and I thought we played a little tight. It certainly wasn’t a look ahead or a letdown. It was almost like too much emotion. We wanted to play so well, we were so excited for the opportunity to play in the playoffs, and I think it almost psyched us out.”
Early on, the Cardinals – behind five points from Sarah Eskew – led 7-2 after one quarter. They took an 11-5 lead into halftime. Things didn’t change a whole lot in the second half. Both teams scored just four points in the third quarter, and the visiting Fords staged a late rally in the fourth, but the Cardinals held on for the win.
One thing that didn’t fail the Cardinals was their tenacious defense. The Cardinals, on the positive side of the ledger, had 17 steals. Jess Polin led the defensive charge with seven steals and six deflections. She also had two blocks and five rebounds.
Freshman Amy Ngo’s nine points led the Cardinals. She also was a defensive catalyst, finishing with five steals and five deflections as well as two assists. Sarah Eskew added seven points, four deflections, three rebounds and two steals.
“Our defense was very good tonight. Their physicality got to us, and we obviously did not play our best game,” Funsten said. “We are very happy to advance. We are ready to move on from the game. We’re super excited about playing Saturday, and we’re hoping for a little better showing.
“If anything, probably the thing I’m most proud about is my girls’ reaction after the game. That’s something I’m very proud of that the girls are able to see the big picture, and whether we won by one or by 50 tonight, it means we get to play again, and we get to spend more time together the next couple of days.”
Upper Dublin (19-3, 8-2 SOL) will host #12 West Chester Rustin in Saturday’s quarterfinal contest. Rustin upset #5 Downingtown East 50-41.
Haverford 2-3-4-9 18
Upper Dublin 7-4-4-8 23
Haverford (18) – Addison Brodnik 2 0-0 5; Chiara MacGillivray 1 1-2 4; Caroline Dotsy 4 1-2 9; Emma Rowland 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 7 2-6 18.
Upper Dublin (23) – Bliss Brenner 0 2-3 2; Geena Sarnoski 2 0-0 4; Jess Polin 0 1-4 1; Amy Ngo 4 1-1 9; Sarah Eskew 2 2-2 7; TOTALS 8 6-10 23.
3-point goals: Haverford – Addison Brodnik, Chiara MacGillivray, UD – Sarah Eskew.
#8 ABINGTON 68, #9 METHACTON 56
The Ghosts are anything but a one-woman show. Methacton can certainly vouch for that. Armed with a game plan to contain Cire Worley, who scored 29 points against the Warriors in a late season non-league game – a 75-66 Abington win, they apparently did not take into account that Jaida Helm and Khalis Whiting are equally capable of putting up big numbers.
In Wednesday’s win, Helm led all scorers with 26 points to go along with 13 rebounds while Whiting added 25 points and seven assists. Worley was held to just eight points this time around, but that was more than enough.
“We’re playing well,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “They came out, and you could tell they just wanted to stop Cire (Worley), and there was a lot of focus on her because she had 29 against them.
“We’re not a one-pony show, so that opened things up for Khalis and Jaida. We knew they would have a difficult time defending us. Because we had just recently played them and hit 12 3s against their zone, I think he (Methacton coach Craig Kaminski) was a little afraid to play that zone, so they went to man, and we had our way with them.”
The Ghosts – behind eight points from Whiting, including a pair of 3s – set the tone for the game in an up-tempo first quarter as they opened up a 21-15 lead.
“I thought they might break the press and pull it out to slow the game down, but they didn’t,” Marsh said. “We got them to take quick shots. That’s what not everybody understands – quick shots and a miss, in my book, is as good as a turnover. That’s what we want.
“(Nicole) Timko still got 21, but she didn’t get 32 like last time. We’re going to give up buckets. It might not happen in the first quarter, it might not happen in the second quarter, but eventually, they’re going to get tired, and things are going to open up for us, and that’s exactly what happened.”
The Ghosts took a 36-32 lead into halftime, and then began to put some distance between themselves and their visitors with an 18-12 third quarter to go on top 54-44. The quarter featured a whole lot of Helm, who scored 13 points in the quarter and was unstoppable.
“Jaida is such an emotional kid, and sometimes she gets in her own head, but she was consistent tonight,” Marsh said. “She didn’t allow mistakes to bother her, she didn’t allow her early foul trouble to bother her. She stayed focused.
“That’s her potential. When she’s focused like that, she’s tough because she can go inside or out, and that’s what makes her so difficult.”
In the fourth quarter, Whiting took over, scoring 10 of her team’s 14 points.
“Khalis as a point recognized they were focusing on Cire, so it opened up for her,” Marsh said of his junior point guard. “She’s taking what they’re giving her. Khalis would prefer to dish out the assists, but we know she can score. It’s just a matter of in what way. She scored in every possible way tonight. She had two 3s and layups. It was fun.”
Timko’s 21 points – 14 in the second quarter – led the Warriors. Tori Bockrath added 17, including five 3s. Mairi Smith had nine points, and Allison Hazlett added seven.
The Ghosts connected on seven shots from beyond the arc with Helm and Whiting both contributing a pair of 3s.
Abington (13-4, 6-4 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Spring-Ford for a quarterfinal game on Saturday.
“If you want to be the best, you have to play the best,” Marsh said. “The kids are looking forward to it. They want to play the best. They don’t care where we are. It’s like – ‘Who’s up next? Let’s go.’ We’re starting four sophomores and a junior with two freshmen coming off the bench.
“It’s not like we haven’t played good teams. We’ve played PW twice, we played Upper Dublin twice. Methacton is a good team. I just think we’re a bad matchup with them.
“We’re playing with house money now. We’re not supposed to beat them. If you look at our team, we struggled last year. We didn’t win close games. We had a lot of growing to do. Now we’re 13-4. We lost in the first round last year, we’re into the third round now with the bye. We’ve made progress, and that’s what we want to do.”
Methacton 15-17-12-12 56
Abington 21-15-18-14 68
Methacton (56) – Cassidy Kropp 1 0-0 2; Nicole Timko 8 4-4 21; Tori Bockrath 6 0-0 17; Mairi Smith 4 1-1 9; Allison Hazlett 3 1-2 7; TOTALS 22 6-7 56.
Abington (68) – Cire Worley 3 2-2 8; Abril Browser 1 0-0 3; Jaida Helm 11 2-2 26; Maura Day 1 0-0 3; Khalis Whiting 11 1-2 25; Piper McGinley 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 28 5-6 68.
3-point goals: Methacton – Tori Bockrath 5, Nicole Timko, Abington – Jaida Helm 2, Khalis Whiting 2, Abril Browser, Maura Day, Piper McGinley.
#10 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 50, #7 UNIONVILLE 29
The Bucks – sparked by the 17-point effort of Emily Spratt – made the 90-minute trek to Kennett Square worth the trip, taking early command and rolling to the big win.
“We played Owen J Roberts last Wednesday on the last day of our season,” West coach Zach Sibel said. “That was another West Chester trip, and energy is something you need to travel. Sometimes a long bus ride like that can lull you to sleep. You get a little nap and stuff like that.
“We learned from our Owen J Roberts game, and we made energy our focus the last two practices. We cut practices down this time of the season by about 30 minutes. We told the girls, ‘We need to bring energy in everything we do – whether it’s layup lines, getting shot ups. We need everybody talking and everybody rolling,’ and the girls really bought into that. When you can get energy to travel, you get that on the defensive and offensive end.”
The Bucks raced out of the gate to a 14-5 lead after one quarter. Spratt accounted for five points, and Katie Finnan and Anna Blue each had a 3-pointer. The Indians trimmed that lead to 23-17 at halftime, but the Bucks owned the second half, outscoring their hosts 27-12.
“After some time off, it was a game we had to get our feet under us a little bit,” Sibel said. “In the first half, they went on a little six-point run to end the second quarter to cut it to a six-point game, but we were able to hold them to 12 points in the second half.
“That kind of effort, that kind of lock-in at halftime – the adjustments that the girls made were huge. One thing I’ll say about this team – they’re laser focused on what they want to achieve and how they want to achieve it. It’s a team with a really high basketball IQ, so it’s a team you can go into halftime talking to and know they’re going to listen to every word. And they coach themselves. We’ve been on a nice little run, and it’s something they started doing to start that, and I think that’s really translated. The leadership on the court has been awesome.”
In addition to Spratt’s 17 points, Blue added nine on three 3s, Finnan had eight and Paige Gilbert finished with seven.
“Your energy guys are always going to be Spratt and Paige (Gilbert),” Sibel said. “Paige drew four charges – two in the first four possessions.
“Maggie McCusker did a really nice job of settling us down, and that’s what we need her to do. She makes shots when she gets them, but she’s a girl that really makes the nice play. She might have one of the highest basketball IQs I’ve ever coached.
“Anna Blue knocked down shots. She shot with a lot of confidence, and Katie Finnan played with a lot of confidence too. That starting five – I’d say they all brought it.”
No Unionville player had more than six points.
Central Bucks West (12-5, 7-3 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Saturday for a district quarterfinal game at 3 p.m.
“We’re excited about it,” Sibel said. “I thought we had a really good game the first time around (a 62-51 loss) They’re a fun team to play because you know you’re going to get a lot of really good basketball.
“You see the brackets and you see the possibility of meeting them. To be honest, I think our girls are really excited about it. I know we (coaches) are because it’s an opportunity to play a really good team, a perennial powerhouse in District One the last couple of years.”
Central Bucks West 14-9-11-16 50
Unionville 5-12-8-4 29
Central Bucks West (50) – Tai Henkels 1 0-0 2; Katie Finnan 3 0-0 8; Anna Blue 3 0-0 9; Emily Spratt 7 3-4 17; Ava Longo 2 0-0 4; Maggie McCusker 1 0-0 3; Paige Gilbert 3 1-2 7; TOTALS 20 4-6 50.
Unionville (29) – Savannah Lang 2 2-7 6; Milana Amoss 1 2-3 4; Emma Dempsey 2 0-0 5; Lindsey Robbins 1 0-3 2; Arden West 0 2-2 2; Riley Angstadt 1 4-4 6; Anya Budow 0 4-5 4; TOTALS 7 14-19 29.
3-point goals: CBW – Anna Blue 3, Katie Finnan 2, Maggie McCusker, Unionville – Emma Dempsey.
#11 PENNSBURY 23, #6 RIDLEY 21
After managing just 13 points through three-plus quarters, the Falcons erased an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes of Wednesday’s contest. A 3-pointer by Ava Sciolla with 90 seconds remaining gave the Falcons – who spent the game playing from behind – the only lead that mattered as they escaped with the win.
“We were very concerned about this game,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “Ridley is all seniors and they have not lost a home game this year.
“I felt like there were some nerves for a couple of our girls early on, and the pace was really slow which is what Ridley wanted It was an odd game with no flow and even less scoring.”
The Falcons, who led 3-2 after one quarter, trailed 12-8 at halftime and 17-11 heading into the final quarter when they staged their comeback.
“In the second half, it wasn’t much better (than the first), but we got a real spark off the bench from freshman Layla Mathias,” Sciolla said. “She missed a lot of games in the middle of the season for us, and she’s rounding back into shape now. She was active on defense and had an enormous offensive rebound. Nevaeh Dash, a sophomore, also sparked us at both ends.”
Bella Arcuri’s 10 points led the Falcons. Sciolla had seven.
“Bella Arcuri played with huge heart all game and penetrated their zone for big baskets,” Sciolla said. “Abbi Nassivera battled on the backboards. Ava played at the top of our pressure the entire second half and never comes out. I’m amazed they do it with the mask. With about 1:06 to go Layla Mathias pulled down a big rebound and flipped it to Ava who got her first truly clean look of the game and boom…we had our first lead 22-21.
“At that point, Ridley came down and appeared to be holding the ball for the last shot. The ball went out of bounds underneath the basket with about 14 seconds to go. Ridley called a timeout, and we came out and forced a turnover and then they had to foul us several times to get to the one-and-one, and when they finally did, Bella made one of two and that was the final margin. They did not get a last shot off.
“Ridley kids are always tough and whenever you have all of the seniors you know how they are going to come out. We are glad to have practice tomorrow.”
Pennsbury (16-4, 9-1 SOL) will travel to #3 Central Bucks East for a quarterfinal contest Saturday at 4 p.m.
Pennsbury 3-5-3-12 23
Ridley 2-10-5-4 21
Pennsbury (23) – Sofia Vitucci 2 0-0 4; Ava Sciolla 2 1-2 7; Abbi Nassivera 0 0-1 0; Bella Arcuri 4 2-4 10; Neveah Dash 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 9 3-7 23.
Ridley (21) – Kailyn Bell 1 0-0 2; Kylie McNicholas 2 1-2 6; Makenzie Griffith 1 0-0 3; Shannen Hinchey 4 1-2 10; TOTALS 8 2-4 21.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 2, Ridley – Kylie McNicholas, Makenzie Griffith, Shannen Hinchey.
Class 5A
#4 UPPER MORELAND 41, #5 BISHOP SHANAHAN 37
The fourth time was the charm.
For the fourth straight year, the Golden Bears -under coach Matt Carroll – earned a district playoff berth. The first three they saw their season end in the opening round with UM seeded 16th, 10th and, last year, 9th.
This year, the Golden Bears had a home game, and they took the next step, winning a district playoff game for the first time in two decades.
“In my five years, we made the playoffs the last three but came up short. We just needed to get over the hump to know it’s possible. This win will do wonders for our program and I’m so happy for the girls,” said Carroll, going on to pay tribute to his mentor Steve Chapman, who passed away on March 4. “I know Coach Chapman is up there smiling down on me and is so proud. I wouldn’t be where I am without his guidance over the years. Rest easy Coach.”
Carroll’s squad, which led 10-4 after one quarter, trailed 18-17 at halftime.
“We had a 10-point lead at one time, and they went on a run and went up at halftime,” Carroll said. “In typical fashion, we memorized all of their plays and they ran none of them. Our girls adjusted well and played really tough defense. Number 40, (Sam) Blumenthal, and number 25, (Shannon) Donahue, are big strong kids and we did a pretty decent job fronting them and making them take tough shots.”
Sophomore EmmyFaith Wood had a big third quarter, burying a pair of 3s and scoring eight points as the Golden Bears outscored their visitors 16-9 to go on top 33-27.
“We scored seven or eight right out of halftime, hit a couple of big shots right away,” Carroll said. “They played mostly zone, and when they went man, we got a couple of quick ones on them.”
Once the Bears had the lead, they refused to give it up, going on to win their program’s first district game in more than 20 years and setting off a jubilant celebration.
“We had so many players step up tonight,” Carroll said. “Kaiya (Herb) was amazing defensively and had five second-half assists. She’s been so good for us this year and does every little thing.
“Emma Hurley’s playing time varies depending on matchups, and she got big time minutes and fought her butt off tonight against their bigs. Kaitie (Opferman) and Kiera (Coyle) hit some timely jumpers in the first half. Holly (Gohl) hit a huge 3 in the third to lengthen our lead. Kat Morrow’s perimeter defense was unreal as usually. And EmmyFaith was EmmyFaith. She was unreal. She carried us offensively and we needed it. That kid works so hard to be as good as she is and I’m so happy for her.”
Wood led all scorers with 18 points, which included three 3s. Gohl added nine points. In the second half, the Golden Bears buried 9-of-11 shots from the floor in a dazzling offensive display.
“We talked about it at halftime – that we took a lot of quick shots,” said Carroll, whose team had just four turnovers in the entire game. “They were good shots, but they were too fast. We did talk about slowing down a little bit, but honestly, it’s quite a blur.
“Both teams missed so many free throws. We were 2-for-7, 1-for-4 in the second half. They were 10-for-19, 2-for-6 in the fourth quarter. They took 19 free throws (in the game), which is too much, but it was more due to them than what we did.
“They have a really good player, Caroline Sendi, who didn’t play today due to injury and I feel really bad for her. Hate to see a kid work so hard all year and miss a playoff game.”
Upper Moreland (13-4, 9-1 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Springfield-Delco for Saturday’s district semifinal contest.
“Something we talk a lot about as a team is always planning ahead – envision your mistakes and your responses. Picture how you defend their plays,” Carroll said. “Tuesday night I kept thinking about what (my comments) would look like if we won and if we lost.
“As the SOL team we have to say something. Win or lose the message was the same. I’m so proud of these girls. They’ve done everything we ask and most of it had to do with safety protocols. We are a pain about it and they take it seriously and they never complain. They’re an amazing group of kids and win or lose I am so proud of them. Thankfully we won.”
Bishop Shanahan 4-14-9-10 37
Upper Moreland 10-7-16-8 41
Bishop Shanahan (37) – Cara Wankmiller 2 1-1 7 Caydence Oswald 1 2-2 4; Alyssa Brown 2 0-0 5; Alexa Bojko 2 0-0 5; Maddie Rudolph 2 3-6 7; Shannon Donahue 1 3-4 5; Sam Blumenthal 0 0-4 0 Faith McHugh 1 1-2 4; TOTALS 11 10-19 37.
Upper Moreland (41) – Kat Morrow 0 1-2 1; Kaiya Herb 1 1-3 3; Kaitie Opferman 2 0-0 5; EmmyFaith Wood 7 0-1 18; Kiera Coyle 2 0-0 5; Holly Gohl 4 0-1 9; TOTALS 16 2-7 41.
3-point goals: Bishop Shanahan – Cara Wankmiller 2, Alyssa Brown, Alexa Boyko, Faith McHugh. Upper Moreland – Katie Opferman, EmmyFaith Wood (4), Kiera Coyle, Holly Gohl.
About the Author
