Neshaminy and Pennsbury notched wins on Sunday at She Got Game Classic. North Penn split its games at a weekend tournament.
SHE GOT GAME CLASSIC
Neshaminy 55, Friendship Collegiate (D.C.) 24
Reese Zemitis scored a game-high 23 points in a contest that saw the Redskins get contributions up and down their lineup.
Sophomore point guard Lola Ibarrondo was named game MVP for the Redskins, who wasted little time before establishing control of the contest.
“They started out in a zone, which we expected, and we got them pretty good with an 11-0 run,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “Then they went back to man, and their man was really good. I don’t know why they weren’t playing man the whole game.
“Lola Ibarrondo did a really good job of getting us good shots out of the man. She had a lot of like hockey assists. She hit a pass that led to a really nice basket for us. She had a really good game, getting us in the offense.”
The Redskins – behind nine points from Zemitis – opened up a 14-6 lead after one quarter. They took a 22-11 lead into halftime and controlled play in the second half, outscoring Friendship Collegiate 33-13. Zemitis ignited the Redskins in a 19-point third quarter, scoring 10 points – which included a pair of 3-pointers. Ibarrondo had six points
“Reese had a big game point-wise,” Gallagher said. “She really went off. She got them out of the zone initially. Then when we started really getting them with some back cuts offensively, they started sagging back off of her, and we really adapted.
“Jess Purdy came off the bench and had four assists for us. She did a really good job running the point when Lola and Taylor (Gurysh) were taking a rest. For her to have four assists in limited minutes was pretty good.”
Taylor Gurysh added nine points – seven in the opening half – and five offensive rebounds. Mimi Smith contributed nine points on three 3-pointers and also had six rebounds. Skylar Lall added three rebounds. Freshman Maria Fay drew a huge charge.
“The team we played was big and strong,” Gallagher said. “They had at least a 6-4 kid, and Reese (Zemitis) did a real nice job on her.
“Mimi Smith had a very good game. We talked at halftime – third quarter yesterday we scored three points, and we didn’t want that to happen again. We had 19 in the third quarter, and a lot of that came off Mimi Smith’s defensive rebounds. I was really happy with her.”
The tournament, according to the Redskins’ coach, was about a whole lot more than just playing basketball.
“I said to the kids – ‘What do you think my favorite moment from the weekend is?’” said Gallagher. “I said, ‘Maria Fay, a freshman, drew a charge late in the game and the place went crazy.’ No, that’s not it and named a couple other things.
“I said, ‘The best part was in the restaurant yesterday. I took all your cell phones,’ and they just laughed 25-30 minutes waiting for the food to come out. That was the highlight of my weekend.
“I’m finding out in such a big school – everybody doesn’t know each other. I came from Basil’s and there were 167 kids. Every senior knew the freshmen by name. We had tryouts, and I asked one of our freshmen – ‘Where’s the other freshman?’ She said, ‘I don’t even know who she is,’ and that was different for me.”
Neshaminy (2-0) will be on the road at Council Rock South for Tuesday’s opener.
Neshaminy 14-8-19-14 55
Friendship Collegiate 6-5-4-9 24
Neshaminy (55) – Taylor Gurysh 9, Emma Candy 2, Jess Purdy 3, Lindsay Little 3, Mimi Smith 9, Lola Ibarrondo 6, Reese Zemitis 23.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Mimi Smith 3, Reese Zemitis 3, Lola Ibarrondo, Lindsay Little.
Pennsbury 30, Cathedral 26 (OT)
The Falcons survived several setbacks to eke out Sunday’s overtime win, not the least of which was the fact that they actually won it by one point in regulation only to have a scoreboard/scorebook discrepancy send the game to OT.
Of far greater concern than the extra time was the fact that all-everything senior Ava Sciolla went down with an injury two minutes into the game. She left the court and never returned. The extent of her injury was not known, but the University of Maryland bound senior will have it checked on her return to Pennsylvania.
Despite the loss of their leader, the Falcons opened up a 9-2 lead after one quarter and went into halftime with a 16-11 advantage. Sofia Vitucci’s six points on a pair of 3-pointers led the Falcons.
Cathedral erased its five-point deficit to ‘knot’ the score in the second half. Vitucci buried 3-of-4 foul shots in overtime to win the game.
“We had some tremendous looks that wouldn’t fall,” Sciolla said. “Again, fouls were an issue early, but we went deep on our bench and they responded.
“For most of the game, we had at least three sophomores on the court, and that was fine because Cathedral was also heavy with underclassmen. Sophia Vitucci was tremendous at both ends and took a massive hit but recovered and finished the game strong.”
Vitucci’s 12 points led the Falcons.
Nicole Pompili, according to Sciolla, smashed the school record for charges taken with seven.
“It was an incredible display of sacrifice,” the Falcons’ coach said.
In addition to Vitucci, Nevaeh Dash added seven points, which included a 3-for-4 effort at the foul line in the fourth quarter. Pompili contributed six points.
“Winning two games at She Got Game is really cool, but if there is anything the last three years has taught us, it’s that it’s foolish to ever get too excited,” Sciolla said. “Between retirements, COVID, the mass injuries of last year and now today with Ava, we simply continue to follow the idea of just ‘keep moving forward.’ What we lack in size we surely make up for in heart and we are extremely proud of our group.”
Pennsbury (2-0) will travel to Bensalem for Tuesday’s SOL opener.
Cathedral 2-9-10-5-0 26
Pennsbury 9-7-2-9-3 30
Cathedral (26) – Sarah Thompson 1 0-0 2; Tayla Barros 3 2-3 9; Keyona Raines 1 0-0 2; Yedidya Lubunga 2 0-0 4; Luisne McCusker 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 7 5-7 26.
Pennsbury (30) – Ava Sciolla 1 0-0 2; Layla Matthias 0 0-2 0; Daniella MacDonald 1 0-0 3; Sofia Vitucci 4 3-4 12; Nicole Pompili 2 2-2 6; Nevaeh Dash 2 3-5 7; TOTALS 10 8-13 30.
3-point goals: Cathedral – Tayla Barros, Pennsbury – Daniella MacDonald, Sofia Vitucci.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY TIPOFF SHOOTOUT
Friday, Dec. 10
Garnet Valley 46, North Penn 32
Abby Plaugher scored a game-high 16 points, which included four 3-pointers. Teammates Caleigh Sperling and Oliva Stone each added eight points, but that was the extent of the Knights’ offense in the game.
North Penn hung tough, trailing by just a 19-18 score at the intermission, but the Knights were doomed by an 18-7 third quarter burst by Garnet Valley.
North Penn 8-10-7-7 32
Garnet Valley 8-11-18-9 46
North Penn (32) – Abby Plaugher 6 0-2 16; Caleigh Sperling 3 2-4 8; Oliva Stone 2 4-5 8; TOTALS 11 6-9 32.
Garnet Valley (46) – Savannah Saunders 2 0-0 4; Nicole Saccomandi 0 1-2 1; Haylie Adamski 5 0-0 12; Carly Disabatmo 1 0-0 2; Katelyn Dugery 5 0-2 11; Emily Olsen 5 4-5 14; Ava Possenti 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 19 5-9 46.
3-point goals: NP – Abby Plaugher 4, GV – Haylie Adamski 2, Katelyn Dugery.
Saturday, Dec. 11
North Penn 53, Faith Christian 24
The Knights picked up their first win of the young season in Saturday’s consolation game, and they did it in convincing fashion.
Caleigh Sperling torched the Lions for 22 points – 15 in a second half that saw the Knights put the game completely out of reach. Abby Plaugher finished in double figures for the second time in as many games, contributing 13 points, including a three. Olivia Stone had six points.
The Knights, who led 13-9 after one quarter, took a 20-11 advantage into halftime. Behind nine points from Sperling, they outscored the Lions 11-5 in the third quarter and then – sparked by seven points from Plaugher – erupted for 22 fourth-quarter points.
North Penn (1-1) will host Central Bucks West in Tuesday’s SOL opener.
Faith Christian 9-2-5-8 24
North Penn 13-7-11-22 53
Faith Christian (24) – Lopez 3 1-2 7; Hissner 1 -2 2; Forker 4 3-6 14, Hissner 0 1-4 1; Garber 0 0-1 0; TOTALS 8 5-15 24.
North Penn (53) – Abby Plaugher 5 2-2 13; Caleigh Sperling 9 2-3 22; Cameron Crowley 1 2-2 5; Olivia Stone 3 0-0 6; Leah Mikulski 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 21 6-7 53.
3-point goals: FCA – Bella Forker 3, NP – Caleigh Sperling 2, Abby Plaugher, Cameron Crowley.
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