Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls basketball teams in action Wednesday.
Boys
Non-league
SOUDERTON 48, PERKIOMEN VALLEY 37
The Indians bounced back from a loss to Central Bucks South 24 hours earlier to defeat the Vikings in a non-league game.
Souderton threw some serious defense at the Vikings and did not allow a field goal in the opening period, taking a 9-3 lead. Souderton added to that lead in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 23-14 advantage.
The Indians connected on five 3-pointers in the first half with James Blair and Paul Vince both contributing a pair of treys. Souderton outscored their hosts 14-10 in the third quarter to go into the final frame with a 37-24 advantage.
Paul Vince’s 10 points led a balanced Indian attack while Jay Bonnet added nine. Levi John and Aleks Smith both contributed seven points. Blair and Grant each had six points.
“It was a great team win,” Souderton coach Okoteh Sackitey said. “We had really balanced scoring and we committed to defense. Paul Vince did a great job closing the game out at the free throw line, going 4-for-4 from the line in the fourth quarter.”
Souderton (3-1, 0-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Friday.
Souderton 9-14-14-11 48
Perkiomen Valley 3-11-10-13 37
Souderton (48) – Jay Bonnet 4 0-0 9; Chris Towsen 1 1-2 3; Carson Grant 2 1-2 6; James Blair 2 0-0 6; Aleks Smith 2 3-4 7; Paul Vince 2 4-4 10; Levi John 2 2-5 7; TOTALS 15 11-17 48.
Perk Valley (37) – JT Brady 1 0-0 2; Vance Sadler 1 0-0 2; Luke Hansen 1 0-0 2; Danny Koehler 3 0-0 8; Ethan Kohler 1 1-2 3; Dawson Debebe 2 3-3 7; Josh Pelzer 2 0-0 6; Julian Sadler 1 0-0 3; Morgan McKinney 2 0-2 4; TOTALS 14 4-7 37.
3-point goals: Souderton – Paul Vince 2, James Blair 2, Jay Bonnet, Carson Grant, Levi John; PV – Danny Kohler 2, Josh Pelzer 2, Julian Sadler.
Girls
Non-league
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 90, POTTSTOWN 65
No, this is not a typo.
Twenty-four hours after managing only 16 points in a loss to New Hope-Solebury, the Spartans scored 90 points in a non-league win at Pottstown that saw the two teams combine to score 155 points.
“Flat as we played yesterday – we basically pressed for the first five minutes,” the Spartans’ coach David Giordano said. “That’s really what started the avalanche. We got a boatload of turnovers early that we converted, but as quickly as we were turning it over, we were just watching on defense.”
Behind 12 points from Ashley Jenkins (four shy of what the entire team scored one day earlier), the Spartans led 25-23 after a wild opening quarter. They took a 42-40 advantage into halftime. Jenkins had 16 points in the half to lead the Spartans. Jayla Daniels had nine points.
“We scored 42 points in the first half, and I was nervous,” Giordano said. “I’m at a loss, I really am at a loss.
“I’ve never been involved in a game like this. Whether the ball would go in the basket or not, one team would get the rebound, and they would just run down and score like layup practice. I had to go to three different zones to try and slow them down, and it was still not working.”
The second half belonged to Daniels, who scored 20 of her game-high 29 points after the intermission.
“At halftime, we made some adjustments to try and slow them down a little bit,” Giordano said. “Even at the start of the fourth when it was 65-54. Not only was I in shock, I was nervous because 11 points with the way that game was going was not going to be enough.
“We finally closed it out with some good finishes. The girls had fun, there were smiles on their faces. We’ve taken our lumps, but tonight we were in an enjoyable situation where they did what they were supposed to – basic basketball, conversions of plays, and they were all excited to be part of it.”
Also for the Spartans, Jenkins added 18 while Alana Decker finished with 16. Samiyyah Thomas contributed 11 points, and Annie Coll, 10 points, as five Spartans finished the game in double-figures.
“Ashley (Jenkins) played outstanding, Samiyyah Thompson played outstanding, Jayla Daniels played outstanding, and they were all looking to be very offensive and go to the basket, and they were looking for each other,” Giordano said. “It was not selfishness when they were doing this. They were truly looking for each other.
“We started a spark, and I think they were so happy that they had scored so many points in the first quarter, and they didn’t want to let up. There were assists on a lot of these baskets. They were looking up the court, the girls were there, they gave them the ball, and they converted.”
The two teams combined for 58 trips to the foul line. That Spartans converted 18-of-30 while the Trojans made 16-of-28.
“They played extremely hard, and it was certainly a team effort,” Giordano said. “We started off (our season) in a real positive way that we needed to play better defense because we’re not the biggest team I’ve had since I’ve been here.
“We do have a lot of team speed, and we’re fairly aggressive, so we don’t mind getting our noses dirty and playing defense. We were active tonight, we were attacking them tonight, and we converted a boatload of shots.”
Springfield Township (2-2, 1-0 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday.
“We have practice tomorrow, we have to focus on our next opponent,” Giordano said. “I said to them, ‘Look, if you score half as many and play a little bit better defense, we’ll be in a good spot.’”
Springfield Township 25-17-22-25 90
Pottstown 23-17-14-11 65
Springfield Township (90) – Annie Coll 3 4-7 10; Samiyyah Thompson 3 3-5 11; Jayla Daniels 13 2-6 29; Delaney Lake 1 1-2 3; Kayla Parson 1 0-0 2; Alana Decker 6 4-6 16; Lauren Hussey 0 1-2 1; Ashley Jenkins 7 4-4 18; Paige Robinson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 35 18-30 90.
Pottstown (65) – Trinell Watson 10 10-14 32; Jolaita Lamarre 0 2-4 2; Ashley Weller 0 0-2 0; Zipay 2 1-2 5; TOTALS 21 16-28 65.
3-point goals: Springfield – Jayla Daniels; Pottstown – Tamaya Jarrett 3, Trinell Watson 2, Zipay.
SOUDERTON 53, PERKIOMEN VALLEY 37
After stumbling out of the gate to a season-opening loss to Lansdale Catholic, the Indians have reeled off three straight impressive performances – all of them wins.
In the Indians’ most recent win, Casey Harter stepped into a starring role, scoring a game-high 22 points. The junior point guard connected on 9-of-13 shots from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the foul line. She also handed out five assists.
“They could not stop Casey,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “Early on, she saw that she could attack the basket. It wasn’t our usual ‘Let’s get the ball into Teya (McConnaha)’ because she had someone who was 6-2 guarding her.
“I think Casey realized she could get by whoever was on her, and she just looked to really take advantage of it. She did it a lot in the open court but was just really being aggressive attacking the basket. Some of her shots were off good sets – kids found her and made good passes as she was diving to the basket, but the majority of them she was just creating, finding space, finding a lane and attacking hard. She can elevate over top of people. She gets within three feet of the basket. She’s going to get a shot off, and it’s usually going to be a good look.”
Souderton actually trailed 13-11 after one quarter, but behind eight points from Harter, who had 12 first-half points, the Indians outscored their visitors 14-8 to go into halftime with a 25-21 lead. Not a whole lot changed in the third quarter, and the Indians led 38-32 heading into the final quarter when they outscored the Vikings 15-5.
“I said to the team after the game – ‘There are teams that play 12 kids, play fullcourt and wear you down physically,’” Carroll said. “I feel like this group wears people down mentally. Everything is so hard-earned for other teams on offense, and I think it wears you down. Things don’t come as easily.
“I have defenders that are so, so good, and their length – every kid is just never-ending arms, and that can start to wear on someone who’s used to things coming a little bit easier to her. Our girls lock in, they want to defend, they do it well and they do it consistently. Our defense was just great in the fourth quarter.”
In addition to Harter, McConnaha had nine points, including a three, and eight rebounds. Sophomore Brooke Fenchel also had nine points.
“Brooke continues to shoot the ball well for us,” Carroll said. “I do think the one question mark for us coming into the season was how we’d be from the perimeter and is it only going to be Erin Bohmueller, and if it’s going to only be Erin, it makes us a lot easier to defend. Brooke is stepping out to the 3-point line and hitting big shots. Teya is making them from the outside. Brooke is a sophomore who mostly watched varsity games last year – she’s fitting in seamlessly with the kids.”
Mikayla McGillian added seven points while Bohmueller contributed six points, five assists and two blocked shots.
“I think we’re going to have four to five kids between eight and 12 points every game,” Carroll said. “It’s not just – ‘We’ve got to stop Teya,’ or ‘We’ve got to stop Casey’ because anybody who’s on the floor for us can score.
“Tonight we had 15 assists on 22 field goals, and that’s been consistent every game. So many of our baskets have been assisted, and that’s the toughest kind of team to defend if you ask me.”
The Indians have surpassed the 50-point mark in three straight games. To put that in perspective, the Indians scored more than 50 just once in 17 games last year.
Souderton (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Friday.
Souderton 11-14-13-15 53
Perkiomen Valley 13-8-11-5 37
Perkiomen Valley (37) – Jennifer Beattie 2 0-0 5; Julia Smith 2 0-0 6; Lena Stein 1 0-0 2; Emma Miley 3 3-3 9; Grace Miley 3 4-6 13; Quinn Boettinger 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 12 7-9 37.
Souderton (53) – Brooke Fenchel 4 0-0 9; Erin Bohmueller 3 0-0 6; Mikayla McGillian 3 1-2 7; Casey Harter 9 4-4 22; Teya McConnaha 2 2-4 9. TOTALS 22 7-10 53.
3-point goals: Souderton – Brooke Fenchel, Teya McConnaha; PV – Grace Miley 3, Julia Smith 2.
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