Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday.
Non-league
QUAKERTOWN 44, UPPER PERKIOMEN 31
Carolyn Sipprell collected a rare triple double, scoring a game-high 19 points – which included a perfect 7-for-7 effort at the foul line – and also contributing 11 rebounds, 10 steals and two blocked shots in a dominant performance. The junior forward’s stellar outing led the Panthers to a come-from-behind win.
“She did a great job of finding the gaps in their zone and under the boards,” Quakertown coach Brittany Bamford said. “Getting to the line is crucial for our team, and she was perfect from the foul line. She also had a great defensive night for us. This was a great needed win for us.”
At the end of the first quarter, the Panthers found themselves on the short end of a 17-6 score. They outscored the Indians 14-6 in the second quarter and trailed by just a 23-20 score at halftime.
“They got hot early, and we made adjustments in the second quarter and carried that throughout the rest of the game,” Bamford said. “They executed offensively in the first quarter and our girls were able to change things up based on personnel.
“Upper Perk came out ready to play today. They played with a lot of energy and athleticism.”
The Panthers outscored the Indians 24-8 in the second half – 38-14 over the final three quarters. The win brought a welcome end to a three-game losing streak.
“This was really important for our players to gain the confidence that even if we are behind, we can change the momentum our way,” Bamford said.
Ava Pistone also finished in double figures with 10 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. Laney Mitchell added seven points.
“Ava Pistone gave us some great sparks off the bench offensively,” Bamford said. “Laney Mitchell wasn’t dominant on the scoreboard, but she had an excellent defensive night tonight with five steals, two blocks, and four deflections.”
Quakertown (2-3, 0-2 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
Upper Perk 17-6-6-2 31
Quakertown 6-14-14-10 44
Upper Perk (31) – Kearney 1 0-0 2; States 2 0-0 4; Fabian 1 0-0 2; Neal 1 0-0 2; Galbavy 4 0-0 8; Pfander 4 0-0 9; Keeney 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 15 0-0 31.
Quakertown (44) – Carolyn Sipprell 6 7-7 19; Katie Catalano 2 1-2 5; Katie Hagerty 1 1-2 3; Laney Mitchell 3 1-2 7; Maureen Healy 0 0-1 0; Ava Pistone 4 0-1 10; TOTALS 16 10-15 44.
3-point goals: Quakertown – Ava Pistone 2; Upper Perk – Pfander.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 70, NEW FOUNDATIONS CHARTER SCHOOL 37
The Golden Hawks – less than 24 hours removed from an emotional win over Council Rock North – put on a 3-point shooting clinic, connecting on 13 3-pointers on their way to the decisive non-league win.
“I felt like we got off to a bit of a sluggish start in this one in the first quarter,” said Rock South coach Blair Klumpp, whose team led 13-7 after one quarter. “The ‘spot’ of this game had me worried a bit. The girls played really, really hard last night in our win over North, and we had a very early bus down here today.
“There were two games before our varsity game, there were a lot of variables I thought could factor into a slow start, and some did. The other part was we weren’t really making their defense work early on.”
Cam Gregory led the Hawks’ sharp shooting display from beyond the arc, tying the single game record of six 3-pointers made set by Allison McGowan. Her 18 points led the Hawks.
“Cam Gregory hit two threes late in first half that gave us some breathing room at half, and we played better in the second half,” said Klump whose team led 32-18 at halftime. “I was really proud of how well we moved the ball, shared the ball, and got each other open looks.
“Unofficially, we had over 20 assists on 26 made field goals. I thought Cam did a really good job of sprinting the wing today and getting herself in good spots for shots, and then Lil Metrick did the same in the second half, and our girls played unselfish. They realized they were hot – combined Cam and Lil shot 50 percent from 3, and we had recognition of where they were and gave them good passes to get shots off. That seems like such a small thing, sprinting the floor, on-target passing, and those things hit – you can see the difference they make.”
Metrick buried five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.
“I thought Lily Bross had her best floor game for us so far and had good recognition, and from the second quarter on, Katie Purpura did a really good job gapping their zone and locating shooters and cutters in good spots,” Klumpp said. “We fixated the pace defensively and forced a lot of turnovers again which helped us get out in transition again.
“It wasn’t our best effort defensively, but Karissa (Smedley) helped steady us, jumping a few passing lanes, and Mia Stock was really good on her rotations and playing strong straight up defense. We got some good contributions off the bench from Metrick, Fiona Reckner, Jenna Waterman and Darcy Leight.
“Our pre-holiday schedule is a little crazier this year, and this will easily be the most games one of my teams has played prior to the holiday break as we should have seven games in, just kind of the way some things got moved around, so our depth and bench production will continue to be important for us as well as our unselfish approach.”
Leight (five rebounds) and Purpura (four rebounds) led the Golden Hawks under the boards. Purpura also had six points, four assists. Bross led the Hawks with five assists while Kathryn O’Kane and Reckner both had three. Smedley had nine points four steals, and Metrick had three. Stock had six points and four blocked shots.
Council Rock South (4-1, 1-1 SOL) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Monday.
Council Rock South 13-19-17-21 70
New Foundations 7-11-10-9 37
Council Rock South (70) – Lilliana Metrick 5 0-0 15; Jenna Waterman 2 0-0 4; Haley Thompson 2 0-0 5; Katie Purpura 2 2-6 6; Ryann Szydlik 0 0-2 0; Cam Gregory 6 0-0 18; Fiona Reckner 1 0-0 3; Darcy Leight 1 0-0 2; Mia Stock 2 2-3 6; Karissa Smedley 4 1-2 9; Riana Szydlik 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 26 5-13 70.
New Foundations (37) – Angel 5 9-18 19; Laney 0 1-2 1; Heaven 2 0-0 6; Dasnel 4 0-2 8; Keniyah 1 1-3 3; TOTALS 12 11-25 37
3-point goals: CRS – Cam Gregory 6, Lilliana Metrick 5, Haley Thompson, Fiona Reckner; New Foundations – Heaven 2.
BENSALEM 52, NORRISTOWN 24
Bensalem wrapped up a stretch of three games in three days – all on the road – with their third straight win.
“We did a very nice job pressing the ball,” Bensalem coach Steve Johnson said. “We have a much needed off day tomorrow and are back to it at North on Monday.”
The Owls took care of business in a hurry, opening up a commanding 17-3 lead after one quarter. Seven players contributed scoring for the Owls in the quarter. The Owls took a 27-9 advantage into halftime and added to that lead with a 20-8 third quarter that included six points from Averi McCoy.
McCoy’s 12 points led a balanced Bensalem attack that saw 10 players put their names in the scoring column. Mackenzie Kramer added eight points, and Amber Howard had six.
Johnson had plenty of praise to go around.
“Our two captains, Delaney Bell and Maddie MacDougall, are doing a great job of keeping the girls’ energy up during this three-game span,” the Owls’ coach said. “Senior Erin Devlin has stepped up with some key charges as well as Sam Daut bringing her typical tough on-ball defense each and every game.
“Amber Howard and Mackenzie Kramer are doing a wonderful job rebounding the ball for us. Averi McCoy and Kylie Smith are playing very unselfish and hitting the open teammate.”
Bensalem (4-1, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North on Monday.
Bensalem 17-10-20-5 52
Norristown 3-6-8-7 24
Bensalem (52) – Delaney Bell 1 0-2 2; Maddie MacDougall 2 0-0 5; Sam Daut 1 2-4 4; Erin Devlin 2 0-1 4 Averi McCoy 6 0-0 12; Kylie Smith 2 0-0 5; Mackenzie Kramer 4 0-3 8; Amber Howard 3 0-0 6; Talia Dimichele 1 2-3 4; Devon Bell 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 23 4-13 52.
Norristown (24) – Susan Wray 5 0-2 11; Azjana Ghoston 1 2-4 4; Antsa Kim 0 2-4 2; Paige Hines 1 0-0 2; Naivna Boynel 0 3-4 3; Cara Douglas 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 8 7-14 24.
3-point goals: Bensalem – Maddie MacDougall, Kylie Smith; Norristown – Susan Wray.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 47, MATER DEI ACADEMY 9
Tai Henkels and Emily Spratt both scored 15 points to lead the Bucks to the non-league rout at the She Got Game Classic. The duo combined for seven 3-pointers with Henkels burying five. Quite a performance for the junior, who was not looking forward to relying on her outside shot in Saturday’s game.
“To hit that many threes is always impressive,” West coach Zach Sibel said. “We locked down on defense, and it was awesome to see Tai turn in the performance that she did. The girls were joking on the bus when reading the scout, Tai mentioned, “I hate when teams play zone,” and Emily Spratt told her, “You’re a shooter, you should love it.’
“I think she responded to that really well. Our defense was super solid, and we made all the right rotations. I’ve been nothing but impressed with how Tai had taken to her new role this year. She’s doing some awesome stuff, and now she’s a special player. One of the greatest parts of coaching is watching girls own the role given to them, and even better than that— take the next step in their progression. We’ve asked a ton from her, and she’s really delivered on both ends of the floor.”
Henkels sank a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter and two more in the second while Spratt added seven points as the Bucks opened up a 23-3 halftime lead. Spratt singlehandedly outscored Mater Dei with eight points in the third quarter as the Bucks rolled to the lopsided win.
Also for the Bucks, Gabby Reichner added six points – all in the fourth quarter.
Central Bucks West (4-0, 2-0 SOL) will return to action Sunday.
Mater Dei 3-0-4-2 9
Central Bucks West 11-12-8-16 47
Mater Dei (9) – M.Lopez 1 0-0 2; J. Dacquel 0 1-6 1; G. Guzman 1 2-2 4; S. Mildner 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 3 3-10 9.
Central Bucks West (47) – Tai Henkels 5 0-0 15; Nia Perry 1 0-0 2; Emily Spratt 5 3-4 15; Ava Longo 1 1-1 3; Jenna Christie 1 0-0 2; Gabi Senior 2 0-0 4; Gabby Reichner 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 18 4-5 47.
3-point goals: CBW – Tai Henkels 5, Emily Spratt 2.
ABINGTON 65, JENKINTOWN 12
Cire Worley continued her torrid offensive production, scoring a game-high 25 points in less than three quarters of action in Saturday’s non-league win.
Ten players put their names in the scoring column with Abril Bowser setting the tone for the big win with all nine of her points in a first quarter that saw the Ghosts score 26 points. By halftime, they had 43 points on the scoreboard.
Jaida Helm added 15 points.
Abington (5-0, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Abington 26-17-13-9 65
Jenkintown 8-2-2-0 12
Abington (65) – Cire Worley 10 0-0 22; Krysten Brown 2 1-2 5; Harper Mcginley 2 0-0 4; Abril Bowser 4 0-0 9; Ashley Reilly 1 0-0 2; Maura Day 0 1-2 1; Jaida Helm 7 0-0 15; Piper McGinley 1 1-2 3; Jordyn Reynolds 1 0-0 2; Maya Johnson 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 29 3-6 65.
Jenknintown (12) – Chase Shakoor 2 0-2 4; Lily O’Brien 1 0-0 2; Mirei Gabrielsen 0 0-1 0; Molly Stephenson 2 0-0 4; Katie McGrath 1 0-2 2; TOTALS 6 0-5 12.
3-point goals: Abington – Cire Worley 2, Abril Bowser, Jaida Helm.
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