Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Friday. New Hope-Solebury/Executive Education photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ GIRLS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
District 1 6A third place game
#3 UPPER DUBLIN 30, #4 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 24
In a game where points were hard to come by for both sides, it was the Cardinals opening up and 8-0 lead after one quarter and an 18 7 advantage by halftime on their way to the win. Lexi Ngo’s seven points led the Cardinals in the half.
Key players: Megan’s Ngo’s 11 points led the Cardinals. The junior point guard also had five rebounds and two assists and broke the program record for number of assists in a season. UD also got eight points from Lexi Ngo and seven from Tamia Clark, who also had 10 rebounds and two steals. Bridget DiMartile also had 10 rebounds as well as two blocked shots.
For the Patriots, Haley Moran led the way with 12 points. Natalie Berndt added eight.
Upper Dublin coach Morgan Funsten on the game: “A lot of these playback games are sometimes weird games, and it actually seems like all three of our games with CB East were weird games. The message to the girls before the game was that we have to find a way tonight to get better as a team.
“Obviously, we’ve changed a lot over the last few weeks, and I thought it was important that we make that the primary focus of just improving as a team. There were certainly several parts of our game that I thought kind of got exposed on Wednesday night against Garnet Valley. We need to take care of the ball better, we need to rebound better, and I thought that all five starters made major contributions in the low-scoring game where both teams struggled to shoot the ball.
“We got off to a great start. We got up 11-0. They cut it to four late third or early fourth quarter. Ella Morris made a nice runner to put us up six.
“As a team, we had struggled in both games against East and found a way in the second half to win going into district playoffs in the Suburban One championship game. Tonight was a step in the right direction.”
–Props: “Tamia Clark had to play Jess Lockwood, and Emilia (Coleman) had done such a good job on Lockwood in the Suburban One championship and held her to two points, and Tamia did the exact same thing tonight – Lockwood finished with two points. It was a new role for Tamia having to play Lockwood, but I thought she did a great job.
“Defensively, Megan (Ngo) did a great job on (Haley) Moran, who had really beaten us in the first half of the Suburban One championship game.
“Bridget DiMartile may have played her best game of the season. Even though she didn’t score, she grabbed 10 rebounds and really stepped up. Bridget and Tamia both had 10 rebounds tonight. We’ve been working on it, and the girls are doing their best to try to rebound, and we outrebounded them 33-25 tonight.”
–Lexi Ngo on point: “Lexi Ngo had seven points in the first half of a low-scoring game, so she made major contributions too. This is all still new with Lexi starting. Megan, for the first time in her career, is able to play off the ball a little bit. Lexi’s doing a great job running the point at times. It’s definitely different for Meg, but I think Meg is making great adjustments, and I thought she played a really great game tonight.”
–Megan Ngo makes history: “What’s exciting is that Meg broke her own single season assist record tonight – she had 171 assists last year before she got injured. She only had two assists tonight, but she’s up to 173 for the season. As a junior, she has 470 assists in her career, which is outrageous to think that she’s on pace to have somewhere between 600 and 700 assists in her career.
“I remember Jess Polin finished her career with 550 assists, and I didn’t think that record was ever going to be touched – at least at Upper Dublin. Then here comes Meg, and she’s on pace right now to shatter that record. A big congratulations to her.”
Up next: Upper Dublin (24-5, 8-0 SOL) will host District 3’s fifth place team, Wilson, in Friday’s opening round of the PIAA 5A Tournament. Central Bucks East (22-7, 9-1) will face District 12’s third place team.
Central Bucks East 0-7-13-4 24
Upper Dublin 8-10-6-6 30
Central Bucks East (24) – Haley Moran 5 1-4 12; Emma Penecale 1 0-0 2; Natalie Berndt 3 0-0 8; Savannah Hayes 0 0-2 0; Jess Lockwood 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 10 1-6 24.
Upper Dublin (30) – Tamia Clark 2 3-5 7; Megan Ngo 5 0-0 11; Lexi Ngo 3 1-2 8; Ella Morris 2 0-2 4; TOTALS 12 4-9 30.
3-point goals: CBE – Natalie Berndt 2, Haley Moran; UD – Megan Ngo, Lexi Ngo.
District 1 6A 11th place game
#22 ABINGTON 46, #13 SPRING-FORD 39
The Ghosts earned the District 1 6A 11th and final spot with their win at Spring-Ford in playback action.
“I’m proud of them,” Abington coach Allison Lawson said. “I told them I was proud because starting the season everyone thought we were going to be down – we lost eight seniors and only had one starter back.
“They came together and fought and fought. The beginning of the year was tough, and we fought and we fought. We figured our game plan out – what worked for our team, and now we’re rolling.”
Sparked by 10 points from Mikiaya Durham, Abington took a 22-21 lead into halftime. It was still a one-point game heading into the fourth quarter when the Ghosts outscored their hosts 16-10. Senior point guard Maya Johnson led the Ghosts with 10 of those points, which included a 6-for-8 effort at the foul line.
Key players: Senior point guard Maya Johnson led the Ghosts with 22 points and 10 assists. Aniyah Williams had 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Mikiaya Durham added 14 points and four rebounds. Hailey Hernandez (7 rebounds, 3 steals), Vanessa Griffin (5 rebounds) and Shya Crafton (6 rebounds) also made important contributions.
Abington coach Allison Lawson on the game: “The key today was teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. I (tell them) that if everyone plays their role we’ll win. If you don’t stray out of your role, we’ll win. They all wanted to win, they all came together. They communicated, they talked offensively and defensively.
“We knew if we went after the ball – my girls were too busy trying to box to go get it. I said, ‘Just go after the ball.’ I saw they didn’t box out – they just tipped it, and they were taller than us. I said – ‘grab it, go after it.’”
Up next: Abington (15-10, 6-2 SOL) will travel to District 3 champion Dallastown for an opening round PIAA 6A tournament game.
Abington 17-5-8-16 46
Spring-Ford 12-9-8-10 39
Abington (46) – Maya Johnson 7 7-11 22; Mikiaya Durham 5 2-2 14; Aniiyah Williams 3 3-4 10; TOTALS 15 12-27 46.
Spring-Ford (39) – Lily Brescia 1 0-0 3; Kareen Preuss 7 2-4 18; Devon Chamberlain 1 0-0 3; Brynn Stiles 1 1-2 4; Emma Kaercher 0 4-6 4; Haley Prophet 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 13 7-12 39.
3-point goals: A – Mikiaya Durham 2, Maya Johnson, Aniyah Williams; S-F – Kareena.Preuss 2, Lily Brescia, Diane Chamberlain, Haley Prophet, Brynn Stiles.
District 1 6A ninth place game
#7 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 45, #8 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 41
Sparked by the hot hand of Sarah Freeman, who buried three 3-pointers, the visiting Golden Hawks opened up a 17-14 lead after one quarter. The Whippets erased that lead in the second quarter and took a 27-25 edge into halftime.
Lil Metrick scored five points in a third quarter that saw the Hawks outscore their hosts 12-9 to go into the final quarter with a 37-36 edge, but the Whippets limited their visitors to just four fourth-quarter points on their way to the win.
Key players: Kathryn O’Kane’s 11 points led a balanced Rock South attack. Sarah Freeman added nine points, and Lil Metrick had eight.
Council Rock South assistant coach Blair Klumpp: “We’re really proud of the effort and toughness physically and mentally our girls showed today. It was a close game throughout as both teams got off to good starts. We knew coming in their overall length could present issues (similar to Conestoga), so we emphasized pace of play and a quick start. We did a really good job on their first team all-league guard, (Hayden) Blair, but her five first quarter points came off of kind of losing track of her.
“To Downingtown West’s credit, they did a nice job creating mismatches with their size, and as hard as our girls battled, they made some contested shots. We held them to four field goals in the second half, but they got us in the penalty in the second half, and to their credit, they shot 10-for-14 from the free throw line second half. The atmosphere and environment tonight were great. We haven’t had a road game in almost a month, so this was a good test heading into states. We know our girls will come in and work hard and be ready to compete, just like they have all year, when States begin on Friday.”
–Props: :Sarah got us going with a great first quarter and played a strong all-around game on both ends. Lil and Kat controlled the flow of the third quarter and did a nice job all game adjusting to defensive adjustments and how they were being guarded. Fi and Bella battled waves of length and gave maximum effort in their size and length. Maria and Em gave us solid bench minutes.
“We had a good look to tie it with Fi getting a 3 from left wing. In both this game and Conestoga game we had three looks that we would sign up for again without hesitation, and the girls deserve credit for getting those quality looks.”
Up next: Council Rock South (22-6, 9-1 SOL) will travel to District 12 champion Archbishop Carroll for an opening round PIAA 6A game next Friday.
Council Rock South 17-8-12-4 41
Downingtown West 14-13-9-9 45
Council Rock South (41) – Sarah Freeman 3 0-0 9; Lil Metrick 3 0-0 8; Maria Freeman 1 0-0 3; Kathryn O’Kane 4 2-5 11; Bella Hettler 2 0-0 4; Fiona Reckner 2 2-2 6; TOTALS 15-4-7-41.
Downingtown West (45) – Hayden Blair 1 3-4 6; Liv Young 2 0-0 4; Sami Schurtz 3 6-8 12; Caitlin Grant 3 0-0 6; Eme McComsey 0 2-2 2; Kylee Domsohn 2 2-4 10; Kelsey Meenan 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 15 13-18 45.
3-point goals: CRS – Sarah Freeman 3, Lil Metrick 2, Maria Freeman, Kathryn O’Kane; DW – Hayden Blair, Kelsey Meenan.
District 1 6A 7th place game
#5 DOWNINGTOWN EAST 63, #6 CHELTENHAM 49
District 1/XI Regional third place game
#3 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 57, #4 EXECUTIVE EDUCATION 32
The Lions seized early control of Friday’s third place game, opening up a 17-11 lead after one quarter and extending that to 34-17 on their way to the big win.
Izzy Elizondo’s 11 first-half points – which included three 3s – sparked the Lions. Freshman Mary Tresler added eight points in the opening half.
Key players: Izzy Elizondo’s 19 points led the Lions, and Emily Wilson added 14 points, which included a pair of 3s and a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. Mary Tresler and Kayla Fennel both had nine points.
New Hope-Solebury coach Andy Krasna on the game: “Our team was eager to play this game against Executive Education Academy because they are a high-pressure defensive team with athletes who press, deny, and trap at a high level just like Schuylkill Haven. We had a wake-up call on Tuesday in our district semifinal game, and we did not handle the intense pressure that was thrown at us after the two-and-a-half-hour ride to Pottsville. However, tonight we were meeting passes, flashing to open space, pass faking and handling the ball with authority, and we learned from our Schuylkill Haven mistakes which had resulted in 28 turnovers. Tonight, offensively, we moved the ball in the half court, made some nice transition baskets when breaking their press and penetrated the gaps in their zone defenses.”
–Props: “Emily Wilson and Izzy Elizondo were outstanding in every aspect of the game. They were playmakers and still were able to score, accounting for 33 of our 57 points. More importantly, their patience as we slowly built our lead was so key to the win as we dictated the tempo, frustrating Executive Education and causing them to rush low percentage shots. 
“Kayla Fennell chipped in with nine key points but more importantly slowed down a prolific scorer in Mariah Hargrove, who averages 20-plus points per game.
“Mary Tresler added nine key points and 15 rebounds, getting to line for eight free-throw attempts abrasively inviting contact.
“Ella Dudick slowed down their guards altering their shots as they attempted to get all the way to the rim.
“We are incredibly thankful to be playing this late in the season. But this team has earned the privilege. I am so thankful to have seniors who are amazing examples of resilience, and a model for all high school student-athletes to follow.”
Up next: New Hope-Solebury (15-10, 6-4) will play the District 12 runner-up in Friday’s opening round of the PIAA 3A Tournament.
Executive Education 11-6-9-6 32
New Hope-Solebury 17-15-15-10 57
Executive Education (32) – Mariah Hargrove 4 3-4 11; Amaya Moore 1 0-0 2; Keylyn Henry 1 0-0 2; Savannah Henry 1 0-4 2; Jada Hunter 2 1-4 5; Nia Brown 4 2-2 10; TOTALS 13 6-14 32.
New Hope-Solebury (57) – Danielle Wilson 0 2-2 2; Kayla Fennel 4 0-1 9; Izzy Elizondo 8 0-0 19; Emily Wilson 4 4-4 14; Mary Tresler 2 5-8 9; Ella Dudick 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 20 11-14 57.
3-point goals: NH-S – Izzy Elizondo 3, Emily Wilson 2, Kayla Fennel.
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