Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Friday. Tennent/Neshaminy photos courtesy of Jon Sklut, and Pennsbury/PW photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for galleries of both games. (CB East photos courtesy of Diane Barry/CB East BB). CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ GIRLS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
2026 SOL Tournament
Quarterfinals
#1 UPPER DUBLIN 58, SOUDERTON 24
The Cardinals led 14-5 after one quarter and upped that lead to 38-13 by halftime on their way to the big win. Tamia Clark’s 11 first-half points led the Cardinals, who also received eight points from Emilia Coleman.
By the numbers: Tamia Clark led the Cardinals with 21 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Emilia Coleman added 10 points, four rebounds, three steals and one block. Bridget DiMartile had nine points, six rebounds, six steals and two blocked shots. Megan Ngo handed out five assists. She also had three steals.
Upper Dublin coach Moran Funsten:
–Props: “It was good for our girls to bounce back after a tough loss last night. I thought Bridget DiMartile played a great simple game on both ends of the floor.”
Up next: Upper Dublin will host #4 William Tennent in Saturday’s semifinal at 1 pm, and The Indians are 23rd in the latest District 1 6A rankings and will await their final ranking.
Souderton 5-8-9-2 24
Upper Dublin 14-24-19-1 58
Souderton (24) –Maddie Nenstiel 2 1-2 6; Madison Bealer 2 0-0 4; Mahi Patel 1 0-0 3; Kiera Fadden 1 2-4 4; Rae Wallace 2 3-4 7; TOTALS 8 6-8 24.
Upper Dublin (58) – Bridget DiMartile 4 1-2 9; Tamia Clark 9 3-4 21; Megan Ngo 2 1-1 5; Lexi Ngo 2 0-0 4; Emelia Coleman 4 2-2 10; Ella Morris 4 0-0 9; TOTALS 25 7-9 58
3-point goals: S – Maddie Nenstiel, Mahi Patel; UD – Ella Morris.
#2 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 50, #7 BENSALEM 47
Close games have not been a regular occurrence for Central Bucks East this season, but Friday night, the Patriots had an opportunity to test their mettle in a close game.
“So, you don’t really have that opportunity to do end-of-game situations,” East coach Liz Potash said. “Tonight was a perfect example of that, and we were proud of the grit and the perseverance to stay with that game because they could have packed it in many times. But even to just execute at the end and to really learn from that Wilson game (a 54-52 loss). We did what we needed to do and cleaned that piece up.”
The Owls – sparked by six 3s from Jordyn Bell – led 26-18 at halftime, and they took a 41-35 lead into the final quarter when the Patriots rallied, outscoring their visitors 15-6. Jess Lockwood had six points while Berndt had five in the final quarter.
Key players: Natalie Berndt led the Patriots with 16 points, which included four 3s – 3 of those came in the second half. Haley Moran added 14 points, Payton Williams contributed 9 points and seven rebounds, and Jess Lockwood had eight points and nine rebounds. 
Emma Penecale had five assists.
For the Owls, Jordyn Bell had seven 3s for 21 points – 18 of those points came in the first half. Grace McShane had 16 points, which included two 3s. All of her points came in the second half.
Central Bucks East coach Liz Potash:
–The game: “Coming into the game, we knew Grace McShane is averaging close to 20 a game, and there’s really no other kid averaging over six a game. Obviously, we knew (Jordyn) Bell could shoot, but I don’t think we had her down for seven threes for the game – she had six in the first half. McShane didn’t score in the first half, and we were down eight at halftime. A lot of the game preparation was how to take McShane out. Well, McShane picked up three fouls by halftime, so she was out of the game, and we’re like, ‘Girls, McShane hasn’t scored, and we’re down eight. You’ve got to defend.’
“I give them credit. Their guards were being aggressive, and they were just trying to attack.”
–The comeback. “We don’t really get frazzled. We have not played from behind much this year, and we couldn’t make a shot. It was very uncharacteristic. I mean, in and out, in and out. And you’re like, ‘Oh, boy, we are not making any shots.’ And we were getting great looks. They played a zone. We played plenty of zones this year and are still able to get looks. We just couldn’t hit anything. We’re getting offensive rebounds, couldn’t put the putbacks in.
“So when we went in at halftime, our concern was not on the offensive end, because we know we have kids that can score. It was – ‘You’ve got to get some stops. McShane hasn’t scored, but we’ve given up 18 to Bell.’
“It was just the mentality of chipping away, and we were able to put some more full-court pressure and turn them over, and I think it was a six-point game going into the fourth. They
were kind of holding the ball, playing with the lead, and we were able to get steals and turn them over, and that got us some shots.
“Nat (Berndt) got hot in the second half from the 3-point line. But even towards the end, we were up just a couple, and they still had five fouls to give. We were able to execute and get the ball in against the pressure, get to the line, hit a couple shots.
“Again, a little uncharacteristic. We’re an 80 percent foul-shooting team. Last two trips to the line, we were 1-for-4, which is very unlike us, but we had made enough before. So, you know, it’s just kind of a tough shooting night, and even with a tough shooting night, we pulled 50 points out. And more importantly, we got the win, so we get to play tomorrow. The tournament’s great. It gives you more opportunities to play, to be in close games.
“The girls showed, I think, why they’ve had the success that they’ve had all year. They don’t give up. They don’t put their heads down. They just keep grinding and keep working.”
Up next: Central Bucks East will host #3 Pennsbury in Saturday’s SOL Tournament semifinal at noon. Bensalem – 16th in the latest district rankings – will return to action next Friday in the District 1 6A Tournament.
Bensalem 14-12-15-6 47
Central Bucks East 4-14-17-15 50
Bensalem (47) – Grace McShane 5 4-6 16; Mary Beck 2 2-4 6; Sydney Daut 2 0-0 4; Jordyn Bell 7 0-0 21; TOTALS 16 6-10 47
Central Bucks East (50) – Delaney Long 1 0-0 3; Haley Moran 6 0-0 14; Natalie Berndt 5 2-2 16; Payton Williams 3 3-6 9; Jess Lockwood 3 1-2 8; TOTALS 18 6-10 50.
3-point goals: B – Jordyn Bell 7, Grace McShane 2; CBE – Natalie Berndt 4, Haley Moran 2, Delaney Long, Jess Lockwood.
Potash honored for 200 wins
Liz Potash – in her 13th season at the helm at Central Bucks East – was honored prior to Friday’s game for notching her 200th win, capping a regular season that saw the Patriots win their second SOL Colonial Division title in as many years.
“Honestly, I’ll never forget when Pat Toner got her – I think it was after her 300th win. I had emailed her and she said, ‘Liz, if you coach long enough, you’re bound to get a couple,’ and I think the same thing,” Potash said. “It’s not that long of a time but we’ve had successful teams, I’ve had really successful players You have really good coaches who don’t have those kids in the program. They’re not fortunate enough to have that, so it’s all the kids that you coach, and I’ve had great assistant coaches along the way too, so it’s certainly not all me.”
The Patriots’ coach, whose team is 20-3 this season, credited those who have helped her along the way.
“I was very fortunate to be on some really good staffs and have a lot of good coaching mentors around me, so you learn the game and you kind of evolve over time, but you can’t do it without the players, so I’ve been so fortunate to have unbelievable talent that has been a part of the program,” Potash said.
Under Potash, East – second in the latest District 1 6A rankings – has won three SOL titles. The Patriots have been a regular in the District 1 6A Tournament and have also made numerous trips to the state tournament.
“The kids work really hard,” she said. “They’re good kids, they want to compete. A lot of members of my coaching staff have been on staff for a long time, so when you have all of those pieces that come together, it’s nice that it equates to some success. Just like basketball is not an individual sport, the idea of coaching is not either. There’s been a lot of great people along the way that have helped. It’s a nice honor, but it’s on the girls. They’re the ones that got all the wins over the years.”
They said…
“Liz is definitely huge on preparation – scouting, getting us ready for assignments in the X’s and O’s, but what’s neat about her is she really cares about her players. She really works to have connections with them. She works to figure out how to motivate them and what each kid needs because every kid is so different and has a different style. There are some kids you can be tough with and some kids that need more love, so I think what really makes her stand out is her care about each individual athlete and then the commitment she makes to establish a good relationship with them and really, really working her best to help them reach their maximum potential. She really works to pull out each individual athlete’s strengths and maximizes that and highlights it and emphasizes how we can use each other’s strengths to build the best team and play together.”
–Lisa Garner, Central Bucks East assistant coach
“Liz is an effective coach because she is constantly taking the time to scout for us so we have the best possible strategy going into each game and are as prepared as we can be. She also has a high basketball IQ when it comes to making strategic game plans.
“As a coach, Liz is always looking out for us on and off the court. She also creates a positive and disciplined environment for us on and off the court. As serious as Liz is during games, off the court and at practice she shows her humorous side that no one else sees.”
–Jess Lockwood, Central Bucks East senior
“Coach Potash always takes the time to make a detailed scout on every team we play. We always feel very prepared and know what everyone’s job is going into the game. She keeps us motivated by setting goals for each season and pushes us to achieve these goals. She cares about her players outside of basketball and makes an effort to watch our AAU games every year. She can show her humor and make light in situation like a typo in the scout lineup.”
–Natalie Berndt, Central Bucks East senior
#3 PENNSBURY 35, #6 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 20
The Colonials jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the Falcons responded with an 11-2 tear to close out the first quarter, and they went into halftime with a 23-14 advantage on their way to the win. Alyssa Thomas connected on a pair of 3s and had eight points in the first half. 
Key players: Alyssa Thomas led all scorers with 12 points while Sammie Haws had eight. Shea Quenzer had four assists, three rebounds and four deflections.
For the Colonials, Liv Patete and Eliza Meersman both had six points. Meersman also had four rebounds.
Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla:
–The game: “PW came out with a very good game plan. We prepared for them to play zone and they did, and early on they were really good with it. We also know that they like to shorten the game with long possessions, and they were fantastic with it in the beginning. They weaved side to side, were patient and found openings and took a 6-0 lead.
“It’s no surprise that they would be prepared. They are a blue blood program that is at the top of the district card every year. They also adjust how they play based on their personnel and who they play and not everyone does that. It’s part of what makes them successful year after year.
“As the first quarter went on, our ball movement improved, and we were able to get inside out looks.
“That increased in the second quarter, and Alyssa (Thomas), Milan (Reaves) and Keira (Socha) opened up their defense with some 3s. That’s something they’ve done all year, so it’s good to see in that spot.
“In the second half, we adjusted defensively and were very patient defensively as their long possessions can cause gambling or moving out of position. We were able to guard well, and to their credit, we could not get them to speed up tempo-wise or come out and chase us.
“Thankfully, our girls are so good with playing the right way, and in the fourth quarter when we were up double digits, they had to come out and chase us.
“It’s not easy with them because they are so disciplined, and we well remember because back in 2022, they went to a delay game early in the fourth quarter, and we felt like we were chasing them for seven minutes. That’s still the best team I’ve ever coached against on the girl’s side, and that toughness and commitment still exists.”
–Props: “Alyssa was efficient as always – 12 points on six shots and terrific at the top of our defense. Shea Quenzer was terrific with four assists, three rebounds and four deflections. Sammie Haws had a big three for us in the first quarter to get us going, and she also had five deflections. Grace Schaufler continued her solid play, and Joley Hohman dropped a gorgeous pass to Sammie on the break that led to a three-point play and stretched the game out.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dan Dougherty:
–Game prep: “If there were ever a game where a loss felt like a win, this was it. We spent most of Wednesday gathering film and starting to prepare to play Tennent, only to find out at 11 pm Wednesday night that due to Cheltenham’s loss, we were now playing Pennsbury. TJ and I spent our lunch period Thursday – we each took a game to watch and come up with a plan. We decided to spend first 30 minutes of practice showing the girls what we saw and came up with two different game plans.
“We saw how good Pennsbury’s girls are at man defense – long, quick, athletic. Also, we saw their 1-3-1 and 2-3 zones, but figured man is what would be top priority.
“Offensively, we saw 5-10 different man sets and motions – very fast, very well run, and they look very comfortable in it. We saw their zone offense was much more deliberate with few variations and thought that would be the easier install.
“Props to our second team: Luca Juliano, Brooke Walcoff, Riley Spigelmyer, Liv Brodzinski, Gigi Juliano, and Alana Meshey. They were able to master the zone motion and first few man sets and really give us a great look in practice and walkthrough.”
–The game: “The game couldn’t have started better for us. We got multiple stops in our 3-2, and we were able to get slips against their man hedging for some open layups. We went up 6-0 and forced a quick timeout. From there, the rest of first half was pretty close until the last two minutes. We had costly turnover that led to a 3, then had a kid we didn’t deem a shooter knock down another one.”
–Second half: “We went into halftime down 23-14 but feeling good. Our offense had slowed a bit. After we went up quickly, they switched from man to their 1-3-1 zone. We tried to show kids in the walkthrough and film how to attack it, but it’s a defense you need some live reps against to understand how to go opposite diagonal or drive, kick, or get that inside out kick. Ultimately, we were able to get some looks but couldn’t get one to drop. We told the girls we weren’t upset. We thought for sure we’d be facing man defense; so, to get them to play us in zone was a compliment given how good their girls can defend in man.
“We came out strong in the third quarter, got some god opportunities but couldn’t cut into lead at all.
“To start the fourth, we’re down 31-17. With about seven minutes to go, Frank tells his girls to stall the ball against our zone. We reveled in it for about 30-40 seconds, told our girls to take a foul and then called timeout. In the timeout, I told the girls how proud I was of them for forcing that (stall) to happen. We then agreed we’d go man for a few possessions and see if we could cut into the lead at all. After couple minutes, we weren’t able to, we pulled our kids with three minutes to go down 34-17. The last win of the night was seeing our second team execute the 1-3-1 offense and drill a three at the end; those kids deserved it.
“Never happy with a loss – we wanted and prepared to win. The girls did their best with the limited prep, long bus ride, out of routine game. Proud of them. Great opportunity for us to play really high level team on the road with limited prep time. It helps to prepare for what happens in districts. It was a good experience to draw from.
“Looks like we’ll finish top 16 in the district, get a home playoff game; major goal of ours for the season, continue to be impressed by their resiliency.”
Up next: Pennsbury will travel to #2 Central Bucks East for Saturday’s semifinal game at 12 noon. Plymouth Whitemarsh – 14th in the latest District 1 6A rankings – will return to action next Friday in districts.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 8-6-3-3 20
Pennsbury 11-12-8-4 35
Plymouth Whitemarsh (20) – Brooke Walcoff 1 0-0 3; Liv Patete 2 1-2 6; Kenna Winland 2 0-0 4; Eliza Meersman 3 0-0 6; Grace Harvey 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 8 2-4 20.
Pennsbury (35) – Grace Schaufler 1 0-0 2; Sammie Haws 3 0-1 8; Alyssa Thomas 5 0-0 12; Shea Quenzer 1 0-0 2; Joley Hohman 0 1-2 1; Keira Socha 2 0-0 6; Milan Reaves 1 1-2 4; TOTALS 13 2-5 35.
3-point goals: PW – Brooke Walcoff, Liv Patete; P – Keira Socha 2, Sammie Haws 2, Alyssa Thomas 2, Milan Reaves
#4 WILLIAM TENNENT 44, #5 NESHAMINY 36
The Panthers made their first trip to the SOL Tournament a memorable one, notching a hard-fought win over the visiting Redskins.
“This was a huge win tonight,” Tennent coach Laura Whitey said. “Our girls were really excited and amped up for the opportunity to play in the SOL tournament, and I thought they came out with great energy and confidence. You couldn’t
have asked for a better playoff atmosphere — two talented teams, a packed and loud gym, and fans treated to some great basketball.”
The Panthers jumped out to a 16-9 lead after one quarter. Halie Staub’s seven points led the Panthers. Avery Kocur had nine of her 13 points after the intermission.
For the game, the Panthers connected on 22 of 27 from the foul line.
Key players: Halie Staub’s 15 points led the Panthers. Staub had three 3s and also was 4-for-6 at the foul line. Avery Kocur added 13 points, which featured a 10-for-12 effort at the foul line. Carissa Malpezzi did not have a field goal but was 8-for-9 at the free throw line.
Neshaminy’s Nicole Trespalacios led the way with 14 points while Hayley Kolk had eight points and Mia Raivitch, seven points.
William Tennent coach Laura Whitney:
–The game: “I thought we did a nice job setting the tone early and making Neshaminy uncomfortable. Offensively, we showed great patience, finding cutters and making the extra pass to create high-quality shots. Defensively, we were disruptive and forced them into some tough looks.
“It was one of those games where we felt in control throughout, but never completely comfortable — especially late in the fourth quarter when a 12-point lead was cut to four. We had a brief stretch where we got a little careless with the ball and started to panic. A few missed calls allowed the momentum to shift and made it more interesting than we would have liked.
“Credit to our girls for staying composed, finishing strong, and – most importantly – making big free throws all night. We’ll enjoy this one for a few hours before turning our attention to a quick turnaround tomorrow against a really good Upper Dublin team.”
Up next: William Tennent will travel to #1 Upper Dublin for Saturday’s semifinal contest Saturday (1pm). Neshaminy – 10th in the latest District 1 6A rankings – will return to action next Friday in districts.
Neshaminy 9-9-4-14 36
William Tennent 16-7-9-12 44
Neshaminy (36) – Grace Weyler 1 1-1 3; Mia Raivitch 3 0-4 7; Nicole Trespalacios 7 0-2 16; Hayley Kolk 2 4-4 8; Kaitlyn Wolf 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 5-11 36.
William Tennent (44) – Avery Kocur 1 10-12 13; Carissa Malpezzi 0 8-9 8; Halie Staub 4 4-6 15; Hanah Wong 3 0-0 6; Megan Volz 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 9 22-27 44.
3-point goals: N – Nicole Trespalacios 2, Mia Raivitch; WT – Halie Staub 3, Avery Kocur.
UPPER MORELAND 76, ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 59
Upper Moreland ended the season on a high note.
Eight players scored in the game and the girls made ten three pointers.
ANC dressed only six players, but they came out shooting. The first quarter ended with Upper Moreland leading 18-16. The second quarter was the difference with Golden Bears holding ANC to eight points, and scoring 21 to take a 15-point lead into halftime.
The game didn’t get closer than 10 points the rest of the way, and Upper Moreland notched their seventh win of the season.
Key players: Hailey Milks led the team with 18 points but also scoring in double figures were Sheila Mangin (14), Hailey Kramer (12) and Mia Taliaferro (10). ANC
Upper Moreland coach Josh Adelman:
Props: “Very proud of the team. The girls have continued to improve throughout the season. Just like every team, you have to deal with injuries to key players, but other players have continued to improve and rise to the occasion when they were called upon. We were able to become a team that truly battled all of our opponents. This season will be looked upon as a success in the fact that players gained valuable experience and confidence in their abilities.
“A special mention to Hailey and Emma Kramer. They have been in the program for four years and have really given their all to make us better, especially this season. Both girls have battled injuries and have continued to come to practice and be leaders for the team. Their intensity is something the team needed during practice and games, and they will be sorely missed. Both of the girls played great games today on both ends of the floor.
“Another shout out to Sheila Mangin and Brogan Neely who combined to hit seven three-pointers. And also to Hailey Milks for scoring a team high 18 points from all over the court. Mia Taliaferro rounded out the players that scored in double figures with 10 points on an array of excellent drives to the basket. I was very pleased that all of the players that came to the game were able to get into the game and contribute. It was a great team win.”
Upper Moreland 18-21-18-19 76
ANC 16-8-22-13 59
Upper Moreland (76) – Brooklyn Kavanagh 3, Sheila Mangin14, Emma Kramer 6, Hailey Kramer12, Hailey Milks 18, Brogan Neely 9, Mia Taliaferro 0, Maddy Frantz 4
ANC (59) – Mayo 27, Teich 22, Etreih 6, Barnhart 4
3-point goals: UM – Kavanagh, Mangin 4, E. Kramer 1, Neely 3, Taliaferro 1
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