National Conference
Council Rock 39, Neshaminy 18
In yet another physical war between the neighboring rivals, the Indians capped a busy week by playing tough defense to earn a win that capped a near-perfect 13-1 SOL season and put the finishes touches on another SOL National Conference crown.
“We played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and had the most physical game at the end of the week,” said coach Lou Palkovics. “The way the kids responded, especially defensively today – I’m proud of them.
“I told them, ‘For a day or two, you have to enjoy the fact that you’re 21-1 and won another league championship.’ They’ll be ready to go back to work on Monday.”
Making the Indians’ accomplishments even more impressive is the fact that they did it despite the loss of several key players from last year’s squad.
“I think the program has high expectations, but losing your big girl like Sarah Kiely and losing a great shooter in Kelly Scull – we were wondering who was going to step into those spots, but we were pleasantly surprised by how well Emily (Grundman) has come along,” Palkovics said. “Tonight Megan Cunningham had a big game - if we can get that kind of stuff out of her, and then we have a girl like Alyssa Dumont coming off the bench - she’s long and she’s a rebounder and shooter.
“I didn’t think we would be 21-1, but now that I look back, I’m not as surprised.”
Cunningham led the Indians in Friday’s win, contributing 13 points and five rebounds.
“She just was creating for herself,” said Palkovics, whose team led 22-8 at halftime. “She was getting in the middle, shooting jump shots over people, going to the basket strong, and we needed it tonight.
“It was a very physical game.”
The Indians will spend their off day on Saturday working with Special Olympics kids.
Council Rock South 53, Bensalem 43
Alex Wheatley picked up three early fouls but still managed to score 24 points and pull down 20 rebounds. Sophomore point guard Alexis Hofstaedter added 10 points and six assists while freshman Caitlin Jackson added nine points and 12 rebounds.
William Tennent 56, Pennsbury 41
Four Panthers finished the game in double figures, led by Ashley Alden and Alison Malatesta with 11 points each. Melissa Wasserleben and Liz Koval each added 10 points in a contest that saw the Lady Panthers open up a 25-19 halftime lead and then blow the game wide open with an 18-6 third-quarter burst.
Sajanna Bethea led the Falcons with 18 points.
Abington 62, Harry S. Truman 40
Jessica Schmidt scored 12 points to lead a balanced Ghost attack while teammates Aiyannah Peal and Chynna West each added 11 points for the Ghosts, who led 32-13 at the half. The Tigers were led by Nieyana Brooks (11 points) and Elisha Dupree (nine points).
Continental Conference
Central Bucks East 50, Souderton 32
The Patriots capped a perfect SOL campaign by notching a convincing win over the Indians on Senior Night.
Coach Tom Lonergan had to look no further than senior captains Melissa Remmey and Courtney McManus to figure out what brought this year’s young team together.
“Their leadership both on the floor and off the floor has been absolutely tremendous,” the Patriots’ coach said. “Coming into the season – it’s something you don’t know which direction it goes, and they have done an amazing and overwhelming job of pulling this otherwise very young and inexperienced team together.
“It’s great to have that anchor in those two. They just deserve so much credit – not just the varsity but the program as a whole. Our jayvee team – more than half of them are freshmen. We have 10 freshmen out of 21 players in the program. They just have made everyone feel comfortable. It’s so important for everybody to feel comfortable and supported. It’s something they deserve so much credit for.”
In Friday’s regular season finale, the Patriots held a tenuous 8-7 lead at the end of one quarter but then began to seize control with a 12-4 second-quarter burst to go into halftime with a 20-11 lead.
“We did a much better job defensively,” Lonergan said. ‘We caused some turnovers by mixing up our defenses, and that helped get us a few more possessions.
“We didn’t shoot particularly well in the first half, but I thought our defense started to come together in the second quarter. “
In the second half, the Patriots found their offensive stride, exploding for 30 points. McManus scored nine of her game-high 18 points in the second half. Lindsey Kelly had all 10 of her points in the second half. Lexi Scrivanno added eight points for the Patriots – four in the second half.
“I think we were overly excited in the first half with Senior Night and all the commotion,” Lonergan said. “We were missing some easy stuff inside and missing long, and that usually happens when you’re overly excited.
“Offensively, we did a tremendous job in the second half.”
The Indians were led by the 10-point effort of Carley Kendall while Bianca Picard added eight points.
Central Bucks West 61, Central Bucks South 45
The Bucks put themselves in a position to earn a berth in the district tournament, thanks to their huge win over the Titans on Friday night.
“We played four quarters,” said coach Terry Rakowsky, whose team closed out its regular season with a 12-10 mark. “Our defense was real good again, and we were hitting shots from the outside.
“They play really good defense, and the last game they beat us they were out in the passing lanes a lot, and they were getting steals and layups. We worked hard on our offense, and we were backdoor cutting and had a lot of opportunities. We used their pressure against them a little bit.”
Junior Jen Fabian led the Bucks with 19 points and 12 rebounds while Maggie Gratz added 10 points and seven boards. Amanda Parker contributed 10 points to the balanced attack.
“Tonight we won every quarter,” Rakowsky said. “We were in control the whole game.
“It was four quarters of just very, very good basketball. Everybody played well. We limited their second shots. We were hustling like crazy. There was a great crowd, and our jayvee came back from eight down to win in overtime. It was a great night for CB West basketball.”
The win was the first over a Central Bucks school in recent memory, and it is the first time that West has finished the regular season with a winning record in close to a decade.
“We always talk about it – it’s a three-year type plan,” said Rakowsky, who is in his second year at the helm. “We tried to take care of some firsts this year.
“It’s all those first things they’ve never gone through that will prepare us for next year and hopefully the year after that.
“Even our seniors (Fiona Gilmore, Kathryn Peluso and Tex Haug) – to be able to go out and start the turnaround of CB West basketball. It was a huge win. I can’t even express it.”
Pennridge 50, Quakertown 31
The Rams closed their season on an impressive note on Friday night, notching their second win in as many nights and downing the Panthers in convincing fashion. The win came on the heels of 64-58 overtime win over Owen J. Roberts.
The Rams took a 14-11 lead at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 21-13 by halftime.
“We’ve picked it up defensively, which has actually helped our offense,” coach Dave Martin said. “We were getting fullcourt pressure, and we were turning steals into easy layups.
“The momentum of scoring 64 points last night – we came in, and I said, ‘Look, tonight is our last chance to get a home win and a league win.’ They were pretty pumped up.”
Freshman Jordan Rimmer led the Rams with 13 points – despite being sidelined for a good portion of the first half after picking up three early fouls. Teammates Nici Bonacci and Jessie Dominic each scored eight points. Sophomore Shannon Chynoweth came off the bench to contribute 10 rebounds as well as five points.
It was defense, according to Martin, that was the key to the win.
“We wanted to stop Lauren Starzecky because she is tough,” the Rams’ first-year coach said.
Starzecky still led all scorers with 18 points, but Juli King and Kathryne Vetter – who burned the Rams in an overtime win earlier this year – both scored just four points.
The two teams combined to take 33 foul shots in the fourth quarter – the Rams took 21 – as the Rams outscored the Panthers 18-13 to put the finishing touches on the big win.
“This means a lot,” Martin said. “We had a tough season. To end the season with a two-game winning streak – we get basically everyone back next year, and we have some good young players coming in.
“It’s a shame our offense didn’t click earlier in the season.”
As it is, the Rams closed out the year with a 1-13 record in league play (3-19 mark overall).
North Penn 68, Hatboro-Horsham 35
A pair of Maidens closed out the regular season with career-best offensive performances. Junior Steph Knauer scored a career high 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds while sophomore Lauren Crisler added a career high 23 points to lead the Maidens to the big win.
“They both played really well,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “Our whole team played really well.
“They were playing zone in the first half, and it’s the best we played against a zone this year. We also did a really good job on the offensive boards.”
The Maidens led 35-17 at halftime and never looked back.
Pennridge 64, Owen J. Roberts 58 (2/10/11)
Alyssa Marchunsky connected on three three-pointers in the second half and then had six points in overtime en route to a career high 20 points while freshman Jordan Rimmer added a career-high 17 points to lead the Rams to the huge win. Rimmer had a pair of three-point baskets in the first half.
“Owen J. Roberts started four girls who were six feet,” coach Dave Martin said. “Their center (6-3 Anna Janish) is pretty incredible. She had 15 of their 25 points at halftime, and we were only down five (25-20).
“We held her to one point in the third, zero in the fourth and five points in overtime.”
Jen Cooley contributed a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Rimmer also had six steals.
American Conference
Plymouth Whitemarsh 69, Norristown 41
Gabby Schumacher scored 21 points while teammate Erin Martin contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds. Maya Thomas had 13 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals while Kelly Hackenbrack added 11 points and three steals. Lex Borkowski had 10 rebounds and three steals to go along with four points.
The Colonials led 16-11 at the end of one quarter and extended that lead to 36-18 by halftime on their way to the big win.
Upper Merion 44, Upper Moreland 29
Cassiday Koenig, who scored a game-high 19 points, connected for five three-pointers in the first half to lead the Vikings to a 26-6 halftime lead. Erin Dixon led the Golden Bears with 12 points.
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