Sixteen SOL teams will be part of this weekend’s District One AAAA Tournament. Check out capsules of all the SOL teams in action, and check back for recaps of all the games.
Sixteen SOL teams will take the court this weekend when the District One AAAA Tournament gets underway. That number represents exactly one half of the 32-team tournament field with all 32 teams vying for 10 state playoff berths.
Two SOL squads – Upper Dublin and Neshaminy – are top four seeds with Upper Dublin seeded third and Neshaminy fourth. Six years ago, the Flying Cardinals captured the district title with a rout of Spring-Ford. The Redskins have never won a district title in girls’ basketball. Interestingly, both have reached new heights under first-year coaches. Morgan Funsten took over the helm at Upper Dublin while Joe Lally stepped in at Neshaminy. It’s been quite a debut for both coaches.
Flying Cardinals looking to soar – Upper Dublin senior Lauren Rothfeld called it a crazy year. By any description, it’s been quite a run for a Flying Cardinal squad that dropped its first game of the season to Central Dauphin East but then reeled off 21 straight wins.
“Oh my word, we are so excited,” Rothfeld said. “It’s been a crazy year between getting a new coach and basically a whole new coaching staff and then just going out there and going around (the conference once) and winning all our games. We were like, ‘Wow, we can actually do this.’”
And the Cards certainly did it, rolling through conference play twice to 14 wins without a loss.
“It’s been very special,” senior Brianna Spector said. “Things ended a little off last year with the whole coaching change. It was very uncertain.
“It was such a good feeling to come out strong. I think as a team we’re clicking more than ever, and it’s really showing in the games how we have been playing. I think (the key) is just trusting each other.”
The Cardinals unseated a Cheltenham squad that had won the league title in 27 of the last 29 years, and no one appreciated that more than senior Curtrena Goff, who had never been on the winning side against the Lady Panthers until this season.
“It was so annoying,” the senior point guard said. “I used to live, sleep and eat Cheltenham, but we could never do it.
“Our last time playing Cheltenham we played them away, and I walked out of the gym and said, ‘This is the first time I’ve ever walked out of Cheltenham’s gym winning.’ You don’t understand. It was so great.”
The Cardinals haven’t just beaten the Lady Panthers, they have beaten every opponent in their path, and they have beaten them soundly. Upper Dublin has beaten its 21 opponents by an average margin of 25.2 points.
“It’s just unbelievable is the only way to say it,” Rothfeld said. “We lost key players from last year, but every other team in our conference lost a lot of players.
“When we first played Cheltenham, we were really pumped about it. We had to go in and take care of business. (Before this year), the last time we beat them was something like eight years.”
The Flying Cardinals defeated Cheltenham 62-15 in the initial meeting between the two schools, and defense, according to the players, has been a key to this year’s magical regular season run.
“I think our defense is just unbelievable,” Rothfeld said. “We can play any kind of defense coach Funsten throws at us, and it just works.
“At the beginning of the year, he wasn’t so confident in our man-to-man defense, but we play that a lot now. I also think we all trust each other, the starting five and everyone on the bench. We are all confident that that whoever has the ball in their hands is going to do something good. We know where each other are on the court. We have great communication. No one is yelling at each other. It’s the first year we haven’t had any drama between the team.”
“We’re all close,” Goff added. “We joke, and we have a lot of fun. There’s no drama whatsoever. It’s just perfect.”
While the Flying Cardinals suffered some losses to graduation, they added junior transfer Regan Gallagher.
“She’s a huge help to our team,” Goff said. “We have a lot of girls that are positive on and off the court, and that helped us as a team become who we are.
It feels awesome because we work so hard all season.”
While the Flying Cardinals haven’t been challenged in many games, they insist they have been at practice.
“The games are what they are,” Spector said. “You have to find it within yourselves. I really think it’s self-motivation. We have to push ourselves.
“We know there are teams that are working just as hard as us. We always want to put our best foot forward because sometimes practice can be harder than the games that we’re playing, so if we push ourselves hard in practice, then regardless of who we’re playing the outcome will be what we want it to be.”
“It has been really fun. Each game you have to go in with the same mindset – this is just a precursor of what’s to come for us.”
The Flying Cardinals have set a goal of duplicating the success of the 2007 squad that captured the district crown.
“Me and the other seniors, we’ve been watching every game since we’re been in elementary school,” Rothfeld said. “We’ve seen the Fab 5 play (in 2007), and we were like, ‘We want to do that. We want to win the league. We want to go to Villanova.’”
“We’re trying to do things that haven’t been done for a while,” Spector added. “I’m really confident with the group we have. I think if any year we can pull it off it would definitely be this one.
“Everyone puts in hard work – offseason, in-season. It’s a group of girls who commit themselves to basketball all year. We all play club together. We all play AAU. You see everyone working hard, and it’s definitely nice when it pays off.”
“We’re just trying to make it to Nova,” Goff said. “That’s what we want to do.”
Four wins separate the Flying Cardinals from their ultimate goal.
Redskins on the rise – Neshaminy just might be one of the league’s most improbable success stories, finishing first on the heels of last year’s seventh place finish in the conference standings.
“I think the season exceeded our goals, but I’m not surprised,” coach Joe Lally said. “The way the kids are capable of playing and the way they came together – it became more of a realistic goal around the halfway point.
“Once we went around the league once we kind of thought – we can play with everybody. We have a shot at this.”
Last year the team staggered to a 4-10 record in conference play. This year, they were 12-2.
“With the whole new coaching staff, we were really excited about the season,” senior Lori Paulits said. “We just knew the whole scenario of basketball would change.
“We all just stuck together and we played as a family, and we have never done that before.”
Interestingly, the Redskins turned things around with basically the same cast of characters as last year.
“We had the same team,” junior Megan Schafer said. “Two of our seniors last year tore their ACL and two of them didn’t play that much.
“I know it doesn’t really matter what everyone else is saying at the beginning of the season, but we weren’t even on anyone’s radar because of the season we had last year and just because of our reputation. We knew we were coming into every game with nothing to lose, and all the pressure was on the other team.”
Although the faces may be the same, the mindset has changed, according to junior Sarah Oliveira.
“The environment in the gym this year – you can just feel it with the girls’ attitudes and how we just want to get better this year,” she said. “We don’t just win for ourselves, we win for our coaches and the other girls and the school.”
And the Redskins will be hoisting a championship banner on their gymnasium wall.
“To be SOL champs is crazy,” Schafer said. “It’s just awesome.
“To show everyone – hey, we actually made it because no one believed in us.”
The Redskins’ second season is about to begin, and they hope to pick up where they left off in the regular season.
#32 William Tennent at #1 Spring-Ford
Spring-Ford
- 13-0 PAC-10, 21-2 overall
- Undefeated Liberty Division League Champions
- Defending District 1- AAAA Champions
- Highlights of the season include a 13-game winning streak after falling to New York powerhouse St. Anthony’s.
- Balanced attack led by Shelby Mueller (10.9 PPG), Sammy Stipa (10.6) and Sarah Payonk (10.4)
- The Rams average 61.5 points per game
William Tennent
- 5-9 SOL, 13-9 overall
- Sixth place team in SOL National Conference
- Highlights of season include winning the Quakertown Tournament in December and wins over 20th-seeded Pennsbury (46-44) and 26th-seeded Wissahickon (47-32)
#17 Norristown at #16 Downingtown West
Downingtown West
- 13-2 Ches-Mont League
- Clinched second straight National Division title
- Highlights of season include a late-season lopsided win over 25th-seeded Great Valley (43-29) as well as a pair of wins over 21st-seeded Bishop Shanahan and a 48-42 win over 24th-seeded Springfield (Delco)
- Led offensively by Maddie Dew, Lindsay Galczynski & Kayla Feairheller
- Lost three of five most recent games
Norristown
- 11-3 SOL, 16-6 overall
- Finished second to Upper Dublin in American Conference
- Won six of their last seven regular season games
- Highlights of the season include wins over 11th-seeded Souderton (44-38) and 20th-seeded Pennsbury (50-47).
#25 Great Valley at #8 Central Bucks West, Friday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m.
Central Bucks West
- 12-2 SOL, 16-5 overall
- Co-Champions of SOL Continental Conference for first time since 1999
- Highlights of the season include winning the Abington Lady Ghosts Tournament after defeating 17th -seeded Norristown (49-36) and 14th-seeded Abington (51-43) as well as victories over 6th-seeded North Penn (58-47) and 11th-seeded Souderton (47-44)
Players to watch: Seniors: Kat Bahner (4.2 PPG), Calypso Carty (4.5), Maggie Gratz (8.1), Cait Mautz (4.0), Katie McLaughlin (injured reserve), Junior: Taylor Moylan, Sophomores: Corrinne Godshall (6.4), Mackenzie Carroll (11.6), Nicole Munger (11.4), Peyton Traina (6.3)
Coach Terry Rakowsky says: “After playing I believe one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the district and coupled with the competitiveness of the conference (five of the eight teams are in the playoffs), we believe we are battle tested and prepared for the district playoffs.”
Great Valley
- Finished second to West Chester Rustin in Ches-Mont American
- Lost three of four games to close out regular season
- Led offensively by junior guard Danielle DiSanto
- No wins over District One AAA playoff teams
#29 Penn Wood at #4 Neshaminy
Neshaminy
- 12-2 SOL, 18-3 overall
- SOL National Conference champion
- Highlights of season include defeating 14th-seeded Abington (46-45) for the first time in nine years to break a tie for first and clam the title outright and a victory over 8th-seeded CB West (58-53) in the Redskins’ season opener
- Ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak
Penn Wood
- 5-2 Del-Val League, 13-8 overall
- Top offensive weapon is Dahnye Redd
- Lost share of the conference title after falling to Academy Park (67-62) in final regular season game
#20 Pennsbury at #13 Council Rock South
Council Rock South
- 9-5 SOL, 13-8 overall
- Finished third-place in the National Conference behind Neshaminy and Abington
- Defeated Pennsbury in their first matchup 48-36
- Highlights of the season include a win in their season opener over 16th-seeded Downingtown West (69-59) and back-to-back wins in the Suburban One League Challenge over 26th-seeded Wissahickon (47-34) and the Hill School (45-37)
- Won nine of their last 11 games
Players to watch: Alexis Hofstaedter (15.4 PPG), Courtney Brown (10.7), Taylor Dillon (11.0)
Coach Monica Stolic says: “We have been getting great defensive play from Cara Barlow and Shannon Boyle. Off the bench, Alison Taub and Stephanie Thomas have been contributing. We feel that over the last half of the season our team has come together as we have won nine of our last 11 games.”
Pennsbury
- 8-6 SOL, 12-10 overall
- Defeated South in their second matchup 45-28
- Finished fourth in National Conference
- Highlights of the season include a pair of league wins over 13th-seeded Council Rock South (45-28) and fourth-seeded Neshaminy handing them one of only two league losses (52-42)
- Won five in a row to start the 2012-2013 season
Players to watch: Starters: Sajanna Bethea (16.6 PPG, 10.1 RPG), Kaitlin Kelly (9.0 PPG, 39 three-pointers), Carly Kovin, Courtney Kruscavage, Alexa Lukas, Key reserves: Taylor Ferguson, Catherine Silvernail, Emily Edwards, Sarah McDonald
Coach Donna Nicholson says: “We are looking forward to representing the SOL National Conference in the District One playoffs.”
#28 Council Rock North at #5 Methacton
Methacton
- 10-3 Pac-10, 16-7 overall
- Highlights of season include edging Boyertown in a 61-58 one-game playoff for the Liberty Division’s second seed, and leading the PAC-10 in foul shooting with a 64.6% average
- Boast PAC-10’s top scorer in Kelsey Watson (17.6 PPG). Other weapons include Jenna Carroll (12.2) and Kelly Glatthorn (9.0).
- Won twelve of their last thirteen outings
Council Rock North
- 7-7 SOL, 11-11 overall
- Fifth place team in SOL National Conference
- Starting lineup features five sophomores
- Highlights of the season include capturing title in the Wildwood Christmas Tournament with wins over Wildwood Catholic (36-30) and Nazareth Academy (42-38) and defeating 20th-seeded Pennsbury in the second league matchup (54-45)
Players to watch: Jess Gerber (15.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.2 assists, 40 steals), Michaela Finneyfrock (6.5 PPG, 71 steals, 3.9 RPG), Madison Attanasio (4.5), Krista Campbell (4.5), Hailey Burns (3.7), Katie Budny (4.4)
Coach Lou Palkovics says: “This is the first district game for all these girls except for Jess Gerber. That being said, we will not be happy with ‘a good experience.’ We have worked hard in practice this week and want to extend our season more than just a week.”
#31 Bensalem at #2 Mount St. Joseph’s
Mount St. Joseph’s
- 21-2 overall
- Highlights of the season include win over Merion Mercy in the Catholic Academies semi-final (45-40)
- Only losses have come at the hands of top-seeded Spring-Ford and Cumberland Valley
- Led by the dangerous duo of Alex Louin and Meg Geatens
- Defeated Villa Maria 57-41 Wednesday to win Catholic Academies title
Bensalem
- 4-10 SOL, 9-13 overall
- Seventh place in SOL National Conference
- Highlights of the season included claiming the championship in the Pennridge Tipoff Tournament, also a pair of huge league wins over 13th-seeded Council Rock South in their first matchup 51-41 and 14th-seeded Abington in overtime (46-44)
Players to watch: Tyra Roberts, Ashida Cooper, Stephanie Unger, Janessa Winder, Alexia Kohler, Christine Cueto
Coach Don Bogan says: “I’m very happy for and proud of the girls on the team. They have worked very hard to make the playoffs. Stephanie Unger, Janessa Winder, Alexia Kohler and Christine Cueto have improved all season. Win or lose, Bensalem is very happy to participate in the playoffs.”
#18 Central Bucks East at #15 Conestoga
Conestoga
- Third place Central League
- Highlights of season include win over 16th-seeded Downingtown West (50-49) at the Spring-Ford Holiday Classic and victory over 9th-seeded Central League Champion Upper Darby (45-38)
- Led by senior point guard Ali Grundy
- Fell to Radnor in league title game
Central Bucks East
- 8-5 SOL, 15-7 overall
- Finished fourth in the Continental Conference after winning title for the past six seasons
- Highlights of the season include beating 6th-seeded North Penn (44-37) and 10-seeded Garnet Valley (32-30) in East’s season opener
#26 Wissahickon at #7 Boyertown
Boyertown
- 10-3 Pac-10, 16-7 overall
- Finished third in the Liberty Division after losing PAC-10 semifinals to top-seeded Spring-Ford (58-61)
- Highlights of season include double overtime victories over 14th-seeded Abington (58-54) at the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic and also 5th-seeded Methacton (66-65)
- Led by the PAC-10’s second-leading scorer Kaitlyn Eisenhard (16.0 PPG with 15 three-pointers)
Wissahickon
- 10-4 SOL, 13-8 overall
- Finished third in the American Conference behind Upper Dublin and Norristown
- Highlights of the season include a pair victories over 27th-seeded Upper Merion (43-35, 32-24) and a win over 10th consecutive NJISAA State Champions Rutgers Prep (38-35)
- Ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak
#30 Ridley at #3 Upper Dublin
Upper Dublin
- 14-0 SOL, 21-1 overall
- SOL American Conference Champions under first-year coach Morgan Funsten
- Only loss was in season opener to Central Dauphin East (56-62) at the Upper Darby Royal Classic
- Highlights of season include a convincing non-league win over #31 Bensalem (63-37) and topping 17th-seeded Norristown by double-digits twice
- Take a 21-game winning streak into districts.
Players to watch: Curtrena Goff (14.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.6 assists, 2.2 steals), Brianna Spector (7.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.7 assists), Lauren Rothfeld (6.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.6 steals), Regan Gallagher (10.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.3 steals), Kayla McAneney (6.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.9 assists, 1.5 steals)
Coach Morgan Funsten says: “We are very excited with our seed and know that we cannot look past this Saturday’s game against Ridley. We need to continue to play with the confidence that we have had all season and do the little things right. Ridley is coming out of the Central League, and they have some really impressive wins over Conestoga (twice) and Radnor (Central League champion). They shoot the ball from the outside very well and will be dangerous if they get hot from out there. Their leading scorer is Samantha Foy, who is a forward who can beat you inside or out. We are looking forward to the challenge.”
Ridley
- Highlights of the season include a pair of league victories over 15th-seeded Conestoga (35-23 and 48-45), and a win over 29th seeded Penn Wood at the Ridley Christmas Tournament (50-42)
- Led offensively by MK Rumbaugh, Monica Boyle and Bree Mulhern
#19 Perk Valley at #14 Abington
Abington
- 11-3 SOL, 15-7 overall
- Finished second to Neshaminy in National Conference
- Highlights of the season included league victories over fourth-seeded Neshaminy (50-46) and 13th-seeded Council Rock South (42-37)
- Won six of their last seven games
Players to watch: Deja Rawls (14.8 PPG), Michael Harris (9.7), Sammy Lochner (8.6)
Coach Dan Marsh says: “We just want to go in play hard and see what happens. We want to walk off the court knowing we gave our best effort with no regrets. If we do that, we will be a force.”
Perk Valley
- 6-7 PAC-10, 13-9 overall
- Highlights of the season include making it to the PAC-10 semifinals, beating 12th-seeded West Chester Rustin (54-38) and #23 Downingtown East (42-24)
- Led offensively by Mikki Guiton (14.8 PPG) and Katie Armstrong (10.8)
#27 Upper Merion at #6 North Penn
North Penn
- 12-2 SOL, 19-3 overall
- Co-champs of SOL Continental Conference for the first time since 1996
- 2012 District 1 AAAA runner-up to Spring-Ford
- Highlights of the season include winning the championship of their own tournament and a key victory over 8th-seeded CB West to clinch a share of the league title (69-62)
- Opened the season 10-0
Players to watch: Lauren Crisler (15.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG), Vicky Tumasz (11.5 PPG, 38 three-pointers), Mikaela Giuliani (7.0 PPG), Erin Maher (6.2 PPG), Jenn Halcovage (4.5 PPG)
Coach Maggie deMarteleire says: “Observing practice this week, I feel that each and every player is committed to bringing their ‘A’ game every game and respecting each opponent as they should – but none too much, nor too little. As always, taking care of the ball and controlling the boards will be key.”
Upper Merion
- 6-8 SOL, 14-8 overall
- Tied for fifth place in SOL American Conference
- Highlight of season include an early non-league win over 15th-seeded Conestoga (44-36)
Players to watch: #3 Anna Davis (Fr., G), #5 Kristina O’Sullivan (Sr., G, 14.6 PPG), #11 Regie Robinson (Soph., G, 13.1 PPG), #12 Katherine Bailey (Jr., G, 5.6 PPG), #15, Julia Reinert (Soph., G), #40 Dominique Gambone (Sr., F), #42 Gabby LeGendre (Jr., F)
Coach Tom Schurtz says: “The Upper Merion Lady Vikings are excited to be returning to the District One AAAA playoffs for the first time since 1996. The Lady Vikings have qualified for the AAA playoffs for the last five years and have garnered playoff experience. As the smallest public school in this year’s AAAA tournament, we will need to play big, but certainly playing a team whose graduating class if almost as large as our entire school will be a daunting task. North Penn has had tremendous success at the AAAA level and has both depth and experience. Our girls will hope to rely on our previous playoff experience as we transition to a different size classification.”
#22 Central Bucks South at #11 Souderton, Friday Feb 16, 8pm
Souderton
- 11-3 SOL, 16-6 overall
- Third in the Continental Conference behind co-champs CB West and North Penn
- Defeated CB South twice in regular season (46-45 and 44-39)
- Highlights of the season included a come-from-behind victory over eighth-seeded CB West 44-41 and non-league wins over fourth-seeded Neshaminy (38-31) and 19th-seeded Perk Valley (41-38)
- Won six of their last seven games
Players to watch: Bianca Picard (11.9 PPG), Allison Gallagher (12.0), Katie O’Connor (6.2), Libby Wetzler (5.8), Sarah Derstein (7.4)
Coach Lynn Carroll says: “I’m very proud of the girls for earning the 11th seed in districts and a first round home game. CB South is a good team that has been playing well. We’re obviously going to have to play well and with intelligence to win. I’m looking forward to a competitive game against a quality opponent.”
Central Bucks South
- 7-7 SOL, 13-9 overall
- Fifth place in SOL Continental Conference
- Highlights of the season included a win over rival and 18th-seeded CB East (36-30) for the first time in 11 games under coach Beth Mattern in their final game and non-league victories over 15th-seeded Conestoga (60-53) and 17th-seeded Norristown (50-38)
Players to watch: Rachel Falkowski (8.3 PPG), Lauren Mosher (10.5), Archie Schneider (4.8), Amber Eife (6.0), Kelli Joerger, Jordan Vitelli (7.9)
Coach Beth Mattern says: “We are excited for the district tournament. Anytime you enter the postseason, you feel like you have new life and are excited to try and exceed expectations. It is tough to draw a league opponent for the first round, but we are going to give it our best effort and hope for the best.”
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