The second season is about to begin, and the SOL is well represented.
Thirteen SOL teams received berths in the District One AAAA Tournament while Upper Merion earned a spot in the Class AAA Tournament that begins play Feb. 23.
Three of the tournament’s top four seeds are SOL squads with Cheltenham (21-1) earning the top spot, Council Rock North (18-4) the second seed and Central Bucks East (18-3) the third seed. Defending district champion Downingtown East is seeded fourth with Downingtown West in the fifth spot.
Abington is the sixth seeded team, and Council Rock South, seeded eighth, is the fifth of five SOL schools in the top 10.
Here’s a quick look at the SOL matchups in this weekend’s opening round.
#32 Owen J. Roberts at #1 Cheltenham (Friday, 7 p.m.)
Cheltenham rebounded from its upset at the hands of Wissahickon to score 46 first-half points on its way to an 82-35 win over Norristown on Tuesday, clinching its 22nd conference title in the last 24 years.
According to senior Liz Taliaferro, the Lady Panthers (21-1) hope to turn their upset loss to Wissahickon into a learning experience.
“We’re not cocky in any way,” she said. “Schaefer always tells us, ‘You can’t take anything for granted.’
“That loss is going to be a wake-up call that I think came at the perfect time, quite frankly, because we had time to bounce back against Norristown. The playoffs are starting, and if you pull a game like that in the playoffs, you’re done, you’re out, so ‘Alright, let’s kick start and get back into gear and show how we really play.’”
On Friday, the Lady Panthers will have a chance to regain the form that made them such a feared opponent when they take on an Owen J. Roberts squad that competes in the PAC-10 and brings a 10-12 record into the game, which includes a four-game losing streak heading into the playoffs.
Leading the Lady Panthers will be senior Shayla Felder, who is averaging 17 points, 3.7 steals and three assists a game. She shoots foul shots at a 73 percent clip – even higher when the game is on the line. Sophomore Ciara Andrews averages 10.6 points a game while Kira Ogden averages 7.1 points and 7 rebounds a game. Taliaferro contributes 6.2 points and 2.8 steals.
The district tournament has never been about winning one game for the Lady Panthers, who have earned state playoff berths in 24 of the last 26 seasons under Schaefer.
“We told the girls – that season just ended, and we’re in a totally different kind of season now,” the Lady Panthers’ coach said. “An interesting thing about our schedule is that – with the exception of Owen J. Roberts – we’re in a situation here where we know the possible teams we’re going to play.
“We played them and beat them, and people are probably looking at it and saying, ‘They have an easy bracket. They beat all those teams,’ but guess what – Wissahickon and CB South have proven they can beat us.
“I’m just trying to get the kids to get their mojo back and play their high intensity game and do the best they can, and last night was a good start.”
#31 Academy Park at #2 Council Rock North (Friday, 6 p.m.)
Council Rock North is one of the hottest teams heading into districts. The National Conference champions have won nine in a row since losing to Harvest Prep by one, and included in that stretch was a gutsy win over Abington to clinch the conference crown with senior Sarah Kiely sidelined with a knee injury. The Indians followed that with a win over CR South in the regular season finale.
“We’re happy with the way the team is playing right now,” coach Lou Palkovics said.
The Indians – who were perfect in league play (14-0) – take an 18-4 record into the district tournament.
“The girls have a lot of pride,” Palkovics said. “Being 14-0 last year and 14-0 this year – I haven’t had many teams that have gone back-to-back 14-0.”
As for his team’s number two seed, the Indians’ coach has no complaints.
“You finally get credit for playing the schedule we played,” he said. “We’re one of the few teams that played a national schedule.
“If you lose to teams like the number two team from Florida and the number two team from Kentucky, you figure that’s going to penalize you, but this year it didn’t. We’re happy, and we’re looking forward to a state run.”
The Indians are led by their senior captains – Kiely (12.8 PPG, 5.8 rebounds) and Kelly Scull (12.2 PPG, 5.8 rebounds). The Gold sisters have turned playing defense into an art form. Lauren Gold has 70 steals while Devin has 57, and both are averaging over 10 points a game.The team is looking to erase memories of last year’s disappointing ending that saw the Indians lose four in a row after winning their opening round game in the district tournament.
“That was a huge letdown,” Palkovics said. “I keep playing that into their heads.
“I don’t have to call my statistician to ask if we ever had a four-game losing streak – I know we haven’t. I said, ‘You guys set a record last year, and it’s a record I don’t think any team wants to be known for.’ I kind of tick them off every once in a while when I bring that up.”
#30 William Tennent at #3 Central Bucks East (Saturday, 3 p.m.)
Paul Veltre is hoping history repeats itself when his William Tennent squad takes the court at Central Bucks East on Saturday. Two years ago, the Panthers stunned the Patriots 46-44 to send East home for the season in an opening round game.
“An interesting thing is – that win gave us a second-round opponent of Spring-Ford, and this year, if we managed that upset, we’d play Spring-Ford again since I’m assuming they’ll win their game,” Veltre said. “The teams are a lot different than they were then, but we’re trying the best we can to make sure the girls know the significance of it. They remember that season, and trying to relive that moment is what we’re trying to do.”
Veltre knows it will take a little more than just some history to pull off the upset of an East squad that boasts both an inside and outside game. Liz Martin (16.4 PPG) and Sarah Martin (8.8 PPG) own the paint while teammates Courtney McManus (10.1 PPG), Kristina Pogue (8.0 PPG ) and Melissa Remmey (7.2 PPG) burn teams from the outside.
“I’ve been telling the girls we have to play tough and aggressive,” Veltre said. “We’ll get to the x’s and o’s at practice, but the bottom line is to play tough, play aggressive and play smart.
“They don’t all have the experience of playing in a playoff atmosphere. Last year we played Cheltenham, so some of them had that experience. Every detail of the game is so much more significant. Mistakes are amplified, but the good things are also magnified. We just want to play the best game we can play.”
Junior Ashley Alden leads the Panthers, averaging 10 points and close to eight rebounds a game.
Coach Tom Lonergan’s message to his players is simple.
“The key thing to remember is that everybody is now 0-0,” he said. “It’s a new season, and they need to continue to stay focused, work hard and bring intensity to practices to prepare and get ready for the upcoming games.
“Seedings are immaterial. It really comes down to matchups.”
While Tennent rebounded from a four-game losing streak to win three of four to close out the season, the Patriots bring an eight-game winning streak into the district tournament.
“I definitely like our balance,” Lonergan said. “We’re starting to get contributions from some of our bench players, which can do nothing but help us.
“Clearly, William Tennent has some size – six of their top eight players are 5-11 or bigger, and our biggest player is 5-10, so we’re going to have to make sure we do a good job on the glass and, more importantly, play our game and force them to worry about stopping our strengths.”
#27 Ridley at #6 Abington (Friday, 7 p.m.)
Abington had a chance to recuperate from its disappointing late-season losses to Council Rock South and North with convincing wins over Bensalem and Harry S. Truman.
“We have had a good week of practices,” coach Dan Marsh said. “They all want to get to states, and that’s their attitude right now.
“They know they have to win two tough games, and we’ll take them one at a time. I’m surprised – (those losses) really didn’t affect them like I thought they would emotionally. Actually, the snow break might have helped us too. The kids came back focused.”
Ridley is led by Jen Egee (12.2 PPG) and Kelsey Yori (10.6), but the Green Raiders don’t have anyone that should be able to match up with Villanova-bound Emily Leer, who is averaging 17.0 points a game. Sophomore Aiyannah Peal is averaging 10.4 points a game while Jamie Shectman, a threat from long range, is averaging 6.2 points.
“They’re not tall, and if we do what we’re supposed to do, we should be okay,” Marsh said. “They have two players that are pretty good, but they don’t have anything we haven’t seen.”
Like all of the top seeds, the Ghosts have their sights set well beyond the first round.
“Our goal is to compete for districts,” Marsh said. “I think we’re good enough on any given day. There are times when this team can be really good, but there are also times when they can lose focus and panic a little bit, which is when we’re beatable.
“If we’re playing the way we’re capable of playing, we can compete with anybody.”
#25 Perkiomen Valley at #8 Council Rock South (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
Council Rock South saw its five-game winning streak – which included a big win over Abington - snapped in its regular season finale against Council Rock North, but the Golden Hawks closed out the season playing some of their best basketball.
“Our girls are focused and ready to play,” coach Monica Young said.
The Indians (16-6) have recuperated quite nicely from a 4-4 stretch midway through the season.“We had a tough schedule,” Young said. “We played Abington away, and the next day we were at CB East.
“The girls are very good friends. They hang out on and off the court. They’re a close group, and I think that carries them on the court.”
The Golden Hawks boast a balanced attack that features Alex Wheatley (15.5 PPG), Chelsea Allen (10.5 PPG) and Emily Nowicke (8.7 PPG).
“We’re not a one-man team,” Young said. “We have five girls on the court that can score, and we have Jackie Weber that comes off the bench.
“If we utilize everyone to our full potential, I think we’ll be okay and be a hard team to beat.”
The Golden Hawks will take on a Perk Valley squad that has lost four of its last six games, which included a 61-43 loss to Souderton on Tuesday. If they win, the Golden Hawks stand a good chance of facing a Methacton squad that defeated Rock South in the Warriors’ season-opening tournament.
“I would like to play Methacton again,” Young said. “They’re a good team, and not taking anything away from them, but we went down 10 at the half and only lost by one.”
#20 Unionville at #13 North Penn (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire had no complaints about her team’s seeding in the district tournament, and the Maidens are hoping to reverse their fortunes after last year’s first round loss to Bensalem on their home court.
“I’m very, very happy,” deMarteleire said. “I thought after we lost to Central Bucks South (last) week that we’d be seeded behind CB South and get an away game.”
The Maidens boast both an inside and outside game with Taylour Alston and Steph Knauer providing a presence in the paint and point guard Dara Nelson a legitimate outside threat. Guard Mary Ward helps ignite the Maidens’ transition game.
“Since Jan. 20, we’ve had five practices, and we need to sharpen up, so we decided we’re not scrimmaging anybody,” deMarteleire said. “We’ll work on what we need to fix and game plan for Unionville.”
The Maidens (14-9) have won eight of their last 10 games and five of their last six after stumbling out of the gate to a 1-3 start.
Unionville (14-6) has also won five of its last six and four in a row entering districts. The two teams shared one common opponent in Central Bucks South. The Titans humbled the Indians 59-33 in the season opener for both teams.
#18 Chester at #15 Upper Dublin (Saturday, 3 p.m.)
The Flying Cardinals have won five of six games since senior standout Kristen Fuery went down with an ankle injury in the opening minutes of Upper Dublin’s game against Wissahickon on Jan. 29. Their only loss came in non-league play against Central Bucks South.
Fuery began practicing on Tuesday and is expected to see action when the Flying Cardinals (15-6) face Chester in an opening round game on Saturday.
“Most of the time, she’ll be playing the high post,” coach Vince Catanzaro said of his top scorer (11.1 PPG) and rebounder (6.1). “We’re going to keep her inside because of her height, and we need the rebounding.
“It will be a plus even if she doesn’t play the whole game.”
Catanzaro admits he doesn’t know a whole lot about Chester (14-7) except for the fact that 6-0 Karen Flack is the team’s undisputed go-to player. The senior captain is averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots a game.
“They shoot the three a lot, and they depend on her getting the rebounds for baskets underneath,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “They don’t have any bench, so that’s an important thing.”
In Fuery’s absence, Taylor Bryant (10.7 PPG) picked up the scoring slack, and freshman point guard Curtrena Goff (8.3 PPG, 2.8 assists) is also stepping up.
“It helped the whole team mature, knowing that they can do it – knowing they can play good basketball and control games,” Catanzaro said of Fuery’s absence. “We actually played very good ‘D.’ Our offense was a little bit shaky, but we scored enough to win games because of our ‘D.’
“In the six-seven games Kristen was out, everybody rebounded. It wasn’t just one person. Everybody is chipping in, and that’s a good sign.”
#17 Central Bucks South at #16 Wissahickon (Friday, 6 p.m.)
In one of the most intriguing first round matchups, Central Bucks South (13-9) travels to Wissahickon (14-7) for an all-SOL showdown. The Trojans earned themselves a home game with their 51-49 upset of previously undefeated Cheltenham – a win that cost the Titans home court advantage by just .003 of a point.
“This is big for our program,” Trojan coach Jerry Hartman said. “We have been in districts the last three years, but we’re always on the road.
“We have played pretty well at home this year, and hopefully, it will continue. It’s good because we can get our fans out there. Coach (Rodney) Cline and I are just building a program one step at a time, and it was one of our goals this year to get a playoff game at home.”
Casey Bill is the floor general for the Trojans, who are led offensively by Colleen Hinde (12.0 PPG), Kristy Ragbir (8.2 PPG) and the three-point scoring threat of Jessica Keller (7.7 PPG).
“I just think the key is going to be team defense,” Hartman said. “We have to be able to support each other. They are certainly a well-coached team, and they move the ball around real well.
“We have played good defense most of the year. I think that will be our key to playing well and moving on. There’s not just one player you can keep an eye on. They pass the ball, and they play tough defense as well.”
Hartman is hoping the team that defeated Cheltenham and buried 15-of-28 shots from two-point range (1-of-10 from beyond the arc) shows up on Friday night, not the one that connected on 10-of-62 shots one night earlier in a three-point win over an Upper Moreland squad that has not won in league play.
The Titans boast a balanced attack with four players – Gab Vass, Kaycee Schaefer, Brittany Kaewell and Katelyn Schneider – averaging in the neighborhood of 8-10 points a game. Nicole Mummert controls the backboards.
South had won four of five before dropping its final regular season game to Continental Conference champion Central Bucks East. “We have a little more chemistry again,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “We’re also doing a much better job on the boards, we’re shooting better, and we’re making much better decisions overall.
“If we play defense the way I want us to, that will be key. The team that controls the tempo will win the game.”
Friday’s game pitting the Trojans and Titans will be held at 6 p.m. as the first half of a girls/boys double header.
“Obviously, we were really hoping for a home game,” Mattern said. “We have the mentality that we played the regular season as hard as we could, and this is the path we have made for ourselves.
“Now we’re going to make the most of it. We haven’t played many home games, so traveling is nothing new for us.”
#22 Souderton at #11 Lower Merion (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
The season has been a mixed bag for Souderton. One night, the Indians would pull off a big win. The next, they’d lose to a team they should have beaten.
Coach Lynn Carroll knows her team will have to bring its ‘A’ game to defeat a solid Lower Merion squad that boasts a win over Abington this season.
“From watching them over the last couple of years, I know they’re extremely well coached,” Carroll said. “They’re a disciplined team, and I know they have a very good post player (Kiki Worku).
“We have a few practices in a row this week, and more importantly, we need to focus on ourselves and what we need to do in order to play well.”
Leading the Indians are senior guard Brittany Sandone (11.7 PPG, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists), sophomore center Carley Kendall (9.1 PPG, 6.7 rebounds) and sophomore guard Liz Mower (8.4 PPG, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists).
“I hope the girls are proud,” Carroll said. “This is the highest ranking we’ve had. There were some disappointments this season, but I think they should be proud of earning this spot in districts.
“In the past, I think we settled for ‘This is good enough.’ We were happy to be there. I think it’s time to take a step forward and really try and figure out a way to win one.”
#24 Pennridge at #9 Methacton (Saturday, 1 p.m.)
Pennridge won five of seven games to close out the regular season, which was good enough to earn a date with ninth-seeded Methacton in an opening round game.
The streaking Warriors – who will be playing Boyertown for the PAC-10 crown on Thursday night – have won 12 of their last 14 games. Interestingly, their only two losses were to SOL opponents – Abington (33-23) and Central Bucks East (50-40).
A familiar face – senior point guard Lauren Ruhl who starred as a sophomore when the Warriors won the American Conference crown – leads Methacton, but the Warriors also boast a solid inside game.
“Their big men do finish and take probably 50 percent of their shots,” Pennridge coach Brooke Martin said. “If they can get it down low, they can score, but their guards are their strength.
“Overall, it should be a good matchup for us.”
The Rams are also led by a pair of guards - seniors Sam Simononis (16.3 PPG) and Jordan Dominic (10.9 PPG), and Brianne McGrath, who is returning from an injury, will give the Rams a presence in the paint.
According to Martin, it’s all a matter of putting the ball through the hoop for the Rams.
“We also need to limit their point guard,” she said of Ruhl. “We also need to box out and contest their inside game.
“Our teams are similar, but our offense is going to be key. We’re looking for more consistency from beginning to end.”
#29 Neshaminy at #4 Downingtown East (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
Joanne McVey had an interesting way of describing Downingtown East’s disciplined, methodical style of play after watching the Cougars defeat archrival Downingtown West on Tuesday night.
“It’s like watching a snake choke somebody,” the Neshaminy coach said. “What they do is they put pressure on you by being patient. They put tremendous amounts of pressure on you by being patient.
“What happens with most teams is the kids get frustrated because you go down and take a bad shot, and they come down and make you play defense for a minute and 20 seconds and then score. You come down, and all of a sudden, the room’s a little smaller.
”They get a little lead, you begin rushing, and that plays right into their hands. You rush, and they slow down, and that is a bad combination because they’re way more fundamental than you.”
The defending district champions bring a 19-2 record into Saturday’s game against the Redskins. Included in those 19 wins is an early-season win over Council Rock North.
“You look at the kids – they’re good, but they’re not great, but they play a style of game that very few high school teams can play,” McVey said. “They’re just so disciplined.
“They make you play defense for longer than most kids can do it, and they don’t make a whole lot of mistakes. Everyone is moving, kids are doing the right thing, and they don’t turn the ball over. The bottom line is he (Bob Schnure) gets the most out of his talent, and they’re way more disciplined than any team you watch.
“There’s not super speed, there’s not super size, there’s not super strength. There’s nothing special except they just beat everybody.”
Leading the Redskins will be Kelsey Ryan (15.5 PPG), Victoria Mazzeo (6.7 PPG) and Amanda Lally (5.4).
“I think we’re better than we’re seeded,” McVey said. “I think our kids will battle. The one thing they will have to do that we haven’t done a tremendous job of is play smart.
“That will be the challenge because we’re going to be playing a very smart, patient team. If we just play hard, that’s not going to be enough.”
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