Three of the eight teams in the prestigious Elite Eight of the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament are members of the SOL.
That’s quite an impressive showing by the 24-team league.
On Friday night, Abington, Cheltenham and Council Rock North will try to take it one step further, but the competition will be even tougher this time out.
The district champion Ghosts will face Red Land at Reading’s Geigle Complex at 7:30, following Cheltenham’s matchup against Central Dauphin at 6 p.m. Council Rock North will face Archbishop Ryan at 6 p.m. at Norristown High School.
(1-3) Council Rock North vs. (12-1) Archbishop Ryan
Kelly Scull is hoping to celebrate her birthday in style on Friday.
The best gift the Council Rock North senior could ask for would be a win over Archbishop Ryan and a trip to the Final Four. The key to making that happen, according to Scull, will be for the Indians to play the way they’ve been playing in their most recent outings.
“I think right now we’re really jelling as a team,” the senior co-captain said. “We’re playing like a team. It’s not like one girl is leading the way the entire time. If my shot is off, Devin Gold is hitting. If Devin’s off, I’m hitting.
“If we go inside to Sarah (Kiely), she’s going to drop 20, and Lauren (Gold) determines the entire game by making everyone else around her better. We’re playing like such a team. It’s like a family, and it’s important to do that in states.”
With their three most recent wins, the Indians have effectively erased memories of last year’s forgettable finish that saw their squad lose four straight to close out the year.
“Everyone that was on the team last year understands how much hurt that caused everyone and how upset people were,” Kiely said. “Losing only two seniors from that team, it was kind of beneficial because everybody had those last four games in the back of their minds, and that kind of fueled the fire for us.
“After we won the first state game, everyone said, ‘North is just in it to say – we did better than last year.’ We’re not here to do that. We’re here to win the state championship.”
A state championship might not have seemed as though it was in the realm of possibility after the Indians squandered an early 13-point lead and fell to Abington in the district semifinals.
“One of our goals this year was to win a district championship, and the fact that we lost that goal gave us so much more drive to win,” Scull said. “It’s hard to say it was a good loss, but it was a slap in the face – ‘Alright girls, wake up. We have business to take care of, and we have to work hard because we’re not going to throw this season away like we did last year.’
“(The key was) just believing in ourselves and believing that we weren’t the team that lost four straight last year, and we were going to prove a point and show everyone we weren’t that one-and-done team. I think that hurt us so badly, and it was our underlying motivation this year.”
Despite the bitter disappointment of losing a chance to compete for a district title, Kiely believes the loss to Abington served a useful purpose.
“I think we just needed that kind of loss to see our mistakes and to see what we needed to fix before a state run,” the senior co-captain said. “We just knocked off the first place team in District 11 (Northampton).
“We used that Abington game to realize – if we play team ball and pass the ball, rebound and play tough, we can beat any team that comes in our path. We just took our mistakes in the Abington game and are using that to our advantage.”
If the Indians hope to come out on top on Friday, they will have to contain Ryan’s big gun - LaSalle University-bound Jess Koci, who averages 18.4 points a game. They will also have to be able to handle Ryan’s non-stop pressure.
“They mix up their zones, and it’s almost like a zone press,” Scull said. “The key will be Lauren and Devin Gold getting in those gaps and our team just being poised and composed.
“If we can settle down and make smart passes – I think the game is going to depend on Lauren (Gold) controlling the whole aspect. She plays like she’s a senior, so I’m not really worried about that.”
“They have some strong shooters,” Kiely added. “I think it’s going to come down to our perimeter defense.
“They have a strong, big girl in the post. I’m going to have to stay out of foul trouble, and we’re going to have to focus on playing our best team defense, having help defense down low, being quick when we help and recover. It’s definitely going to come down to defense and making our shots and being aggressive on offense. I definitely think we can win. I have a very positive mind right now.”
(1-3) Council Rock North(24-5) vs. (12-1) Archbishop Ryan (21-7)
Friday, March 19, 7:30 p.m., at Norristown High School
Last game: Council Rock North 39, Northampton 29 (Lauren Gold – 16 points; Sarah Kiely – 9 points)
Archbishop Ryan 45, Liberty 31 (Sarah Strybuc – 17 points; Jess Koci – 12 points)
(1-2) Cheltenham vs. (3-1) Central Dauphin
The battle of the boards.
In the end, that’s what Cheltenham’s showdown against Central Dauphin could come down to.
“They’re a big team, and for us, that always spells trouble,” Cheltenham coach Bob Schaefer said. “They have kids that are 6-2, 6-1 and 5-11, and we have kids that are 5-9 and 5-8 – it’s a whole different story.”
Senior Kira Ogden is the Lady Panthers’ tallest starter. She measures in at all of 5-9.
“It’s tough because in the regular season, there are players who are bigger than me, but they’re not that much bigger,” she said. “We get to the playoffs, and they’ve been a lot bigger.
“I have been in foul trouble a lot, and it’s really, really tough. Sometimes you can’t even do anything. You don’t want them to score, and you don’t want to not play defense, so you try your hardest, but it’s really, really tough to play careful.”
In addition to controlling the backboards, there’s also the not-so-little matter of trying to contain University of Maryland-bound Alyssa Thomas. The 6-1 senior averages 24.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Faced with the daunting task of defending Thomas will be senior Monet Constant, who is just 5-8.
“I actually love the challenge,” she said. “When I go against someone like this, it shows not only that I can do it myself but that other people believe I can do it too.
“I’m a little nervous but more excited. I know she’s a great player. I’ve seen her play, but this is a chance to show what I have.”
Constant also will be counted on to help control the backboards. In Tuesday’s win over Central Dauphin East, she had a team-high 10 rebounds despite going up against much taller opponents.
“A lot of people look at me, and because I’m not tall, they think I won’t be able to stick in there with the other girls who are six feet or taller, but I can jump,” she said. “I just try and use my speed and my ability to jump high against the taller girls.
“A big part of the Abington (loss) was we didn’t have many rebounds, and we weren’t boxing out. Definitely our main goal is we have to rebound. We have to get all the loose balls.”
A key to the game, according to Schaefer, will be keeping the ball out of the hands of Thomas in the low post.
“I believe we control her if Kira (Ogden) can front her and tip a few balls away,” Schaefer said.
Last year, the Lady Panthers advanced to the Final Four. They will need a big performance on Friday if they want to duplicate that performance.
“It’s very exciting, especially after how we did last year because we were so close, and now we’re getting another shot at it,” Constant said.
This is the first trip to the famed Geigle Complex for this group of players.
” I don’t know what to expect about the place,” Constant said. “I’m focusing on the game, the things I have to do, but I’m excited.”
Cheltenham’s game will follow the Abington/Red Lion contest.
“We’ll get to watch some of their game, and that’s motivation to play our hardest,” Ogden said. “This is a really, really big game for us.
“We have been playing our game. We’ve forgotten about that loss to Abington (in the district title game), and we’re looking forward to get as far as we can and maybe even meet Abington back in the finals.”
(1-2) Cheltenham (27-2) vs. (3-1) Central Dauphin (25-6)
Friday, March 19, 7:30 p.m. at Reading’s Geigle Complex
Last game: Cheltenham 61, Central Dauphin East 52 (Shayla Felder – 21 points; Ciara Andrews – 17 points)
Central Dauphin 50, Cardinal O’Hara 42 (Alyssa Thomas – 27 points; Caitlyn Bassett – 11 points)
Coach Bob Schaefer said: “Our game plan again will be to distract their guards enough to make the other players move to where they’re not used to being. I’m hoping we can tire out their guards a little bit and their big kids, but we have to get the ball and push it up court. If they’re scoring and we have to take it out, that’s not going to make them work too hard.
“It’s going to really be a challenge to stop the big kids from posting up and getting the ball inside. We’re going to have to do a real good job of boxing out.
“It’s going to be a real tough game. Their guards aren’t great ball handlers, but they’re good. Most of them are seniors, so they’ve been through this, and they’ve got a mission on their hands, and, of course, so do we.”
(1-1) Abington vs. (3-6) Red Lion
Don’t be fooled.
That’s the message Abington coach Dan Marsh is sending out to anyone who might think his Ghost squad has an easy draw when it faces Red Lion in Friday night’s quarterfinal round.
“They’re good,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I just got done watching them on film, and I don’t know what people are talking about. This team is good.
“They’re 26-4 for a reason. They’re physical, they’re fast, and they remind me a lot of Cheltenham the way they play. They play fullcourt, man-to-man, in-your-face, physical defense. It’s a team we can beat, but we’re going to have to play well.”
Red Lion’s sixth place finish in districts is deceiving since the Lions entered the tournament as the top seed, but they were upset by eventual district champ Central Dauphin 50-41 in the semifinals and went on to lose to Central Dauphin East in the fifth place game.
In preparation for the big showdown, the Ghosts had a special guest speaker prior to Thursday’s practice. Karen Weaver, athletic director at the Penn State Abington campus, was a member of Abington’s 1975 District One championship squad, and she came back to share a piece of history with this year’s team.
“She brought some pictures, and they all had the Afros and the short skirts on,” senior Emily Leer said. “It was pretty funny to see the changes in styles since 1975.
“She was talking about how their team was a newly integrated team and how they all came together and succeeded.”
And if there’s a similarity between the 1975 and 2010 district champions, it could be the way both squads came together and reached lofty heights.
“It’s kind of surprising to see where the season has taken us,” Leer said. “There were a lot of times during the season where it got really frustrating – team problems. It wasn’t just at the beginning of the year. We had bad chemistry problems for a while, and then all of a sudden, the playoffs came, and everything just seemed to click.
“It’s real nice to see everyone could overcome their individual problems and come together and play team basketball. You can’t be good at basketball if you’re not playing as a team.”
Playing team basketball has taken the Ghosts to the Elite Eight, and they will need more of the same on Friday night against Red Lion. They will also need a big game from their senior captain.
“Emily is going to be key,” Marsh said. “They don’t have any answer for Emily. If we get her the ball, we should be in good shape, but it’s a matter of getting it over halfcourt and doing that.”
According to Lear, Weaver’s visit underscored the impact of winning a district crown.
“In a couple of years, we’ll be able to look back and say, ‘We were part of the team that made history,’” she said. “We’ll get our picture in the Hall of Fame, and it’s neat to be a part of that history.”
For Leer and her teammates, playing at Geigle Complex also will be a first.
“I’ve heard it’s really spectacular,” Leer said. “I’m really excited to play there. I’m excited just for another fun environment and another competitive game.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen walking into it. We just have to be prepared to play. I’m excited to see the outcome will be, and I hope it’s in our favor.”
(1-1) Abington (25-4) vs. (3-6) Red Lion (26-4)
Friday, March 19, 6 p.m. at Reading’s Geigle Complex
Last game: Abington 50, Central Bucks East 31 (Emily Leer – 17 points; Aiyannah Peal – 11 points; Chynna West – 11 points)
Red Lion 37, Council Rock South 33 (Giselle Truitt – 9 points; Sarah Innerst – 9 points)
Coach Dan Marsh said: “They’re a tough matchup. They’re a good team.
“We have to be really patient. We can’t overplay them. We have to play off them, give them space and play good help defense. They’re so disciplined and so patient that they’ll backdoor layup you to death. They’re well drilled in what they do.
“Our game plan is going to be very similar to the one we used when we played Cheltenham. They don’t have the penetrators Cheltenham does, but if I had to describe them in one word it would be relentless.
“They just don’t stop. I watched their game against Council Rock South – they were all over them from start to finish. This team is not an offensive juggernaut. They’re not going to blow you away with their talent. They don’t have a really good player, but they don’t have a bad player either.
“If they make us flustered and we get into their type of game – a rough, physical, turnover type of game, then it’s going to be a war. We have to make sure we keep our composure, keep our patience and don’t allow ourselves to get dragged into a sloppy physical game that they want.”
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