Three SOL teams made the cut and are among the Elite Eight PIAA Class AAAA teams still alive.
Abington brought an end to Central Bucks East’s season, thanks to a 50-31 win (See separate story). Cheltenham downed Nazareth 61-52 while Council Rock North jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on its way to a 39-29 win over Northampton. Council Rock South saw its season end in a 37-33 loss to Red Lion.
In Class AA action, Springfield fell to York Catholic 52-26.
(1-2) Cheltenham 61, (11-2) Nazareth 52
Senior Shayla Felder and sophomore Ciara Andrews combined for 26 first-half points as Cheltenham sprinted to a 37-29 halftime lead on its way to a 61-52 win over Nazareth in a second round game at Spring-Ford High School
“It was a typical Cheltenham game,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “It went back and forth a little bit. We led by eight at the half and actually went up by 14, and then we had a mental hiccup, and they roared back and got it back to six.
“We were holding the ball in the fourth quarter.”
The Lady Panthers buried some clutch foul shots in the final quarter. Felder had a field goal and was four-for-five at the line. Andrews was three-of-five from the foul line.
Felder led all scorers with 21 points while Andrews added 16. Monet Constant – who spent much of the game shadowing Nazareth’s Erika Livermore – had a team-high 10 rebounds. Tiffany Johnson had nine steals to go along with seven points while Liz Taliaferro had six steals and six points.
Livermore led all scorers with 26 points.With the win, the Lady Panthers upped their record to 27-2.
“We did it with the mighty mites,” Schaefer said. “It’s wonderful. Once again, they far, far overachieved. We’re really happy with what they’ve done.”
The Lady Panthers will face District 3 champion Central Dauphin in a quarterfinal game on Friday.
“Win or lose on Friday, to get this far with this little bunch of kids is wonderful,” Schafer said. “I’m proud of them and very happy that they have managed to raise their level of play and certainly exceeded what anyone had thought they would do.”
(1-3) Council Rock North 39, (11-1) Northampton 29
Council Rock North sprinted to a 24-12 halftime lead and went on to earn a 39-29 win over Northampton in a PIAA Class AAAA game at Spring-Ford High School.
“They tried to pound the ball inside with their three six footers, and they were effective with it in the first quarter,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “They went in to Alyssa Bonenberger, and she was able to post up.”
The Indians led 10-8 at the end of one quarter but opened the second quarter with an 11-0 run to go on top 21-8. Playing a major role in Rock North’s big run was an unexpected hero – sophomore Helena Gemmel.
“We brought Helena off the bench, and she came in and right at halfcourt picked the girl’s pocket,” Palkovics said. “She goes in, gets fouled and makes the foul shot.
“We come down, and s
he does the same thing at halfcourt, and now we’re up 16-8 instead of 10-8. She scored seven of the next nine points off the bench. She was big.
he does the same thing at halfcourt, and now we’re up 16-8 instead of 10-8. She scored seven of the next nine points off the bench. She was big.“They had a big crowd and a huge student section that gets very involved in the game, so that 11-0 run to start the second quarter took them out of the game.”
Making Gemmel’s late-season contributions even more impressive is the fact that she wasn’t even on the varsity roster at the beginning of the season.
“She was just a jayvee player up until Christmas when we started to swing her,” Palkovics said. “She’s only started to get playing time when the district playoffs started.
“She’s been a pleasant surprise.”
Armed with a 12-point lead, the Indians spread the floor in the second half.
“We got a little more patient in our set offense,” Palkovics. “We might have been a little bit too patient. There were times when we could have gone inside to Sarah (Kiely), but my girls were more intent on kicking it out.”
The Indians, who improved to 24-5, will face District 12 champion Archbishop Ryan in a quarterfinal game on Friday.
(3-6) Red Lion 37, (1-5) Council Rock South 33
Council Rock South connected on just 22 percent of its shots from the floor in Tuesday night’s second round game against Red Lion at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School, and the Golden Hawks saw their remarkable post-season run come to an end as a result of their 37-33 loss to Red Lion.
“We seemed a step slow doing everything,” coach Monica Young said. “We couldn’t get any calls, and I’m not blaming the game on the refs, but that didn’t help. We shot horrible.”
Red Lion led 7-6 after one quarter, but the Indians rallied to go on top 13-11 by halftime. Red Lion outscored Rock South 12-8 in the third quarter and never looked back.
“It is disappointing to end the season losing to a team you think you’re better than, but we just didn’t play well,” Young said. “I would really like to play them again, but we won’t get a chance this year.
“We just didn’t shoot well. Sooner or later it was bound to happen.”
The Golden Hawks closed out a successful season with a 21-8 record.
“You get to this point, everyone except one team ends their season with a loss,” Young said. “I’m really proud of the girls. The seniors – when they were sophomores, they won five games.”
(3-1) York Catholic 52, (1-1) Springfield 26
Springfield found itself staring at a 9-2 deficit at the end of one quarter, and things never really improved as the Spartans saw their season end in a District One Class AA second round game against York Catholic, which went on to earn a 52-26 win.
Elise DiFilippo led the Spartans with 11 points while Annie Crudele added nine.
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