PW defeated Souderton in an overtime thriller to capture its second SOL Tournament title in as many years. Photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f884733941
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 47, SOUDERTON 40 (OT)
The look on Erin Daley’s face told the story.
In a first half that was – to say the very least – frustrating for Daley and her teammates, the senior forward drove to the basket with a look of determination that said without any words ‘just try and stop me.’
“One of the things we knew – they had height, they had strength, so I knew that my game was going to be big inside,” Daley said. “I was going to have to finish towards the rim, not away. They’re aggressive, so I had to try my best to draw those fouls, and that’s what I did.”
Daley was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line in the opening half, which was especially significant since the Colonials managed just two field goals in the entire first half – a three by Angelina Balcer on the team’s opening possession and a driving hoop by Abby Sharpe in the closing seconds.
The Colonials found themselves on the short end of a 27-15 score at halftime with Daley and Sharpe – who was 4-for-4 from the line in the half – each contributing six points. It might have been worse, but they were 10-for-10 from the line, and on this night, the foul line was their ally as they buried 23-of-23 from the charity stripe in a remarkable showing.
Perhaps they should have known this would be their night at the line after winning their free throw game at practice the preceding day.
“We play us versus whatever team we’re going to play, so it was us versus Souderton, and we won the game,” Sharpe said. “I don’t know – maybe that carried into today.”
What also carried into Tuesday’s title game was the team’s unwavering belief that they could and would win, and for the second time in as many games, the Colonials won in overtime. Sharpe – after getting her initial shot blocked – scored on her team’s opening possession of OT. Souderton’s Casey Harter connected on a tough drive to even the score, but the Colonials had a lead they would not lose when Sharpe – despite being fouled – scored on a drive and completed the three-point play.
“I just saw (my defender) cheating towards the screen, and I saw the open lane,” Sharpe said. ‘It was just kind of a read in the moment. That was definitely a big, big play.”
After a Souderton miss, Balcer connected on both ends of a one-and-one, and then it was Sharpe scoring to give the Colonials a 45-38 lead on their way to the come-from-behind win and the tournament title.
Making the win even sweeter was the fact that it was win number 100 against only eight losses for the Class of 2023. Daley and Sharpe have been part of all of those wins during unparalleled four-year varsity careers.
“That just shows you the passion and love I think every single player that comes through PW has,” Daley said. “There’s just a different type of vibe and mood that we just get when we step out on the court every time.
“Throughout the years – from these younger generations coming to watch us, they see it. As you come in as freshman, the captains/the leaders, they rub off on you. Not only are we a team, we’re a family, and I think that’s one of the main reasons we got the 100 wins.”
“It feels so good,” Sharpe added. The fact that I could be part of that milestone and achievement – I’m just really proud to be a part of it. Hopefully, the younger generations can keep it up. It just goes to show the toughness of this team and how bad we want it.”
In Tuesday’s title game, the tide turned in a third quarter that saw the Colonials outscore the Indians 15-2. Daley – fearless despite playing the entire tournament with two broken ribs – once again set the tone, drawing fouls on a pair of PW possessions to open the half. She buried a pair of foul shots on her team’s opening possession and then 1 of 1 at the line before being forced to leave for a bloody nose. Kenna Winland calmly buried the second of two in her stead.
“I was a punching bag for five minutes straight,” Daley said. “It was great though. I just pushed through.”
The third quarter also included clutch baskets on drives by freshmen AJ Avery and Winland as well as a 2-for-2 effort at the line by Balcer. The Indians only points came on a 2-for-4 effort at the foul line.
“We talked at halftime – let’s stay with the press,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “We can’t play a halfcourt game with this team. We have to try and speed them up. I thought in the third quarter the press is what really turned the tide.”
In the fourth quarter, the Indians took the lead on three occasions, but each time the Colonials answered with Sharpe evening the score 36-36 with 3:34 remaining. Neither team scored the rest of the way. The Indians – holding for the final shot – misfired on the front end of a one-and-one with six seconds remaining, and the stage was set for OT.
“Our kids worked really hard for 36 minutes – I’m proud of their effort,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “I know how badly they wanted to win, I know they’re hurting right now.
“PW deserved to win that game. Congratulations to them. Again, Abby and Erin just really found a way to get it done. It wasn’t enough from us tonight. The goal is not to feel like this again this year. That’s how we’ll move forward.”
Indians start strong – In the opening half, it didn’t look as if PW’s remarkable foul shooting would be nearly enough as the Indians, who led 10-9 after one quarter, outscored the Colonials 17-6 in the second. Erin Bohmueller buried a 3 to open the quarter and after a pair of PW misses, Harter scored on a pullup. Another Colonial miss was followed by Brooke Fenchel hitting nothing but net on a baseline 3 to put the Indians on top 18-9.
“We as coaches didn’t really have them that well prepared for this game,” Dougherty said. “We watched (Souderton’s)
Neshaminy game from Saturday. We saw Neshaminy play a pretty disciplined 3-2 zone, and we tried to practice it yesterday, but it was kind of tough. I thought the first half, it was super undisciplined, and we were giving up corner 3s. The best part of their 3-point shot is from the corner.”
Sharpe interrupted the Indians’ 7-0 run by connecting on a pair of foul shots., but the Indians answered with a 9-2 run that included three Mikayla McGillian buckets as well another Fenchel 3 that put Souderton on top 27-13 before Sharpe scored a late basket.
“Not seeing those shots go in is frustrating, but like we’ve been saying – you have to have a short-term memory and keep shooting the shots that we practice,” Sharpe said. “They were making their shots.
“We didn’t really panic at halftime – we’ve got to refocus and keep playing the way that we know how to play and the way we prepared – go back out and pick up the intensity. (In the first half), I think we came out a little sluggish. We picked up the intensity, picked up our game and did what we have been doing these past couple of games, and we came back.”
Carroll, meanwhile, warned her players that a different PW team would undoubtedly show up in the second half.
“We shot the ball incredibly well in the first half,” the Indians’ coach said. “I was a little concerned that we wouldn’t be able to sustain that, but I thought our defense was good enough that it would be okay, but they made more plays than we did down the stretch.”
Perfection – Comebacks have become synonymous with this PW squad, and this one took a 23-for-23 effort at the foul line to do it.
“We’re not the greatest free throw team,” Dougherty said. “Saturday, we were 0-for-3 in overtime. It was just a special performance from Abby and Erin, who I know are both very good friends with Casey (Harter).
“We have a lot of respect for her, a lot of respect for that team. They remind me a lot of our team from the past couple of years. They’ve been growing together. They’re incredibly talented, incredibly well coached.”
Foul shots, according to Daley, have been a point of emphasis for the Colonials.
“Every water break, every free time we get in the gym – go early or stay after and get extra shots up,” Daley said. “We saw we weren’t taking advantage of that earlier on in the season, and I think that showed when we stepped up to the foul line.
“Especially us as captains, me and Abby – you’re in the gym, get a sip of water, get right back up, try and shoot those foul shots. If you’re tired, that’s the same tiredness you’re going to have (in games). You’re going to need to step up and make the free throws in the very important games. That really has been one of our biggest issues we knew we had to fix, and I think now it’s going to give us a great boost of confidence to go forward with it.”
Daley and Sharpe were both 9-for-9, Balcer was 4-for-4, and Winland connected on her only foul shot.
“The first number (23) is a credit to them, the second number – we have to be more disciplined and stop trying to block so many shots,” Carroll said. “It’s incredible – 23-for-23 from the foul line. It’s unheard of.
“In some ways, it’s the difference maker, but there were lots of factors. Our kids really wanted to win, their kids really wanted to win. It was a great basketball game. Hats off to them. Now we have to take a couple of days off and get ready for a nice long run.”
Extra shots: Sharpe’s 22 points led all scorers and included one 3. Daley added 13 points and Balcer had seven. On the other side of the court, Harter’s 11 points led the Indians, Fenchel had eight points, and McGillian added seven. Teya McConnaha led the Indians under the boards with 10 rebounds. Both teams are off until the second round of the District 1 6A Tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Souderton 10-17-2-7-4 40
Plymouth Whitemarsh 9-6-15-6-11 47
Souderton (40) – Erin Bohmueller 1 2-3 5; Brooke Fenchel 3 0-0 8; Mikayla McGillian 3 1-1 7; Casey Harter 4 1-1 11; Grace McDonough 2 0-0 4; Teya McConnaha 2 1-3 5; TOTALS 15 5-8 40.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (47) – Angelina Balcer 1 4-4 7; AJ Avery 1 0-0 2; Kenna Winland 1 1-1 3; Erin Daley 2 9-9 13; Abby Sharpe 6 9-9 22; TOTALS 11 23-23 47.
3-point goals: Souderton – Brooke Fenchel 2, Casey Harter 2, Erin Bohmueller; PW – Angelina Balcer, Abby Sharpe.
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