Four SOL teams picked up wins in Saturday’s opening round district games. To view photos of the North Penn/Council Rock North and Central Bucks East/Conestoga games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
#2 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 62, #31 INTERBORO 23
The Golden Hawks had little difficulty putting away an Interboro squad that found itself completely out of its league against the district’s number two seed. Rock South led 17-5 at the end of one quarter, and by halftime, that lead had grown to 38-10. A 16-0 third quarter made it a 54-10 game before Interboro exceeded its output of the previous three quarters with a 13-8 fourth quarter.
Alex Wheatley led the Golden Hawks with 17 points, 19 rebounds and five steals while Courtney Brown lit up the net for 16. Taylor Hunt came off the bench to contribute 13 points while point guard Alexis Hofstaedter had five assists.
“Taylor ran the floor very well and got some transition points,” coach Monica Stolic said. “Teams are leaving her open on the outside, and she can hit the 15-footer.
“Courtney (Brown) was feeling it today. She was in a zone. She had 10 points in the first quarter.”
Stolic had a simple goal heading into Saturday’s district opener – to come out of it healthy. That goal went out the window when junior Caitlin Jackson went down with a knee injury early on and was sidelined for the remainder of the game. The extent of her injury is not known.
The Golden Hawks will host Central Bucks West in a second round game on Wednesday night.
#6 UPPER DUBLIN 56, #27 SUN VALLEY 30
Curtrena Goff scored a game-high 15 points to lead a balanced Flying Cardinal attack. Lauren Rothfeld added nine points while Brianna Spector had eight and Taylor Bryant, six points.
The Flying Cardinals held a 10-8 lead at the end of one quarter but blew the game wide open with a 14-5 second quarter to go into halftime with a 24-13 lead. If there was any doubt about the outcome, those doubts were put to rest after a 20-6 third quarter outburst.
Upper Dublin will host 11th-seeded Haverford on Wednesday in a second round game.
#9 NORTH PENN 48, #24 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 42
The Maidens, according to coach Maggie deMarteleire, were battling a case of nerves all week.
“We had four or five people crying at practice on Tuesday and Wednesday,” said the veteran coach, who notched win number 400 of a prolific career on Saturday. “I was like, ‘What the heck? This is a game, and we’ve been playing so well. Just play.’”
‘Just playing’ turned out to be a whole lot harder than might have been expected for the Maidens, who trailed the entire game until Lauren Crisler hit nothing but net on a shot from just inside the arc with 4:15 remaining in regulation.
“Council Rock North played very well today,” deMarteleire said. “Between (Helena) Gemmell and (Alyssa) Dumont, I don’t know what their shooting percentage was in the first half, but their team shot a pretty high percentage. We didn’t play very good defense, but they played well.”
Dumont, who finished with a team-high 13 points, buried back-to-back treys to open the game, spotting the Indians a quick 6-0 lead.
“When that first shot Dumont made hit every part of the rim and then went in, I was like, ‘Oh boy, is that the way the ball’s going to bounce today?’” deMarteleire said. “I was watching her in warm-ups, and I said, ‘You have to get out on her because she’s hitting.’”
The Maidens made it a 10-8 game after Crisler connected from the low post, but Gemmell found teammate Melissa Rowland for a short jumper to stretch the Indians’ lead to four. After a Maiden miss, Gemmell dished the ball off to teammate Emily Grundman for a three-point play that sent the Indians into the second quarter with a 14-8 lead.
“Their speed and pressure – we didn’t expect it, and with our new offenses, it was a lot for us,” said senior Steph Knauer, who scored a game-high 14 points.
The Maidens suffered a major setback when sophomore Vicky Tumasz was whistled for her third foul with eight seconds remaining in the quarter.
“We only have a six-man rotation, so when we have one person in foul trouble, we can’t sub,” senior Emily Hagan said. “When we started to get tired, we started to get kind of sloppy. When she got her third foul, that hurt us because she’s a really good defender. She puts pressure on the point guard, and that’s how we get a lot of steals.”
The Maidens rallied to knot the score 16-16 midway through the second quarter when Hagan – on a second-effort shot – scored. The Indians had an answer, using buckets by Dominique Pinto, who gave the Indians a lift off the bench, and Jessica Gerber to go on top 20-16.
Hagan (11 points) scored on a baseline drive to make it a two-point game, but Grundman connected on a foul line jumper to send the Indians into halftime with a 22-18 lead.
The Indians extended their lead to 32-25 after a three-point play by Pinto and still led 38-32 after a fast break basket by Gerber in the closing seconds of the quarter.
Hagan buried a trey on the Maidens’ initial possession of the fourth quarter, and suddenly, it was a three-point game.
“I think that gave us a boost when we were down by six,” Hagan said. “It started to give us momentum- we can do this, we can come back.”
After a Rock North miss, Tumasz – a near-perfect 6-of-8 from the foul line – buried both ends of a one-and-one to make it a 38-37 game, and the Maidens took a lead they would not lose on Crisler’s bucket with 4:15 
remaining in regulation.
A Rock North miss set the stage for a Knauer putback, and after a Brenda McDermott steal, Hagan connected on both ends of a one-and-one to stretch the Maidens’ lead to five.
A bucket by Rowland made it a 43-40 game with two minutes remaining, and after a Maiden turnover on an inbounds near midcourt, Rowland, who came up with the steal, connected on a pair at the foul line, pulling the Indians to within one.
Tumasz sank both ends of another one-and-one after Gemmell was whistled for her fifth foul. The Indians would get no closer than three the rest of the way.
“They did every single thing we asked them to do,” Rock North coach Liz Potash said of her players. “At this point in the season, we had a week to prepare for North Penn, and we did. We came up a little bit short.
“They’re a very, very good team, but our kids did everything we asked them to do. We haven’t been shooting the ball well, but they hit some shots. We made North Penn earn that win today.”
The Indians closed out their season with a 12-11 record (9-5 SOL).
“This was a completely different team from what they had in the past, but they adjusted,” Potash said. “There were only a couple of games all year that weren’t close – North Penn the first time we played them (a 50-32 loss), Prep Charter and Upper Dublin.
“Every other loss we were right there. We were hoping it would come together at playoff time, but North Penn is very good. They’re a very good nine seed, and I think we’re a very good 24 seed.”
Potash would undoubtedly get no argument from deMarteleire, whose players had to gut this one out.
“I’m really proud of my girls,” the Maidens’ coach said. “We didn’t have our ‘A’ game, but we battled through in the second half, made shots when we needed to, made foul shots.
“I’m glad it’s over. The kids were nervous. I hope they got them all out today because it’s going to be tough on Wednesday.”
On Wednesday, the Maidens will travel to Methacton to take on the eighth-seeded Warriors, but on Saturday, deMarteleire was enjoying win number 400 at a post-game reception with her team as well as family, friends and former players.
#13 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 46, #21 CONESTOGA 40
The Patriots made it eight straight wins with their victory over the Pioneers on Saturday. Lindsey Kelly scored 22 points in a huge effort while Margaret Anne Hubbell added 11 points.
The Patriots led 15-9 at the end of one quarter and took a 24-16 lead into halftime only to watch the Pioneers respond with a 16-13 third quarter. Conestoga pulled to within three late, but the Patriots – who led by eight or nine most of the game - held on for the win.
“Conestoga just wouldn’t go away,” coach Tom Lonergan said. “We had a poor defensive third quarter, which has been unusual for us all year. We gave up as many points in the third quarter as we did in the first half.
“We just didn’t have the same intensity, and they took advantage of it. I think what helped them during that stretch – overall we took care of the ball, but we had a bad stretch in there where we didn’t do well, and they capitalized on it.”
The win vaulted the Patriots into Wednesday’s second round where they will face Mount St. Joseph Academy.
#7 Upper Darby 51, #26 Pennsbury 34
Junior Jae Jackson had a big day for the Falcons, contributing 16 points, 16 rebounds and four assists, but it wasn’t enough to upset the tournament’s seventh seed.
“As sad and disappointed as I am that we lost the game, I’m excited about what we have to look forward to next year,” coach Donna Nicholson said. “We didn’t play our best game, but the experience is going to definitely help us next year.
“Getting there once, you get a taste of something and you want to go back again and do better. This year we got in, but next year we want to get in and stay in.”
Upper Darby led by a 10-9 score at the end of one quarter but then outscored the Falcons 16-9 in the second to go on top 26-18. Kate Fitzpatrick scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the second quarter.
“Upper Darby is really aggressive, and we didn’t handle their aggressiveness well,” Nicholson said. “It led to a lot of turnovers, and Upper Darby capitalized.
“We didn’t execute. We would get a steal and then we would turn it over and give it back to them. We had opportunities, but we just didn’t take advantage of those opportunities. They’re an experienced team. They have six seniors.”
Upper Darby took a 35-24 lead into the fourth quarter and added to its lead down the stretch, connecting on 9-of-16 foul shots in the final quarter as the Falcons were forced to foul.
“It was a battle,” Nicholson said. “We competed. We had our opportunities. They dictated the pace of the game – it was a very fast pace, and that’s their game.
“They want to get into a running game, transition game with you and play that hard, aggressive pressure defense.”
The Falcons closed out the year with a 12-11 record.
“The big thing was getting to districts,” Nicholson said. “Achieving that was a goal of ours. If you look at our season, we started off slow, but we were 7-3 over our last 10 games (to close out the regular season).”
#4 Downingtown West 46, #29 William Tennent 26
The Whippets opened up an 11-5 lead at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 25-12 by halftime on their way to the big win. Brittany Sicinski led the Whippets with 20 points while the Panthers were led by the 13-point effort of Emily O’Donnell. The Panthers closed out their season with a 12-10 record.
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