Pennsbury fell to Haverford in a District 1 6A semifinal contest. Abington, Neshaminy & Upper Dublin notched wins in playback games. Pennsbury/Haverford photos courtesy of Ethan Sklut.
CLASS 6A Semifinals
#2 HAVERFORD 43, #11 PENNSBURY 21
The Falcons knew they were facing a gigantic task when they travelled to Haverford for Wednesday’s district semifinal. Three of the Fords’ starters are 6-1, and the Falcons, who have no one close to that in their lineup, struggled from the outset.
“They’re very big, and obviously, we’re not exactly big,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “We’re not big against normal-sized teams. But let’s give them credit. You
can be big, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be good, and they’re good. They know what they can do. It was hard for us.”
Neither team scored until Caroline Dotsey scored two-and-a-half minutes into the game. She followed that by sinking a pair of foul shots, but Sofia Vitucci scored off the dribble to make it a 4-2 game. Mollie Carpenter’s putback was followed by another Vitucci basket, and the Falcons trailed 6-4.
That turned out to be the Falcons last hurrah as the Fords answered with a 21-4 tear to go into halftime with a commanding 27-8 lead. Vitucci accounted for all eight of her team’s points.
“We wore down a little bit in the second quarter, and when we wore down, it became tougher for us on the backboards,” Sciolla said. “They did a really good job guarding Sof (Vitucci).
“We did have sequences where we got some open shots, but we have to make them. If we can’t make them, we can’t stay in a game with a team like that.”
Vitucci’s 12 points led the Falcons. No other player had more than three.
The Fords were led by the 12-point efforts of their three 6-1 players – Caroline Dotsey, Rian Dotsey and Mollie Carpenter.
“They don’t shoot a lot of 3s, and they know that,” Sciolla said of the Fords. “We know that too, but what happened for them was – as the game got longer, they saw that if they were just a little bit more patient offensively, they were going to be able to get the ball down low against us.”
Pennsbury (20-7, 12-4 SOL) will travel to #5 Spring-Ford for Friday’s third place game. Haverford will face top-ranked Perkiomen Valley in what promises to be an interesting District 1 6A title game at Temple University on Saturday (4 pm).
Pennsbury 4-4-3-10 21
Haverford 10-17-4-12 43
Pennsbury (21) – Danielle Sherman 1 0-0 3; Sofia Vitucci 5 2-2 12; Oliveah Gilchrist 1 0-0 3; Daniella MacDonald 1 0-0 3; Ava Jordan 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 8 2-4 21.
Haverford (43) – Aniya Eberhart 2 0-0 5; Caroline Dotsey 4 2-2 10; Natalie Wright 2 0-0 4; Rian Dotsey 5 2-2 12; Mollie Carpenter 5 2-2 12; TOTALS 18 6-6 43.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Danielle Sherman, Oliveah Gilchrist, Daniella MacDonald; Haverford – Aniya Eberhart.
CLASS 6A 5TH to 8th Playbacks
#7 NESHAMINY 51, #4 SOUDERTON 45 (OT)
Senior Taylor Gurysh scored a game-high 16 points, and Lola Ibarrondo added 15 – 13 in the third quarter – to lead the Redskins to the hard-fought win. Reese Zemitis also finished in double figures with 12 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists.
“At this same point last year, we played Methacton in a seeding game without Lola and we didn’t fare well,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “It was only appropriate that Lola was the person who led us in this game. Lola scored 13 of her 15 points in the third quarter, but that only tells half the story.
“Lola – playing against the long Souderton lineup – was stellar rebounding the ball. When she wasn’t scoring, she was assisting on several key fourth quarter baskets and had three steals.
In addition to scoring 15 points, Ibarrondo led the Redskins with seven rebounds to go along with four assists and three steals.
“Her game tonight is why she has a couple of offers from college as they see how her game translates extremely well to the college game with shot clocks and more up and down and less long possessions,” Gallagher said. “The college game will appreciate her athleticism and how she can get to spots on the floor on defense and offense and create for herself and others. Lola ended the third quarter with a runner in the lane over several long-armed Souderton players to get us within three points entering the fourth.”
The Redskins’ coach also had high praise for Gurysh.
“Taylor excelled tonight as we have been emphasizing her to look for more scoring opportunities,” Gallagher said. “We put Taylor in a few pick-and-rolls with Reese, and she was able to read the defense and pop to the three-point line or slip to the basket with equal effectiveness.”
Souderton took a 14-11 lead into halftime after a low-scoring first half. Both team’s offenses came to life in the third quarter with each team scoring 18 points, and the Indians took a 32-29 lead into a final quarter that saw the Redskins – led by seven points from Zemitis – even the score 42-42.
Gallagher describes the action down the stretch.
“Trailing 34-29, Ava Irizarry knocked down a shot from the top of the key off a great down screen from Lola, cutting their lead to 34-32,” the Redskins’ coach said.
Souderton’s Casey Harter answered with a three to put the Indians on top 37-32. A Jess Purdy 3-pointer off an Ibarrondo assist pulled the Redskins within two.
“With 1:49 left in the game Lynn (Carroll) called timeout and we had a problem in that we only had two team fouls at that point,” Gallagher said. “We had the next jump ball, so we instructed the players to aggressively try to get the jump ball and at the same time understand we needed to get to five team fouls by the one-minute mark.
“We used up two fouls before Alena Cofield came up with a steal. We failed to score but still only had four team fouls. We used two of those fouls before Taylor Gurysh came up with a steal.
“On the same play Erin Bohmueller went down with an injury that kept her out for the rest of the game and OT. Reese hits a baseline runner off a Lola assist to tie the game and then blocks a shot out of bounds with 3.3 seconds left. On the ensuing inbound play, Reese was able to get another block on a last chance effort by Souderton.”
In OT, the Indians won the opening tap but missed a shot for the lead. The Redskins came up with the rebound.
“Alena Cofield gets the biggest basket of her very young career by ripping baseline for a contested layup to put us up for the first time since we led 11-10 in the first quarter,” Gallagher said. “We get another stop and look for Reese using a Taylor screen, but Taylor slips the screen and Reese finds her for the four-point lead.”
Zemitis connected on 5 of 6 from the foul line in OT as the Redskins outscored the Indians 9-3.
“It was a gutsy win for us as Coach Nick told the team afterwards, due in part to trailing by as many as seven points in the third quarter,” Gallagher said. “We got a big lift in the fourth quarter with Jess Purdy and Ava Irizarry hitting huge three-point shots for us.
“It needs to be noted that with Erin Bohmueller going down with 1:49 left in the game and Casey Harter playing less minutes in the fourth quarter and even less in OT due to an ankle situation, it clearly had an effect on the game. We hope both of those players are healthy enough to make a state run for Coach Carroll.”
Also for the Redskins, Cofield had four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Harter’s nine points led the Indians, who received eight points from both Bohmueller and Mikayla McGillian. Teya McConnaha had seven points while Brooke Fenchel had six on a pair of 3s.
Neshaminy (20-7 13-3 SOL) will host #19 Upper Dublin in the fifth-place game on Friday at Bucks County Community College (3:30 pm). Souderton (22-6, 15-1) will host #7 Springfield-Delco in the seventh place game at Indian Valley Middle School on Friday at 6 p.m.
Neshaminy 5-6-18-13-9 51
Souderton 5-9-18-10-3 45
Neshaminy (51) – Alena Cofield 1 0-0 2; Lola Ibarrondo 7 0-0 15; Taylor Gurysh 6 0-1 16; Ava Irizarry 1 0-0 3; Reese Zemitis 3 5-6 12; Jess Purdy 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 19 5-7 51.
Souderton (45) – Erin Bohmeller 3 0-0 8; Brooke Fenchel 2 0-0 6; Mikayla McGillian 4 0-4 8; Casey Harter 4 0-0 9; Alexis Stefanowicz 1 0-0 2; Grace McDonough 2 1-2 5; Teya McConnaha 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 19 1-6 45.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Taylor Gurysh 4, Lola Ibarrondo, Ava Irizarry, Reese Zemitis, Jess Purdy. Souderton – Erin Bohmeller 2, Brooke Fenchel 2, Casey Harter, Teya McConnaha.
#19 UPPER DUBLIN 37, #7 SPRINGFIELD-DELCO 22
What a difference a month makes. Or at least almost a month.
Twenty-five days after scoring just nine points in a loss to Springfield-Delco, the Flying Cardinals found themselves going back to the scene of their most disappointing offensive performance.
Any thoughts that there might be a rerun were put to rest when the Cardinals – sparked by 10 points from freshman Colleen Besachio – opened up a 14-6 lead after one quarter. They led wire to wire, and redemption was sweet indeed.
“We’ve had a couple of chances to do that,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “Obviously, when you have teams in your division, you’re guaranteed to play them the second time. We lost to PW twice, and we got to play them a third time. It was a great chance to get some redemption.
“I definitely didn’t think we’d get to see Springfield again. When you look back at that week, we had blown fourth quarter leads against Abington and PW, and we were just so mentally drained. The shots we got in the first quarter last time against Springfield were actually similar to the shots we got in this first quarter, but the difference was we missed a couple, and it seemed like we almost mentally checked out a few weeks ago when we were there.
“Today, we made shots. I think we would have been okay if we had missed them tonight. We were just very fragile mentally at that point in time. I think we’ve grown up so much as a team. Colleen Besachio got off to a great start and set the tone that we were going to be able to score some points tonight.”
The Cardinals managed just two points in the second quarter but still led 16-10 at halftime. They outscored their hosts 11-4 in the third quarter to take a 27-14 lead into the final quarter. The Cougars never threatened.
“The third quarter ended – Megan Ngo made a great play,” Funsten said. “She drew about three defenders and found Nora Brady for a layup at the buzzer, and that extended it to a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter.”
Besachio finished with a team-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Megan Ngo added nine points and five assists. Brady’s six rebounds led the Cardinals under the boards. Lilli Kleiman had five rebounds. Amy Ngo had three assists and five deflections.
“I thought Megan Ngo made some big-time plays,” Funsten said. “The ball was in her hands a lot, and she was able to create chances for herself and her teammates. She played great and had five assists.”
Upper Dublin (17-9, 11-5 SOL) will face #7 Neshaminy in Friday’s fifth place game at Bucks County Community College at 3:30 p.m.
“We’re super excited to still be playing right now,” Funsten said. “We prepared for today’s game like we prepared for Pennsbury on Saturday. There’s no letup with our team.
“I know some teams kind of coast through the playbacks. That’s not our mindset. We’re going to treat Neshaminy the same way. It’s a quick turnaround, but we’re going to try and go into the state playoffs with momentum.”
Upper Dublin 14-2-11-10 37
Springfield-Delco 6-4-4-8 22
Upper Dublin (37) – Alaina Sanders 1 2-2 4; Megan Ngo 2 4-6 9; Amy Ngo 2 0-0 5; Colleen Besachio 6 1-3 14; Nora Brady 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 13 7-11 37.
Springfield-Delco (22) – Alexis Aaron 2 2-4 6; Kaitlyn Kearney 0 2-4 2; Taylor Hunyet 1 0-0 2; Anabel Kreydt 1 0-0 2; Cora Fattori 2 0-0 4; Alyssa Estep 1 0-0 2; Corinne Gayton-Williams 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 9 4-8 22.
3-point goals: UD – Megan Ngo, Amy Ngo, Colleen Besachio, Nora Brady.
CLASS 6A 9th-12th Playbacks
#6 ABINGTON 61, #10 CONESTOGA 49
Cire Worley was unstoppable.
The Abington senior scored nine points in the first quarter, and she was just getting started. By halftime, Worley had 18 points, and the Ghosts had a commanding 34-22 lead. The second half was more of the same. Worley added 10 points in the third quarter, and for good measure, she tacked on seven in the fourth to put the finishing on a dazzling 35-point performance.
“It was the quietest 35 points I ever saw – she’s just so efficient, and you don’t even realize she’s destroying them because she’s so smooth,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “She just took over. I did not know she had 35. She only missed two shots.
“When she’s locked in like that, she’s really hard to stop. She was shooting 3s, going to the hole, posting up, mid-range. She was a 3-level player today.”
Sparked by the inspired play of Worley, the Ghosts, who led 17-6 after one quarter, took a 34-22 lead into halftime. They led by as many 20 points in the second half on their way to the win.
In addition to Worley, Bowser and Jordyn Reynolds both added eight points.
“Maya Johnson again played another great game at point guard,” Marsh said of his sophomore floor general. “Piper (McGinley) got in foul trouble, and Sarah Oleary, our junior, came in and scored five straight points and had a great defensive block and played really well too. Jordyn (Reynolds) played her solid game and had eight points. It was a good team win, and it was nice to see.”
The Pioneers put three players in double figures – Ryann Jennings (15 points), Ruth Lanouette (12) and Marisa Francione (11).
“Conesotga was pretty good,” Marsh said. “They lost to Haverford by three, so we were a little concerned going in. Their point guard is what makes them go, and Abril (Bowser) locked her down. I don’t think that kid has ever seen a defender like Abril. They just couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
Abington (22-6, 14-2 SOL) will host #9 Unionville in Friday’s ninth place game.
Conestoga 6-16-16-11 49
Abington 17-17-17-10 61
Conestoga (49) – Ruth Lanouette 5 2-2 12; Marisa Francione 3 5-6 11; Katrina Valencia 1 0-0 2; Ryann Jennings 6 0-0 15; Bella Valencia 2 0-0 4; Janie Preston 2 1-2 5; TOTALS 19 8-19 49.
Abington (61) – Cire Worley 15 3-5 35; Maya Johnson 1 3-4 5; Abril Bowser 2 2-2 8; Jordyn Reynolds 3 0-0 8; Sarah Oleary 2 1-1 5; TOTALS 23 9-12 61.
3-point goals: Conestoga – Ryann Jennings 3; Abington – Cire Worley 2, Abril Bowser 2, Jordyn Reynolds 2.
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