Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action in Friday’s opening round of the District 1 Tournament. Pennsbury/Bensalem photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography, Abington/Great Valley photos courtesy of John Gleeson, and UM/Bishop Shanahan photos courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for galleries: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f913170668
Class 6A
#9 NESHAMINY 42, #24 RIDLEY 31
The Redskins – on the heels of capturing their program’s first SOL title Tuesday – took early control of Friday’s district opener and never looked back.
“The game was played with a lot less emotion than our last few games,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “Ridley slowed the tempo from the first possession and continued the strategy through most of the game. We played very well at the defensive end, but we were sluggish on the offensive end due in part to Ridley and their aggressive defense.”
The Redskins – behind five points from Alena Cofield – led 13-5 after one quarter.
“Alena Cofield got us started by netting five points early in the game and continues to improve by getting to the foul line,” Gallagher said. “After our most recent games, I see many former players and parents and each of them mention their admiration for Alena and what she brings to our team.”
Neshaminy took a 22-11 lead into halftime. Lola Ibarrondo was feeling it from the outside, connecting on three 3-pointers for nine points in the first half. The Green Raiders never threatened the rest of the way.
Ibarrondo’s 16 points led the Redskins. Reese Zemitis added 10, all in the second half. She also had four assists and four blocked shots. Cofield added eight points, four steals and three assists.
“Lola proved to be a tough assignment for the Ridley team, scoring off of steals and hitting a few shots from behind the 3-point line,” Gallagher said. “Ridley senior Kyla Carney had a successful game and kept Ridley in the game with her shooting and scoring from various parts of the floor.”
Carney’s 12 points led the Green Raiders.
Neshaminy (22-4, 14-2 SOL) will be on the road at #8 Central Bucks East for a second round game Wednesday.
“We are proud to advance to the next round in the District 1 playoffs,” Gallagher said. “There are so many good teams in our district that moving to the round of 16 is not taken lightly.
“We will begin to prepare over the next few days for a visit to CB East on Wednesday. I guarantee this to be good game to catch, as CB East and their coaches are familiar with our team and are always well prepared.”
Ridley 5-6-9-11 31
Neshaminy 13-9-8-12 42
Ridley (31) – Jamie Wojciehowski 0 2-2 2; Moyin Ogbo 0 0-2 0; Olive Kertis 1 1-2 4; Morgan Smith 1 0-0 2; Taylor Marsich 1 0-0 2; Keira Small 1 0-0 2; Nikki McMemamin 2 0-0 4; Nadia Henkel 1 0-0 3; Kyla Carney 4 2-2 12; TOTALS 11 5-8 31.
Neshaminy (42) – Grace Weyler 1 0-0 3; Alena Cofield 2 3-4 8; Lola Ibarrondo 6 1-2 16; Ava Irizarry 2 0-0 5; Reese Zemitis 4 0-0 10; TOTALS 15 4-6 42.
3-point goals: Ridley – Kyla Carney 2, Olive Kertis, Nadia Henkel; Neshaminy – Lola Ibarrondo 3, Reese Zemitis 2, Alena Cofield, Grace Weyler, Ava Irizarry.
#13 ABINGTON 48, #20 GREAT VALLEY 37
The Ghosts took an early lead and never looked back on their way to the opening round win.
Four players finished with between nine and 12 points to lead a balanced attack.
“We played great together as a team,” Abington coach Allison Lawson said. “We found the open girl and communicated on both ends of the floor.”
Mikiaya Durham had the hot hand in the first quarter, burying a pair of 3s and scoring eight points to lead the Ghosts to a 13-10 lead after one quarter. Five players contributed scoring in the second quarter, and the Ghosts took a 26-17 lead into halftime.
“Mikiaya hit back-to-back 3s in the first quarter, and Ava Teich came in and hit a big 3 in the second quarter for us,” Lawson said.
The Ghosts outscored their visitors 22-20 in the second half. The Patriots – who struggled against the Ghosts’ full-court pressure – never scored more than 10 points in a quarter.
“Our defensive pressure was too much for them,” Lawson said.
Durham’s 12 points led the Ghosts. She also had five rebounds. Junior point guard Maya Johnson scored nine points and led the Ghosts with six assists and five steals in a standout floor game. Jordyn Reynolds also had nine points.
Abington (18-6, 14-2 SOL) will be on the road at #4 Haverford for a second round game Wednesday.
Great Valley 10-7-10-10 37
Abington 13-13-11-11 48
Great Valley (37) – Kaela Buzan 1 1-2 3; Kate Weikert 3 3-6 9; Julia Curran 5 3-3 13; Reilly Lackman 4 4-6 12; TOTALS 13 11-13 37.
Abington (48) – Ava Teich 1 0-0 3; Maya Johnson 3 3-4 9; Harper McGinley 1 0-0 3; Mikiaya Durham 4 2-2 12; Jordyn Reynolds 2 5-6 9; Piper McGinley 1 2-2 4; Zyn Mcclain 2 0-0 4; Aniyah Williams 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 16 12-14 48.
3-point goals: Abington – Mikiaya Durham 2, Harper McGinley, Ava Teich.
#16 PENNSBURY 44, #17 BENSALEM 24
Sofia Vitucci certainly did her part to make sure the seniors’ perfect home record in the playoffs would remain intact in their final home game. The senior guard led all scorers with 22 points, and as farewell games go, it was a good one.
Friday’s win was the eighth without a loss in the postseason for the seniors, who had notched one SOL Tournament win, two state playoff wins and five district playoff wins on their home court.
“It’s really hard (for opposing teams) to win a big game in our gym,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “It’s just an atmosphere unlike any other. We are really thankful to our community.”
The Falcons – after last week’s opening round loss at North Penn – had a week to prepare for Friday’s district opener.
“Preparation is a huge part of the success in our program, and this week we allowed the girls to do the scout,” Sciolla said. “We broke the scout up into six different parts. We partnered up the girls, and they created a fantastic report from personnel to man/zone defenses to baseline out of bounds plays and end of quarter plays, etc. etc.
“We are fortunate to have girls that value the importance of basketball IQ, and we feel like tonight we were really ready for what they were going to bring to the table at both ends. It’s a shame we had to play Bensalem in the first round because one of us had to go home, and honestly, in the olden days where there was a human element, we would not have seen a team from our own league. They deserve to still be playing, but this season and tonight is a great building block for them as a program.
Vitucci scored eight first-quarter points, and the Falcons opened up a 14-9 lead over the Owls. They took a 20-13 lead into halftime. Amber Howard’s six points led the Owls.
“Any time you get a week to prepare, you feel as if you are ready to go,” Sciolla said. “It’s important to
know that Bensalem has been playing the last couple weeks without one of their starters (Grace McShane). This changes the dynamic of how they play and of course how they are guarded.
“Tonight we wanted to make things different and difficult in the basket area for Amber because she is so talented. We also wanted to keep Talia DiMichele out of the lane. In our loss to them a couple weeks ago, they got career scoring performances from two seniors, and we felt like in our atmosphere in our gym tonight, It might be difficult for them to duplicate that so we stayed solid with our game plan of limiting DiMichele and Howard, and at times, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we may have to deal with some of the other players scoring.”
The Falcons outscored their visitors 24-11 in the second half on their way to the win.
In addition to Vitucci’s 22 points, senior Layla Matthias added six points.
“Layla Mathias opened the game with two free throws and then opened the third quarter with a big finish and once we were able to get some distance we consistently got stops on the defensive end,” Sciolla said. “We recorded seven kills in the game, and we always feel like if we can hit seven, we know we will win the game. A kill is when we get three consecutive stops on defense.
“Emily Panero did a tremendous job on the interior, and we got the normal outstanding defensive performance from Layla, Maggie (Burns), and Ava (Jordan). Maggie
played the national anthem on her electric guitar, and then was in the starting lineup three minutes later and scored about a minute after that, so that is likely a record
“Joley Homan knocked out a big shot in the first half, and Daniella Macdonald knocked out a big three in the second half. Bensalem clearly had a game plan to make life difficult for Sof, and they were physical and also used double teams, but she plays with so much savvy and moxie that it makes it hard to keep her down for long, and the third and fourth quarter she got loose for some incredible finishes. If this was her last game on that floor, she went out in style. We were able to get contributions from all 13 players that got on the floor in the first half and that included a number of our freshmen that helped out in pressure situations.”
For the Owls, Howard and DiMichele led the way with eight points each.
“Hats off to Pennsbury for advancing and continuing their season,” Bensalem coach Steve Johnson said. “Not happy with the outcome of the game but very proud to coach this group of young women.
“We played our hearts out. This group helped us get to a playoff game, which our program hadn’t seen
in the last four years.”
Sciolla tipped his hat to the Owls.
“It’s important to recognize the season that Bensalem had,” the Falcons’ coach said. “We all saw this four years ago when they won the Lower Bucks County South middle school tournament with a Great Shafer Sharks team led by Amber Howard. They actually beat several of the seniors that are on our team now.
“Coach Johnson did a great job getting them to play together and value each other. They had a fantastic season, and I know the last couple weeks didn’t go the way they wanted to but it’s hard to replace key players at this time of year. Steve has done really well there, and he puts in a great deal of time, and it’s clear that he really cares for his players. The best coaches share those attributes and he’s on his way.
Pennsbury (17-7, 11-5 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Perkiomen Valley for a second round game Wednesday. Bensalem closed out its season with a 15-9 record overall (10-6 SOL).
Bensalem 9-4-5-6 24
Pennsbury 14-6-7-17 44
Bensalem (24) – Talia DiMichele 3 1-2 8; Mikayla Donahue 1 0-0 3; Devon Bell 1 0-0 3; Amber Howard 4 0-0 8; Peyton Miller 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 10 1-2 24.
Pennsbury (44) – Emily Panero 1 0-0 2; Layla Matthias 2 2-2 6 Danielle Sherman 0 1-2 1; Maggie Burns 1 1-2 3; Sofia Vitucci 7 8-9 22; Daniella MacDonald 1 2-2 5; Joley Hohman 1 0-0 3; Ava Jordan 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 14-17 44.
3-point goals: Bensalem – Talia DiMichele, Mikayla Donahue, Devon Bell; Pennsbury – Daniella MacDonald, Joley Hohman.
#18 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 43, #15 UNIONVILLE 40
The Golden Hawks made the long road trip to Kennett Square worth their while, pulling off the upset and breaking a 13-year drought.
“I am really happy for our girls,” Rock South coach Jesse Krasna said. “I was told this is the first district playoff win for South since 2011, and most of these girls were a part of the two first round district exits the last two seasons. They put in so much time and effort to improve their game all offseason, and this game meant so much to them. They have sacrificed so much for each other. They’ve dealt with a lot of change and handled it all admirably.”
Friday’s game didn’t exactly get off to a rousing start for the visiting Hawks, who found themselves on the short end of a 12-5 score after one quarter. Their only field goal was a 3-pointer by Liliana Metrick.
“We had never seen Unionville in person, and all week our girls kept asking the coaches if they ‘were big.’ I told them ‘Yes, they are big,’ which is my standard answer before playing a new team because every opponent towers over us, but boy, when they came out for warmups, they were way bigger in person,” Krasna said. “Coach (Danae) Ellzy does a great job utilizing their size, and they gave us trouble at the rim. We had to divert from our gameplan and shorten our rotation because of their size, but our girls were awesome about implementing a new strategy to close off the paint on the fly. I’m really proud of how we dug deep after a slow start and played tough with a next play mentality when some things didn’t go our way.”
Unionville took a 20-15 lead into halftime, and the Hawks – behind seven points from Fiona Reckner – outscored their hosts 14-10 in the third quarter and trailed by just one heading into the fourth.
Kathryn O’Kane’s six points in the fourth quarter included a perfect 4-for-4 effort at the foul line as the Hawks outscored the Longhorns 14-10 to eke out the win.
“Kathryn O’Kane controlled the game and came alive in the second half,” Krasna said. “Her playmaking really shined, and she was clutch down the stretch.
“She hit four consecutive pressure free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Our staff feels so good when she’s at the free throw line and when she shoots the basketball because she puts in the work, and we see the ball go in over and over again in every practice.”
O’Kane finished with 10 points.
Metrick’s 12 points, which included three 3-pointers, led the Hawks.
“Lil Metrick was battling a post player for the majority of the game, and it was so cool to see her refuse to give in,” Krasna said. “She hit shots throughout the game and is making a career out of knocking down timely ones — her fourth quarter three gave us the lead down the stretch and we never surrendered.”
Reckner also finished in double figures with 11 points.
“Fiona Reckner celebrated her birthday in a big way,” Krasna said. “She led us in rebounding, scored in double figures and really made Unionville’s leading scorer Ellie Johnson work hard for her points.”
There were others who also made significant contributions.
“Sarah Freeman and Haley Thompson entered the game when our offense was sputtering in the first half, and each made a 3 to give us some life and stop the Unionville run,” Krasna said. “That was huge for us to settle into the game.
“Cam Gregory is so intelligent on and off the court and she was key in slowing Unionville’s offense down.
“Katie Purpura defended the post and gobbled up rebounds and made the winning plays she always makes throughout the game.”
The Hawks’ coach also expressed his gratitude for the support of his school community and staff.
“We have so much support from our Athletic Director Tim Dailey and his staff,” Krasna said. “Our head principal Buff Radick drove two hours to be at our game.
“Our assistant coaches Tyler Sessa Reeves, Alexis Hofstaedter, Kevin Gallagher and Tom Townsend care so much about our players and devote so much of their time and mental energy to helping them improve all year round and gameplan for opponents. So many people have helped us to get over the hump, and it’s because we have a great group of kids in our program. We are excited and up for our next challenge.”
Council Rock South (15-8, 10-6 SOL) will travel to #2 Conestoga for Wednesday’s second round game.
Council Rock South 5-10-14-14 43
Unionville 12-8-10-10 40
Council Rock South (43) – Sarah Freeman 1 0-0 3; Liliana Metrick 4 1-2 12; Haley Thompson 1 0-0 3; Kathryn O’Kane 3 4-4 10; Camryn Gregory 1 2-2 4; Fiona Reckner 5 0-0 11; TOTALS 15 7-8 43.
Unionville (40) – Savannah Lang 5 0-0 10; Allie D’Angelo 1 0-0 2; MiLana Amoss 5 0-0 10; Elle Johnson. 4 3-3 11; Shannon Megill 3 1-4 7; TOTALS 18 4-7 40.
3-point field goals: CRS – Liliana Metrick 3, Sarah Freeman, Fiona Reckner, Haley Thompson.
#12 KENNETT 42, #21 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 37
A young PW squad – still without leading scorer AJ Avery – more than held its own against the Blue Demons, but ultimately, they could not make up the ground they lost early in the second quarter.
“Going into the season, before we lost AJ Avery, our goal was to make district playoffs and to be able to put a scare into somebody, and ultimately, we did,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “Kennett had to stall the ball at the end to win the game.
“We were playing two ninth graders, two 10th graders for 20 straight minutes in a district playoff game, and we were there. We were with the 12th seed and had multiple chances. There’s a lot to build off of for our program.”
The pivotal stretch came early in the game.
“I thought we had a pretty good week of practice,” Dougherty said. “We had lots of film, really studied hard, and I thought we had a good game plan going into it.
“It was 11-9 going into the last possession of the first quarter, and we gave up just a back-breaking offensive rebound putback. It was a momentum killer to us and a momentum builder to them. They went up 13-9. They got the ball to start the second quarter, and it went from 11-9 to 22-9. They started the second quarter with three straight 3s.”
All told, Kennett connected on eight 3s in the first half.
“They didn’t make eight 3s in the four films we watched,” Dougherty said. “That being said, we knew there were two kids on the team that could really shoot. We knew #10 (Quinn Simmons) and #25 (Mia Matthews) could really shoot the ball. We thought our youth and inexperience kind of showed. In the second quarter, two of the 3s they made – we’re supposed to be face guarding the kid, so it was 11-9 and the next thing you know it was 22-9.
“I was very upset. I tried to use the saying – ‘You’re not freshmen anymore,’ or ‘You’re not inxperienced anymore. You’ve been starting for nine straight games, you’ve got to be better than this.’ The big bright spot for us in the first half was Marissa Perez. She hit two 3s to keep us in it.”
Dougherty – whose team trailed 30-16 at halftime – credited a change he made midway through the second quarter as significant.
“We brought in Gracie Kerns – she’s a great kid, a phenomenal field hockey player,” the PW coach said of his freshman guard. “All week she was running scout team as Kennett’s point guard, who’s a really good player.
“I was like, ‘Here’s a kid who knows the scouting report because she’s been the scout team point guard all week,’ so I said, ‘Gracie, just go out there and give me what you can.’ We played the same five kids for the last four minutes of the second quarter and the entire second half. I didn’t sub once.”
On several occasions, the Colonials trimmed Kennett’s lead to six.
“We got it to five at the very end of the game,” Dougherty said. “Every time we’d cut it to six points, we’d have a frustrating turnover or a foul. We held Kennett to one made basket in the second half. I think it was their second shot of the third quarter, but they were 10-for-18 from the foul line in the second half – almost all in the fourth quarter, and we were 3-for-4.
“Both teams were shooting a lot of 3s, both teams were driving to the basket. One team is going to the foul line, one team is not going to the foul line.”
Sparked by nine points from freshman Eliza Meersman and eight from sophomore Kenna Winland, the Colonials outscored their hosts 21-12 in the second half.
“We just played five kids the last 20 minutes of the game, one of them was a kid who never played a meaningful varsity minute all year until tonight,” Dougherty said of Kerns. “It’s a district playoff game, and here’s a kid I know that’s fearless and will go out there and give everything she can. She didn’t score, but she was phenomenal. She was the steady hand we needed.
“Eliza Meersman is a freshman – she scored all nine of her points in the second half. She hit a huge 3. Her 3 cut it to six. She hit two foul shots to cut it to six, and you’re talking about a freshman in their first playoff game, so it was a really great effort out of her.”
Winland’s 11 points led the Colonials while Meersman had nine. Joslyn Perez added seven points, and Marissa Perez had six.
The trip home from the game included a special stop.
“It’s a tradition of ours gong back seven, eight years that playoff road trips are Shamrock shakes,” Dougherty said. “We had an hour and five-minute road trip to Kennett. It felt like a state playoff bus trip, so we stopped and kept the tradition going of our playoff Shamrock shakes.”
The young Colonials lose one senior, Marissa Perez, who will be playing collegiate softball but returned to the team this year.
“She said it herself – she’s so thankful she came out and gave this a try,” Dougherty said. “She came back, she got to spend quality time with her sister Jos. We’re certainly going to miss her. We certainly appreciate the contributions she gave us this year.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh closed out its season with a 13-10 record (8-8 SOL).
Plymouth White
Plymouth Whitemarsh 9-7-11-10 37
Kennett 13-17-5-7 42
Plymouth Whitemarsh (37) – Joslyn Perez 2 1-4 7; Taylor Williams 1 0-0 3; Kenna Winland 4 0-0 11; Eliza Meersman 3 2-2 9; Marissa Perez 2 0-0 6; Brooke Peduzzi 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 12 4-8 37.
Kennett (42) – LaKi Frazier 1 0-0 2; Mary Carroll 1 3-6 6; Quinn Simmons 4 0-0 12; Greta Burns 1 2-2 5; Mia Matthews 4 4-6 14; Bianca Comanda 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 12 10-16 42.
3-point goals: PW – Kenna Winland 3, Joslyn Perez 2, Marissa Perez 2, Taylor Williams, Eliza Meersman; Kennett: Quinn Simmons 4, Mia Matthews 2, Mary Carroll, Greta Burns.
#10 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON 45, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 32
The Titans and Warriors were deadlocked 13-13 after one quarter, but the Warriors – two days removed from capturing the Ches-Mont League crown – outscored their visitors 17-6 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 30-19 lead on their way to the win.
Mia Klein’s 12 points led the Titans while Yoyo Samayoa added 10. The senior guard scored eight of those points – including a pair of 3s – in the first quarter.
Central Bucks South closed out its season with a 12-11 record overall (8-8 SOL).
Central Bucks South 13-6-7-6 32
West Chester Henderson 13-17-13-2 45
Central Bucks South (32) – Ella Wheeler 0 1-2 1; Casey Balkir 0 2-2 2; Jules Tropea 0 1-4 1; Yoyo Samayoa 4 0-0 10; Mia Klein 5 2-6 12; Gabby Tropea 2 0-2 4; Gianna Rahill 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 12 6-16 32.
West Chester Henderson (45) – Whitney Evans 7 0-0 14; Ari Rivera 1 0-0 2; Mary Cate Killoran 1 0-3 2; Gabrielle Nanni 1 0-1 2; Jackie Shea 6 1-4 13; Bailey Schaller 4 2-2 12; TOTALS 20 3-10 45
3-point goals: CBS – Yoyo Samayoa 2; WCH – Bailey Schaller 2.
Class 5A
#5 LOWER MORELAND 55, #12 UPPER MERION 41
Sparked by the hot hand of Briana McFerran, the Lions recuperated from a slow start to defeat the visiting Vikings in Friday’s district opener. The Lions, who trailed 28-26 at halftime, outscored their visitors 29-13 in an inspired second half.
“After a sluggish start and getting down nine midway in the second quarter (23-14), the girls settled down and outscored them the 41-18 to win by 14,” LM coach Rich Becker said. “Upper Merion started strong and made some shots. Part of that was nerves on our part – we could not hold on to the ball and did not shoot well. In the second quarter, we saw some adjustments that we thought would be effective, and we decided to hold off making the adjustments until the second half so that they would not have the halftime to adjust to.
“At the half, down by two, our girls were not panicked, and in the third quarter they made the adjustments.”
McFerran kept the Lions in it in the first half, scoring 16 of her team’s 26 points. The Lions outscored their visitors 17-9 in the third quarter to go into the final quarter with a 43-37 advantage. Sydney Santora connected on a pair of 3s in the third quarter, and Dani Brusha also had six points. The Lions added to their lead in the four quarter, outscoring the Vikings 12-4.
“In the second half, instead of settling for 3s against their zone, we were a little more patient and worked the ball inside and were able to get to the foul line and get some of their girls in trouble,” Becker said. “The girls also did a nice job with the zone press. We took them out of their rhythm on offense, and we held them to 13 second half points.”
“For us, Briana had a strong game both offensively and defensively,” Becker said. “She scored 25 points and a ton of rebounds and steals. Dani Brusha scored 13 and Sydney Santora scored 10, including two big threes in the third quarter, including one that gave us a lead that we would not give up.
“Lastly, Amelia Brown was out with an injury, and Dani Brusha fouled out. We finished the game with four freshman and a sophomore on the court down the stretch, and this type of experience will be invaluable to them as they continue to grow as varsity players. Even though we were a bit sloppier than we would have liked, it was good for the girls to get some playoff experience before we play WC Rustin Tuesday night.”
Lower Moreland (17-7, 12-4 SOL) will travel to #4 West Chester Rustin for Tuesday’s quarterfinal contest.
Upper Merion 15-13-9-4 41
Lower Moreland 14-12-17-12 55
Upper Merion (41) – Kennedy Coles 6 1-2 13; Devon Maiden 7 4-6 20; Olivia Smith 1 2-2 4; Avery Fox 2 0-0 4; Dougherty 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 16 7-12 41.
Lower Moreland (55) – Briana McFerran 8 9-13 25; Dani Brusha 4 5-7 13; Sydney Santora 4 0-0 10; Mollie Martin 1 1-2 3; Emma DiJoseph 1 0-0 3; Nikki Sahl 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 18 14-24 55
3-point goals: UM – Devon Maiden 2; LM – Briana McFerran 2, Sydney Santora 2, Emma DiJoseph.
#9 BISHOP SHANAHAN 67, #8 UPPER MORELAND 56
The Golden Bears scored enough points to win on most nights, but Friday wasn’t most nights.
Bishop Shanahan buried 11 3-pointers – six in a 25-point third quarter that blew the game open.
“They couldn’t miss… it seemed like they hit every 3-pointer they shot,” UM coach Josh Adelman said. “I have to give them credit.”
The visiting Eagles raced out of the gate to an 18-5 lead after one quarter. The Golden Bears – behind three Lianna Adames 3-pointers – outscored their visitors 17-12 in the second quarter and trailed 30-22 at halftime.
The Eagles took control of the game in the third quarter, opening up a 55-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter. UM outscored Shanahan 18-12 in the fourth quarter but could not make up the ground lost in the first half.
Adames buried four 3-pointers and led the Hawks with 16 points. Holly Gohl added 15, and Mikel Lancit finished with 12.
“We battled 32 minutes,” Adelman said. “We just got off to a slow start. The girls never gave up and made a nice run at the end, but we ran out of time, which is sad because this is such a special group of players.
“They practiced hard every day, they have a tremendous work ethic, and they are just such character people. I couldn’t have asked for a greater group of people to work with in my first year at Upper Moreland. These seniors have left such a legacy for the underclassmen to follow. It is disappointing when your season ends, but this team truly has so much to be proud of and nothing to be ashamed of at all. I am so proud of this team.”
Upper Moreland closed out its season with a 15-8 record (11-5 SOL).
Bishop Shanahan 18-12-25-12 67
Upper Moreland 5-17-16-18 56
Bishop Shanahan (67) – Sam Blumenthal 1 3-4 5; Lauren Foster 5 10-11 23; Carmel Ambrose 4 0-0 12; Abby Wolf 2 3-4 9; Taylor Bollenbach 0 2-2 2; Faith Ambross 4 6-6 16; TOTALS 16 24-27 67.
Upper Moreland (56) – Mikel Lancit 3 5-8 12; Lianna Adames 6 0-0 16; Marie Meyers 1 0-0 3; Lilly Hansen 2 3-3 8; Holly Gohl 7 0-0 15; Makaila Allen 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 20 8-11 56.
3-point goals: Shanahan – Carmel Ambrose 4, Lauren Foster 3, Abby Wolf 2, Faith Ambross 2; UM – Lianna Adames 4, Mikel Lancit, Marie Meyers, Lilly Hansen Holly Gohl.
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