Upper Dublin, North Penn, Pennsbury & Upper Moreland were winners in Friday’s District 1 opening round. UD/CR South photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson, North Penn/Great Valley photos courtesy of Jon Sklut, Pennsbury/Penncrest photos courtesy of Daryl Rule of J&D Photography & Pennridge/Garnet Valley photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of all four games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f884733941
CLASS 6A
#19 UPPER DUBLIN 53, #14 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 48
Colleen Besachio and Megan Ngo.
It’s easy to forget they’re freshmen, and it’s pretty obvious they do as well, playing without a trace of fear on the biggest stage of their rookie season in Friday’s high stakes win-or-go-home district opener.
“It’s easy when you have seniors who are very positive and bring a lot of energy, and they just help us the whole time,” Ngo said.
“They work us during practice,” Besachio said. “And they get us used to the experience of this stuff, and it’s really fun to be with all of them.”
The freshman duo combined for 36 points and 15 rebounds. Besachio led the Cards in both categories, finishing with a game-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds. Ngo added 13 points and – although just 5-1 – wasn’t afraid to bang with the bigs, pulling down seven rebounds. She also had four assists and two steals.
“It was a physical game,” Ngo said.
“But we were prepared,” Besachio said. “(Coach Morgan) Funsten prepares us for every situation, and he was making sure we were prepared for whatever came.”
It was appropriate that the freshman duo led the visiting Cardinals to the upset win since they had kept their inexperienced team afloat this season in the absence of junior Amy Ngo, who was sidelined the better part of the season with a knee injury and only recently began playing with managed minutes.
“Colleen is a great shooter – she’s fearless, and that’s what we love about her,” Funsten said. “Megan – with her size – takes such a physical beating, but you will never see her back down. The harder she hits the ground, the (faster) she pops back up.
“They’ve done so much for us all year. We’ve been frustrated that we haven’t been able to finish a close game. We thought tonight – although we were not perfect – that team is really good. They have so many weapons, and for our girls to go on the road and to put on the performance they did, I’m so proud of them.”
Do the freshmen ever get nervous?
“Sometimes, but we have awesome teammates around us that calm us down,” Ngo said.
“You get nervous sometimes,” Besachio said. “But everyone’s like – ‘Take a deep breath, we’ll be fine. All you have to do is play together.’”
And play together the Cardinals did in Friday’s district opener. Besachio gave her team a shot of confidence out of the gate, scoring her team’s first five points and hitting nothing but net on a 3 that put the Cards on top 5-3 after Karissa Smedley buried a 3 for the Hawks.
Fiona Reckner scored on a drive to knot the score, but Megan Ngo banked in a short jumper to give the Cards the lead. Amy Ngo’s 3 upped UD’s lead to 10-5, but Smedley scored on a cut to the hoop only to see Besachio close out the quarter with back-to-back baskets to put the Cardinals on top 14-7.
“Coach Funsten always says – win the first quarter, and you’ll be able to win the rest,” Besachio said. “We just have to keep playing with that consistency and we’ll be good the rest of the game.”
A 7-0 UD tear to open the second quarter featured a pair of Besachio baskets as well as a driving hoop by Amy Ngo. The Cards led 21-7 after Megan Ngo sank one of two at the foul line, but the Golden Hawks came roaring back, thanks to an 8-0 run of their own. Reckner scored on a drive, and then Cam Gregory buried a 3. Katie Purpura’s strip of a UD ballhandler set the stage for a big 3-pointer by Purpura that made it a 24-17 game. Smedley connected on 2 of 3 at the foul line to pull the Hawks to within five, but Amy Ngo sank a 3 to send the Cardinals into halftime with a 27-19 lead.
UD took a 35-26 lead into the final quarter. The Golden Hawks trimmed that lead to five (40-35) after Gregory scored on a drive with 2:42 remaining. That’s as close as they would get as the final two minutes became one trip to the foul line after another with the Cardinals connecting on 18 of 24 attempts in the quarter to seal the Golden Hawks’ fate.
“Upper Dublin deserves a lot of credit,” Rock South coach Blair Klumpp said. “Morgan has always done a good job of preparing his teams for this time of year. And while they are younger on the court this year than years past, you could still see his imprint in the preparation. I felt good from our preparation/scout/film prep coming into the game, and we had 3-3.5 good days out of four practice-wise, and the girls seemed pretty loose and ready to go pregame.
“To UD’s credit, they didn’t care that they weren’t the home team – they got off to a fast start – it was back and forth early and then when they got to 14-7, I thought we just let them control the pace of play too much. To their credit, we struggled to turn them over, but we did not play to our strengths consistently enough offensively. It’s tough to play catch up in a playoff game, even at home sometimes, you put more pressure on yourself… “
With the win, the Cardinals has ensured themselves two additional games.
“It’s really exciting to have another week – we’re guaranteed another week and, hopefully, more than that,” Megan Ngo said. “It’s just really exciting because we get to play with the seniors for the rest of the season.”
“We were just thinking – keep the senior season going for them,” Besachio said. “Play for them. It’s kind of a surreal moment because it’s our first playoff game in high school and we won. It’s just fun, this is a fun experience.”
Funsten credited the seniors for his inexperienced team’s success.
“We have six seniors in our program, and they don’t make huge contributions on the court, but I talked to the girls before the game about this – I thought they really set the tone and taught the younger girls what it meant this year to be a team and to be a great teammate,” Funsten said. “I thought they set the tone leading up to the game.”
Also for UD, Amy Ngo not only contributed 10 points, four assists and two blocks but also provided leadership on the court as she played the entire 32 minutes.
“It’s awesome,” said Megan of having her older sibling back on the court. “All the hard work that she put in to come back – she didn’t know if she’d be back until next season, but she’s back now because of how hard she worked, and it shows.”
UD’s Alaina Sanders added six rebounds and two assists and also connected on 4 of 6 at the foul line in the second half. Nora Brady was 3-for-6 at the line with four rebounds and one assist.
“Overall, we had some lapses in the defensive game plan and they made us play,” Klumpp said. “Their two freshmen didn’t play like freshmen and were really impressive in that spot on the road. Amy is very skilled.
“I thought our girls played hard – it wasn’t a physical effort thing. There were some plays you always want back, but that’s basketball. But we had some girls who emptied their tank physically and were locked in mentally. We had some good looks and shots didn’t fall – that happens sometimes. They took some things away and prepared really well for us. We got better looks in the second half and made a few more plays and came up short.”
For the Golden Hawks, Purpura’s 13 points led the way while Smedley, who had a pair of 3s, added 11 points. Reckner finished with 10 points.
“I don’t know if anyone was ready for this to end,” Klumpp said. “We felt like we played PW tough, had some good prep; I told them all week this isn’t a 19 seed, they had Amy (Ngo) for three weeks. We knew this was a tough matchup whether it was on our court, their court or neutral, they were a tough matchup. They are a good team and played well.
“I wish the result was better for our girls. It was a tough way for this season to end. I appreciate everything the girls gave over the course of the season and the approach of our three seniors. Darcy (Leight) had three years here, Jess (Mangoni) was in the program for four and overcame some injuries. Smed (Karissa Smedley) has been a mainstay in the lineup since day one. I had two single-digit win seasons when they came in as freshmen, so there has been growth it’s just tough they won’t be ‘here’ when the next step of frosty growth happens.”
Upper Dublin (15-8, 11-5 SOL) will travel to #3 Plymouth Whitemarsh for a second round game. It is the third meeting between the two Freedom Division squads with the Colonials winning the first two on their way to the division crown. Council Rock South (10-6 SOL) closed out its season with a 16-8 record.
Upper Dublin 14-13-8-18 53
Council Rock South 7-12-7-22 48
Upper Dublin (48) – Alaina Sanders 0 4-6 4; Megan Ngo 2 9-12 13; Amy Ngo 3 2-5 10; Colleen Besachio 8 5-6 23; Nora Brady 0 3-6 3; TOTALS 13 23-35 53.
Council Rock South (48) – Kathryn O’Kane 0 4-4 4; Liliana Metrick 0 2-2 2; Lily Bross 1 0-0 3; Katie Purpura 4 2-2 13; Cam Gregory 2 0-0 5; Fiona Reckner 5 0-2 10; Karissa Smedley 3 3-5 11; TOTALS 15 11-15 48.
3-point goals: UD – Amy Ngo 2, Colleen Besachio 2; CRS – Katie Purpura 3, Karissa Smedley 2, Lily Bross, Cam Gregory.
#21 NORTH PENN 59, #12 GREAT VALLEY 57 (OT)
The Knights staged a gutsy late-game rally to knot the score in regulation and then won the overtime thriller when junior Caleigh Sperling scored on a shot from the left 
elbow as time expired.
“I was thinking there was nothing to lose – it’s a one-on-one situation,” Sperling said. “It could have gone into double overtime, so I’ll just shoot it. The worst that could happen is it goes to another overtime.
“I kind of intercepted a pass from my teammate because I saw there was an open look right at the basket. It felt really good because going into overtime it was a really hard-fought game, and just to come out on top felt really good for our team.”
It was the junior’s first game-winner at the buzzer.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had an opportunity except maybe when I was younger to shoot the last shot,” Sperling said. “It was such a big game to win as a team, and we played so well together.”
Sperling’s game-winner capped a possession of close to a minute with the score deadlocked.
“We weren’t trying to do one shot, we were trying to get the open shot,” senior Abby Plaugher said. “They played good defense on us, and it came down to 20 seconds and we just took the last shot.
“It’s always tougher playing away, but we played really well. The atmosphere was against us
because they had a home crowd – they had a pretty big student section, but it was really fun. We kept our cool and came out on top.”
The Knights, according to coach Bri Cullen, were trailing pretty much the entire game.
“It was close from the start,” the Knights’ second-year coach said. “At halftime, we were down three (35-32), and in the fourth quarter we went down four with about 30 seconds left. We were chasing most of the game.
“Great Valley was incredibly prepared. They really knew our game plan, our scheme, but we adjusted, and never once did I feel like we were frazzled. I really think all of our close games this year taught us a lot, taught us enough to get a win in a close game.”
The Knights late-game rally in regulation was capped when they turned a Great Valley miscue into the equalizer when – out of a timeout – Plaugher scored on a layup, setting the stage for overtime.
“Again, in overtime, we were down early – most of the time by four,” Cullen said. “We tied it with a minute left, and our composure – we just kept it together.
“They did a really good job of running the clock out for the last shot, and they were composed. With less than a second left, Caleigh Sperling hits the game-winning buzzer beater – it was an elbow jump shot falling over, running shot that goes in. It was an electric atmosphere.”
For their part, the players say they never lost faith.
“Great Valley shot 75 percent from the floor going into halftime, and we stayed in the game,” Plaugher said. “We were with them the whole time. We never hung our heads.
“At halftime, our coach told us we needed to stay composed – they couldn’t keep it up the whole game, and we just needed to chip away, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Sperling’s glittering 27-point performance led the Knights and included a pair of 3-pointers as well as an 11-for-14 effort at the foul line. The junior standout did not score in a first quarter that saw the Patriots open up a 15-12 lead, but she torched the Patriots for 11 second-quarter points, and she was just getting started.
“She such a good kid, and it’s awesome to watch,” Cullen said of Sperling.
Plaugher finished with 17 points, which included a pair of 3s. Her 13 first-half points played a major role in keeping the Knights within striking distance. Olivia Stone also was in double figures with 11 points.
“It was one of those games they made a choice to give everything they had, and no matter the outcome, I knew they left it all out on the court,” Cullen said. “It’s incredible. I’m just so proud of them because they’ve really faced a lot of tough losses in the last two years, so it felt good to come out on top against a very good Great Valley team.
“Great Valley shot the lights out. In the first half, they were shooting 75 percent. They gave us a really tough game, and it’s nice to come out with an earned win. The adversity we have faced prepared us for that moment.”
Friday’s win went a long way toward erasing memories of last year’s heartbreak that saw it come down to the final game of the regular season, and the Knights were the first team out of the 24-team district field.
“This feels really good as a team because we haven’t made playoffs in two years, and to win the first round game is so great,” Sperling said. “We’re really excited to keep going. I think we played really well as a team tonight.”
“The last two years have been rebuilding years,” Plaugher said. “Last year, we had so much potential, and we were losing heartbreaking games.
“This year, we’ve been putting all the pieces together. We’ve had a few heartbreaking losses, but going into today’s game, we were so calm. We’ve been in this situation so much, and it was really nice.”
North Penn (13-10, 10-6 SOL) will travel to #5 Spring-Ford for a second-round game.
North Penn 12-20-8-13-6 59
Great Valley 15-20-6-23-4 57
North Penn (59) – Emily Orth 0 2-2 2; Caleigh Sperling 7 11-14 27; Abby Plaugher 7 1-1 17; Kelly Donnelly 1 0-0 2; Olivia Stone 3 4-6 11; TOTALS 18 18-23 59
Great Valley (57) – Taia Diprinzio 3 2-4 8; Gia Sioutis 3 4-4 10; Mia Maslowski 1 0-0 2; Julia Curran 4 0-0 10; Laura Lum 4 2-2 12; Lauren Frederick 4 3-4 11; Charlotte Powell 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 21 11-14 57..
3-point goals: NP – Caleigh Sperling, Abby Plaugher, Olivia Stone; GV – Julia Curran, Laura Lum 2.
#11 PENNSBURY 48, #22 PENNCREST 12
The Falcons owned this one from the opening tap, racing out of the gate to an 18-7 lead after one quarter and rolling to the rout.
“Right from the jump there was great energy in the air, and it never stopped from there on out,” assistant coach Kaitlin Kelly said. “The crowd was awesome, and the girls fed off that energy throughout the game.”
Sofia Vitucci scored 12 of her team’s 18 first-quarter points. Only a pair of Emily Huggins 3-pointers kept Penncrest reasonably close. The Lions scored just three points in the second quarter, and behind five points from Layla Matthias, the Falcons scored 17 to go into halftime with a 35-10 lead.
The Lions scored just two points in a second half that saw the Falcons go deep down their bench.
“We had another great night defensively, allowing only two points in the second half and 12 points overall,” Kelly said. “Layla Matthias had quite a performance. You can’t help but get excited watching this kid play – giving 110 percent on every possession, flying in and grabbing boards (8 tonight), and always having active hands to deflect passes.”
Vitucci led the Falcons with 16 points – all in the first half. Matthias added nine points to go along with her eight rebounds. Nevaeh Dash had six points on a pair of 3s.
“Nevaeh Dash had an awesome night on the backboard as well with six (rebounds), and Presley Foote was a terror creating turnovers and having four steals,” Kelly said. “Sofia came out hot from
the start. The way she handles pressure and still makes the shots she does is incredible.
“We prepared well for this game and had great practices all week. The girls were focused, and it showed tonight. We executed on both ends of the court, nine girls scored, and the atmosphere was like no other. Can’t ask for more.”
The Falcons have found a way to turn basketball games into an event that fills the stands.
“Atmospheres like tonight are a big reason why kids want to play basketball for Pennsbury High School,” Kelly said. “Some kids will never get an experience like this in their high school basketball career. Our girls are fortunate to have experienced so many, and we don’t take that for granted. We get to play in these game atmospheres against really good teams and that’s enormous for development both at this level and for the next level.”
Pennsbury (18-6, 12-4 SOL) will travel to Abington for a second round game on Wednesday.
Penncrest 7-3-2-0 12
Pennsbury 18-17-8-5 48
Penncrest (12) – Anna Gladue 1 0-0 3; Emily Huggins 2 0-0 6; Kathryn Harding 1 0-0 2; Alex Bruce 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 4 1-2 12
Pennsbury (48) – Emily Panaro 1 0-0 2; Presley Foote 1 0-2 2; Layla Matthias 4 1-3 9; Danielle Sherman 1 0-0 3; Sofia Vitucci 7 0-0 16; Daniella MacDonald 1 0-0 3; Nevaeh Dash 2 0-0 6; Ava Jordan 1 0-0 2; Izzy Ruta 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 20 1-5 48.
3-point goals: Penncrest – Emily Huggins 2, Anna Gladue; Pennsbury – Sofia Vitucci 2, Nevaeh Dash 2, Danielle Sherman, Daniella MacDonald, Izzy Ruta.
#20 GARNET VALLEY 45, #13 PENNRIDGE 42
‘It was the story of two halves’ is an oft-used phrase for coaches, but if ever that phrase rang true, it was after the Rams’ season-ending loss to the Jaguars in Friday’s opening round of districts.
The Rams, who led 18-5 after one quarter, took a 23-12 lead into halftime only to see their visitors erupt for 33 second-half points to earn a win that brought the season to a heartbreaking end.
“We got off to a great start, and to the credit of Garnet Valley, they took the punch and came back and responded,” Pennridge coach Jason Rapp said. “We did some things that were uncharacteristic of us all season…but again, I think Garnet Valley deserves credit for doing that to us. It was a great season. I’m super proud of our girls.”
The Rams certainly appeared to be in the driver’s seat after an explosive first quarter that saw three players – Ella Brown, Anna Croyle and Katie Yoder – each score five points. All three buried a 3-pointer in the frame, and Olivia Poole also had a 3.
The shots stopped falling in a second quarter that saw the Rams manage just five points – all by Yoder, but the Jaguars didn’t make up much ground, outscoring the Rams by just a 7-5 count. The third
quarter belonged to the Jaguars, who – sparked by six points from both Kylie Mulholland and Haylie Adamski – erupted for 22 points and trimmed the Rams’ lead to three, 35-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Rams scored just seven points in the final frame while the Jaguars scored 13 to eke out the win.
Yoder was outstanding in her final high school game, leading all scorers with 24 points that included four 3-pointers and a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. Ella Brown added 10 points, which included a pair of 3s.
For the Jaguars, sophomore guard Kylie Mulholland led the way with 16 points – 14 in the second half. Haylie Adamski, also a sophomore, added 13 points on four 3s and a foul shot.
Pennridge closed out its season with a 16-8 record. The Rams were second to Souderton in the SOL Colonial with an 11-5 record. Garnet Valley will travel to Souderton for a second round game on Wednesday.
Garnet Valley 5-7-20-13 45
Pennridge 18-5-12-7 42
Garnet Valley (45) – Kylie Mulholland 5 4-5 16; Savannah Saunders 2 1-3 6; Haylie Adamski 4 1-2 13; Katie Dwyer 3 0-0 7; Mia Zebley 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 15 7-12 45.
Pennridge (42) – Ella Brown 4 0-0 10; Anna Croyle 2 0-0 5; Katie Yoder 8 4-4 24; Olivia Poole 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 15 4-4 42.
3-point goals: GV – Haylie Adamski 4, Kylie Mulholland 2, Savannah Saunders, Katie Dwyer; Penridge – Katie Yoder 4, Ella Brown 2, Anna Croyle, Olivia Poole.
CLASS 5A
#5 UPPER MORELAND 52, #12 STRATH HAVEN 35
The visiting Panthers kept things interesting for one half, but the Golden Bears took control in the second half, turning a three-point halftime lead into a 17-point win.
“Tonight was the definition of a playoff game,” UM coach Matt Carroll said. “Nerves early. Great atmosphere. High intensity. We got good shots in the first half but didn’t shoot well. I think the nerves played a part in that.
“Strath Haven works hard, and they were able to get in the lane against us a little too often in the first half. We had them on the ropes a little in the second quarter and had an eight-point lead. They responded well, knocking down a couple of jumpers and made it 20-17 heading into the half.”
In the first half, the Golden Bears, who led 8-7 after one quarter, were led by Holly Gohl with six points and Mikel Lancit with four.
In the third quarter, the Golden Bears – behind seven points from Gohl – added to their lead, outscoring the Panthers 15-9 to go into the final quarter with a 35-26 advantage. They added to that with a 17-point fourth quarter that included six points from Lancit and five from Gohl.
“The second half we settled down mentally and picked it up offensively,” Carroll said. “Holly and Mikel were great for us offensively. They picked their spots well and made some big shots in the second half.”
Gohl led all scorers with 18 points, which included three 3-pointers. Lancit added 13 points, and EmmyFaith Wood contributed eight. Alyssa Wiley had six points.
“Tonight was EmmyFaith’s first game since she got hurt on Jan. 31,” Carroll said. “You could tell she doesn’t have her legs yet, but she made so many intelligent basketball plays, communicates on defense, and orchestrates our offense.
“I told her before the game that we didn’t need her to be the EmmyFaith she has been for four years. We just needed her to control the game and be the captain and leader she is, and she gave us that. The girls and coaches were very excited after the game, but we haven’t accomplished our goals yet. We know the challenge we have with Gwynedd Mercy on Tuesday, but we are thrilled for the opportunity.”
Upper Moreland (19-5, 13-3 SOL) will travel to #4 Gwynedd Mercy for Tuesday’s quarterfinal contest. Six of the eight teams remaining will earn state tournament berths.
Strath Haven 7-10-9-9 35
Upper Moreland 8-12-15-17 52
Strath Haven (35) – Maryella Gill 1 0-0 2; Olivia Voshell 1 0-0 2; Chloe Hunold 1 3-4 5; Sierra Felder 1 2-4 5; Laura Shea 5 1-4 11; Annika Shoemaker 2 0-0 4; Lauren Goldberg 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 13 6-12 35.
Upper Moreland (52) – Mikel Lancit 6 0-0 13; Alyssa Wiley 3 0-2 6; EmmyFaith Wood 4 0-0 8; Lilly Hansen 2 0-0 4; Holly Gohl 7 1-6 18; Marie Meyers 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 23 2-9 52.
3-point goals: SH – Lauren Goldberg 2, Sierra Felder; UM – Holly Gohl 3, Mikel Lancit.
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