Upper Dublin, North Penn & CB East were winners in the District 1 6A Tournament and have earned berths in the PIAA 6A state tournament. Photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice Photography.
Class 6A second round
#3 UPPER DUBLIN 60, #19 PENNCREST 34
Sixty points.
It might have seemed like an impossibility for the Flying Cardinals to put up that many points after they lost their floor general – sophomore Megan Ngo – for the season, but on Wednesday, the Cardinals scored early and often, notching a no-doubt-about-it win that ensured them a berth in the PIAA 6A state tournament.
“Honestly, I didn’t even realize that,” senior Amy Ngo said of putting 60 points on the board. “We just played so well, and all of a sudden, we’re scoring all over the place.
“We put our press back on, and we haven’t actually pressed since Meg went down for us, so I think that got our energy high from the beginning. I think we play better
when we start off well, which is what we did tonight.”
Ngo and Tamia Clark combined for nine first-quarter points, and Nora Brady buried a 3, spotting the Cardinals a 14-4 lead after one quarter. Clark had six points in the second quarter, Ngo had five and Brady had another 3, and the Cards went into halftime with a 28-12 halftime lead.
“We wanted to get out and press them early – we forced 10 turnovers in the first quarter,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “Each girl did their job tonight.
“Early in the game, Amy (Ngo) made the first couple baskets for us like she has many times this year, especially in big games, and set the tone for the kind of fearless attitude that I really think our team has played with all year with the exception of the Neshaminy game (a 35-22 loss in the title game of the SOL Tournament).
“The team as a whole continues to rise to the challenge. We’re so excited that we’ve guaranteed three more weeks together. They’re a great group to just be around, so that’s probably what I’m most excited about. Not necessarily winning but what the winning means to guarantee three more weeks with this group.”
The Cardinals, who had an opening round bye, had not played in a week, a welcome break for a team that was left reeling with the loss of Megan Ngo.
“We’re really lucky that we had all these days off so we could work on ourselves, and before we could even focus on Penncrest, we could just figure ourselves out,” Amy Ngo said. “We did a lot of readjusting our roles on the team. Obviously, all of our plays – we’re used to a spot, and now it’s changing.
“I think we’ve done a really, really good job of doing that. Another thing is our mentality is like – okay, we lost our point guard, we lost Meg who was a huge part of our team, but all of us realize we can still be something really special – obviously without Meg, but we’re doing it for her.”
While there’s no denying it was a devastating loss, the Cardinals, according to Amy, stuck together.
“I think that was a big part, and for me especially, seeing Meg at home all the time just being so upset – that was really hard, but once she started to accept it, it helped me start to accept it,” Amy said. “With the team, we all picked each other up. The Brady twins (Brighid and Nora) did so much for me – they could tell when I was getting upset, and their support was amazing – and everyone’s support.”
Earning a berth in states is reason to celebrate, but listening to Funsten tell it, there’s a bit of a shadow over every celebration.
“Every time I’m happy about something – I think back to how Megan’s feeling,” Funsten said. “It’s really tough. Devastating is the only word I can use to describe it.
“I think Megan’s one of the best players in the state. I really honestly believe that, and it’s just devasting for our team to have what happened happen, but fortunately, we have several other great players and, more importantly, great kids who are right now playing for her and using the type of intensity Megan plays with, and they’re
channeling it. We needed girls to step up tonight, and every single player performed their role to perfection tonight.”
Clark turned in a huge performance, scoring 21 points and pulling down six rebounds. She also had three steals and two assists. Ngo added 15 points, including a pair of 3s. She also had five assists and five steals. Nora Brady added nine points on three 3s and also had four assists. Brighid Brady and Bridget DiMartile both had six points. DiMartile stuffed the stat sheet.
“Some highlights were certainly Tamia Clark with 21 points and six rebounds,” Funsten said. “She got their 6-2 girl in foul trouble, and the key in the game was to control her because we don’t have great size. Between Tamia getting her in foul trouble, and Bridget DiMartile – she was the one who guarded her. These are two freshmen have played great all year.
“Bridget DiMartile finished with six points, 15 rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks. I continue to say that the seasons that our freshmen are having – obviously, they’re very talented, but it does not happen without the great senior leadership we have that make them feel comfortable and let them be themselves and let their talents shine without feeling like they’re stepping on the seniors’ toes. The seniors have just been so awesome with them.”
Extra shots: It hasn’t been an easy stretch for the UD girls’ basketball team, who according to Funsten, had just seven players at practice all last week. “We had four injuries and a girl on vacation, so it was not just Megan (Ngo),” the UD coach said. “Tamia was out, a girl slammed her finger in the door. Nothing was going our way last week.”…Upper Dublin (24-2, 16-0 SOL) will host Spring-Ford in Saturday’s District 1 6A quarterfinal game at 2:30 p.m. It will be the second game of a boys/girls doubleheader.
Penncrest 4-8-10-12 34
Upper Dublin 14-14-13-19 60
Penncrest (34) – Bailey Garrison 1 0-0 2; Alex Bruce 4 0-0 9; Makayla Johnson 1 2-2 5; Kathryn Harding 1 3-3 5; Kerri Ann Huggins 1 2-4 5; Toni Conquest 0 4-6 4; Lila Curci 1 0-0 2; Sheldon Viau 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 10 11-15 34.
Upper Dublin (60) – Brighid Brady 3 0-0 6; Bridget DiMartile 3 0-0 6; Maeve Hogan 1 0-0 3; Tamia Clark 8 4-6 21; Amy Ngo 5 3-4 15; Nora Brady 3 0-0 9; TOTALS 23 7-10 60.
3-point goals: Penncrest – Makayla Johnson, Kerri Ann Huggins, Alex Bruce; UD – Nora Brady 3, Amy Ngo 2, Tamia Clark, Maeve Hogan.
#5 NORTH PENN 51, #12 KENNETT 27
Competing in the state playoffs – or any playoffs for that matter- couldn’t have been further from the minds of Olivia Stone and her teammates when, as freshmen, their Knights’ squad won just two games in the COVID-shortened season.
“It’s definitely hard to believe, but when our coaching staff came in, they really were focused on building a culture with the team,” the three-year captain said of the arrival of coach Bri Cullen and her staff sophomore year. “Implementing that made us believe from the beginning even though there were two rough years – it helped us to believe that we were good enough to be there, and if we play as a team and play together, we can accomplish whatever we put our minds to.”
After an opening round bye, the Knights – coming off a loss to Neshaminy in the SOL Tournament semis – bounced back with a convincing win Wednesday that clinched a berth in the state tournament.
“This means so much,” Stone said. “Two years ago, three years ago – never would have imagined us progressing so much. Our senior class and the classes below us have really stepped up and helped to build the culture our coaches pushed. It’s just so exciting to see that and see all the hard work we put in throughout the years pay off.”
Cullen, who is in her third season at the helm, is rightfully proud of her team.
“I said to the girls – if you had asked us two years ago, ‘Do you think you’d be in a position to be going to states after a first-round district bye?’” the Knights’ coach said. “Some of them would have laughed at us, but they’ve just worked so hard and really, really bought into the culture we’re trying to build.
“These seniors especially – they’ve just made it their own, so all the credit to them. I know when I played – this is how it was. When you came in, you were expected to play to this level and be playing until March, so it’s nice we’re starting to get that feeling back. The season is long, and it’s not over yet.”
The Blue Demons were no match for the Knights on Wednesday. The Knights – behind seven points from Caleigh Sperling – had a 14-7 lead after one quarter and then buried their visitors with a 21-point second quarter to go into halftime with a 35-15 lead. Sperling had three 3-pointers and accounted for 18 of those points.
“I think the biggest thing was we were pushing the ball in transition,” Cullen said. “We got away from that a little bit, especially in our game against Neshaminy. I think it was a combination of just being tired and having a little bit of a slump, so it was nice to see that we got back to that tonight.”
Sperling led all scorers with a glittering 23-point effort that included four baskets from beyond the arc. Stone added 13 points, which included a pair of 3s, and Cameron Crowley had seven points.
“Losing (to Neshaminy) definitely hurt, but it gave us more time off to recollect ourselves, refocus our minds on the true goal of getting far in districts and getting far in states,” Stone said. “I think the break helped us refocus us on what we can do, what we can control, and also giving us a couple days off to take a break from basketball was good for everybody.”
Cullen echoed a similar sentiment.
“We needed it, we really needed it,” the Knights’ coach said of the break. “We played some girls a ton of minutes all year, and pretty much all of January and all of February, we had three games every week. Everyone’s in the same boat, but we just got lucky to have a couple of extra days.”
Wednesday’s win was the 22nd in 25 games for the Knights, who won just 21 games in the last two years combined.
“Everyone really worked hard in the offseason,” Stone said. “Everyone playing AAU really helped, but honestly, it’s hard to believe the progress we’ve made.
“Again, it’s because we’re all so close this year, we’re all such good friends. We get along, and I think you can see it on the court – the chemistry is so good this year, and I think that helps a lot.”
North Penn (22-3 15-1 SOL) will travel to #4 Haverford for Saturday’s quarterfinal contest.
Kennett 7-8-6-6 27
North Penn 14-21-9-7 51
Kennett (27) – Laki Frazier 1 0-0 2; Mary Carroll 1 0-0 2; Quinn Simmons 2 0-2 6; Greta Burns 2 0-0 5; Mia Matthews 2 4-4 9; Brianca Comanda 1 0-0 2; Ciara Gately 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 9 5-8 27
North Penn (51) – Cameron Crowley 3 0-0 7; Caleigh Sperling 8 3-4 23; Lily Brown 0 2-2 2; Leah Mikulski 1 2-2 4; Olivia Stone 4 3-4 13; Jayden Sperling 1 0-1 2; TOTALS 17 10-13 51.
3-point goals: Kennett – Quinn Simmons 2, Gretz Burns, Mia Matthews; NP – Caleigh Sperling 4, Olivia Stone 2, Cameron Crowley.
#8 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 48, #9 NESHAMINY 39
“Rebounding is three seconds of hard work.”
It’s a phrase Kristi Ward repeated all but ad nauseum during her stint on the sidelines as an assistant to former Council Rock South coach Monica Stolic, who went on to assist East coach Liz Potash.
The Patriots might not have heard it before, but that phrase became something of a mantra for the team recently.
“That’s all we kept saying to the girls,” Potash said.
Potash’s sudden obsession with rebounding can be traced to Jan. 31 and a 40-25 loss in East’s regular season meeting with Neshaminy.
“They outrebounded us on the offensive glass 22-3,” Potash said. “All we talked about was – you gave them 19 extra possessions because everything else was even.”
To say rebounding has been a point of emphasis since that game would be an understatement, and that emphasis has paid dividends.
According to Potash, the Patriots have outrebounded their opponent in every game since then, and they came into Wednesday’s rematch prepared.
“The girls wanted to make states, we wanted to get Anna (Barry) enough games to get her 1000 points, but all we were focusing on was how to beat Neshaminy,” the Patriots’ coach said. “I’ve never watched so much film in my life. We watched film together. We stopped film and said, ‘Look, you were in perfect position to box out. You never put your hands up. They took the ball out of your hands.’ This is all we did for the last three weeks because that game was not at all how we want to be known. Had we not played them three weeks ago to the day, I don’t know if you see the same team you saw tonight.”
What fans saw on Wednesday night was a fiercely determined Patriot squad, and while limiting second chances was paramount, taking center stage was the stifling defense the Patriots threw at the Redskins.
“We held (Reese) Zemitis to five points,” Potash said, crediting Chantal van Dongeren for her role in keeping the star center under wraps. “Chantal is the most frustrating defender I have ever seen in my life. It’s amazing what she is able to do. When you have that kid that locks in on defense and makes the other team’s scorers’ lives really difficult – Zemitis wasn’t able to get anything easy.
“I know Lola (Ibarrondo) had a big game, but Nat (Berndt) did a good job. Those two are working so well together, and it wasn’t just them. It was everyone doing their part. They knew exactly what the plan was, they executed exactly how we wanted them to play defensively. Lola hit a tough 3 going into halftime. We had a six-point lead, and she hit a step-back 3 with Nat in her face, but this is pretty much the most complete 32 minutes we’ve played the entire year. It was on a defensive standpoint as well.
“We made a couple of changes from when we played them a couple weeks ago, and I think it made a big difference just in terms of how we played the other three kids around Reese and Lola. We kind of left them open three weeks ago – we weren’t giving them anything tonight. It was – as soon as they catch, sprint out on those girls and make their life hard. (Ava) Irizarry didn’t take many shots tonight. She took 11 the last time, and I said – ‘That’s too many.’ That was the difference – it was everyone doing their part. We’re really proud of them.”
For the seniors, Wednesday’s win was especially sweet.
“It’s so great – I’ve never been at states my whole entire time at East,” Barry said. “It’s just really exciting, and it’s going to be a fun ride with the team.”
Wednesday’s game was East’s first since they fell to a shorthanded Upper Dublin squad in the semis of the SOL Tournament. While not the outcome the Patriots had hoped for, the loss gave the Patriots a much-needed break – 10 days between games.
“I will say – it turned out to be quite the blessing that we were able to escape with the eight seed and we were able to get the bye because Anna Barry had the flu, so we didn’t see her literally the entire week,” Potash said. “She was down and out for the count.
“We had the time to rest. I think we played seven games in the last 10 days of the season. We don’t play a lot of kids, and it showed. When we finally got that second to breathe and give the kids a little rest and get their legs back – we made a bunch of shots tonight. It’s just exciting.”
Barry was back in the lineup and made her presence felt, scoring a team-high 17.
“At the end of the season, everyone gets pretty tired, and you’re kind of drained,” Barry said. “Having a bye (in the opening round) and that break to recharge and really get mentally focused was really big for us.
“We came in today, and we proved that we’re a better team than what happened the previous time. We always try to go into games confident because we know that when we play and we’re focused and play the way we know we can – we can beat any team. We wanted to go in with confidence but not overconfident. We really wanted to play together and support each other the whole time.”
The Patriots led 12-9 after one quarter and took a 26-23 lead into halftime. Barry’s 10 points, which included a pair of 3s, led the Patriots. Jess Lockwood buried two 3s and added eight points.
Natalie Berndt and Barry each had five points in a third quarter that saw the Patriots extend their lead to 38-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
With 4:43 remaining and the Patriots leading by three, Syd Ralph delivered a huge and-one to stretch East’s lead to 41-35.
“Anna dove on a loose ball and found Syd, who scored and got fouled,” Potash said. “That was a huge play.”
Ralph was a perfect 5-for-5 in the fourth quarter.
“We’re a good foul shooting team,” said Potash “We play a game every day to end practice, and I reminded them, ‘You went 21-for-22 at the line to close out practice yesterday, and you’re going to do it right now,’ and we did.
“Syd was huge from the line at the end of the game. It’s awesome what she’s been able to do. Last year she had a limited role, and we needed her to step into a much bigger role this year. She’s just having such a great year. “
The Patriots were 14-for-15 from the line in Wednesday’s win.
“Our team really focuses at the line, and we really put a lot of emphasis on it at practice, and it really shows,” said Barry, who was 6-for-6 at the line. “After pretty much every drill we do, we always take 10 foul shots, and we always try to make seven out of 10 every single time, and that’s translating to the games. I think everyone’s really confident at the line, and that’s really important because another team can’t foul any of us because we’re all good foul shooters.”
In addition Barry’s 17 points, Ralph added 12, Berndt had nine, and Lockwood finished with eight.
“I said to the girls after the game – ‘I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of you. That game was so demoralizing three weeks ago when you played Neshaminy, and you literally did every single thing that we asked you to do to be able to compete tonight,’” Potash said. “It’s exciting. The seniors have never been to states. When they were freshmen, it was the COVID year. We lost in the district semis to PW, and they only took one team to states that year. They had these goals, and they have literally checked off every goal: get a home playoff team, get a bye, make it into the SOL playoffs, get the seniors to states. Honestly, I’m thrilled.
“I know we have Perk Valley next – that’s fine. We played them last year. We’ll go up there and do what we can, but we just bought so many more games. Anna’s going to get her thousand points, and we still bring three starters back next year, and our first kid off the bench is a freshman. What an awesome experience for our young kids.”
For the Redskins, Ibarrondo’s 21 points – which included four 3s – led the way.
“Congratulations to CB East players and coaches who saw a state berth on the line tonight and played with passion and energy,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “There are over 700 girls high school teams in Pennsylvania, and CB East is now one of 32 to move forward to compete on the state level.”
Neshaminy (22-5, 14-2 SOL) will face a familiar foe when the Redskins take on Pennsbury in Saturday’s playback game for a berth in the state tournament.
Central Bucks East (19-6, 11-5 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Perkiomen Valley on Saturday for a quarterfinal contest.
Neshaminy 9-14-7-9 39
Central Bucks East 12-14-12-10 48
Neshaminy (39) – Grace Weyler 0 3-3 3; Alena Cofield 2 0-0 4; Ashlynn Duffy 1 0-0 3; Lola Ibarrondo 7 4-4 21; Ava Irizarry 1 0-0 3; Reese Zemitis 2 1-2 5; TOTALS 13 8-9 39.
Central Bucks East (48) – Sydney Ralph 3 5-5 12; Natalie Berndt 2 3-4 9; Anna Barry 4 6-6 17; Jess Lockwood 3 0-0 8; Chantal Van Dongeren 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 13 14-15 48.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Lola Ibarrondo 3, Ashlynn Duffy, Ava Irizarry; CBE – Anna Barry 3, Jess Lockwood 2, Natalie Berndt 2, Sydney Ralph.
#1 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 54, #16 PENNSBURY 27
Frank Sciolla has seen enough basketball over the years to understand what it takes to get to the pinnacle. The Falcons’ coach had high praise for the Vikings after Wednesday’s game.
“Having either played or scrimmaged the state champions over the past few seasons, I can confidently say Perkiomen Valley has all the pieces needed to win the state title,” Sciolla said. “They are skilled, enormous, athletic, tough and well coached.
“Obviously, size has been an issue for us the past couple years, and (Quinn) Boettinger had her way, despite our spending three days practicing to take her away. Her ability to catch and play strong and through contact in traffic or in space is impressive. We are not as physical this year as we have been in years past, so we knew this would be a difficult matchup for us because of their top to bottom physicality, and it truly was. Even in the beginning of the third quarter when we had a chance to make a run, we could not keep them off the backboard.”
The Falcons, who trailed 15-5 after one quarter, found themselves on the short end of a 29-12 score at halftime. Boettinger accounted for 20 of PV’s points in the first half.
In the second half, Grace Galbavy picked up where Boettinger left off, scoring 14 of her 17 points after the break.
Sofia Vitucci’s 15 points – 11 in the second half – led the Falcons.
“Their length caused issues for us when we did get good shot opportunities, and I actually was really happy with the number of shot opportunities that we had,” Sciolla said. “Probably the best thing they do is they have a good sense of who they are. They know what they do well, and they don’t stray from it. That is such a hard sell in 2024 and they believe. As usual we competed throughout the game, and I think it was good for our underclassmen to get an idea of what they need to do because pretty much that whole team will be back.”
Pennsbury (17-8, 17-5 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy for a playback game Saturday with a berth in states at stake for the winner while the losing team’s season will end.
“We have to immediately turn our attention to Saturday and our game at Neshaminy,” Sciolla said. “Obviously the situation was different for them tonight, and their game was emotional and much closer.
“Their seniors have been fantastic, and we know they wanted that district run, so we know they will be really ready on Saturday. and we will have to match their level of intensity and preparation.”
Pennsbury 5-7-6-9 27
Perkiomen Valley 15-14-12-13 54
Pennsbury (27) – Layla Matthias 2 0-0 4; Maggie Burns 0 1-2 1; Sofia Vitucci 6 1-3 15; Oliveah Gilchrist 1 0-0 2; Daniella MacDonald 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 11 3-5 27.
Perkiomen Valley (54) – Bella Bacani 1 0-0 3; Julia Smith 2 0-0 6; Grace Miley 2 1-1 6; Quinn Boettinger 10 2-2 22; Grace Galbavy 7 1-2 17; TOTALS 22 4-5 54.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Sofia Vitucci, Daniella MacDonald; PV – Julia Smith 2, Grace Galbavy 2, Bella Bacani, Grace Miley.
#2 CONESTOGA 60, #18 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 33
The Pioneers looked every bit the part of the second-seeded squad, opening up a 17-1 lead after one quarter and extending that to 36-12 by halftime on their way to the big win.
Kathryn O’Kane connected on three 3-pointers, and her 14 points – 11 in the second half – led the Hawks. Miranda Cantor also had three 3s and added 11 points.
Council Rock South (15-9, 10-6 SOL) will travel to #10 West Chester Henderson for Saturday’s playback game.
Council Rock South 1-11-18-3 33
Conestoga 17-19-16-8 60
Council Rock South (33) – Maria Freeman 1 0-0 3; Haley Thompson 0 1-2 1; Miranda Cantor 3 2-2 11; Kathryn O’Kane 5 1-2 14; Fiona Reckner 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 11 4-6 33.
Conestoga (60) – Ruth Lanouette 2 0-0 5; Marisa Francione 1 1-2 3; Katrina Valencia 1 2-6 4; Ryan Jennings 7 4-5 18; Janie Preston 10 1-3 21; Bella Valencia 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 24 8-16 60.
3-point goals: CRS – Miranda Cantor 3, Kathryn O’Kane 3, Maria Freeman; Conestoga – Ryan Jennings 3, Ruth Lanouette.
#4 HAVERFORD 54, #13 ABINGTON 30
Rian Dotsey effectively set the tone for her Fords’ squad, burying three 3-pointers and erupting for 13 first-quarter points. Teammate Natalie Wright added eight points, and the Fords had a 21-10 lead after one quarter.
The Ghosts spent the rest of the game playing catchup but never could dig themselves out of their early hole. They also struggled offensively, managing just 10 points over the middle two quarters combined.
“The girls played hard, tonight was just not our night,” Abington coach Allison Lawson said. “We will regroup and prepare for Kennett.”
Dotsey’s 25 points led all scorers.
Jordyn Reynolds led the Ghosts with nine points while Mikiaya Durham had seven and Zyn McClain, six points.
Abington (18-7, 14-2 SOL) will travel to Kennett for a playback game on Saturday.
Abington 10-5-5-10 30
Haverford 21-7-13-13 54
Abington (30) – Maya Johnson 1 0-2 2; Mikiaya Durham 2 1-2 7; Jordyn Reynodls 4 0-0 9; Piper McGinley 2 0-0 4; Sarah Oleary 1 0-0 2; Zyn McClain 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 13 1-4 30.
Haverford (54) Aniya Eberhart 4 2-4 10; Megan Kelly 0 1-2 1; Durfee 1 0-1 2; Wiedeman 0 1-2 1; A.Wright 0 1-2 1; Natalie Wright 6 0-0 12; Foley 1 0-0 2; Rian Dotsey 8 5-7 25; TOTALS 20 10-18 54.
3-point goals: Abington – Mikiaya Durham 2, Jordyn Reynolds; Haverford – Rian Dotsey 4.
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