PW, Souderton & Pennsbury were winners in Saturday’s District One 6A quarterfinals. PW/Haverford photos provided courtesy of Larry Small. Pennsbury/Abington photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for galleries of both games. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
Class 6A Quarterfinals
#1 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 36, #9 HAVERFORD 28
Perhaps it was inevitable.
Some team, some day would find a way to slow down the well-oiled machine that is the top-seeded Colonials. The Fords – who have a legitimate D-1 prospect in 6-1 junior Caroline Dotsey – were that team, and on Saturday, the Colonials needed a fourth quarter comeback to notch their 27th and toughest win.
“Haverford is one of the few teams that has the size and the strength to match our size and strength,” PW coach Daniel Dougherty said. “Their bigs are the same size as Erin Daley, Lainey Allen and Jordyn Thomas and they’re a physical team.
“The other thing that was big for them – they played on Tuesday, so they had an extra day. This is the third time we’ve played in the district playoffs, and we played them earlier this year, so they came out with a really good game plan to break our press, which usually gives them a lot of issues.”
The two teams had met in the Diamond State Classic during the Christmas break. While the Colonials won easily, the Fords were prepared for Saturday’s rematch.
“Haverford is a good team,” senior Jordyn Thomas said. “We all obviously came out to play, and Haverford gave us a good run. They obviously have the height and they have really aggressive and talented guards, so I thought it was an even matchup across the board.
“I definitely think Haverford was taking away our first looks and our plays. They’re an amazing defensive team, so we just had to get into the rotation of continuing the play and trying to look for that second and third look.”
There were early signs that points might not come as easily this time around.
“To start the game, they really caught us off guard because they’re a team that usually plays a very slow and methodical offense, almost like Upper Dublin, and their first three or four possessions, they sprinted the ball up the floor and scored,” 
Dougherty said. “It was like, ‘Oh wow, what is this?’ They were just sprinting the ball up the floor, just trying to get layups, crashing the boards. It really caught us off guard.”
Still, the Colonials – sparked by six points from Thomas – led 13-9 after the opening quarter but managed just four points in both the second and third quarters and found themselves on the short ends of a 24-21 score heading into the final quarter.
“Erin Daley was whistled for her third foul, and our matchups kind of went off from there,” Dougherty said. “We just struggled to score against them in the third and fourth quarters. We were struggling to shoot the ball from the outside, and when we were driving to the basket, their length was just a huge problem. They kept us off the offensive glass with their size and strength.
“It was a really physical game both ways. In the third quarter, there was a huge battle for rebounds, and Lainey Allen went down. It was one of those things – she tried but couldn’t come back in. That was an immediate shock and then we go down.”
The Colonials, according to Dougherty, made an adjustment that paid dividends, outscoring the Fords 15-4 in the final frame.
“Our press wasn’t working, so we decided to step up our half court man defense,” Dougherty said. “Fiona Gooneratne came in for Lainey Allen, and Kaitlyn Flanagan, Abby Sharpe and Fiona just really pressured their guards. Jordyn Thomas was hands down the best player all day. Since Erin Daley was in foul trouble, she took Caroline Dotsey and held her scoreless in the second half.
“It was everything you would think a district quarterfinal would be. You have to give a lot of credit to Haverford. They came in with a game plan. You could tell those kids were highly motivated – we don’t want PW to beat us in the playoffs again. They came out spirited. They’re a junior and senior laden group and just used their physical strength and size to really bother us.”
Dougherty pointed to several game-changing plays in the fourth quarter.
“Abby Sharpe gets a great steal and breakaway,” the PW coach said. “Erin Daley has a great drive to the basket, and then she gets fouled driving to the basket and hit two free throws.”
The Colonials were 8-for-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Thomas twice converted both ends of a one-and-one while Flanagan also buried both ends of a one-and-one.
“We focus on foul shots because that can determine whether you win or lose the game,” Thomas said. “Foul shots are extremely important.”
Another key play in the final frame was when Sharpe buried a 3-pointer.
“We tried to make an adjustment to our basic motion offense to get Abby Sharpe an open three, and it finally happened, and she knocked it down,” Dougherty said. “It was a good win.”
In their 26 wins prior to Saturday’s battle, the Colonials had just two wins that were by less than 10 points.
“One of these games is bound to happen,” Dougherty said. “You’re starting to play the real upper echelon. I told the Haverford coach afterwards, ‘No one is going to want to play you in states if you play like that.’
“I thought they played their best game of the season against us today, and it just goes to show what defense can do. Defense travels. They were just a tough-minded group.”
Thomas led the Colonials with 14 points and also had seven rebounds and was key in her team’s late surge.
“I think it was that want to walk away with a win,” Thomas said. “We had to forget about certain mistakes and things of that nature in the past quarters and go out in the fourth quarter and give it everything we had to get that win. That’s exactly what our coach said – we had to give it our all in those last minutes.
“Every time after a timeout, we would all bring each other together, we would calm down, we would say what we needed to get better at and what we had to do. Our coaches did a really good job of keeping us calm and cool, basically telling us what needed to change and what we needed to do to win the game.”
Dougherty had high praise for Thomas as well as his team’s floor general.
“Jordyn had a spectacular game at both ends of the court,” the PW coach said. “She was special today. She hit a three, she had a couple of nice putbacks, she had a nice strong drive to the basket.
“Kate Flanagan was outstanding too. Once Haverford had to pick up their defensive pressure, she had five assists against it. It took our best effort in the fourth quarter to win that game. I told the girls I was proud of them. The two things that won that game were our half court man defense and knocking down free throws. That’s how you win big games. We’re glad we have three days off to recover from that physical beating.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (27-0, 16-0 SOL) will host #4 Pennsbury in a district semifinal on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Haverford 9-7-8-4 28
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13-4-4-15 36
Haverford (28) – Maddie Williams 2 0-0 5; Aniya Eberhart 2 2-2 7; McKenna Walsh 1 0-0 3; Caroline Dotsey 4 0-0 9; Emma Rowland 1 0-0 2; Mollie Carpenter 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 11 2-2 28.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (36) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 1 2-2 4; Fiona Gooneratne 1 0-0 3; Erin Daley 1 4-4 6; Abby Sharpe 2 0-0 5; Lainey Allen 2 0-4 4; Jordyn Thomas 4 5-5 14. TOTALS 11 11-15 36.
3-point goals: Haverford – Maddie Williams, Aniya Eberhart, McKenna Walsh, Caroline Dotsey; PW – Fiona Gooneratne, Abby Sharpe, Jordyn Thomas.
#2 SOUDERTON 47, #7 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 41
Every team sets goals, but without a senior on their roster, the Indians could have very easily pointed to next year as their year to make some noise. The players apparently had a better idea and said, ‘Why wait?’
Souderton rolled to a Suburban One Colonial Division title, winning 17 straight before falling to Pennsbury in the SOL Tournament. With Saturday’s win, the second-seeded Indians are just one win away from a trip to Temple and the District One 6A title game.
“We’ve talked a lot about how we don’t have anybody graduating this year, so we do have a chance next year, but we don’t want to say ‘Oh, we have next year,’” junior Erin Bohmueller said. “We want this year to be our year, so that we can do it again next year.
“We set goals early on this season, we’ve written it on the whiteboard, and our goal is to get to Temple and then keep going into states.”
On Saturday, the Indians withstood a rally that saw the Vikings erase an eight-point fourth quarter lead to knot the score 41-41 when Julia Smith buried her second three of the quarter with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.
The Vikings regained possession after a Souderton turnover, but freshman Grace McDonough delivered a block that gave the Indians possession.
“That was a huge block, and I feel like that’s not the first time that’s happened,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “When it comes down to the last couple of possessions of the game, our girls are capable of playing such tremendous defense that they lock in on those last couple of possessions, and it’s almost like they play perfect defense.”
Moments later, Casey Harter connected on a pair at the foul line with 1:10 remaining. Another Viking miss set the stage for Bohmueller to step to the foul line for a one-and-one, and she buried both shots.
For good measure, sophomore Brooke Fenchel connected on a pair at the charity stripe with 35.7 seconds remaining, giving the Indians their final margin of victory.
“For foul shots, this year’s just been really good for me,” Bohmueller said. “When I get on the foul line, I find that just being confident and saying it’s going to go in – it’s my thing. I just have to block everybody out. Obviously, there was a pretty big student section here for PV, so blocking that out was good.
“They hit some big shots, and we just needed to focus a little more on defense. But I felt like we were able to stay in the game because we played our defense.”
Early on, it looked like the Indians were in complete command as they opened up a 17-6 lead after one quarter, but fouls were beginning to accumulate. Bohmueller was already on the bench for the remainder of the half after picking up a pair of fouls in the opening quarter, and she was joined by Teya McConnaha, who picked up her second early in the second quarter. McConnaha was the catalyst in the Indians fast start, scoring nine points – including a 3 – in the first quarter.
Harter kept the Indians afloat with eight points in the second quarter, and Fenchel had a clutch three. The Indians still led 30-22 at the intermission. It was still an eight-point game heading into the final quarter when the Vikings made their run.
Carter’s 14 points led the Indians and included a 6-for-9 effort at the foul line. McConnaha finished with 12 points and was 5 of 6 at the line. Bohmueller had eight points and Fenchel seven. As a team, the Indians buried 18 of 23 foul shots.
“Mikayla McGillian’s defense was very good on (Quinn) Boettinger, who ended up with 10,” Carroll said of PV’s 6-2 freshman center. “Mikayla’s a very good post defender. Sometimes it’s hard to get her as much time as we would like because every team is five guards for the most part, and I was really happy with how hard she worked defensively.
“Brooke Fenchel had four assists in the game. Brooke has been playing very, very unselfish and trying to make the extra pass to get a better shot.”
Souderton (23-3, 15-1 SOL) will host #11 Spring-Ford in a district semifinal contest on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Rams are the defending district champions and captured their fifth straight PAC title this winter.
Perkiomen Valley 6-16-8-11 41
Souderton 17-13-8-9 47
Perkiomen Valley (41) – Bella Bacani 1 -0 2; Jennifer Beattie 1 3-4 5; Julia Smith 3 0-2 9; Lena Stein 2 1-1 5; Emma Miley 0 7-8 7; Grace Miley 1 0-4 3; Quinn Boettinger 3 4-4 10. TOTALS 11 15-23 41.
Souderton (47) – Brooke Fenchel 2 2-2 7; Erin Bohmueller 2 3-4 8; Mikayla McGillian 1 2-2 4; Casey Harter 4 6-9 14; Grace McDonough 1 0-0 2; Teya McConnaha 3 5-6 12. TOTALS 13 18-23 47.
3-point goals: PV – Julie Smith 3, Grace Miley; Souderton – Brooke Fenchel, Erin Bohmueller, Teya McConnaha.
#4 PENNSBURY 50, #5 ABINGTON 48
Sometimes it’s the little things.
The outcome was far from decided when sophomore Layla Matthias stepped to the line for a pair of foul shots with 17.3 seconds remaining in regulation. Granted, the Falcons held a 48-45 lead, but the Ghosts had already buried 11 3-pointers, so the lead was anything but secure.
Matthias came up short on both foul shots but made up for that by somehow snatching the rebound from a pair of Ghost players with better position. She immediately kicked the ball to teammate Ava Sciolla, who was fouled. Sciolla sank both shots to give the Falcons a 50-45 lead, making Cire Worley’s three in the closing seconds little more than window dressing.
“Layla is a beast on the backboards,” Pennsbury junior Nevaeh Dash said. “If there was anybody to get that rebound, it would be her at the end of game situation. She really does create a lot of momentum for us and excitement.”
“That’s such a Layla thing,” Sophia Vitucci said. “Layla is just all over the offensive glass, and it really is a key to winning all these games. Without that, who knows what would have happened.”
The win delighted another full house that turned out for the noon contest, and it set up a date with top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh in Wednesday’s district semifinal.
“This is a really big win for us,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “I’m really proud of these kids, and I don’t know if I take enough time to say it. Four girls who started last year all graduated. We’re moving new people into new positions, and we’re playing in this atmosphere. It has to start with leadership.
“Obviously, getting Nicole Pompili (back from injury) was really big. Having Ava (Sciolla) was really big. It starts with the seniors and allows your 10th graders to have ups and downs. Our 10th graders made enormous plays today. From Sofia Vitucci who was able to handle the ball and knock down big shots to Layla Mathias who is tremendous in creating second chance opportunities for us.”
The Falcons opened a 10-6 lead out of the gate after back-to-back baskets by Vitucci, but Jordyn Reynolds hit nothing but net on a three to make it a 10-9 game after one quarter.
The Ghosts opened up a 17-10 lead when Cire Worley scored in transition after a Falcon miss. Pompili answered with a three for the Falcons, but the Ghosts had a 24-14 lead after Worley kicked the ball to Abril Bowser for a 3-pointer before Vitucci scored in the closing seconds to pull the Falcons to within eight at halftime.
“We were down eight at the half, we were not panicked, we’ve been here before,” Sciolla said. “We know we’re the kind of team that’s going to have ups and downs. I don’t know that I’ve ever had more fun coaching a group of kids. They all like each other.
“We know that when we walk onto the court we do not strike fear into other people’s hearts, but here’s the key. So much gets made on our team about Ava and Ava has to score and she has to do this and that. I understand why and I accept it, but we have so many other girls who are good players, and on a night like tonight where Abington did such a good job of face guarding – they doubled Ava as soon as she got to half court. To Ava’s credit, she never forced anything, found the open people every time.”
The tide turned in a third quarter that saw the Ghosts go more than four minutes before scoring a point. Vitucci, who scored a game high 20, connected on a pair of baskets and Dash also had a pair – her first a layup after an Abington miss and the second to knot the score with a pass from Vitucci as she cut to the basket.
“We had to be calm,” Dash said. “We knew we had to be calm because this team plays at a fast pace, and one thing we definitely had to do was control the pace of the game.
“That’s how we handled the franticness. We knew this team was going to come at us. They were going to come at us full force and trap. The two days we had of practice – that’s what we practiced, the trapping and how it was going to be. Don’t play as fast as them.”
“A lot of teams don’t press us man to man,” Vitucci said. “But we worked on it at practice, and we knew how they were going to play. We watched film, and I just kept my composure and looked for the open girl when they were trapping. We just had to play our game.”
The Falcons trailed by one (32-31) after a basket by Dash to close out the third quarter but went on top 34-32 after Vitucci completed a three-point play to open the fourth. A basket by Pompili was followed by a Dash bucket, and the Falcons led 41-32 after Dash connected on both ends of a one-and-one.
“When we go through a streak like that, Cire (Worley) has got to get the ball,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “There were too many stretches where she wasn’t getting the ball. The reason we were successful in the first half was because, yeah, they were keying on Cire, but she was finding her teammates.
“With our youth, we ended up going away from her too much, and it hurt us. A good team takes advantage of it.”
Back-to-back 3s by Bowser and Worley made it a 41-38 game, but the Falcons stretched their lead to 45-38 and still led 47-41 after a Pompili basket with 58 seconds remaining. The Ghosts didn’t go quietly, but the Falcons refused to be denied.
“To the girls’ credit, they made the plays,” Sciolla said. “It’s just a fun team to be around. We’ve had some trials. The last few
weeks have been tough. People have been in and out all year. When you see how hard we play and the size of some of our players and the physicality with Ava, you can see why we have girls in and out of the lineup.
“Today – in front of another enormous crowd, and we’re so thankful for our amazing fans, the girls got a tremendous win over a team I don’t know if we’ve beaten in this century. We have no record of beating Abington. They have such a good program.”
Worley’s 16 points led the Ghosts. Bowser added nine on three 3s, and Dani Brush had eight points.
As for his team’s penchant to shoot from long range – they had just four two-point baskets, Marsh is not opposed to taking 3s if they are in the flow of the game.
“If we’re doing it off of Cire attacking and kicking, it’s a flowed shot, it’s a much more successful shot, it’s something we want to shoot,” Marsh said. “Again, we just didn’t get her the ball enough.”
In addition to Vitucci, Dash added 13 points and Pompili had nine. The Falcons had assists on 14 of 18 baskets.
“I’m just proud of how we did and how we came back in the second half,” said Vitucci, who was met by eager young fans looking for her autograph and a photo opportunity.
“I’ve grown a relationship with a few of them,” she said. “They all play for the same organization I played for growing up – Lady Falcons Elite. It’s nice.”
Pennsbury (24-3, 14-2 SOL) will travel to #1 Plymouth Whitemarsh for a district semifinal contest on Wednesday. Abington (20-6, 13-3) will host #9 Haverford in a playback game on Wednesday.
Abington 9-15-8-16 48
Pennsbury 10-6-15-19 50
Abington (48) – Cire Worley 6 2-3 16; Krysten Brown 1 0-0 2; Abril Bowser 3 0-0 9; Jaida Helm 1 0-1 3; Jordyn Reynolds 2 0-0 6; Maya Johnson 0 2-2 2; Dani Brusha 3 0-2 8. TOTALS 16 4-8 48.
Pennsbury (50) – Ava Sciolla 1 3-4 5; Layla Matthias 0 0-2 0; Daniella MacDonald 1 0-0 3; Sofia Vitucci 8 4-7 20; Nicole Pompili 3 2-2 9; Nevaeh Dash 5 3-4 13. TOTALS 18 12-19 50.
3-point goals: Abington – Cire Worley 4, Abril Bowser 3, Dani Brusha 2, Jordyn Reynolds 2, Jaida Helm. Pennsbury – Daniella MacDonald, Nicole Pompili.
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