PW advanced to Saturday’s District One 6A title game. Check all of Wednesday’s recaps. PW/Pennsbury photos courtesy of Larry Small. Upper Dublin/Great Valley photos courtesy of Richard Vernick, and Neshaminy/Methacton photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for galleries of all three games. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
CLASS 6A semifinals
#1 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 47, #5 PENNSBURY 36
The Colonials are Temple bound.
They punched their ticket with a convincing win in Wednesday’s District One 6A semifinal, and when the final horn sounded, the celebration began in earnest.
“It was almost like a relief,” PW senior Jordyn Thomas said. “Everything we worked so hard for we finally accomplished. I’ve never felt so excited as right now.”
“It’s super exciting,” junior Abby Sharpe said. “At the beginning of the season, we made our goals. We wanted to win leagues, win the SOL, win districts and go all the way to states. Just to be in this position right now and to have the opportunity to play Spring-Ford again in the district championship, it means so much to this team.
“We’ve worked so hard, and to have all this hard work pay off, it means the world. We’re so excited.”
And what a difference a year makes. In last year’s COVID-shortened season, fans were sometimes prohibited and most of the time were limited. There were no limitations on Wednesday, and the two teams played in front of a large and spirited crowd.
“Obviously, being able to have this amount of fans, it really does help us,” Thomas said. “Having people encourage us, hype us up and get us excited to keep going is a big part of how we win games.”
“It feels really amazing,” senior Kaitlyn Flanagan said. “Coming off a COVID year and everything – it’s an accumulation, and it feels great, but we have one more. We know it’s not over.”
This year’s trip to the district title game is the program’s second in as many years and third time in six years.
“I’m so happy for these kids,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “They’ve now set a record for most wins in a season. Twenty-seven was the record before, and if there was ever a team that deserved to play at Temple, it was this group of kids after not getting to play there last year and two years ago having the disappointment of seeing the (end of the) season cancelled. Sometimes good things happen to good people.”
Colonials control game
The game itself opened with Ava Sciolla finding a wide open Layla Matthias for an easy basket. The Colonials, meanwhile, struggled to make a basket, coming up empty on several shots in close. According to Lainey Allen, who accounted for some of those misses, nerves had something to do with that.
“I got all the nerves out on those shots,” Allen said. “I was so anxious, and I got the nerves out on those missed shots and I was good.
“This was almost like a comeback game from the last time we played them (a 52-15 win in the SOL Tournament title game). We were just so hyped up, nervous and anxious to play them, and we just put it all out on the court.”
Erin Daley’s 3-pointer three minutes into the game sparked a 9-0 PW run. A Sofia Vitucci three made it a 9-5 game, Sharpe scored on a short pullup to give the Colonials an 11-5 lead after one quarter.
Flanagan found Allen for back-to-back buckets to open the second quarter. Allen was fouled on the second and completed a three-point play.
“Oh my gosh, it’s literally the best,” Allen said of playing with Flanagan. “She’s the best point guard and captain to have. She hypes you up, she will look for you in the post, she will pass you the ball. She’s there for you, and you’re there for her. It’s just great to have someone like that on your team. She’s one of a kind.”
A three-pointer from deep by Fionna Gooneratne, who gives valuable minutes off the bench, gave the Colonials a 19-5 lead with 3:26 remaining in the second quarter.
“She knows she has the green light to shoot when she’s open – she’s a very good shooter,” Dougherty said of Gooneratne. “I thought that was not only a basketball lift, I thought it was an emotional lift for the team. She’s a kid everyone roots for, and for that shot to go down – I think I even gave a little fist pump when it went in.”
The Falcons made it a 23-13 game at the intermission. A Daley three to close out the third quarter put the Colonials on top 32-19 heading into the final frame.
Sciolla erupted for 15 points in the fourth quarter, including three 3s, but the Falcons would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
“Great job by PW tonight ,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “They have all the pieces that are needed to win a state title – incredible size and length, great leadership from the point guard position and a coach who understands playoff basketball.
“(You) can’t make mistakes against them because you’re not going to get second shots, and early on we got some really good looks, but if they don’t go down, it becomes tougher once you fall behind. I thought they did a fantastic job choking the clock. They spent the last quarter and a half really spacing the floor well and making good decisions, and it’s hard for us to trap them because we’re giving so much size and they can just throw over it.”
There’s a history
PW and Pennsbury have a bit of a history on the hardwood. Two years ago, the Falcons defeated the Colonials 50-41 in a district semifinal.
“In that way, we were trying to win as revenge tonight,” Flanagan said. “We wanted that game back so badly, and now to learn we have Spring-Ford again, it’s 
kind of the same thing, and to get the opportunity to play at Temple this time, we’re definitely very excited.”
And no one on PW’s sideline had forgotten this winter’s SOL Tournament title game – a PW win in a contest that saw the Falcons, who were battling injuries, rest their starters.
“We didn’t really like the way they came out against us the last time, so we were definitely hyped before this game, and we wanted to come out strong,” Sharpe said. “I think we did that, and it feels really good to get this win.”
“They can make their own decisions with that,” Flanagan said of the Falcons’ decision to rest starters. “We understand the injury thing though. We get it, but it was definitely motivation. We wanted to show them they weren’t going to come in our gym and beat us.”
For Daley, the night was especially significant.
“This was my first very big district playoff game,” she said. “Freshman year I didn’t get to play in the semifinal game – I was unfortunately sick. Knowing that team was Pennsbury, I knew my teammates had that edge on their shoulders, and they wanted that revenge from two years ago when they did beat us.”
According to Dougherty, the preparation his team put into the SOL Tournament final gave the Colonials a huge head start when it came to scouting.
“On Sunday, we already had three games of film broken down because we got ready for the SOL Tournament,” the PW coach said. “We had every play drawn up, our scout team had already learned plays, so the prep we put into the SOL championship – even though the game wasn’t on the level, we were that much further head.”
By the numbers
Allen finished with an impressive double-double – 16 points and 13 rebounds – to lead the Colonials. Daley added 11 points and was also a catalyst on defense and helped contain Sciolla for three quarters.
“Going into the game, we knew Ava was their best player, and we knew that we weren’t going to hold her to zero, but we knew it was going to be a different game if she had five points compared to having 30 points like she did two years ago,” Daley said. “We worked on many different defenses in practices, so when 
something was going wrong, if one of us got into foul trouble, we all guarded her in practice – pretended she was there. Honestly, I think all of our confidence tonight playing defense came from preparation.”
Dougherty’s defensive game proved effective until the final quarter, and by that time, the game had been all but decided.
“We wanted to try a couple different defenses on (Ava) Sciolla, and I thought mixing them up kind of worked in the first half,” Dougherty said. “What we mixed in in the second quarter to keep Erin (Daley) fresh – we put Abby Sharpe as the faceguard and played a matchup zone behind it. It’s something the kids picked up on right away. We call that defense Delaware because I’m from Delaware, and that’s what I used to see teams run against Elena Della Donne. That’s what we used to run against Alexa Brodie, we used to run it against Ashley Jones.”
Also for the Colonials, Flanagan scored six points and dished out 10 assists.
“Me, Jordyn and Lainey have all been playing together, so both my post players I’ve been with four years at least and Jordyn for even longer, so there’s definitely a connection there,” Flanagan said. “The way I play is pass first and looking for them is second nature type thing. They’re so great at getting position, and they work so hard at it – it really props to them.”
The Colonials’ point guard drew high praise from Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla.
“Everything really starts with Kate Flanagan for them,” the Falcons’ coach said. “She’s just a fantastic leader. People always seem to focus on their incredible size and length, but she makes such good decisions, and she always settles them down.”
Sharpe finished with nine points, scoring seven of those points in the first quarter.
“Abby Sharp seems like she must be a fantastic kid to coach,” Sciolla said. “She sacrifices a great deal and goes with the flow. Kids like that are so fun to help develop and then turn loose.
“It’s going to be tough for anyone to knock them off if they come out and play like they did today.”
For the Falcons, Sciolla took just 10 shots but finished with a game high 20 points. She also had seven rebounds and three assists. Vitucci added nine points. No other player had more than three points for the Falcons.
“I know a number of people were unhappy the semis were not at a neutral site, but I love the fact that we got to play on the road in an atmosphere like that,” coach Frank Sciolla said. “It gave (tonight) a state playoff type feel.”
Up next
Plymouth Whitemarsh will face #11 Spring-Ford in Saturday’s District One 6A title game at Temple University at 4 p.m. It is a rematch of last year’s district title 
game – a 52-36 Spring-Ford win. Saturday’s rematch will face a much different Spring-Ford lineup.
“We’re highly motivated,” Dougherty said. “It’s still the same name on the jersey, and we’ve lost big games to Spring-Ford as a program. They’re not a Cinderella team to us. They 100 percent deserve to be there, and we know how good of a system they are.”
“We really want to win it,” Thomas said. “It always feels that way playing teams multiple times or playing them in the same situation as years past.
“We go into each game with that same energy, and we’re just excited to make this accomplishment and we’ll go to Temple as a team together. Being here for four years – obviously, we even played together before high school, and being able to achieve this with everyone is honestly amazing.”
Pennsbury will travel to #2 Souderton for Friday’s third place game at 3:30 p.m.
Pennsbury 5-8-6-17 36
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11-12-9-15 47
Pennsbury (36) – Ava Sciolla 7 3-5 20; Layla Matthias 1 0-0 2; Daniella MacDonald 1 0-0 3; Sofia Vitucci 4 0-0 9; Nicole Pompili 0 2-2 2. TOTALS 13 5-7 36.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (47) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 2 2-3 6; Fiona Gooneratne 1 0-0 3; Erin Daley 4 2-2 11; Abby Sharpe 3 2-2 9; Lainey Allen 6 4-8 16; Jordyn Thomas 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 17 10-15 47.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 3, Daniella MacDonald, Sofia Vitucci; PW – Fiona Gooneratne, Erin Daley, Abby Sharpe.
#11 SPRING-FORD 36, #2 SOUDERTON 24
The Indians took a 13-8 lead into the second quarter and then managed just one point in each of the next two quarters. Their inability to score points opened the doors for the Rams to pull off the upset and continue their remarkable postseason run.
“We started the game really well,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “Our defense was very good. We were playing loose offensively.
“In the second quarter, we really struggled to finish on anything. They banked in two threes in the second quarter. We go into halftime 16-10, but defensively, I thought we played really well.
“In the second half, we struggled to find our rhythm. It was a combination of how they were defending us and our shot selection. We had pretty quick possessions. We’re not used to being in that situation. We’re not used to being down, and it’s a high pressure situation. There’s a lot at stake.”
An Erin Bohmueller three-pointer closed out the first quarter, and the Indians did not score their next field goal until well into the foruth quarter.
“I need to find a better way for them to be successful offensively in those moments,” Carroll said. “I think we went 20 game minutes scoring four points. Obviously, you’re not going to win any games at this point in the season.
“The first quarter and the last four minutes of the fourth quarter – we were hitting some shots. Ultimately, our defense was good enough. I’m happy with the 38 points we gave up.”
Bohmueller’s eight points led the Indians. Megan Robbins scored 10 points off the bench to lead the Rams.
“Their two kids came off the bench, particularly Robbins, who probably had the game of her life,” Carroll said. “I think there are things I need to be doing to better help them and put them in a position to be successful on the offensive end.
“Obviously, we all want to be playing at Temple on Saturday, but the nice thing is the girls already put us in a position where we have more games down the road. We just need to regroup and learn from it but also put it past us. We play again at 3:30 on Friday, so we don’t have much time to dwell on it and then we get ready for states. That’s always the goal – to be in the state tournament We’re looking forward to that.”
Souderton (23-4, 15-1 SOL) will host #4 Pennsbury in Friday’s playback game at 3:30 p.m.
Spring-Ford 8-8-11-9 36
Souderton 13-1-1-9 24
Spring-ford (36) – Aaliyah Solliday 2 1-3 9; Anna Azzara 2 2-4 6; Katie Tiffan 1 2-2 4; Mackenzie Pettinelli 2 2-6 7; Megan Robbins 4 2-3 10. TOTALS 12 9-18 36.
Souderton (24) – Brooke Fenchel 1 0-0 2; Erin Bohmueller 1 5-6 8; Mikayla McGillian 1 0-0 2; Casey Harter 2 1-1 5; Grace McDonough 1 3-4 5; Teya McConnaha 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 7 9-11 24.
3-point goals: SF – Aaliyah Solliday 2, Mackenzie Pettinelli; Souderton – Erin Bohmueller.
CLASS 6A playbacks
#5 ABINGTON 53, #9 HAVERFORD 48
The Ghosts spent the better part of Wednesday’s game playing catchup. They trailed by four after one quarter and went into halftime on the short end of a 27-20 score. They still trailed 36-33 heading into the final quarter when they erupted for 20 points to notch the hard fought win.
“This is a real nice win,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “They’re pretty good – they’re so big.
“We just had to do a better job of keeping them off the offensive boards. I think again – our pace eventually wore them down, and we were able to outscore them 20-12 in the fourth quarter. Cire Worley had a great game, but it was a great team effort defensively and offensively, doing what we do, and it worked. They were big and physical and good.”
Worley led all scorers with 25 points. Her 10 first-half points kept the Ghosts in the game. In the third quarter, Worley buried a pair of 3s and scored eight points, and in the final quarter, she connected on a clutch 3-pointer and was 4-for-6 at the foul line. Overall, the Ghosts connected on 16-of-23 foul shots while the Fords were just 7-for-11.
“Maura Day played great defensively,” Marsh said. “She’s the one kid we can play against bigs. It’s funny because my assistant coach said, ‘We’ve got to go big – put Maura in.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, she’s 5-5.’ She’s not big, but she boxes out so well, and she’s just so smart, so she helped us.
“Jordyn Reynolds hit a clutch three down the stretch in the fourth quarter. It was a complete team effort.”
In addition to Worley, Dani Brusha added 10 points while Abril Bowser and Jaida Helm each had six.
“I think it’s good to get into great competition before states,” Marsh said. “This was a playoff atmosphere game, and it was played at a playoff level. We were able to persevere through some adversity. You can’t buy experience better than that.
“Now we have Perk Valley, so we’re going to buckle up and try and get that five seed, which I really like.”
Abington (21-6, 13-3 SOL) will host #7 Perkiomen Valley in Friday’s fifth place game.
Haverford 16-11-9-12 48
Abington 12-8-13-20 53
Haverford (48) – Aniya Eberhart 6 1-2 15; McKenna Walsh 1 0-0 2; Caroline Dotsey 7 5-6 20; Emma Rowland 2 1-3 5; Mollie Carpenter 3 0-0 6. TOTALS 19 7-11 48.
Abington (53) – Cire Worley 7 7-10 25; Abril Bowser 1 4-4 6; Jaida Helm 2 1-1 6; Maya Johnson 1 1-2 3; Dani Brusha 3 3-4 10; Piper McGinley 0 0-2; Jordyn Reynolds 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 15 16-23 53.
3-point goals: Haverford – Aniya Eberhart 2, Caroline Dotsey; Abington – Cire Worley 4, Jaida Helm, Dani Brusha, Jordyn Reynolds.
#16 GREAT VALLEY 34, #13 UPPER DUBLIN 32
The Flying Cardinals – thanks to eight points from Aditi Foster – led 12-10 after one quarter and took a 21-16 lead into halftime. Foster’s 10 points led the Cards while Geena Sarnoski added seven
points. The points stopped coming with such regularity in the second half as they were outscored 18-11.
“It was nice for our seniors to have one more home game in front of a big crowd before we finish out the remainder of our games on the road,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “Unfortunately, we came up a little short and we were unable to make enough plays to secure the win.
“Aditi Foster and Geena Sarnoski paced us offensively with 13 and 14 points respectively. We will try to regroup on Friday at Neshaminy and try to get some momentum leading into state playoffs.”
Foster also had six rebounds, five deflections and a steal. Senior Bliss Brenner dished out five assists, and senior Colleen Klemmer had a team high seven rebounds to go with three assists, one steal and three blocks.
Upper Dublin (17-10, 12-4 SOL) will face #10 Neshaminy in Friday’s 11th place game at Maple Point Middle School at 4 p.m.
Great Valley 10-6-11-7 34
Upper Dublin 12-9-6-5 32
Great Valley (34) – Gia Sioutis 2 3-3 7; Laura Lum 4 0-0 10; Frederick 1 1-1 3; Gracen Curley 6 0-3 14. TOTALS 13 4-7 34.
Upper Dublin (32) – Bliss Brenner 1 0-0 2; Aditi Foster 5 2-4 13; Geena Sarnoski 6 0-1 14; Colleen Klammer 1 1-2 3. TOTALS 13 3-7 32.
3-point goals: Great Valley – Gracen Curley 2, Laura Lum 2; UD – Geena Sarnoski 2, Aditi Foster.
#3 METHACTON 56, #10 NESHAMINY 27
The Redskins were minus their primary ball handler, Lola Ibarrondo, but coach John Gallagher wasn’t using that as an excuse for his team’s subpar performance.
“I’m sure the girls are going to write this off because we didn’t have Lola,” The Neshaminy coach said. “But I hope they understand – when your primary focus is not basketball, these things tend to happen.”
The Warriors erupted for 21 first quarter points with Nicole Timko accounting for nine of their points. By halftime, Timko had 16 points, and the Warriors led 33-12.
“In the first half alone, we gave up eight offensive rebounds that led to 17 second chance points,” Gallagher said. “Taylor (Gurysh) was the primary ball handler tonight, and she did a really good job. At the half, we only had four turnovers, and Taylor was really successful getting us into our offense. We got good looks that didn’t fall.”
Gurysh’s six points led the Redskins. Anna Soska’s seven rebounds were a team high. Gurysh and Reese Zemitis both had five boards.
“I was happy with Morgan Leonhauser and Maddie Stockunas, who came off the bench for us,” Gallagher said. “Morgan came in early in the third quarter when Methacton still had their starters in, and she brought a level of intensity that was much needed to the game.
“Maddie came in a little bit later in the game, had a couple of steals and was very active on the defensive end.”
The Redskins’ coach had concerns about his team’s defensive performance.
“Our focus on the defensive end was really quite inadequate,” Gallagher said. “We consistently lost girls on the defensive end.
“What I hope we learned from this – at this time of year, if you’re not eating, drinking and sleeping basketball, a team like Methacton puts a running clock on you.”
Nicole Timko led all scorers with 22 points – including four 3s – in three quarters.
“Congratulations to Nicole Timko, who scored a three-point basket in the second quarter to become the school’s all-time leading scorer,” Gallagher said.
Neshaminy (18-9, 13-3 SOL) will host #13 Upper Dublin in Friday’s 11th place game at Maple Point Middle School at 4 p.m.
Neshaminy 9-3-8-7 27
Methacton 21-12-9-14 56
Neshaminy (27) – Ava Irizarry 1 0-0 2; Maddie Stockunas 1 2-5 4; Skyler Lall 1 0-0 2; Taylor Gurysh 3 0-0 6; Maya Lewis 0 0-2 0; Morgan Leonhauser 2 0-0 5; Mimi Smith 1 0-0 3; Reese Zemitis 2 1-1 5. TOTALS 11 3-8 27
Methacton (56) – Ashley Fisher 1 0-0 3; Cassidy Kropp 5 0-0 15; Morgan Coupe 1 0-0 2; Abby Arnold 2 0-0 5; Nicole Timko 9 0-0 22; Tori Bockrath 3 0-0 6; Caitlin Woolbert 1 0-0 2; Mairi Smith 1 1-2 3. TOTALS 23 1-2 56.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Morgan Leonhauser, Mimi Smith; Methacton – Nicole Timko 4, Cassidy Kropp 3, Ashley Fisher, Morgan Coupe.
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