Three SOL girls’ basketball teams will be in action when District One action resumes on Tuesday. Check out the preview that features SOL National tri-champion Abington. (Tri-champions CR North & Neshaminy will be featured in an upcoming preview.)
It wasn’t all that long ago – just about a month ago to be exact – that the idea of Abington winning even a share of the SOL National Conference championship seemed like a long shot at best.
Trailing Neshaminy by two games after a 57-50 loss to Council Rock North on Jan. 17, the Ghosts no longer controlled their own destiny.
“It was still on our minds,” coach Dan Marsh said of winning a title. “From a coaching standpoint, we felt we still had a chance. Our approach to the players was – we really just focused on getting better. We said, ‘We need to get better and see what happens.’”
What happened was a 10-game winning streak that gave the Ghosts – with an assist from Council Rock North – a share of the SOL National Conference title. But not before a change in mindset on every side.
“We had a team meeting, and they said they felt a lot of pressure being the defending district champs and going into the season ranked high and our tough schedule,” Marsh said. “They said that they felt a lot of pressure to be really good, and they said they weren’t having fun, and it was getting to them.”
A comment by Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla during an interview with Jen Wielgus on Game On was a turning point for Marsh.
“He said – sometimes we get caught up in the winning, but it’s really not that, and it’s so true” Marsh said. “That’s not why I coach.
“I don’t coach to win. We all want to win, but we coach because we love the game, and we want to help the game grow these kids as people like it did for me. We stopped focusing on winning, and we focused on getting better, and it really helped us.”
The Ghosts – minus all-state center Lizzie Oleary – entered the season wearing the mantle of defending District One 6A champions.
“Coming back this year, we definitely felt we had a target on our back,” senior Sam Brusha said. “At the beginning of league play, we just felt the pressure. We played Souderton – they beat us by a lot. We played Neshaminy and Council Rock North, and they beat us. I think we just felt all this pressure and how every team wanted to come in and beat us.
“We weren’t really enjoying the game and just having fun and playing as a team. Instead, we were taking that pressure and it was making us more stressed, and we weren’t relaxing and enjoying the game.”
The turnaround, according to Brusha, came in a win over Neshaminy four games into the 10-game streak that gave the Ghosts life in the SOL National.
“That gave us a chance to win the league again – we still had an opportunity,” Brusha said. “We started going on a winning streak, we started playing good, and I think that win told us that we could still do this, dig down and play as a team.
“After that win, we started trusting each other more. Even though we lost Lizzie (Oleary), who was a tremendous help to us last year, I think we all finally started finding our roles and seeing where we fit in and what kind of team we are. We started to believe in ourselves, and that was a big thing.”
The Ghosts have made a habit out of playing their best basketball late in the season, riding their number nine seed to a district title last year.
“One of the things we’ve done as a coaching staff – we’re willing to change what we do to fit our kids,” Marsh said. “We did it again mid-season this year. We did it mid-season last year, and it worked out.
“We did it again this year where we felt we had to change the way we do things a little bit to make us better. It really boils down to the kids.”
Winning a share of the conference crown was especially significant for the Ghosts since it is their final year in the SOL National – they will be moving to the American Conference next year.
"We wanted to leave as champs," Marsh said. "Even though we're sharing it, it's great because we're sharing it with two great programs."
The second season starts on Tuesday for the Ghosts, who will host Central Bucks East at 6 p.m. in the first game of a girls/boys doubleheader.
“We’re super excited getting back into playoffs,” Brusha said. “We’re starting to get that feeling again, the way we felt last year.
“Winning at ‘Nova last year was a dream come true. It was the greatest feeling. We’re all super excited. (Today) was our last day of practice before our game, and we just can’t wait.”
#1-12 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST at #1-5 ABINGTON (Tuesday, Feb. 20, 6 p.m.)
Abington
- 17-6 overall
- 10-2 SOL National Conference tri-champions with Council Rock North & Neshaminy
- Junior Kassondra Brown leads the Ghosts in scoring (18.2 ppg) and under the backboards (11.4 rpg).
- Point guard Britney James averages 6.3 assists a game while directing an offense that includes Millersville-bound Sam Brusha (16.4 ppg) and Cam Lexow (8.9 ppg).
- Regular season wins over #6 Plymouth Whitemarsh (64-51), #12 Central Bucks East (58-52), #19 Boyertown (58-31), #24 Pennsbury (62-46, 63-29) & PIAA 5A runner-up Trinity that is 19-3 this year (66-52).
- Split regular season series with #8 Council Rock North (50-57, 54-48) and #10 Neshaminy (53-60, 49-35).
- Ghosts’ 10-game winning streak snapped in SOL Tournament semifinal loss to #2 Central Bucks South (43-39).
How they got here: Opening round bye.
Central Bucks East
- 15-8 overall
- 7-5 SOL Continental Conference tied for third place with Central Bucks West
- Led offensively by senior Sophia Mancusco (10.7 ppg), senior Bailey McManus (10.5 ppg), junior Elyse Shine (8.0 ppg) and senior Gina Russo (7.0 ppg)
- Split regular season series with #2 Central Bucks South (49-37, 34-36).
- Regular season wins over #7 Perk Valley (44-33), #21 Pennridge (49-38, 60-50) & #24 Pennsbury (33-29).
- Won seven of eight games after 0-2 start with squad that lost four starters and seven seniors from last year’s successful team.
How they got here: In Friday’s opening round, Central Bucks East defeated #21 Pennridge 51-39. Junior Elyse Shine scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Patriots, scoring 13 in a third quarter that saw East outscore the Rams 18-5. Bailey McManus added 10 points and Sophia Mancuso, nine points.
Class 5A
#16 UPPER MORELAND at #1 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON (Tuesday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m.)
Upper Moreland
- 10-11 overall
- 6-8 SOL American Conference
- 10 wins is most for program in more than a decade and came on heels of a winless 2016-17 season.
- Led offensively by Phoebe Longstreth (7.6) and Bean Hughes (6.6 ppg)
- Split regular season series with Class 6A #23 Cheltenham (36-40, 47-46)
- Seven-game winning streak late in season.
West Chester Henderson
- 22-0 overall
- 12-0 Ches-Mont National Division Champions
- Defeated #2 West Chester Rustin 63-58 to capture the program’s first ever Ches-Mont title
- Senior point guard Maddie DePrisco directs balanced offense that includes forwards Grace Ferguson (11.9 ppg) and Abbey Shea (11.5 ppg) and guard Erin Thompson (11.4 ppg)
- Regular season wins over #2 WC Rustin (52-46), #6 Penncrest (42-30), #7 Academy Park (70-69), #10 Upper Merion (66-63) & #11 Bishop Shanahan (41-33, 42-39) as well as Class 6A #11 Downingtown East (44-38, 49-44), #18 Oxford (41-32) & #20 Coatesville (65-42, 68-62).
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