Neshaminy and Council Rock North earned wins and will face each other in Saturday’s District 1 6A quarterfinals. Neshaminy/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#2 NESHAMINY 41, #15 PENNSBURY 22
The Falcons trailed by two after one quarter and then managed just 14 points the rest of the way as the Redskins threw some serious defense at them.
“Again, we played very good team defense,” coach Joe Lally said. “I just think the kids were focused and played a really good defensive game.
“We stopped them from scoring, and we just needed to execute on the offensive side. I thought it was a complete team effort.”
With the win, the Redskins clinched a state berth.
“I read the other day that Morgan (Funsten) from Upper Dublin – who I respect a lot – said, ‘Any year you win your league and get into states is a pretty good season,’” Lally said. “I happen to agree with him 100 percent, but we are trying to keep our eye on the prize, one game at a time, but there are so many good teams left. The teams you’re playing now – you really need to be prepared and come and play hard and execute because everybody left is a powerhouse.”
Thursday’s game – postponed from Wednesday due to the winter storm – was the third meeting between the neighboring rivals.
“There was a really big crowd – we had both (sides of) bleachers open,” Lally said. “It was nice to see for both sides.”
After one quarter, the Redskins – behind six points from Brooke Mullin – opened up a 10-8 lead after one quarter. Neshaminy used an 11-4 second quarter to go into halftime with a 21-12 lead.
“In the second quarter, we got a big three-pointer from Olivia Scotti – (Cami) Wiegand hit a three for them, and Olivia comes down and gets one right back,” Lally said.
Mullin, who picked up two early fouls, scored five points in a third quarter that saw the Redskins add to their lead as they outscored their visitors 10-5 to go on top 31-17. The fourth quarter was more of the same.
Allison Harvey – who had three three-pointers – scored five points in the final quarter that saw the Redskins once again hold a 10-5 edge over the Falcons.
“I love Kelli Kowalick’s game and (Alexa) McCoy’s,” Lally said. “They both had some real nice takes to the basket. It doesn’t’ show up in a ton of points, but they’re defending their players really well, and they get the shots that they need to get. The two of them really got us off on the right foot.”
Mullin’s 12 points led a balanced Neshaminy attack. Harvey – who had one three in each of the final three quarters added 11.
For the Falcons, Wiegand’s nine-point effort led the way.
Neshaminy (22-3, 12-0 SOL) will host #2 Council Rock North in a quarterfinal game on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Redskins won both regular season meetings against the Indians (49-32 and 56-34).
“We played Pennsbury a third time – Frank’s done a great job with them,” Lally said. “Then you roll over to North, and you’re asked to beat them three times in a row. It’s not something we’d say, ‘Hey, let’s sign up for that,’ but we have no choice but to meet it head-on, and that’s what we’ll do.”
Pennsbury (18-6, 8-4) will host #23 Pennridge in a playback game, one of eight teams vying for three state berths.
Pennsbury 8-4-5-5 22
Neshaminy 10-11-10-10 41
Pennsbury (22) – Kate Mix 1 3-4 5; Mary Miller 1 1-2 3; Nicole Pompili 0 1-2 1; Ava Sciolla 1 1-4 4; Cami Wiegand 3 1-1 9; TOTALS 6 7-13 22.
Nesahminy (41) – Emily Tantala 1 0-0 2; Olivia Scotti 1 0-0 3; Brooke Mullin 5 2-4 12; Kristin Curley 2 0-0 4; Alexa McCoy 2 1-2 5; Kelli Kowalick 2 0-2 4; Allison Harvey 4 0-0 11; TOTALS 17 3-8 41.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Cami Wiegand 2, Ava Sciolla; Neshaminy – Allison Harvey 3, Olivia Scotti.
#7 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 63, #23 PENNRIDGE 38
Sydney Blum was the very definition of a zone buster, and what better way to destroy a zone than to nail four three-pointers – all in the first half. The Indians’ senior guard was on a bona fide tear, scoring 18 of her 20 points in the first half and propelling the Indians to a 36-13 halftime.
“Is that what she had in the first half?” Rock North coach Lou Palkovics asked when it was over. “When I walked in at halftime, I looked at my two assistant coaches, and I just said, ‘Syd is going off.’
“It was huge to get off to that kind of start the way she was shooting the ball. I was a little surprised they went into a zone to start. Most of the tapes I watched, they played man. When Syd hits that many threes – that was big for us.”
Camryn Polinsky buried a three on the Indians’ opening possession, and a Blum to Dana Bandurick pass resulted in an easy bucket and a 5-2 lead. Evelyn Loughery, whose 12 points led the Rams, connected on a three to knot the score 5-5. Bandurick scored on a drive, and then it was Blum reeling off three consecutive baskets – including back-to-back threes to put the Indians on top 15-5.
“They came out on fire,” Pennridge sophomore Ashley Gordon said. “They were hitting everything, and we were missing the easy stuff. I guess we should have been a little more patient on offense and more organized on defense.”
The Indians took a 17-7 lead into the second quarter but suffered a setback when Bandurik was whistled for her third foul less than a minute in and took a seat on the bench. Even without their top scorer, the Indians didn’t miss a beat. Blum connected on a pair at the foul line, but Gordon completed a three-point play for the Rams.
Polinsky answered with a pair from the foul line, and then it was Jill Hopkins connecting on a baseline jumper. Another Blum three was followed by a three-point play by Olivia Blum. Loughery interrupted the Indians’ 10-0 run with her second three of the half, but Blum buried a three at the other end. By halftime, the Indians had a commanding lead, thanks in no small part to Blum.
“It’s kind of funny because during warm-ups, I felt as though my shot was a little bit off,” Blum said. “We weren’t able to practice yesterday because of the snow day.
“Once I hit that first three – I just felt it. I knew that I had to keep shooting for my team. This is a huge game for us, and we really needed the win to go to states, so I knew in that moment I had to keep shooting. I started feeling it.”
And because Blum was feeling it, Palkovics went away from his initial game plan after Bandurick took a seat on the bench.
“I had the mentality when Dana picked up her third foul to just kind of protect the lead but instead they doubled the lead,” the Indians’ coach said.
Bandurick returned to the court in the third quarter and pretty much had her way in the paint, scoring 17 of her game-high 23 points after the intermission. The Indians and Rams both exchanged baskets in the second half.
“We started to find our normal rhythm,” Gordon said of the second half. “We hit a few shots, and our defensive intensity picked up. We just started getting ourselves back together.
“We’re just going to keep working hard. We want to get to states.”
Council Rock North (18-4, 10-2 SOL) will travel to #2 Neshaminy for Saturday’s quarterfinal (1 p.m). With Thursday’s win, the Indians punched their ticket to the state tournament.
“Obviously, a district championship is the goal,” Palkovics said. “We’ve been in five district championships and won three of them. I try to stress to the girls – that’s where you want to get. District championships are big, but this was nice getting the pressure off, knowing you extended your season for at least another three weeks – it makes it fun.”
Pennridge (11-13, 2-10) will be on the road at #15 Pennsbury for a playback game, one of eight teams competing for three state berths.
Pennridge 7-6-9-16 38
Council Rock North 17-19-13-14 63
Pennridge (38) – Corinn Mart 1 1-2 3; Sam Muredda 0 1-2 1; Sophie Cweiber 0 1-2 1; Julia Kreider 4 0-2 9; Courtney McGurl 1 0-0 2; Megan Kriney 1 1-1 3; Evelyn Loughery 5 0-0 12; Ashley Gordon 2 1-1 5; Emilee Cramer 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 15 5-10 38.
Council Rock North (63) – Camryn Polinsky 1 2-2 5; Anna Cairone 2 2-2 6, Sydney Blum 6 4-4 20; Olivia Boyle 2 1-1 5; Jill Hopkins 1 0-0 2; Dana Bandurick 11 1-4 23; Abby Jones 1 0-2 2; TOTALS 24 10-15 63.
3-point goals: Pennridge – Evelyn Loughery 2, Julia Kreider; CRN – Sydney Blum 4, Camryn Polinsky.
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