New Hope-Solebury won its regional opener, and CR South earned a win in playback action. New Hope-Solebury/Northern Lehigh photos courtesy of Karla Donohoe, and CR South/PW photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of both games. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' GIRLS' BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
District 1/XI Regional quarterfinal
#NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 59, #6 NORTHERN LEHIGH 46
The Lions have punched their ticket to the state tournament, notching a win in Friday’s opening game of District 1/XI Regionals.
They led 10-7 after one quarter and took a 27-22 lead into halftime. Emily Wilson’s 11 points led the Lions.
A 19-point third quarter was highlighted by six points from Ella Dudick. The Lions took a 46-35 lead into the final quarter and never looked back.
Key players: Emily Wilson led the way with 18 points that included four 3s. Izzy Elizondo added 15 points with a pair of 3-pointers. She had nine second-half points. Ella Dudick finished with 12 points – all in the middle two quarters, and Mary Tresler also finished in double figures with 10 points.
New Hope-Solebury coach Andy Krasna on the game: “The large partisan New Hope crowd really gave us the kind of energy we were looking for. Our seniors understood that our game tonight might be their last, and they put on a performance that will be remembered for a long time. Three seniors Emily Wilson, Ella Dudick, and Izzy Elizondo scored double figures, and freshman Mary Tresler added another double-double on the season.
“We dictated the tempo tonight, and our players showed tremendous poise when Northern Lehigh were making runs at us. We recently have had some very good practices focusing on our guards turning the corner and getting into the paint drawing multiple defenders. We were able to penetrate Northern Lehigh’s half court zone with dribble penetration, and our guards were so good at finding teammates when attacking space after drawing multiple defenders. Tonight,
Ella and Mary were the beneficiaries of our excellent dribble penetration. They both rebounded well too. Kayla Fennell helped us break the press and took care of the ball when we needed her to do so. We made great decisions all night long on the offensive end.”
Moving on: “We extended our season and will now play in the PIAA state tournament which brought a lot of smiles after the game. There is nothing better than being part of a team with incredible chemistry, with kids who love to compete, and represent their high school and tight knit New Hope community.”
Up next: New Hope-Solebury (14-9, 6-4 SOL) will face the winner of #2 Schuylkill Haven/#10 Mahony on Tuesday in a regional semifinal.
Northern Lehigh 7-15-13-11 46
New Hope-Solebury 10-17-19-13 59
Northern Lehigh (46) – E.Tosh 1 0-0 3; A.Williams 1 0-0 2; K.Barthold 10 4-4 24; J.Ramos 1 0-0 2; D.Barthold 1 0-1 2; T.Simms 3 1-2 9; K.Snyder 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 19 5-7 46.
New Hope-Solebury (59) – Danielle Wilson 0 0-2 0; Kayla Fennell 2 0-0 4; Izzy Elizondo 6 1-2 15; Emily Wilson 6 2-2 18; Mary Tresler 4 2-6 10; Ella Dudick 6 0-1 12; TOTALS 24 5-13 59.
3-point goals: NL – T.Simms 2, E.Tosh; NH-S – Emily Wilson 4, Izzy Elizondo 2.
District 1 6A playback
#8 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 39, #16 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 25
The Golden Hawks showed no ill effects from Wednesday’s loss to Conestoga in their win over the visiting Colonials in a playback game.
“This was a good bounce-back game,” Rock South coach Steve Polinsky said. “PW played deliberate, and I thought we just played great defense today. I’m proud of how we played.”
The Hawks led by just one after a low-scoring first quarter but erupted for 15 points in the second to go into halftime with a 19-12 lead. PW trimmed that lead to five heading into the fourth quarter when the Hawks closed out the game with a 13-4 tear.
Key players: Senior point guard Kathryn O’Kane’s 15 points – 10 in the first half – led the Golden Hawks. Fiona Reckner added 11 points – eight in the pivotal fourth quarter. Maria Freeman added seven points.
Eliza Meersman’s six points led PW.
Council Rock South coach Steve Polinsky: “It was really a team effort, especially by the seniors who led our team once again. They don’t want to see our season end. They want to keep going, so our goal is to win one more game to get into states at least. I think it’s achievable, and I’m really proud of how they’re handling business right now.
“(PW coach Dan Dougherty) is tough to figure out what he’s going to do as a coach. Once we understood what they were doing, I thought we played really well.
“My assistants, Blair Klumpp and Nina Dougherty, did a nice job with our defensive approach. They played deliberate and put pressure on our defense, and I thought we handled it well. We were locked in on defense, we stayed in front of them – we switched on every screen. It was a really nice effort.”
--O’Kane leads the way: “Kat O’Kane was terrific. It was one of the best games she’s played all year. She had 15 points, and she was so aggressive offensively going to the basket, which really helped.”
--Props: “Fiona (Reckner) played her steady game. She scored 11 points and got a lot of girls open. Everybody contributed. Maria and Sarah Freeman both played great defense. Lil Metrick had one point, but her defense was really outstanding. It was her best defensive game of the season.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dan Dougherty on the game: “We overcame a bad start, cold shooting to only trail 5-4 after one. We had some good looks in second quarter that didn’t fall, South was able to hit a couple of shots to take 19-12 lead into half. We were able to string a couple defensive stops together in the third, cut it to 25-21 with the ball, but again just couldn’t get shots to fall when we needed them most. Trailing 26-21 after three, we still had great opportunities, but it was just not our day. Once the game got to 30-21, we had to start fouling and that was it.”
--The season: “I’m proud of the season. Getting to 15 wins and district playbacks after losing Joslyn Perez five games into the season is quite an accomplishment. I’m very appreciative of the girls’ time and sacrifices.
“I have to acknowledge the time and dedication of my coaching staff as well. It’s hard to find better people willing to volunteer their time to make our program what is.
“We’ve had great managers, Angela Pinto and Liv Budin, that are so responsible and reliable. And lastly, I would like to thank our seniors, Taylor Williams for all she has given the program over the past four years, and our senior statistician, Seth Walcoff, for his dedication and passion for our program. They will both be sorely missed.”
Next up: Council Rock South (21-5, 9-1 SOL) will play the winner of the Chester/Spring-Ford game Wednesday with the winner earning a coveted state berth. Plymouth Whitemarsh closed out its season with a 15-11 record overall, 4-4 in SOL play.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 4-8-9-4 25
Council Rock South 5-14-7-13 39
Plymouth Whitemarsh (25) – Taylor Williams 2 0-0 5; Olivia Patete 0 3-4 3; AJ Avery 1 0-0 2; Kenna Winland 1 3-6 5; Eliza Meersman 1 4-4 6; Grace Harvey 0 4-4 4; TOTALS 5 14-18 25.
Council Rock South (39) – Lil Metrick 0 1-2 1; Maria Freeman 2 1-4 7; Emerson Gunther 1 0-0 3; Kathryn O’Kane 6 1-2 15; Bella Hettler 0 2-4 2; Fiona Reckner 3 5-6 11; TOTALS 12 10-18 39.
3-point goals: PW – Taylor Williams; CRS – Kathryn O’Kane 2, Maria Freeman 2, Emerson Gunther.
#7 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 45, #15 NORTH PENN 42
It was the tale of two halves.
The visiting Knights owned the first half, opening up a 30-14 lead over the Whippets. Senior point guard Cam Crowley set the tone with 10 first-quarter points. In the second quarter, Leah Mikulski stepped up, scoring eight points.
The second half belonged to the Whippets, who began to chip into the Knights lead with a 16-10 third quarter. They won it with a 15-2 fourth quarter burst that was highlighted by seven points from Sami Schurtz.
Key players: Leah Mikulki’s 15 points led the Knights and included three 3-pointers. She scored seven of her team’s 10 points in the third quarter. Cam Crowley finished with 12 points, including a pair of 3s. Lily Brown had seven points.
For the Whippets, Hayden Blair led the way with 18 points, including four 3s. Sami Schurtz added 12 points.
North Penn coach Bri Cullen: “I am so incredibly proud of how hard we worked this season. I don’t think anyone expected us to accomplish the things we did. This is the first senior class I am getting to see all the way through, so they hold a special place with me. I think Downingtown West played a fantastic game, and we tried our best to weather the run they went on but just ultimately fell short.
“The message after the game was when we have tears at the end of a season it means we created a culture and family worth missing. I am honored to be their coach and have the group that we have.”
The season: North Penn closed out its season with a 13-13 record. The Knights were 8-2 in SOL Colonial action.
North Penn 15-15-10-2 42
Downingtown West 6-8-16-15 45
North Penn (42) – Cam Crowley 4 2-2 12; Lily Brown 3 1-4 7; Leah Mikulski 5 2-2 15; Jadyn Sperling 1 0-0 2; Mehya Godhania 1 0-0 3; Tallie Smink 1 0-2 3; TOTALS 15 5-10 42.
Downingtown West (45) – Hayden Blair 7 0-1 18; Liv Young 2 0-0 6; Sami Schurtz 4 2-2 12; Caitlin Grant 2 0-0 4; Kelsey Meenan 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 17 2-3 45.
3-point goals: NP – Leah Mikulski 3, Cam Crowley 2, Mehya Godhania, Tallie Smink; DW – Hayden Blair 4, Liv Young 2, Sami Schurtz 2, Kelsey Meenan.
District 1 5A playback
#7 STRATH HAVEN 57, #3 LOWER MORELAND 47
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