PW, CB West and Pennsbury advanced to Wednesday’s District One 6A semifinals. Souderton was a winner in a playback game.
6A Quarterfinals
#1 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 35, #8 UPPER DUBLIN 21
Anna McTamney’s name didn’t show up the in box score in the Colonials’ 39-35 loss to Upper Dublin in the SOL Tournament semifinal. It was a rare occurrence that the junior had absolutely no intention of repeating.
“From the last game, I didn’t score at all, so I knew I had to step up offensively as well as defensively,” McTamney said. “I knew I had to step up for the team.”
McTamney did just that and then some, scoring 10 points in the first quarter while also pulling down seven rebounds to lead the Colonials to a 14-4 lead.
“That is Anna is a nutshell,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “Anna is a coach’s dream. A lot of people find it hard to believe – that’s how she practices every day. Every practice, every drill that kid gives everything she has. It’s hard to defend somebody like that.
“Upper Dublin is a great defensive team. She’s hard to defend. Her energy, her effort was tremendous. We wanted her to come out in that mindset.”
Saturday’s meeting was the fourth between the SOL American Conference rivals, the third meeting in three weeks. Each team has won two games, and it’s safe to say the two teams have seen just about enough of each other, although the familiarity – according to Dougherty – does help with his team’s defensive game plan.
“Honestly, yesterday was a really bad practice, and we all looked around at each other and said, ‘We’re so sick of practicing these plays,’” Dougherty said. “Our scout team can run their offense as well as they can almost. We’re down three players now, and we fullcourt pressed for three quarters with five kids. They’re in phenomenal shape. It’s an absolute credit to the kids.”
“Just knowing all their plays really benefitted us,” McTamney said. “We all know all of the positions where everyone is in each play so we can defend anyone on the court even if it isn’t the person we’re assigned to guard.”
Sparked by McTamney’s 10 points, the Colonials took a 21-11 lead into halftime. PW sophomore point guard Kaitlyn Flanagan accounted for eight points while Jackie Vargas scored all 11 of UD’s points.
“Usually before we come out we are always energized and hyped up,” McTamney said. “We decided to kind of change that tonight. From the last time, we were too energized and too ahead of ourselves, so we had to calm down, keep our focus. I feel like that helped a lot.”
The Colonials opened up a 29-11 lead after Flanagan buried a pair at the foul line. The Cardinals managed just two points in the third quarter – a pair of foul shots by Vargas late in the quarter. They did not score their first field goal of the second half until Vargas connected with 3:38 
remaining in the game, ending a 14-minute drought between field goals.
Vargas accounted for UD’s first 17 points. Dayna Balasa’s field goal with 1:32 remaining in the fourth quarter represented the first UD points of the game by someone other than Vargas. The Cardinals’ offensive woes were underscored by the fact that they connected on just 8-of-44 field goals (18 percent). Vargas was 6-for-16, the rest of the team was 2-for-28, and it was a somber UD squad that emerged from the team’s locker room.
“Number one is we want to make sure we stick together and don’t give up on the season,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “That was the message after the game.
“I thought we had great practices leading up to the game. I was proud of their preparation, but our focus level after they got a couple of baskets in the first quarter – I thought it dropped and changed from a focused to a panicked. I think that was the reason we shot the ball as poorly as we did.
“I don’t think our shot selection the first half was great, and because of our poor communication defensively, it translated over to the offensive end and just snowballed from there.”
The Colonials – minus a pair of players due to injury/illness – were confident despite dropping their last two meetings with Upper Dublin.
“We were winning the (last) game 30-28, and after that, we went 0-for-4 from the foul line,” Dougherty said of the SOL Tournament semifinal. “What the kids took away from that when we watched the film – we believe that we’re the better team.”
McTamney finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for an impressive double-double. Flanagan added 13 points.
Vargas led the Cardinals with 17 points, seven rebounds, one block and one assist. Bliss Brenner had five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Dayna Balasa added four rebounds, five deflections, two steals, two blocks and one assist. Jess Polin finished with four deflections, two steals, one assist and one rebound.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (22-3, 13-1 SOL) will face #4 Pennsbury in a district semifinal game at Wissahickon High School on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Upper Dublin will travel to #5 Methacton in a playback for fifth through eight place.
Upper Dublin 4-7-2-8 21
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14-7-8-6 35
Upper Dublin (21) – Anajae Smith 1 0-2 2; Dayna Balasa 1 0-0 2; Jackie Vargas 6 4-6 17; Totals 8 4-8 21.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (35) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 3 7-12 13; Abby Sharpe 1 1-2 3; Anna McTamney 7 2-2 16; Jordyn Thomas 1 0-0 2; Deja Evans 0 1-2 1; Totals 12 11-18 35.
3-point goals: UD – Jackie Vargas
#2 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 68, #10 NORTH PENN 59
Jess Broskey scored five first-half points but wasn’t feeling especially good about her offensive game heading into halftime. With a little encouragement from her teammates, an inspired Broskey came out of halftime and scored 17 points – 14 in a 21-point third quarter.
“It was a tough half, no doubt, for her,” West coach Zach Sibel said. “She was kind of questioning some stuff, but the cool thing about our team was – every one of the girls went up to her at halftime and said, ‘You’ve got to keep with it, you’ve got to keep with it.’
“She came out, she hit three straight 3s and had nine straight points, and it totally changed the way North Penn could cover us and had to cover us. It’s hard when you’re used to having someone on you and shooting with a contest – to be left open is tough. To see her battle through that and really step up in the second half was awesome. She finished with 22 and really sparked our team in the second half.”
The win vaulted the Bucks into Wednesday’s district semifinals.
“We set goals in the beginning of the season, but these girls really bought in,” Sibel said. “I think that buy-in goes a long way. It’s a special group of kids, a special group of seniors, and their senior leadership has really been huge.”
The Knights had a fast start, building a 7-3 lead before senior Maddie Burke took over. Burke and North Penn’s Kate Early exchanged go-ahead threes before Burke drew a foul, knocking down both at the line to kick off a 7-0 quarter ending run. Behind 11 points from Burke, West took a 20-14 lead into the second quarter.
Despite plenty of early foul trouble, North Penn was able to adjust defensively, focusing on slowing Burke and sophomore Emily Spratt while four different players scored in the second to cut the Bucks’ lead to 30-25 at halftime.
Out of the break, with the Knights still locked in on limiting Burke and Spratt, Broskey and fellow senior Olivia Irons stepped up. Broskey opened the third quarter by knocking down a 3-pointer on three straight possessions, all assisted by Irons as the Bucks went on a 9-3 run.
Broskey ended the quarter with 14 points while Irons chipped in five as the duo combined for 19 West points in the stanza.
West took a 12-point lead into the final quarter, but the dramatics were only just beginning.
Behind Valerie McGriff, Rachel Dunn and an off-glass three by Abby Plaugher, North Penn whittled that double-digit West lead to three with 6:20 to play.
With her team a little out of sorts, Burke made a tremendous defensive play. The senior was able to knock the ball away from a North Penn guard, then chased it over halfcourt, diving on top of the loose ball in front of her bench as Sibel called a timeout.
Off the reset, Broskey was able to find Paige Gilbert for a three, giving West a crucial six-point cushion for a brief spell.
A flurry of turnovers followed, but North Penn was able to find scores from Adams and McGriff with the latter cutting the lead to 54-52 with 3:35 to play. Again, the Bucks’ seniors came through.
Off an inbound under the basket, Burke found Broskey and the senior let the 3-pointer fly for a 57-52 edge with three minutes to go. With North Penn forced to extend the game, Irons carried West to the finish, hitting 9-of-10 at the line with Burke adding a pair at the stripe as well over the final 2:50 of play.
Burke finished with 16 points, including three 3s. Irons, who buried 11-of-12 foul shots for the game, finished with 14 points, all in the second half. Paige Gilbert added seven points.
“The biggest thing is every girl knows their role,” Sibel said. “Maddie Burke facilitating and making great plays and being kind of the commander on the floor. She shot a ball from the parking lot that went in today, showcasing her range and her confidence. When she plays with confidence, so does everyone else.
“Liv Irons stepping up and showing what she’s done all season. She’s been so clutch in the fourth quarter. She loves the moment, which I think is huge. She stepped into that role, knocked down shots and sealed that game for us.
“Emily Spratt was really active on the defensive end and used her length to really disrupt their offense. Paige (Gilbert) drew three charges today in big moments, so all of our starters from one to five stepped up.”
The Knights were led by the 16-point effort of McGriff. Dunn added 12 points, Alli Lindsay had 11 while Adams and Alaina Mullaly both had six points.
“It was a great game,” NP coach Jen Carangi said. “I’m so proud of the way my girls battled. We were in foul trouble all day, which forced us to sit some players for long stretches of time, but other players stepped up.
“We were down 14 in the second half and cut it to two, but credit to West for hitting foul shots down the stretch to win it. Our girls played tough and never quit.”
“They’re a great team,” Sibel said of the Knights. “They’re so tough, and they’re playing really great basketball right now.”
Saturday’s action-packed game was played in front of another large crowd.
“Our student section really showed up, and even teachers in the CB community came out,” Sibel said. “I think that’s a testament to the community that we have at CB and CB West and how special of a group that is.
“My heart rate was at 118 the whole game, and it’s usually in the 50s – it was that kind of game.”
Central Bucks West (22-4, 12-0 SOL) will face #3 Spring-Ford in Wednesday’s semifinal at Wissahickon High School at 6 p.m. North Penn (17-7, 8-4) will host Central Bucks East in a playback game for state seeding.
North Penn 14-11-14-20 59
Central Bucks West 20-10-21-17 68
North Penn (59) – Abby Plaugher 1 0-0 3; Alli Lindsay 4 0-0 11; Rachel Dunn 4 4-4 12; Imani Plaza 0 0-2 0; Alaina Mullaly 2 0-1 6; Kate Early 2 0-0 5; Carley Adams 2 2-6 6; Val McGriff 6 4-4 16; Totals 21 10-17 59.
Central Bucks West (68) – Paige Gilbert 2 2-4 7; Olivia Irons 1 11-12 14; Anna Blue 1 0-0 3; Emily Spratt 1 2-3 4; Jess Broskey 7 4-6 22; Maddie Burke 4 5-6 16; Lilly Evans 1 0-0 2; Totals 17 24-31 68.
3-point goals: NP – Alli Lindsay 3, Alaina Mullaly 2, Abby Plaugher, Kate Early, CBW – Jess Broskey 4, Maddie Burke 3, Anna Blue, Olivia Irons, Paige Gilbert.
#5 PENNSBURY 43, #5 METHACTON 34
On March 2, 2019, with the district’s final spot in the state tournament on the line, the Falcons fell to Methacton 26-17 in the 11th place game. A year later, the two teams met in a district quarterfinal contest, and the tables were turned..jpg)
The Warriors traveled to Pennsbury, this time with a trip to Wednesday’s district semifinals at stake, and for a while, it looked as though this year’s contest could well be a rerun of last year’s low-scoring affair as the two teams battled to a 13-13 halftime tie. The Falcons broke the game open in the second half, outscoring the visiting Warriors 30-21.
“We’re on our way to the district semis in what has now become something of a magical season,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “We’re certainly excited about it.”
Bella Arcuri led the charge, scoring 12 of her game-high 19 points in the second half. Her seven first-half points helped keep the Falcons afloat.
“Great job by Bella today – who for two games in a row has played great,” Sciolla said. “Tremendous job on the backboards by Ava (Sciolla) and also Abbi Nassivera, who was very solid.”
The Falcons did not get on the scoreboard until Ava Sciolla scored on the low post with 1:12 remaining in the opening quarter. A basket by Bella Arcuri gave the Falcons a 4-3 lead after one quarter, and the Warriors were struggling in front of a raucous crowd in the Falcons Nest, connecting on just 3-of-11 foul shots to account for their only points.
A trend – albeit not a good one – was being established as the fouls were mounting for both squads. By the time the final horn sounded, the two teams had combined for 51 fouls and three technical fouls.
“Methacton was really well prepared and we were too,” Sciolla said. “They are really physical, and they’re a lot bigger than us, so they’re going to be strong. Our game plan was to make it difficult for Nicole Timko to get looks, and we really did a great job of that.
“The game was a little bit back and forth, not a lot of scoring, and we were tied at the half, but we still felt pretty good because were in such foul trouble.”
If there were defining moments in the game, they came in the fourth quarter.
“The score was 21-20, and we missed a shot,” Sciolla said. “Ava (Sciolla) battled in a crowd and got an offensive rebound. She spun and threw a left-handed pass to a cutting Bella (Arcuri), who made a three-point play. That got it to 24-20.”
The Falcons received another big play from a reserve off the bench..jpg)
“We put in Emily Friel, a junior who has worked hard all year but hasn’t played as much at times and hadn’t played one second in the game and we’re deep in the third quarter,” Sciolla said. “We’re up 24-20, and again, we get a left-handed push pass from Bella to Ava for a wide open three.
“Ava doesn’t make it, but Emily Friel comes out of nowhere – and she’s all of about 5-5 – and she grabs the rebound in traffic, flips it to Nicole Pompili, who fires it to Ava outside the 3-point line who buries the three, and for the first time, it’s 27-20. As we run back on defense, Emily Friel forces a turnover. She played about 26 seconds and had the most impactful 26 seconds anyone has had this season for us.
“At that point, we were then able to get control of the game. They shot very poorly from the foul line, and we shot very poorly from the foul line, so it was a combination of teams – despite all the fouls- that couldn’t make free throws.”
Sciolla collected a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with two assists and a steal. Nassivera added six points, seven boards, one assist and one steal. Pompili had five rebounds and two steals while Mary Miller had three rebounds and two steals.
“I said at the end of the game – we had to play everyone,” Sciolla said. “Every single person who came in made a play.
“At times, I do think we take for granted what we get from Bella and Ava. We couldn’t take Ava out today, so she deals with the face guarding, she deals with the physicality all game long, and she just keeps going. I think that was really good because we know the attention and we know the focus. In the first half, she had a hard time making shots. In the second half, she made some big ones.
“And Bella – how can you not love someone that competes like she does and steps up and makes the plays she has made.”
Pennsbury (21-4, 11-1 SOL) will face top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh in Wednesday’s district semifinal at Wissahickon (7:30 p.m.).
Methacton 4-9-7-14 34
Pennsbury 3-10-14-16 43
Methacton (34) – Cassidy Cropp 3 1-2 7; Sydney Tornetta 1 1-6 3; Caroline Pellicano 1 2-4 4; Sydney Hargrove 1 0-0 2; Nicole Timko 4 2-9 13; Tori Bockrath 0 0-2 0; Mairi Smith 0 2-4 2; Allison Hazlett 1 1-1 3; Totals 11 9-28 34.
Pennsbury (43) – Ava Sciolla 3 6-8 13; Abbi Nassivera 1 4-6 6; Bella Arcuri 6 5-13 19; Mary Miller 0 3-4 3; Nicole Pompili 0 2-2 2; Totals 10 20-33 43.
3-point goals: Methacton – Nicole Timko 3, Pennsbury – Bella Arcuri 2, Ava Sciolla.
#3 SPRING-FORD 44, #11 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 42
With an upset of sixth-seeded Ridley already under their belts, the upstart Patriots came oh-so-close to sending Saturday’s quarterfinal game into overtime.
Gabby Wilga’s tough shot at the buzzer on an inbounds play rimmed out, and the Rams escaped with the win.
“Gabby’s shot was in and out,” East coach Liz Potash said. 
The Patriots actually had a pair of shots after inbounding the ball at midcourt with 5.4 seconds remaining in the game.
“Mia (Salvati) drove to the basket and got it blocked, and we got the ball underneath the basket with .8 seconds left,” Potash said. “Gabby got a shot off – it went off the backboard, in the rim, bounced out, game over. It was a great shot she was able to get off.”
The Patriots, who were deadlocked 10-10 after one quarter, trailed 22-18 at halftime.
“One thing that hurt us – Emily Barry picked up her second foul early in the first quarter, and not having her on (Lucy) Olsen was tough,” Potash said. “Elise Duffy did a good job, but we were hoping we could get to halftime without too much of a deficit because Emily is such a tough defender.
“Emily came in in the second half and held her to two points. She had a great second half defensively on her.”
Olsen’s only two points of the second half were huge and came on the Rams’ go-ahead basket with 16 seconds remaining.
“We never had the lead,” Potash said. “We were down nine in the third and cut it to four going into the fourth. The best we got was tied.
“When I watched Spring-Ford play – I know us pretty well. I know who we can play with and who we may struggle with. When I watched Spring-Ford, I thought, ‘This is a team we can play with.’ Not that they’re not a good team. (Lucy) Olsen is a nice player, they have a nice cast around her. From watching them, I thought we matched up okay. It was just a team I thought we could hang with.”
Emily Chmiel’s 18 points, which included a 10-for-15 effort at the foul line, led the Patriots. Aubrey DeAngelis and Salvati both added seven points. Salvati scored all seven of her points in the final quarter, igniting the Patriots’ comeback.
“Mia Salvati had a great fourth quarter,” Potash said. “They really clamped her down for most of the game, and she kind of came alive in the fourth and got us back in that position.
“I don’t know what our number of turnovers was but we made some poor decisions and some things especially down the stretch that I know we wish we could take back, but we were still right there. For the second or third game in a row, we came in at halftime and said, ‘We’ve got to do a better job taking care of the ball.’ We shoot the ball pretty well. There are games we’re shooting close to 50 percent. We take a lot of shots close to the basket, but the turnovers – it’s just a killer because you don’t even get a shot off on that possession. Turnovers were not lack of effort but just trying to do too much at certain times, not quite executing the way we wanted to.
“What we said to the girls after the game – ‘Let’s put ourselves in this position again next year, but let’s make this a home game for ourselves so we can take that whole travel element, being on their court out of it.”
Skylar Sullivan led the Rams with 14 points, Olsen added 13, and Abbey Boyer had 11, including three 3s.
Central Bucks East (17-8, 8-4 SOL) will travel to North Penn for a playback game Wednesday as four teams will play for fifth through eighth.
Central Bucks East 10-8-12-12 42
Spring-Ford 10-12-12-10 44
Central Bucks East (42) – Gabby Wilga 2 0-0 5; Mia Salvati 2 2-2 7; Elise Duffy 1 1-2 3; Emily Chmiel 4 10-15 18; Emily Barry 1 0-0 2; Aubrey DeAngelis 3 0-0 7; Totals 13 13-19 42.
Spring-Ford (44) – Abbey Boyer 4 0-0 11; Lucy Olsen 4 4-4 13; Gabs Alessandroni 1 1-3 4; Skylar Sullivan 5 3-5 14; Kylie Lee 1 0-0 2; Totals 15 8-12 44.
3-point goals: CBE – Gabby Wilga, Mia Salvati, Aubrey DeAngelis, SF – Abbey Boyer 3, Lucy Olsen, Gabs Allessandroni, Skylar Sullivan.
6A Playback Games
#12 SOUDERTON 47, #13 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 39
The Indians found themselves staring at a 33-27 deficit heading into the final quarter of Saturday’s playback game. Not ready to see their season end, they outscored the visiting Golden Knights 20-6 in the frame.
Leading the charge was senior Mikaela Reese, who scored six points in the quarter. The Indians also connected on 8-of-10 foul shots. Freshman Casey Harter was 4-for-6 while both sophomore Erin Bohmueller and junior Jordan Zimmerman were 2-for-2 and also had a basket for four points in the quarter.
Another key to the Indians’ fourth quarter comeback was their ability to contain freshman Laine McGurk, whose 10 points in the third quarter sparked the Golden Rams in their 16-5 outburst that erased the Indians’ five-point halftime lead.
“We turned the ball over a lot in the third quarter and they capitalized,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “Their freshman forward, Laine McGurk, took over in the third.
“We put Casey (Harter) on her in the fourth and she limited her to one field goal. Between Casey’s defense and taking care of the ball better, we gave ourselves a chance to win it at the end.”
The Indians started strong and finished strong.
“We led 8-0 out of the gate and kept our lead throughout the first half,” said Carroll, whose team led 17-12 at halftime. “Rustin took the lead in the third and led by as many as six at one point. We didn’t take the lead again until under two minutes to go in the game. Then Casey, Erin and Jordan made foul shots to seal it.”
Reese and Bohmueller led the Indians’ balanced attack with 10 points each.
“Erin Bohmueller had her best game of the season,” Carroll said. “She’s been a pass-first kind of player for us but has the skill set to score and today she really looked to score.
“Mikaela stepped up in the fourth quarter scoring six of her 10 in the frame.”
Harter and Olivia Schneider both added nine points.
One win separates the young team from a state berth, but that will be a tall task.
Souderton (18-7, 7-5 SOL) will travel to #9 Downingtown East for a playback game on Wednesday. The Cougars are led by 6-5 center Bella Smuda.
West Chester Rustin 10-7-16-6 39
Souderton 12-10-5-20 47
West Chester Rustin (39) – Lola Flynn 2 0-1 4; Grace Plona 3 1-4 7; Sam Greer 1 0-0 2; Laine McGurk 7 0-0 14; Laney Costin 5 2-5 12; Totals 18 3-10 39.
Souderton (47) – Jordon Zimmerman 1 22 4; Erin Bohmueller 4 2-3 10; Olivia Schneider 4 1-2 9; Casey Harter 2 5-8 9; Hayley Fenchel 2 1-2 5; Mikaela Reese 5 0-0 10; Totals 18 11-17 47.
#7 GARNET VALLEY 44, #15 NESHAMINY 29
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