PW, CB West, CB South & Abington will comprise the final four in the District One 6A Tournament Wednesday. CB South/Boyertown photos by Donna Longacre. North Penn/Abington photos courtesy of Jon Sklut and Keith Clemens Photography. Neshaminy/CB South photos courtesy of Jesse Garber (http://jsgarber.zenfolio.com/p956294981)
The SOL stole the spotlight in District One 6A Tournament play on Saturday.
Ten SOL teams were in action – seven were winners. The three teams that didn’t win on Saturday lost in all-SOL contests. In the district quarterfinals, it was a clean sweep for the SOL with third-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh, fifth-seeded Central Bucks West, seventh-seeded Central Bucks South and ninth-seeded Abington advancing to the Wednesday’s district semifinals. With the exception of PW, all three of the semifinalists were the lower seeds and played on the road.
For the second straight year, North Penn was upset in the district quarterfinals, this year by ninth-seeded Abington. The Knights will play back for state seeding as will 11th-seeded Council Rock North, which fell to PW.
In playback games, eighth-seeded Souderton, 12th-seeded Upper Dublin and 15th-seeded Central Bucks East were winners while 10th-seeded Neshaminy saw its season end at the hands of the Patriots.
All five SOL Continental Conference teams that advanced to districts remain alive with three already assured a spot in states. Two SOL National and two SOL American teams also remain with one team from each conference already ensured a berth in states.
#3 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 56, #11 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 48
Lauren Fortescue and Ali Diamond saw that Taylor O'Brien was getting bumped, pushed and a little beat up by a variety of Council Rock North defenders Saturday afternoon.
So, two-thirds of Plymouth Whitemarsh's trio of junior guards decided to do something to help out the third part of their triumvirate. They did it by making plays, and lots of them as the Colonials dug themselves out of a 10-point second quarter hole and punched their ticket to the District I semifinals for the first time since 1997.
“The kids are so, so excited,” coach Daniel Dougherty said. “The amount of support in the gym today.
“There were probably 15-20 faculty members and some retired teachers that came back because these kids are so beloved in the school. They’re such great students, they just epitomize the student-athlete concept of being National Honor Society/AP students, so the teachers really appreciate them. The boys’ basketball team was there cheering them on, the boys’ coaching staff was sitting right down in our corner. To have both teams in the final four is very special. To make district final four for this team who – coming into the season – was pretty well unknown is a real achievement for them.”
O'Brien has scored on everybody this season, and she did her part with 25 points in Saturday's quarterfinal. But without 15 points from Diamond and 12 from Fortescue, it wouldn't have been enough.
"They stepped up big time," a grateful O'Brien said after the game.
PW did not start the game well, its zone defense was slow to react, it was getting worked over on the glass and Council Rock North was getting any shot it wanted. The Indians led 18-10 after a quarter and built their lead up to 22-12 with four minutes left in the second quarter.
At that point, O'Brien had eight of the 12 points and everyone else looked frustrated.
Then Fortescue hit a free throw, Diamond got into the lane and scored and O'Brien scored four in a row to chop the lead down to three. North responded with a three-point play by Dana Bandurick and a 3-point shot by Becca Margolis and the lead was back to nine, briefly.
“To start the game, Megan Haggerty hit a three right out of the gate,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “We lost Margolis, their point guard, a couple of times in transition, and they jumped up early.
“A couple of times we beat their pressure and we made a pass across and the ball dropped off our hands or we dropped the ball out of bounds. I think our girls dealt with a little bit of nerves to start the game.”
Then, Diamond did what she's known for and knocked down a crucial 3-pointer right before the end of the half and PW was only down six, 28-22.
“When they’re trying to shut down Taylor, Fort and I realize we have to step up and help her,” Diamond said. “We can make some plays on our own.”
Margolis had nine at half. She was a big reason why the Indians were winning, with her scoring and her passing. She wouldn't score in the second half.
O’Brien accounted for 12 of PW’s 22 points in the first half.
“Despite really, really tough defense on her, she really is the one that kept us afloat,” Dougherty said. “Ali Diamond hit a clutch three right before halftime.
“It was one of those threes that kind of rattled, bounced up and then came back down and in.”
O'Brien started the third quarter with a traditional three-point play and her 3-point shot from the corner later cut the Indians' lead to one only for CR North to rip off five straight for a 39-33 lead. Diamond had made a couple big shots already, so Fortescue decided it was time to get in on the act.
She buried a three late in the third then started the fourth with another triple, this one assisted by O'Brien, to knot the score at 39-39.
“We were just trying to make plays,” Fortescue said. “We can’t keep all the pressure on Taylor.”
Mackenzie Tinner gave CR North the lead back briefly before O'Brien spurred the go-ahead run. She dished to Lauren Coscia for a basket, then got fouled and made both, putting PW up 43-41 for its first lead of the game with 4:30 left, then found Diamond for another 3-pointer.
“We went up by five and at that point, I felt the energy in the gym go up,” Fortescue said. “Coach said it was mind over matter, so a lot of it has to do with your mind and desire to win.”
A driving hoop by Fortescue put the Colonials up five and that basket proved big as Megan Haggerty hit from outside for the Indians. Rock North would score again, but not until PW had hit five of six from the line, then hit three of four after that Indian basket for good measure.
“Ali Diamond had two more threes in the second half and Lauren Fortescue had two threes,” Dougherty said. “Everyone was trying to take away Taylor O’Brien.
“Lauren Coscia’s defense in the second half – she started grabbing some rebounds, and Taylor O’Brien was incredibly special in the second half defensively, rebounding the ball, getting some steals.
“We were trying to mix up our defenses in the second half to keep them off-balance a little bit.”
O’Brien’s 25 points, which included a 10-for-12 effort at the foul line, led the Colonials. Diamond finished with 15, and Fortescue had 12.
For the Indians, Bandurick and Emily Mackin led the way with 10 points each while Margolis had nine, Tinner added eight and Haggerty contributed six. Margolis led the Indians defense with five steals. Tinner had nine rebounds and five blocked shots, and Bandurick pulled down eight rebounds.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (24-1, 14-0 SOL) will face CB South at Bensalem Wednesday in the semifinals at 6 p.m. CR North will travel to second-seeded Boyertown for a seeding game.
Council Rock North 18 10 11 9 – 48
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10 12 14 20 – 56
Council Rock North – Becca Margolis 3 2-2 9; Megan Haggerty 2 0-0 6; Olivia Boyle 0 2-2 2; Emily Mackin 5 0-0 10 Dana Bandurick 4 2-3 10; Kaelin Mealy 1 0-0 3; Mackenzie Tinner 3 2-2 8; Totals 18 8-9 48.
Plymouth Whitemarsh – Taylor O’Brien 7 10-12 25; Lauren Fortescue 4 2-4 12; Ali Diamond 4 4-6 15, Lauren Coscia 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 17 16-22 56.
#9 ABINGTON 51, #1 NORTH PENN 44
The final horn had barely sounded when the celebration began. The Ghosts had knocked off the top-seeded Knights to earn a spot in Wednesday’s district semifinals.
“Literally, I have not been this happy in so long for basketball,” junior Sam Brusha said. “My freshman year our team got to (the district championship at) Temple, but I was a freshman and there were a lot of upperclassmen who were a lot better than me, so I didn’t get to play.
“I got to feel it though, being on the bench and just cheering and going so far. Now that I’m playing on the court and have a big role on the team, it’s a dream come true. All of us have been striving for it since workouts in September.”
Brusha made life difficult for the Knights’ defense by burying one outside shot after another en route to a game-high 16 points as the Ghosts earned their 14th win in their last 15 games.
“This playoff run we’ve really focused on energy,” Brusha said. “Coach Marsh and all the coaches – before the games we do our ‘strive for five,’ and we list five things we need to bring to the game.
“Our number one is always energy. I think we just got so much momentum in the third quarter, and we just ran away with it and never looked back.”
Lizzie Oleary echoed a similar sentiment.
“We had a lot of energy,” the senior center said. “We were getting excited on the way out of the locker room. We were cheering, and we really (carried) that onto the court.”
Oleary and Kassondra Brown – both 6-2 – proved to be a difficult matchup for the Knights. The duo combined for 24 points and 18 rebounds with Oleary finishing with 14 points and 10 boards while Brown had 10 points and eight rebounds.
“They really took away our post-up game where just sit on the block and score that way,” Oleary said. “But I think driving in and giving them a different look – they weren’t exactly expecting it.
“I think that threw them off a little bit, and they got in some foul trouble. (Teams) don’t know who to worry about with me and her in there, and if they worry about us, we have our shooters on the outside.”
The Ghosts gave the Knights plenty to worry about in Saturday district quarterfinal. The two teams were deadlocked 9-9 after one quarter, and the Ghosts took a 20-19 lead into halftime. Brown led the Ghosts with six points while Jess Huber and Sam Carangi each had five for the Knights.
A three by Bri Hewlett to open the second half put the Knights on top by two, and when Jess McKenzie buried a pair at the foul line, the lead grew to four. Camryn Lexow broke a two-minute scoring drought for the Ghosts with a putback, and Oleary connected on a pair at the foul line to knot the score.
A Carangi three and a basket off the dribble by Irisa Ye put the Knights back on top by four, but seconds later Carangi – who was picked up her third foul just over a minute earlier – was whistled for her fourth foul and forced to take a seat on the bench.
Ye scored on a pull-up to give the Knights a 31-25 lead. It was their only productive possession in five after Carangi left the game. The other four resulted in turnovers, and coach Maggie deMarteleire re-inserted her senior point guard back into the lineup.
The Knights, however, never really regained any momentum they lost. A pair of Brusha baskets – the second a trey – sandwiched around an Oleary bucket sent the Ghosts into the final quarter with a 33-31 lead. Huber scored after a Carangi steal to knot the score, but Oleary found Lexow for an easy bucket and another Brusha three put the Ghosts on top by five. They took a seven-point lead when Oleary scored in close.
The Knights pulled to within four after a Carangi basket, but then came a sequence that all but cut the heart out of the Knights. With three minutes remaining, Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one, but she kept the rebound of her miss alive, was fouled and stepped to the line for another one-and-one. She missed again, but this time converted the putback to give the Knights a 42-36 advantage.
“That was huge,” Oleary said. “She just knows how to use her size, and she uses it so well. She goes for rebounds, and when she wants the ball, she’s going to get it.
“I think teams can try and prepare for that, but you can’t guard that.”
Bri Hewlett buried a three at the other end to pull the Knights to within three, but another Brown putback gave the Ghosts a 44-39 lead. Carangi’s third three-pointer of the game with two minutes remaining made it a 44-42 game, but Brusha buried both ends of a one-and-one. Britney James buried three-of-four from the foul line in the closing seconds to seal the Knights’ fate.
When it was over, North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if her team had not struggled with foul woes.
“We were up by (four), we were gaining momentum, and we were breaking their press with ease, and they called two fouls on (Carangi) in I don’t know how much time, and now she’s sitting on the bench,” the Knights’ coach said. “I’m not taking anything away from Abington because those bigs are tough, and 33 (Brusha) hit lots of shots, and their point guard (James) does a nice job of managing the floor, but two quick fouls on my point guard and now she’s on the bench. The momentum just totally shifted.”
Carangi led the Knights with 11 points, which included three threes. Hewlett added 10, Ye had nine and Huber contributed eight.
For the Ghosts, Lexow added six points.
“We liked our chances coming in here, especially the way we’ve been playing,” coach Dan Marsh said. “This team has really come together. I’m really, really proud of them. We just want to keep going.”
Abington (20-5, 10-2 SOL) will face fifth-seeded Central Bucks West in a district semifinal game at Bensalem Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. North Penn (21-4, 10-2) will host Garnet Valley in a playback game on Wednesday.
Abington 9-11-13-18 51
North Penn 9-10-12-13 44
Abington (51) – Britney James 0 3-4 3; Camryn Lexow 3 0-0 6; Lizzie Oleary 3 8-12 14; Kassondra Brown 5 0-2 10; Sam Brusha 5 3-4 16; Miranda Liebtag 1 0-0 2; Totals 17 14-22 51.
North Penn (44) – Jenny Hulmes 1 0-0 2; Irisa Ye 4 0-0 9; Jess Huber 3 1-2 8; Sam Carangi 4 0-0 11; Jess McKenzie 1 2-2 4; Bri Hewlett 3 2-2 10; Totals 16 5-6 44.
#5 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 61, #4 GARNET VALLEY 31
The Bucks turned in what their coach called an “exceptional” offensive effort, and the Jaguars – minus sophomore standout Brianne Borcky (illness) – were simply no match.
“Our kids moved the ball probably as well as I’ve seen one of my teams move the ball,” coach Terry Rakowsky said. “We were making shots.
“We were moving it so well, and we were getting a lot of easy set shots. Then we were even going inside-outside.
“We go out to Garnet Valley – we take that hour and 25-minute drive. It’s hard. They’re a good team. They maybe don’t match up with us very well just because we’re so fast and athletic, but they’re big and they’re talented. They have kids that can shoot. In the matchups with them, we’re just more athletic.”
West led 14-11 after one quarter and then exploded for 21 second-quarter points while limiting the Jaguars to just four. For good measure, they outscored the Jaguars 26-16 in the second half, winning all four quarters en route to the lopsided win.
Earlier this season, the Bucks rolled to a 67-50 win over the Jaguars at the Blue Chip Super Showcase.
“We ran them off the floor the first time – they just couldn’t get back with us,” coach Rakowsky said. “Today they did a really good job of getting back in a two-three zone and stopping our transition.”
The Jaguars’ zone couldn’t contain freshman Maddie Burke, whose game-high 18 points included four three-pointers. Senior Maggie Rakowsky added 13 points with three three-pointers, and sophomore Tori Abelson contributed nine points. Senior Alex Burkauskas had eight points with two threes, and Diane Nicholson finished with seven and one three-pointer. All told, the Bucks connected on 10 three-pointers.
Defensively, the Bucks limited high-scoring Emily McAteer to just two field goals and six points. In the initial meeting between the two teams, the sophomore standout scored 24 – 20 in an overpowering first half.
The win vaulted a young West squad into the final four of the district.
“I think we’re ahead of target,” coach Rakowsky said. “My concern was that when you have young players like we have you just don’t know sometimes what you’re going to get.
“Your consistency is not there. You’ll have quarters where you score 25-30 points and another quarter where you go scoreless, and you can’t beat the good teams unless you’re consistent.
“Our last two weeks or so we’ve been consistent. Our bad quarter might be we score 10 points, and we’re continuing to play good defense.”
Central Bucks West (21-4, 9-3 SOL) will face ninth-seeded Abington in a District One 6A semifinal game at Bensalem on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Central Bucks West 14-21-12-14 61
Garnet Valley 11-4-8-8 31
Central Bucks West (61) – Alex Burkauskas 3 0-0 8 Bailey Tracy 1 0-0 2; Maddie Burke 6 1-1 17; Tori Abelson 3 3-4 9; Maggie Rakowsky 5 0-0 13; Abbey Spratt 0 1-4 1; Diane Nicholson 3 0-0 7; Izzy Treon 2 0-0 4; Totals 23 5-9 61.
Garnet Valley (31) – Camryn Faith 1 0-0 2; Katherine Eckhoff 0 2-2 2; Emily McAteer 2 2-2 6; Nicole Barnes 3 0-4 6; Sydney Fail 2 0-0 4; Jillian Nagy 0 1-2 1; Liesl Dentinger 1 1-3 3; Maddie McKee 1 0-0 2; Maddy Sorokanych 2 1-3 5; Totals 12 7-17 31.
#7 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 35, #2 BOYERTOWN 32
Alexa Brodie had a mindset to play more aggressively than she has in recent outings.
“I’ve been settling a little bit,” the sophomore point guard said.
Brodie certainly didn’t settle in Saturday’s showdown against a Boyertown squad that sent the Titans home for the season in district play two years ago. She drove through the Bears’ stingy defense for a basket on South’s opening possession, and by the end of the first quarter, she had eight points.
She finished with a game-high 19, and the Titans needed every one of those points to eke out a win after the Bears, who trailed by 10 in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, made it a one-possession game, thanks to their stifling full court pressure.
“I didn’t say it was pretty the way we finished the game off, but we finished the game off to make it back to the district semis for the second year in a row,” coach Beth Mattern said. “It was nice to see the effort from everyone.
“I thought Alexa (Brodie) was a nice general on the floor. I told her coming into today she had to be.”
Despite Brodie’s big first quarter, the Titans trailed by one (11-10) as the Bears rode the hot hand of Bucknell-bound Abby Kapp to a quick 11-6 lead. Kapp accounted for nine of those points. She managed just one field goal the rest of the way, thanks to the tenacious defense of senior Melissa Veal.
“Melissa Veal played out of her mind,” Mattern said. “I know defensively she can play anyone, and I thought she played phenomenal tonight.
“We knew we had to win this with our defense. Kapp is a great scorer. The looks she got were contested for the most part, 
and they were beautiful shots, but Melissa’s defense just really limited those touches.”
“After she had her points, we went into complete deny,” Veal said. “I wasn’t helping off of her at all. I had to just stay on her. My team was in help the rest of the game, and I just kept on her, didn’t leave her.”
The Titans had their best stretch of the game in the second quarter, closing out the half with an 11-0 tear after the Bears opened up a 17-14 lead at the 5:30 mark. The sequence began with a three by Meghan Kuypers after some impressive ball movement. Another three by Kuypers gave the Titans a three-point lead, and when Kuypers penetrated and kicked the ball to Brodie for a three, the Titans led 23-17.
“They played great defense,” said Kuypers, who scored eight of her 10 points in the second quarter. “I give them credit – it was so hard to do anything against them, but once we got the hang of it and worked as a team, we started connecting and moving to the pass. That’s what helped us.”
Brodie’s driving basket in the final minute sent the Titans into halftime with a 25-17 lead.
“Our coaches said in the locker room that this game was definitely going to be a game of runs,” Brodie said. “We knew we were going to have runs, and they were going to have runs, but it’s like coach said – it’s all about how are we going to match those runs.
“Are we going to put our heads down and let them take over the game, or are we going to come back from those runs and make a run of our own.”
The second half was a struggle for both teams. Each team managed just four points in the third quarter, but after Veal found Haley Meinel for an easy bucket to open the fourth quarter, the Titans led 31-21. Eight turnovers on their next nine possessions against the Bears’ suffocating pressure allowed Boyertown to pull to within three (31-28) after a basket by Allie Marcus with 1:31 remaining.
Brodie answered by burying both ends of a one-and-one to up the Titans’ lead to five, but Kapp answered with a basket. Again, Brodie connected on a pair at the line. The Bears pulled to within three with 25 seconds remaining but would get no closer.
“It was frustrating, but I don’t think we were expecting to come into this gym and not turn the ball over,” Brodie said. “Obviously, that’s more than we wanted, but we expected them to high pressure and double the ball, but at the end of the day we made enough plays that those turnovers didn’t cost us the game. We made more plays than them.”
Central Bucks South (19-5, 7-5 SOL) will face Plymouth Whitemarsh in a district semifinal at Bensalem on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Central Bucks South 10-15-4-6 35
Boyertown 11-6-4-11 32
Central Bucks South (35) – Meghan Kuypers 4 0-1 10; Haley Meinel 2 0-2 4; Alexa Brodie 6 6-7 19; Maddie McShane 1 0-0 2; Totals 13 6-10 35.
Boyertown (32) – Katie Armstrong 2 1-1 5; Victoria Boalton 0 1-2 1; Allie Marcus 4 2-2 12 Kylie Webb 1 0-0 3; Avery Sweisfort 0 0-2 0; Abby Kapp 5 0-1 11 Totals 12 4-8 32.
Playback Games
#8 SOUDERTON 44, #16 SPRING-FORD 28
The Rams – minus their top scorer senior Sydney Wagner – were at a decided disadvantage when they travelled to Souderton for Saturday’s playback game, but coach Lynn Carroll liked what she saw from her squad that needed a win to keep its season alive.
“That’s a devastating loss for them,” the Indians’ coach said of the absence of the Wagner, who averaged more than 15 points a game. “She takes 75 percent of their shots.
“We defended really, really well for 32 minutes, and that, to me, was the story of the game for us. Our help defense was good with Kate (Connolly) and Alana (Cardona) in the lane really helping and fronting their big kids. Maddie Haney is a good player for them, and we did a good enough job on her.”
Carroll was especially pleased with her team’s response to Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss to Abington in a game the Indians led heading into the final frame.
“We spent so much time preparing to play Abington, and to lose was devastating for everybody, so I’m really proud of the girls for bouncing back and having two good days of practice,” the Indians’ coach said. “It can be hard to be in this playback bracket, and with the exception of everybody but Kate, this is everybody’s first playoff win. Wednesday was their first playoff game.
“We have a young team, and they have shown they’re able to handle this type of adversity being in this situation for the first time. I was really happy with how we bounced back after what was pretty tough Wednesday night.”
The Indians led 13-9 after one quarter and took a 25-15 lead into halftime. They outscored the Rams in each of the four quarters.
Cardona led the Indians with 13 points. Connolly added 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
“Alana’s shots were all defended – there were always one or two people on her, and she was making tough moves to the basket,” Carroll said. “Kate hit two threes to open the game, which was nice.”
Megan Bealer contributed seven points, five rebounds and three blocks, and Tori Dowd had six points, eight assists and seven steals in a standout effort at point guard.
Souderton (18-6, 8-4 SOL) will host 12th-seeded Upper Dublin in a playback game Wednesday.
“We’ll spend the next few days preparing for Upper Dublin,” Carroll said. “I’m happy for the girls and happy with how they’ve handled everything.
“I think sometimes it’s hard when you lose the way we lost on Wednesday and you’re out of contention for districts – it’s like, ‘Okay, now what are we playing for?’
“I think this team is excited about possibly being the first team in our tenure to get us to states. That’s the goal right now, which means we focus on Upper Dublin.”
Spring-Ford 9-6-5-8 28
Souderton 13-12-9-10 44
Spring-Ford (28) – Kali Kratz 0 0-2 0; Juliana Alessandroni 1 0-0 3; Alyssa Conway 1 0-0 2; Dez Engle 2 0-0 6; Abby Goodrich 2 1-2 5; Maddie Haney 4 0-0 9; Sarah Cooper 0 3-4 3; Totals 10 4-8 28.
Souderton (44) – Tori Dowd 3 0-1 6; Megan Bealer 2 2-2 7; Alana Cardona 5 3-5 13; Megan Walbrandt 2 1-2 5; Sami Falencki 1 0-0 3; Kate Connolly 3 2-5 10; Totals 16 8-15 44.
#12 UPPER DUBLIN 47, #13 METHACTON 44
The Flying Cardinals rode the emotion of their home crowd and received contributions up and down their lineup to earn a win that extended their season and sent the Warriors home for the season.
“Coming into the game, I thought it was going to come down to whoever could forget about their Wednesday night loss first because the more tape I watched on Methacton, the more impressed I was with them, and the more dangerous I thought they were,” coach Morgan Funsten said. “I didn’t know a lot about them prior to studying them, but they have a lefty point guard in (Ryan) DeOrio who’s a very fierce competitor. She’s a great shooter, she’s a great ball handler, and she’s a great distributor.
“One thing that I really appreciate in basketball is people who can pass the ball well. What made me think higher of them as a team was they were all good passers, so coming into the game, we knew we were going to have our hands full.”
The Cardinals’ coach acknowledged it was a definite advantage to play on his team’s home court.
“We had another great crowd,” Funsten said. “We’ve had great student sections every game. We had more students at CB West than CB West had, and CB West had a great student section. Our fans – it’s made the ride that much more fun.”
The two teams battled to an 11-11 tie after one quarter, and the Cardinals – behind eight second-quarter points from Josie Barrett – took a 26-23 lead into halftime.
“Methacton has a very up-tempo style, and we compared them to the CB West game,” Funsten said. “At times, we handled CB West’s pressure very well.
“It was not going to be as intense of pressure as CB West, but it was a nice game to come off of CB West because both teams have similar tendencies.
“We were down early, but we made some shots at the end of the first quarter and kind of settled in. By the end of the first quarter, both teams had all the frustration from their previous game out of the way, and we just got to play basketball.”
The Cardinals took a 37-32 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Warriors didn’t go down quietly.
“They made a three at the buzzer, but it was a one-possession game much of the fourth quarter,” Funsten said. “It wasn’t the cleanest of finishes, but all we cared about was getting a win.
“We’re excited that we bought ourselves two mores lives.”
Kaiser led the Cardinals with 14 points, which included a 6-for-10 effort at the foul line. Barrett finished with 13 points and had three three-pointers.
“Josie made two threes in the second quarter that got us going and allowed us to get the lead going into halftime,” Funsten said. “Nicole Kaiser has been such a steady hand for us this year, and she finished with 14. She was solid at the line in the fourth quarter and also made a big basket that pushed the lead from three to five on a nice finish in the fourth quarter.”
Demi Balasa added seven points, and Maggie Weglos once again filled a stat sheet, finishing with five points, seven assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
“This was her second consecutive game at the point guard position where she has really, really played well,” Funsten said. “To have a breakout game like she had against CB West and then to follow it today with a such a stat-stuffing game really speaks to how she’s grown also. I’m really excited with how she’s playing.”
Upper Dublin (19-6, 12-2 SOL) will travel to Souderton for a playback game on Wednesday.
“We scrimmaged Souderton earlier in the year, and they really, really took it to us,” Funsten said. “We’re excited to prove to ourselves we’re a better team than when we scrimmaged them earlier, and we know we’re a better team.
“We feel like we’ve grown tremendously since the beginning of the year, bringing along the freshmen, Jackie Vargas and Kara Grebe. Jackie got in foul trouble today, and Kara Grebe stepped in and played very, very important minutes and supplied a steady hand on defense for us. Methacton has a lot of weapons, and she did a great job.”
Methacton (44) – Ryan DeOrio 5 3-3 14; Nicole Cooper 1 0-0 2; Jenna Cooper 4 0-0 10; Sydney Tornetta 0 2-2 2; Jackie Cerchio 1 1-5 3; Olivia Pennypacker 1 1-2 3; Jillian Zerbe 1 0-0 2; Sydney Thompson 3 0-0 8; Totlas 16 7-12 44.
Upper Dublin (47) – Nicole Kaiser 4 6-10 14; Josie Barrett 3 4-6 13; Kara Grebe 2 0-0 4; Demi Balasa 2 1-3 7; Maggie Weglos 1 2-2 5; Lindsey Schreiber 0 0-1 0; Jackie Vargas 2 0-0 4; Totals 14 13-22 47.
#15 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 62, #10 NESHAMINY 55
Bri Talbot turned in a glittering 27-point effort to lead to Patriots to a win that kept their state playoff aspirations alive. The senior’s big night included an unusual stat – she connected on 16-of-24 from the foul line
“They couldn’t really stop Bri going to the basket,” East coach Liz Potash said. “I thought the girls played really well.”
The Patriots, who took a 28-15 lead into halftime, led by as many as 23 in the third quarter. They still led by 21 with 4:42 remaining before the Redskins closed out the game with a run. Talbot scored nine points in the third quarter and buried 10-of-16 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
The game turned into a foul-fest with the Patriots burying 27-of-42 from the charity stripe while the Redskins were 14-of-24 as the two teams combined for 66 trips to the foul line.
Also for the Patriots, Bailey McManus scored 11 points while Grace Stewart added nine. Sophia Mancuso had six.
“Bridget (Birkhead) was in foul trouble, so she didn’t play a ton,” Potash said. “Grace Stewart did an outstanding job on Allison Harvey.”
Harvey led the Redskins with 15 points, but 10 of those came in the fourth quarter when the outcome had been all but decided.
Central Bucks East (15-9, 6-6 SOL) will travel to 14th-seeded Coatesville on Wednesday. A win would clinch a state berth.
Central Bucks East 15-13-18-16 62
Neshaminy 9-6-12-29 55
Central Bucks East (62) – Sophia Mancuso 2 2-2 6; Bridget Birkhead 1 1-2 4; Gina Russon 0 0-0 0; Megan Browne 2 1-2 5; Bailey McManus 2 6-11 11; Bri Talbot 5 16-24 27; Abby Charlton 0 0-0 0; Grace Stewart 4 1-1 9; Totals 16 27-42 62.
Neshaminy (55) – Emily Tantala 1 0-0 2 Emily Alexis 1 1-2 3; Olivia Scotti 4 0-2 9 Brooke Mullin 4 1-3 10; Kristin Curley 1 6-7 8; Kelly Kowalick 1 0-0 2; Devon Storms 1 3-7 5; Allison Harvey 5 3-3 14; Totals 18 14-24 55.
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