Neshaminy advanced to Saturday’s District 1 6A title game with its win over Abington. Plymouth Whitemarsh and Central Bucks West clinched state berths with wins in playback games. Neshaminy/Abington photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. CB West/Pennsbury photos courtesy of Marge Bullock Photography (http://www.margebullock.com )
Class 6A semifinal
#1-2 NESHAMINY 44, #1-3 ABINGTON 28
Coach Joe Lally has been preaching defense to his Redskin squad all season. His players have apparently been listening, throwing some serious defense at the Ghosts and limiting them to just 17 points over the final three quarters.
“Day one – we’ve been talking about defense,” the Redskins’ coach said. “These young ladies are the ones that bought in. They’re the ones doing the work, they’re the ones studying and laying it on the line. It’s all their credit.
“I say it all the time – it’s not me. It’s them. They bought in that we needed to be a better defensive team, and we are, and it’s helping us win against really good teams.”
Abington defeated Neshaminy 51-44 in the SOL Tournament title game, but the Redskins did some serious film study between that loss and Wednesday’s district semifinal showdown at Bensalem.
“We’ve been focusing on defense,” senior Brooke Mullin said. “Coach has been on us about watching film and writing notes on their plays and personnel. We’ve been studying, then we bring notes to practice, and we go over them with everybody. It’s like a test.”
The Redskins passed their test with flying colors, and they continue to put their names in the record books, the first team in program history to advance to the district title game.
“This is amazing,” senior Allison Harvey said. “This is my final run. We’re excited for Saturday. It means everything.”
The Ghosts – or more specifically, Kassondra Brown – had the better of play in the opening quarter. The Rhode Island-bound senior center had nine points, and the Ghosts led 11-8. Brown had just five points the rest of the game, and her team managed only 17 over the final three quarters.
“We were playing team defense,” said Harvey, who defended Brown much of the night. “I knew that if I fronted her I had my help behind me, so I just go low because she’s a lot bigger than me. I used my body, and I knew I had my teammates behind me.”
The tide turned in Neshaminy’s favor in the second quarter, and junior point guard Kristin Curley had a whole lot to do with that momentum swing. She scored on a drive on the Redskins’ opening possession to make it a one-point game, and after freshman Khalis Whiting scored at the other end, she buried a three to knot the score. After an Abington miss, Curley scored from just inside the arc, giving the Redskins a lead they would not lose, 15-13.
“When she’s confident and she’s knocking down her shots, there’s definitely a momentum swing,” Harvey said of Curley. “It was great.”
The significance of Curley’s 7-0 run was not lost on her coach.
“(Those shots) are enormous for us, they really are because they’re face guarding Allie (Harvey), and they’re looking to double Brooke when she moves to the ball, so that gives Kristin opportunities to be aggressive,” Lally said. “I say it all the time, and I think I said it tonight on the bench – we’re in a position now where one of these three (Mullin, Harvey and Curley) has to get a shot.
“Again, that makes the team special because the other players know it, and they work to get them their shots.”
A bucket by Alexis McCoy gave the Redskins a four-point lead. Later in the quarter, Mullin turned a steal into a layup, and a Harvey three after an Abington miss gave the Redskins a 23-14 lead at the intermission.
Early in the third quarter, Miranda Liebtag buried a three, and after Brown sank one of two at the foul line, Tamia Wessels connected on a three to make it a 23-21 game. Harvey scored on a cut to the basket, and when Harvey found Kelli Kowalick for an easy bucket, the Redskins led 27-21. They took a 29-24 lead into the final quarter and sealed the Ghosts’ fate with an 8-0 tear that included five straight points from Mullen and a Harvey three after a Mullin block and rebound at the other end.
The Redskins led 37-24 and had punched their ticket to Saturday’s title game at Temple University where they will face top-seeded Garnet Valley at 4 p.m.
“It’s just a lot of happiness and a lot of excitement just to win and beat Abington again,” Mullin said. “To win and we’re going to the district title – it’s just exciting.”
Mullin’s 14 points led a balanced Redskins attack. Curley added 11 points.
“My coaches and my parents have been super on me – when I’m open, I need to shoot the ball,” Curley said. “That’s really what it comes down to. I have to be more aggressive. I can’t always be looking to pass the ball.”
Another key to Wednesday’s win, according to Curley, was the Redskins’ ability to break the Ghosts’ press.
“We worked all week on press breaks because that’s what got us last time,” Curley said. “That’s where we lost our minds a little bit in the last game, so we worked on that a whole bunch every single day at practice for a half hour. When they got into that, we knew we just had to stay calm, and I think we executed our press break really well.”
Also for the Redskins, Harvey added eight points and Kowalick had seven.
Brown’s 14 points led the Ghosts. No other player had more than five on a night that saw the Ghosts connect on just 2-of-14 shots from beyond the arc.
“We weren’t able to knock shots down,” coach Dan Marsh said. “We expected that help defense. That was nothing new that we haven’t seen. We didn’t make shots.
“If they’re going to pack it in and try and take away Brown, normally, our other kids knock those down. Again, I think the moment caught us, and they did a good job. Hats off to them. We’re going to regroup and make a run at states.”
Abington will host Spring-Ford in Friday’s third place game, and Marsh will be looking for a much different outcome.
“We weren’t playing aggressive enough offensively or defensively,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I think we were playing not to lose as opposed to playing to win.
“There was a short spurt in the third quarter when we were starting to get that back, but they did a really good job of not letting us dictate that pace, and it hurt us. I’m not terribly upset. This team has won a district championship. Our ultimate goal is a state championship, and this is the kind of loss you can learn from.
“I told them if we’re going to lose then we want to do it our way, and if somebody beats us then they beat us because we were playing our way. I don’t think we played our way, and you have to give them credit for that.”
Abington 11-3-10-4 28
Neshaminy 8-15-6-15 44
Abington (28) – Tamia Wessels 1 0-0 3; Camryn Lexow 1 0-0 2; Kassondra Brown 5 4-5 14; Miranda Liebtag 1 1-2 4; Khalis Whiting 1 3-6 5; TOTALS 9 8-13 28.
Neshaminy (44) – Emily Tantala 1 0-0 2; Brooke Mullin 3 8-9 14; Kristin Curley 5 0-0 11; Alexis McCoy 1 0-0 2; Kelli Kowalick 3 1-2 7; Allison Harvey 3 0-0 8; TOTALS 16 9-11 44.
3-pointers: Abington – Tamia Wessels, Miranda Liebtag, Neshaminy – Allison Harvey 2, Kristin Curley.
Class 6A playbacks (9-11th place games)
#1-14 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 49, #1-15 PENNSBURY 32
It hasn’t been an especially easy journey for a West team that entered the season with lofty expectations only to suffer some unexpected speed bumps along the way. The Bucks persevered, and on Wednesday, they clinched a coveted berth to the state tournament with the kind of performance that could make them a dangerous opponent.
“We’ve had our ups and downs for sure, but it’s really good to get such a team win and get to the state tournament,” West junior Maddie Burke said. “Pennsbury is great team. We were practicing their plays all week. We played a zone, and it was working, so we stuck with it.
“Our defense definitely starts our offense. We look for transition – that’s the first thing we look for. We played smart tonight, and that’s what really helped.”
It’s hardly a secret that the key to stopping the Bucks is containing Burke. Coach Terry Rakowsky knew his team could ill afford to let that happen.
“I pulled her over in warm-ups and said to her, ‘Maddie, this is the type of game you make your name on. You have a name, but it’s these types of games – it’s sort of a state-wide game, people are watching the brackets, and all of a sudden, your name pops up. This is how you make a name for yourself in games like this,’” the Bucks’ coach said.
Burke responded in a big way, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and finishing with a game-high 20 to go along with five rebounds.
“She was smart, she took the right shots, she rebounded, she played good defense, and she was a leader on the floor,” Rakowsky said. “Maddie came out right from the start and knocked down two 23-foot threes, which I’ve been talking to her about. I’ve been trying to tell her that’s her shot, and she’s working on it. She was very good tonight, and it opened up everything for us after that.”
It was the kind of performance that elevated the Bucks to a different level at both ends of the court.
“I had openings, and coach has been telling me I need to take those shots,” Burke said. “I figured one of these next two games was going to decide our season, so I needed to step up and help the team win.”
The Bucks led 21-14 after one quarter, and Burke wasn’t the only one stepping up. Freshman Emily Spratt had five points, including a three, and senior Izzy Treon had four.
By halftime, the Bucks led 34-20, and the trio of Burke (15 points), Spratt (eight points) and Treon (six points) did most of the damage.
“Our kids played smart tonight,” Rakowsky said. “They distributed the ball, hit open shots. We had maybe two unforced turnovers.
“Our kids played smart defensively. We knew who their strengths were. They scored, but we did a really good job of making their best kids not beat us, making the other kids beat us. Our kids rebounded – I’m not sure if we gave up an offensive rebound. We crashed the boards, dominated the boards.”
With the outcome all but decided by halftime, the two teams exchanged baskets in the second half.
“If you don’t turn the ball over, you get a good shot each time down the floor, play decent defense, you’re in every game to win it,” Rakowsky said. “If you turn it over 17 times and 10 are unforced, you’re struggling, and it’s hard to watch.
“Tonight was actually a very pleasant game to watch. Our kids off the bench did well. I don’t think either team was in seven fouls. We didn’t put them on the line and have silly fouls. From our perspective, it was a really good win for us and gets us back in states. It’s exciting.”
Treon also finished in double figures with 10 points to go along with four rebounds. Spratt had eight points and three rebounds. Tori Abelson added four boards while Jess Broskey added seven points and a team-high seven rebounds.
“Jess Broskey had a good game too with putbacks,” Rakowsky said.
Freshman Ava Sciolla’s 17 points, which included three three-pointers, led the Falcons. Cami Wiegand had a pair of threes and finished with 10 points.
“I talked to their coach (Frank Sciolla) before the game – he has them playing the right way, doing the right things,” Rakowsky said. “They just don’t have the amount of skill right now, but they have everything else. I love watching them play. It reminded me of our teams seven or eight years ago. They’re on their way up for sure, if they’re not there already.”
Central Bucks West (17-9, 9-3 SOL) will travel Plymouth Whitemarsh for Saturday’s ninth place game. Pennsbury (19-7, 8-4) will square off against Methacton in a battle for the 11th and final state berth.
Pennsbury 14-6-7-5 32
Central Bucks West 21-13-8-7 49
Pennsbury (32) – Kate Mix 0 1-2 1; Mary Miller 2 0-0 4; Ava Sciolla 7 0-0 17; Cami Wiegand 4 0-0 10; TOTALS 13 1-2 32.
Central Bucks West (49) – Olivia Irons 1 0-0 3; Jess Broskey 3 1-2 7; Maddie Burke 6 1-2 20; Emily Spratt 3 0-0 8; Izzy Treon 5 0-0 10; Tori Abelson 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 20 3-6 49.
3-pointers: Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 3, Cami Wiegand 2, CB West – Maddie Burke 3, Emily Spratt 2, Olivia Irons.
#1-12 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 35, #1-9 METHACTON 30
A young Colonial squad found itself on the short end of a 23-15 score at halftime. Unfazed, they came out of halftime and outscored their hosts 20-7 to earn the program’s third straight trip to states. The first two were foregone conclusions. This one was anything but for a team that starts all freshmen and sophomores.
“It was another heart attack of a game,” coach Dan Dougherty said. “It’s been an incredible ride. It’s such a different feeling making it to states this way.
“The last two years we were a top team and wanted to win a district championship and state championship. This year in a very different way, it’s just as if not more enjoyable because every night has just been an absolute dogfight to try and win games.
“It was just a great effort. I couldn’t be prouder of these kids. To be a top 10 team in the district and to qualify for states. It’s been very, very enjoyable, just a really enjoyable ride.”
The Warriors led by one after one quarter but outscored their visitors 12-5 in the second to go into halftime with an eight-point advantage.
“It was very up-tempo to start the game,” Dougherty said. “They hit a three at the buzzer of the first quarter and then they hit a three at the buzzer of the second quarter to go up by eight at halftime.
“At halftime, we switched one of our defensive assignments. They have a very good freshman shooter (Nicole Timko) and a good junior guard/slasher (Sydney Tornetta), so we switched Kate Flanagan and Gabby Cooper, and we held both of them scoreless in the second half, so that was a big adjustment.
“We held them without a field goal the last 10-and-a-half minutes of the game. They had one point in the last 10-and-a-half minutes – just phenomenal defense. Jordyn Thomas and Lainey Allen did a great job being in help defense and getting rebounds.”
There were also big plays on the offensive end. Thomas had five points, including a three, in PW’s 11-6 third quarter burst. Flanagan had eight points in the second half.
“We were losing the whole game, and Kate Flanagan hit a big step-back three to put us up by two,” Dougherty said. “At a crucial spot in the game, we were winning by three. Kate Flanagan gets fouled in a one-and-one and makes both foul shots to put us up by five. That sealed the game.”
Flanagan’s 10 points led a balanced PW attack. Thomas added nine points while Allen and Anna McTamney both had seven points.
“It was a great comeback,” Dougherty said. “Our three freshmen – Kate Flanagan, Lainey Allen and Jordyn Thomas – all played the entire second half and were outstanding.
“I keep telling the girls after every game how proud of them I am, and there’s nothing they could do to make me more proud of them.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (21-5, 10-4 SOL) will host Central Bucks West in the ninth place game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-5-11-9 35
Methacton 11-12-6-1 30
Plymouth Whitemarsh (35) – Kate Flanagan 3 3-4 10; Gabby Cooper 1 0-0 2; Anna McTamney 3 1-2 7; Lainey Allen 2 3-6 7; Jordyn Thomas 3 2-2 9; TOTALS 12 9-14 35.
Methacton (30) – Sydney Tornetta 4 1-4 10; Caroline Pellicano 1 2-2 4; Nicole Timko 3 0-0 8; Tori Bockrath 1 1-4 3; Abby Penjuke 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 11 4-10 30.
3-pointers: PW – Kate Flanagan, Jordyn Thomas; Methacton =
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