CB East & Neshaminy were winners in playback games in the District 1 6A Tournament on Friday. Neshaminy/Bensalem photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ GIRLS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
District 1 6A fifth place game
#2 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 64, #4 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 54
Fans of long-distance shooting had to love Saturday’s playback game pitting two of the district’s top squads. East buried seven shots from beyond the arc – pretty much an average game for the Patriots – while the visiting Vikings connected on 13 3-pointers (and only five two-point shots).
The Vikings took a 32-31 lead into halftime. Haley Moran’s 14 points led the Patriots, who also received 10 points from Jess Lockwood. The Patriots erased that deficit by outscoring the Vikings 15-11 in the third quarter, taking a 46-33 lead into the final quarter when they sealed the Vikings’ fate with an 18-point quarter. Natalie Berndt’s seven fourth-quarter points led the Patriots and included a 5-for-5 effort at the foul line.
East was a perfect 13-for-13 at the foul line.
Key players: Haley Moran and Jess Lockwood combined for 35 points with Moran contributing 18 and Lockwood 17. Moran also had six assists while Lockwood led the Patriots under the boards with six rebounds. Emma Penecale and Payton Williams also finished in double figures with 10 points each. Natalie Berndt had nine points, which included a 7-for-7 effort at the foul line. She also had four assists.
For the Vikings, Hannah Evans led the way with 20 points, which included four 3-pointers.
Central Bucks East coach Liz Potash:
“It was a great high school basketball game and a good momentum builder heading into states. It’s so hard to go into states with a win streak, and we’re so proud of the girls for bouncing back twice this week after a tough loss last Friday night. It was truly a team effort, and everyone chipped in to get the job done tonight against a hot shooting PV team. We had 17 team assists tonight and got back to playing up to our potential.”
Up next: Central Bucks East will face District 11 runner-up Emmaus in Friday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A State Tournament.
Perkiomen Valley 15-17-11-11 54
Central bucks East 13-18-15-18 64
Perkiomen Valley (54) – Gabby Russo 4 0-0 12; Scarlett Lee 2 3-3 7; Kate Nemic 2 0-0 6; Hannah Evans 7 2-4 20; Megan King 3 0-0 9; TOTALS 18 5-7 54.
Central Bucks East (64) – Haley Moran 6 4-4 18; Emma Penecale 4 0-0 10; Natalie Berndt 1 7-7 9; Payton Williams 4 2-2 10; Jess Lockwood 7 0-0 17; TOTALS 22 13-13 64.
3-point goals: PV – Gabby Russo 4, Hannah Evans 4, Megan King 3, Kate Nemic 2; CBE – Jess Lockwood 3, Haley Moran 2, Emma Penecale 2.
District 1 6A ninth place game
#10 NESHAMINY 41, #16 BENSALEM 39
The Redskins eked out a come-from-behind win over the visiting Owls.
Bensalem took a 26-21 lead into halftime with Grace McShane and Mary Beck both contributing eight points to
lead the Owls. Nicole Trespalacios had nine points and Ashlyn Duffy had eight to lead the ‘Skins.
Neshaminy used a 10-2 third quarter to go on top 31-28, and the two teams pretty much exchanged baskets in the fourth, but the outcome of this one wasn’t decided until the final horn sounded.
By the numbers: Nicole Trespalacios and Ashlyn Duffy both had 11 points to lead a balanced attack. Trespalacios also had four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Hayley Kolk added 10 points and three blocked shots. Grace Weyler had eight points and seven rebounds while Mia Raivitch contributed six rebounds and three assists.
For the Owls, Grace McShane led the way with 13 points while Mischa Ellzy added 10. Mary Beck contributed eight points.
Neshaminy coach John Gallagher:
–Player of the game: “Our player of the game was Ashlyn Duffy, and the reason is – there were a lot of distractions at Neshaminy. We were on a different court and in a different locker room. We didn’t have the facilities we normally have because it’s Gym Night, which is a really big thing at Neshaminy. We’re glad to
accommodate it, and I spoke to Ashlyn yesterday. I said, ‘There are a lot of distractions. Can you please focus the girls?’ And I thought she did a really good job. It’s a tough situation focusing the girls.”
–The game: “This was a really good win for us. We tried to do our best on (Grace) McShane, and to Bensalem’s credit, her supporting cast was fabulous. They must have shot close to 40 or 50 percent from the 3-point line, specifically (Mary) Beck. She had a 3 that put them up 20-18 early in the game. The end of the first quarter we got a late basket from Nicole Trespalacios to tie it 12-12. The kid (Mischa) Ellzy had a real good game too. Bensalem went up 23-18. Nicole hits a 3, and we get it down to 23-21 on a really nice pass from Mia Raivitch. Then Beck again hits a shot that puts them up 26-21 at halftime.
“We knew defensively we weren’t playing that well. Offensively, I thought we were okay. We missed a couple of shots, but defensively, we were really out of sorts, and it was more so their players outside of McShane hitting really big shots. As a matter of fact, at one point in the third quarter, (Sydney) Daut was right in front of me, and she’s got this big wrapping on her hand – she has an injury to her hand, and Mia Raivitch is covering her. I give Mia the – back off and let her shoot, and she hits a 3. I was like, ‘This is going to be a tough day.’
“We came out in the second half and made some changes defensively, and Hayley Kolk had a nice up and under to put us up 28-26 in the third quarter.
“Like every game, it seems like one quarter we shut teams down. Against Conestoga the last game, we held them to a 3 with two seconds left in the quarter. And today in the third quarter, we held them to two points, and that was a transition basket off a miss. So our defense was really good in the third quarter. Ashlyn Duffy had a 3 from Nicole to put us up 31-28 at the very end of the third quarter.
“Grace Weyler got a pull-up in the lane to give us a five-point lead. We’re feeling pretty good, but McShane
comes down and walks right into a 3. We didn’t play good defense on her that particular time. She’s so talented, and you can’t let her just walk up and shoot. She’s too talented to be able to shoot an open 3. They cut it to two, and then Ellzy hit a 3 from the corner.
“Hayley goes up and under, gets fouled and hits two free throws, and we’re up 35-34 with 3:41 left, and then (Jordyn) Bell puts them up 37-35. Ashlyn and Mia double team and get a tie up and steal. Grace Weyler hits a really big pull-up jumper just inside the lane to tie the game. Less than a minute to go, we run a sideline out. It was the biggest possession of the year for us. We posted up our guard, Grace Weyler. Before the game, Megan Gallagher, our assistant coach, said, ‘Don’t forget we’ve tried to post up Grace.’ And with 48 seconds left, we went to it. Grace made the basket to put us up 39-37. McShane hit two free throws to tie the game with 30 seconds left.
“They fouled Mia with about 22 seconds left, and she hits one of two from the free throw line, and we go up 40-39. They had to go the length of the floor and McShane took a deep three and didn’t make it, but it was a desperation shot. With 1.8 seconds, Hayley went 1-for-2 from the foul line to give us a two-point lead.”
Up next: Neshaminy will travel to Easton to face the District 11 champions in Friday’s opening round of the PIAA 6A State Tournament. Bensalem will be on the road at the District 12 champion – the winner of Saturday’s Central/Archbishop Carroll game.
Bensalem 12-14-2-11 39
Neshaminy 12-9-10-10 41
Bensalem (41) – Mary Beck 3 0-2 8; Mischa Ellzy 4 0-0 10; Grace McShane 4 2-2 13; Jordyn Bell 2 0-0 5; Sydney Daut 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 14 2-2 41.
Neshaminy (41) – Grace Weyler 4 0-1 8; Ashlyn Duffy 4 0-0 11; Mia Raivitch 0 1-2 1; Nicole Trespalacios 5 0-0 11; Hayley Kolk 3 3-4 10; TOTALS 16 4-7 41.
3-point goals: B – Grace McShane 3, Mary Beck 2, Mmischa Ellzy 2, Jordyn Bell, Sydney Daut; N – Ashlyn Duffy 3, Nicole Trespalacios, Hayley Kolk. –
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