Souderton & Central Bucks South advanced to Saturday’s District One 6A title game at Temple University. Upper Dublin punched its ticket to states. Check out all the wraps. CB South/Spring-Ford and Souderton/Garnet Valley photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of both games.
District One 6A semifinals
#1-2 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 39, #1-3 SPRING-FORD 36
Beth Mattern walked out of her team’s locker room and raised her arms in the air in celebration.
“We’re going to Temple,” the Titans’ coach said. “We finally did it.
“It was not easy. We made that almost as difficult as possible.”
Easy or not, the Titans made history, earning their program’s first ever berth in the District One 6A title game on Saturday at Temple University, and when the final horn sounded, the players converged for a jubilant celebration.
On their third trip to district semifinal, the Titans – despite serious foul woes – emerged a winner.
“We were all there for each other as a team, and it just felt so good to finally get that,” senior Haley Meinel said. “
“Obviously, we had a little more motivation coming into this game,” junior Alexa Brodie said. “We didn’t want to go three years in a row and not pass that hump of getting to the championship. We had that little extra chip on our shoulders coming into this game. We just tried to make the most of our opportunity. Not many teams get to say they went to the district semifinal three years in a row. We wanted to be that team that got to the championship on Saturday.”
The postgame celebration was a marked contrast to the emotions of the past two seasons.
“It was sad, it definitely was,” Meinel said of coming up empty in the district semis. “We went into the locker room not really talking to each other.
“Today, we went into the locker room after this game and just screamed. We didn’t say anything to each other, we just screamed.”
In a battle of squads whose calling card is defense, neither team could gain an advantage. The Titans – behind five points from Meinel – led 9-8 after one quarter but found themselves deadlocked 19-19 at the intermission. Each team managed just six points in a third quarter devoid of offense.
The Titans led 31-26 after back-to-back baskets from Meinel and Brodie, and they upped that lead to 35-28 after Brodie sank both ends of a one-and-one with 2:53 remaining in regulation. Brodie had a whole lot to do with South’s surge, accounting for six of her team’s points in an 8-2 run.
The Rams came roaring back, and it was a two-point game (37-35) after Alyssa Yuan scored on a drive with 51 seconds remaining. Brodie sank one-of-two at the line to give the Titans a three-point lead, and with the Titans on defense, senior Maddie McShane drew a charge.
“Going on defense, they kept telling us, ‘Don’t foul,’” McShane said. “I knew I was there and could get there, and I knew we needed a stop. When I was on the ground, my back was to the ref, so I was nervous, but then I saw all my teammates clapping.
“Coach said at practice yesterday that it was gong to come down to whoever had the ball last, and the whole time we had to play like it was the last possession. We put ourselves in a little hole getting fouls.”
The Titans not only battled foul problems, they struggled at the foul line, connecting on just 2-of-10 shots in the final 1:42. All that was forgotten when the final horn sounded.
“It obviously wasn’t the cleanest game we’ve had this season,” Brodie said. “But just the fact that we gutted it out in such a sloppy uneven game – that really just shows our toughess as a team.
“Really, once that buzzer went off, it was not about how you played. It was just about the fact that we’re going to Temple on Saturday. This was definitely a goal, especially since we got here two years in a row, and we couldn’t get past that hump.”
Defense kept the Titans in a contest that never developed any flow.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on is our defense,” Mattern said. “If there ever comes a time in the game when we struggle to score, we’ve got to make sure the other team can’t score too.
“That’s always been our mentality. We’ve tried to use our defense to fuel us offensively, and we got that at times tonight. I’m just really proud of that effort because Spring-Ford has some shooters, and they have nice posts. They’re a nice team.”
With most of her starters saddled with three or four fouls down the stretch, Mattern went to her bench. Lindsay Scott – the Titans’ sixth man – scored on a tough drive to give the Titans a 27-26 lead early in the fourth quarter after the Rams had gone ahead by one.
Caroline McSorley, Sofia Sonnet and Madison Aldinger also saw minutes off the bench with the game on the line.
“We got ourselves in serious foul trouble, and when that happens, that bench was ready to go tonight,” Mattern said. “We just talked about it in the locker room. We needed everyone’s minutes tonight, and they really played hard.
“I see them every day in practice, and I see how hard they work. I know they want to be bigger contributors to the team, and you know what – they did exactly what was asked of them. Their name was called and they were on it, and I’m really proud of that.”
Meinel, who was whistled for four second-half fouls, also credited the team’s reserves.
“It’s always tough going in offense-defense because you’re not really in a groove,” the Titans’ senior captain said. “But I thought our bench players came in and played a really big role for us. I thought we just kept pushing.
“They’re a similar team to us, and they play tight defense like we do. We just had to play tougher.”
Central Bucks South (24-3, 10-2 SOL) will face top-seeded Souderton in Saturday’s District One 6A title game at Temple University (4 p.m.).
Spring-Ford 8-11-6-11 36
Central Bucks South 9-10-6-14 39
Spring-Ford (36) – Lucy Olsen 2 4-6 9; Rachel Christmas 0 1-2 1; Abby Goodrich 3 3-4 9; Cassie Marte 2 0-0 5; Olivia Olsen 1 0-0 2; Ayssa Yuan 2 4-8 8; Emily Tiffin 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 11 12-20 36.
Central Bucks South (39) – Haley Meinel 6 2-46 16 Natalie DiSandro 0 0-2 0 Alexa Brodie 4 7-13 15; Maddie McShane 1 0-0 2; Mackenzie Ehresman 1 2-4 4; Lindsay Scott 1 0-0 2; Caroline McSorley 0 0-1 0; TOTALS 13 13-26 39.
3-point goals: Spring-Ford – Lucy Olsen, Cassie Marte.
#1-1 SOUDERTON 47, #1-4 GARNET VALLEY 30
Fans had barely settled in their seats at Bensalem High School when – in the opening seconds of Wednesday night’s District One 6A semifinal – Megan Walbrandt deflected a Garnet Valley pass to Kate Connolly who rewarded Walbrandt with a pass that she turned into an easy layup.
Another Garnet Valley turnover netted three shots for the Indians, a sequence that was capped when Alana Cardona banked home a three-pointer. The Jaguars would go on to turn the ball over on their first four possessions, the fourth on a steal by Tori Dowd that resulted in a Cardona layup and a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game.
For the top-seeded Indians, it was just another day on the basketball court taking care of business, and it’s a no-frills business for a squad that takes pride in finding the open teammate, banging under the boards and – above all – playing the kind of team defense that can bring teams to their knees.
The Indians have done all of this with an approach that suggests they’ve been down this road, but they haven’t.
“In our mindset, we’re just playing and having fun, and we’re just playing really intense,” Cardona said. “Everybody that steps on the court is playing so intense, so it just keeps going, going and going, and it doesn’t really stop, so the intensity never ends.”
So focused and single-minded is this Indian squad that not even their coach has an explanation.
“I don’t know quite how to explain it, but it’s been business as usual over these last few games,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “They walk off the court and it’s like – hey, when’s the next game? There’s no celebrating yet.
“They have a goal in their mind, and they’ll celebrate once they accomplish that, no reason to celebrate before, I guess.”
This is history in the making for a Souderton squad that has ridden its number one seed to Temple University where a familiar opponent awaits in Saturday’s District One 6A title game – SOL Continental Conference foe Central Bucks South.
“It’s so surreal because this has never happened before for us, so we’ve never gotten to a championship this big,” Cardona said. “I think we’re kind of just in awe of everything, and we’re not really celebrating because there’s still one game that’s really important, and we want to play hard in that one too.”
The Indians led 11-2 when Tori Dowd scored on a tough shot in the closing seconds of the first quarter. Brianne Borcky scored to open the second quarter, but back-to-back baskets by Connolly, the second after a steal, upped the Indians’ lead to 15-4, and perhaps the prettiest play of the night came after another Connolly theft at the defensive end.
With the Indians patiently working the ball around the perimeter – and every player on the court getting a touch – Megan O’Donnell found Connolly at the foul line. The ball had barely touched the senior forward’s hands when she split three defenders with a perfect bounce pass that Cardona – cutting under the basket – turned into an easy layup and a 17-4 Souderton lead. (The play was captured on video and can be seen in Andrew Robinson’s story on PAPrepLive: http://papreplive.com/2018/03/01/souderton-locks-down-garnet-valley-heads-to-district-1-6a-final/ .
“I saw her as the ball was coming to me, and we had talked about that earlier – just dropping to the basket, and it worked,” Connolly said of the play. “We’re looking to get the best shot we can because they’re a really big team, and they were in that zone. We were just trying to move the defense and get the best shot possible.”
Emily McAteer buried a three in the closing seconds of the first half to make it a 22-13 game. Midway through the third quarter, McAteer connected on her second three of the night, and this one pulled the Jaguars to within seven (25-18), but the Indians had an answer.
Walbrandt and Megan Bealer scored on consecutive possessions, and after Maddie McKee converted a putback to make it a nine-point game, Cardona scored on a cut to the basket. A Dowd steal set up a Walbrandt bucket, and the Indians led 33-20.
“We definitely could not make an outside shot, but the reason we kept winning this game was because of our defense and because everybody was attacking the basket,” Cardona said. “If the threes weren’t going in, they adjusted.”
The fourth quarter was a steady parade to the foul line for the Indians, who were not about to relinquish their double-digit lead.
Dowd led the Indians defensively with six steals. She also had five assists. Connolly had an impact on every phase of the game, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds, five blocks, five steals and four assists. She also held McAteer to just 12 points. Walbrandt, who had 11 points, stymied Borckey, limiting the Drexel-bound junior to just five points. Bealer came within a basket of a double-double, finishing with eight points and 10 rebounds. Cardona had a team-high 15 points and nine rebounds, but the senior forward was far less concerned about her points than the team defense the Indians threw at the Jaguars.
“There were multiple times where I was fronting a girl, and I just heard behind me – I got you, I got you,” Cardona said. “You can just hear that on the court, so you know you don’t have to worry about anything.
“We were getting so many offensive rebounds as well, so if you miss a shot, you knew somebody was going to be attacking the boards and putting it up strong.”
The game was devoid of the drama of the semifinal that preceded it, and a relaxed Carroll emerged from her team’s postgame meeting.
“I don’t really have to get too riled up very often with this group,” the Indians’ coach said. “I trust them so much on both ends of the court, and we’re getting contributions again from kids off the bench with kids sitting with fouls in the first half.
“But if you would have told me we were going to shoot 2-for-16 from threes and win by 17, I would have told you that you were crazy. We knew they were going to sit back in a zone, and I thought we had to shoot well in order to play well. I was wrong.
“Our steals and deflections got us some easier baskets when the shots weren’t falling and some second chance opportunities. They are just so much fun to coach.”
Souderton (25-2, 11-1 SOL) will face Central Bucks South in a District One 6A semifinal game at Temple University on Saturday, 4 p.m.
Garnet Valley 2-11-8-9 30
Souderton 11-11-11-14 47
Garnet Valley (30) – Emily McAteer 4 2-2 12; Jillian Nagy 1 0-0 2; Nicole Barnes 1 1-2 3; Liesl Dentinger 1 2-2 4; Maddie McKee 2 0-2 4; Brianne Borcky 1 1-3 5; TOTALS 11 5-11 30.
Souderton (47) – Tori Dowd 1 0-4 2; Megan Bealer 1 6-8 8; Alana Cardona 4 6-8 15; Megan Wabrandt 4 3-4 11; Erica Stephens 0 0-2 0; Sami Falencki 1 0-0 3; Kate Connolly 2 4-4 8; TOTALS 13 19-30 47.
3-point goals: Garnet Valley – Emily McAteer 2; Souderton – Alana Cardona, Sami Falencki.
District One 6A Playback (5-8)
#1-5 ABINGTON 46, #1-8 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 45
Cam Lexow turned a Kassondra Brown pass into a basket with eight seconds remaining, giving the Ghosts a one-goal lead and a victory that – according to coach Dan Marsh – was a whole lot harder than it should have been.
“We were up 10-12 the whole game, and they came storming back,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We lost our composure a little bit.
“They actually took their first lead of the game with 30 seconds to go. Then we had the ball and we weren’t really getting anything so I called a timeout with 15 seconds to go. We ran a play for Kassondra (Brown). They doubled her, so she hit Cam Lexow for a layup with eight seconds to go.”
The Indians never got a shot off as the Ghosts forced a turnover to escape with the win.
Sam Brusha scored 20 points to lead the Ghosts. Brown added eight points and 12 rebounds.
“It was a typical third game against a familiar opponent, knock down, drag out,” Marsh said. “We were fortunate to get the lead most of the game. They came back, we turned the ball over a little bit late, but this time we were able to answer their buckets.”
The Indians were led by Dana Bandurick, who collected a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. She also had one blocked shot. Becca Margolis added 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Mackenzie Tinner contributed nine points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
While the Ghosts connected on 19-of-48 shots (40 percent), the Indians made just 18 of 55 shots (33 percent).
Wednesday’s win loomed large for an Abington squad coming off a disappointing loss to Garnet Valley in Friday’s quarterfinal game.
“Even though the girls don’t really understand why we’re still playing in districts – whenever this team goes through a little rough patch, we get back to getting better and improving our chances for states,” Marsh said. “We told them we want the five seed and nothing less, so that’s what we want to go for. We’ll see what happens.”
Abington (19-7, 10-2 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh in a playback game for fifth place on Friday, and Council Rock North (18-7, 10-2) will host Neshaminy in the seventh place game on Friday.
Council Rock North 8-16-15-7 45
Abington 8-16-15-7 46
Council Rock North (45) – Becca Margolis 6 0-0 14; Dana Bandurick 5 6-7 16; Sydney Blum 2 0-0 5; Olivia Boyle 1 0-1 2; Mackenzie Tinner 4 0-0 8; TOTALS 18 6-8 45.
Abington (46) – Jordyn Allen 1 0-0 2; Britney James 2 0-0 5; Tamia Wessels 1 0-0 2; Cam Lexow 3 0-1 6; Kassondra Brown 4 0-2 8; Miranda Liebtag 1 0-0 3; Sam Brusha 7 5-6 20; TOTALS 19 5-9 46.
3-point goals: CR North – Becca Margolis 2, Sydney Blum; Abington – Britney James, Miranda Liebtag, Sam Brusha.
#1-6 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 47, #1-10 NESHAMINY 44
It was a hard-earned win for the Colonials, who were led by the 23-point effort of Taylor O’Brien. The Bucknell-bound senior’s standout effort offset an impressive 22-point performance by Neshaminy junior Brooke Mullin.
“Taylor and Mullin were both unstoppable at times,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “Allison Harvey and Lauren Fortescue were both hot beyond the arc.
“Sydney Kesselman came off the bench and gave us great defensive minutes.”
The game came down to the wire. The visiting Redskins led 14-11 after one quarter, but the Colonials erased that to go into halftime with a 23-21 lead. It was a tie ballgame in the fourth quarter and still anybody’s game coming down to the wire.
“We had multiple chances to close out the game at the foul line but failed to convert,” Dougherty said. “(Allison) Harvey got a good look at the buzzer but came up short.”
Fortescue finished with 11 points while Anna McTamey had seven and Ali Diamond, six points on two threes.
For the Redskins, Harvey had 12 points and Kristin Curley had six.
The game was a mixed bag for Dougherty, who found himself coaching against one of his closest friends in the business, Redskin coach Joe Lally.
“We’ve avoided playing each other for six years,” Dougherty said.
Wednesday’s game was also more than likely the final game to ever be played at Colonial Elementary School.
“It was a fun game but bittersweet,” Dougherty sad. “I was glad we could close it out with a win.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (22-4, 14-0 SOL) will be on the road at Abington for the fifth place game on Friday, and Neshaminy (18-7, 10-2) will be on the road at Council Rock North for Friday’s seventh place game.
Neshaminy 14-7-10-13 44
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11-12-12-12 47
Plymouth Whitemarsh (47) – Taylor O’Brien 9 5-8 23; Lauren Fortescue 3 3-7 11; Ali Diamond 2 0-1 6; Anna McTamney 2 3-4 7;
District One 6A Playback (9-11)
#1-9 UPPER DUBLIN 55, #1-12 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 34
Nicole Kaiser wasn’t ready to see her final high school season come to an end this week. The senior captain made sure that it won’t be, exploding for a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds to lead the Cardinals to a win that clinched a state berth, the program’s fourth in as many years..
“Nicole Kaiser came out possessed tonight,” coach Morgan Funsten said.” She had 13 in the first half and pretty much carried us offensively.
“We are in states. The girls were extremely excited after the game. The atmosphere was absolutely perfect. It’s a memory the seniors, who have qualified for states all four of their years, can take with them forever. The gym was packed, it was loud. We had some of our youth teams in, there were former players there, there were so many familiar faces there, and it was just a really special night.”
The Cardinals, who led 12-11 after one quarter, took a 24-23 lead into the intermission.
“We were a little disappointed with how we were playing defensively,” Funsten said. “We thought giving up 23 points to anybody for us – that’s too many in our opinion, but we were happy with our decision making offensively.
“We had great energy offensively in the first half, but defensively in the first half, we didn’t match it.”
The Cardinals celebrated Fan Appreciation Night, and the student body turned out in force.
“We probably had 200-250 students in the student section, and they were loud and they were in costumes and they did ‘Silent Night’ – they were quiet until eight points and then they went crazy,” Funsten said. “What I was impressed with was the poise of our girls offensively in the first half.
“When you have a crowd like that, it should be very easy to play defense. Offensively, sometimes you have too much energy, and you make poor decisions, and you have trouble shooting the ball. We didn’t shoot the ball from the perimeter all that well in the first half. We were 1-for-9 at halftime, but just the poise – they seemed calm, which I was really impressed with.”
The Cardinals led 33-29 after three quarters and then put the game away with a 22-5 quarter to close it out.
“The second half in general we played great defense,” Funsten said. “The third quarter we made a run early, and they scored the last four points to cut it to four heading into the fourth quarter.
“Honestly, this is what I wanted. I wanted a close game tonight going into the fourth quarter because we have really struggled in close games. I’ll take any win going away, but I wanted our girls to close out a close game. Going into the fourth quarter, we were up by four, and I challenged the girls in the huddle – (East) wants the game to be close right now because they think we’re going to fold.
“We came out and (freshmen) Jess Polin and Dayna Balasa scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter and really made the score go from a four-point game to a 13-point game. There were a ton of great plays made. Maggie Weglos jumped out of bounds, saved an offensive rebound and threw it to Jackie Vargas. Jackie got a run to the basket, got fouled and made the foul shots.
“Earlier in the quarter, Nicole Kaiser got an offensive rebound on a foul shot and finished the layup. Everybody made a big play in the fourth quarter. We wanted to show to ourselves most importantly that we could close out a game that is close in the fourth quarter, and I thought we did a great job of that.”
The Cardinals’ coach had high praise for his senior captains.
“The will to win from Nicole Kaiser and Maggie Weglos was really remarkable this last week or so after our Council Rock North game,” Funsten said. “They have been such great leaders all year, but they’ve kind of taken it to another level.
“You could see tonight – there was no way we were losing this game tonight.”
Kaiser finished with 23 points and seven rebounds while Weglos had nine rebounds and five assists.
“She didn’t score, but that’s a Maggie game, not worrying about her scoring but worrying about whatever we needed her to do,” Funsten said.
Jackie Vargas added 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five blocks. She also, according to Funsten, altered countless shots. Polin had seven points and three assists.
“Jackie Vargas played a great game against Elyse Shine, who I think is one of the most improved players throughout the season,” Funsten said. “We played them the second game of the season, and where she is now – she is a very dangerous player. She has a big upside and will be a great player next year. One of our goals as a team today was to limit all of their players to single digits.
“At halftime, (Bailey) McManus had three threes, so she had nine. Shine had seven points, and we somehow still were able to accomplish our goal,” Funsten said. “We got contributions from everyone.”
McManus and Shine both finished with nine points to lead the Patriots.
Upper Dublin (21-5, 12-2 SOL) will travel to Perkiomen Valley for Friday’s ninth place game, and Central Bucks East (16-10, 7-5) will travel to Downingtown East for the 11th place game. The winner will own a state berth while the losing team will go home for the season.
Central Bucks East 11-12-6-5 34
Upper Dublin 12-12-9-22 55
Central Bucks East (34) – Sophia Mancuso 1 2-2 5; Skylar Krause 1 0-0 2; Gina Russo 1 2-2 4; Caroline Pla 2 0-0 4; Audrey LaBouliere 0 1-2 1; Bailey McManus 3 0-0 9; Elyse Shine 3 3-3 9; TOTALS 11 8-9 34.
Upper Dublin (34) – Nicole Kaiser 10 2-2 23 Jess Poline 3 0-0 7; Sarah Eskey 2 1-1 5; Kara Grebe 0 0-2 0; Dayna Balasa 3 0-0 8; Jackie Vargas 4 2-4 10; Kayla Wolf 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 23 5-9 55.
3-point goals: CB East – Bailey McManus 3, Sophia Mancuso; UD – Dayna Balasa 2, Nicole Kaiser, Jess Polin.
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