Souderton clinched the 11th and final Class 6A state berth. North Penn, CB West, Cr North and Upper Dublin were also winners. Photos of the Souderton/Coatesville gave provided by Donna Longacre Photography.
It’s been quite a district run for the SOL with nine of 11 Class 6A state berths belonging to the league. The Pioneer Athletic Conference will be represented by sixth place Boyertown while the Ches-Mont’s lone representative will be eighth place Garnet Valley. The rest of the spots belong to the SOL after Souderton defeated Coatesville for the 11th and final state berth on Friday night at Quakertown.
#8 SOUDERTON 48, #14 COATSVILLE 37 (11th place game)
Souderton made history when it cinched the program’s first state berth in memory – and possibly the history of the program, and it was a sophomore that led the charge. Megan Bealer finished with an impressive double-double, scoring a team-high 15 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
“Throughout the game, Megan Bealer was just great,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “For her to have a double-double tonight is kind of crazy.
“She was scoring consistently for us throughout each quarter and was playing without hesitation, and she’s not been playing that way. She’s been very hesitant, so it was great to see her come our with some courage and some confidence.”
Armed with memories of Wednesday’s 34-30 loss to Upper Dublin in a game they led by 10 at halftime, the Indians – who scored just six points in the second half against UD – were determined there would be no reruns.
“Yesterday we sat down at practice and talked about how we felt and what we wanted to do that would improve us as a team,” Bealer said. “Since we’re all such close friends, we pick each other up.
“I think that’s what motivates us to keep going. We’re all there for each other.”
It looked as though the Indians would coast to the finish line when they opened up a 21-6 lead in the second quarter after a Sami Falencki three-pointer, but the Raiders closed out the half with a 12-3 tear to make it a six-point game at the intermission. Alana Cardona’s seven points led the Indians in the half while Bealer – who had a pair of threes – and Kate Connolly both had six points.
The Raiders maintained their momentum through much of the third quarter, opening up a four point lead and still leading by three when Bealer converted a three-point play to close out the quarter to knot the score heading into the final quarter.
On the Indians’ opening possession of the fourth quarter, Bealer banked home a shot on a tough drive to put the Indians on top by two, but the Raiders scored four straight points to go back on top 36-34. That lead stood until Falencki buried a three that seemed to ignite the Indians.
“It was really a momentum builder because our shots weren’t falling, and we were having a tough time driving the lane,” junior point guard Tori Dowd said. “Having her sink that three really helped us step up and think ‘we can do this, and we’re not going to let the lead slip away.’”
The Raiders knotted the score 37-37, but Connolly was clutch down the stretch, connecting on both ends of a one-and-one with 3:36 remaining to break the tie and give the Indians a lead they would not lose.
“I think as a team we realized we didn’t ever want to lose like (we did on Wednesday against Upper Dublin) again,” Connolly said. “We said, ‘We really just need to work hard, work together.’ We had one practice, and we just tried to push ourselves.”
Dowd’s fast break bucket after a Bealer rebound on the defensive end pushed the Indians’ lead to four, and after a pair of Raider misses, Connolly buried a pair at the line to put the Indians on top 43-37. They never looked back.
“There were glimpses of what we saw Wednesday in the second half against Upper Dublin,” said Carroll. “Wednesday they weren’t able to power through it, but tonight they were.
“We talked a lot at practice yesterday about where we are mentally and emotionally and put a lot of stuff out on the table. They found a way to fight through the nerves and fight through the fear of disappointing one another. We made plays at the end.” Connolly – a key contributor on Archbishop Wood’s PIAA 3A state championship squad last year – is the lone Souderton player with postseason experience.
“We’re all really excited,” the junior forward said. “It’s a really good experience going to states. It’s going to be really fun, and I think the whole team is looking forward to it to see what we can do.”
Connolly finished with 10 points and eight rebounds while Cardona added eight points. Falencki had six points, and Dowd had four points and five assists. She also held point guard Dee Dee Irwin – who recently surpassed the 1,000-point milestone – to just six points. Megan Walbrandt connected on 4-of-6 at the foul line in the second half.
“I’m really proud of them – this was a long time coming for us,” Carroll said. “We talked to the girls after we lost to Abington – we know this is the group that’s going to get us over the hump. We knew they were going to be the ones to get us to states in our tenure.
“I thanked them in the locker room. I’m really happy for them. It’s a neat experience playing in a state playoff game. I’m proud of their effort, proud of their courage and really happy for them.”
Souderton (19-7, 8-4) will face District 3 champion Central Dauphin in an opening round state playoff game next Friday.
Coatesville 6-12-14-5 37
Souderton 14-10-8-16 48
Coatesville (37) – Dee Dee Irwin 2 1-2 6; Sarah Huston 1 2-2 4; Siani Brown 1 0-0 2; Amaya Douglas 1 1-2 3; Jordyn Worthington 0 0-0 0; Brianna White 6 2-3 16; hariah Torres 1 2-4 4; Megan Stanton 1 0-0 2; Totals 13 8-13 37.
Souderton (48) – Tori Dowd 2 1-2 5; Megan Bealer 5 3-3 15; Alana Cardona 3 2-6 8; Megan Walbrandt 0 4-6 4; Sami Falencki 2 0-0 6; Curran O'Donnell 0 0-0 0; Kate Connolly 3 4-4 10; Totals 15 14-21 48.
#12 UPPER DUBLIN 45, #15 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 37 (Ninth place game)
The Flying Cardinals celebrated Fan Appreciation Night in their final home game of the season with the Booster Club offering free tickets to all students in attendance.
“Over 300 students took advantage of it,” coach Morgan Funsten said. “It was a really special night.
“We’ve played in a great environment every playoff game so far, and we wanted to do a little something special for our fans because of how supportive they’ve been. We’ve played two playoff away games, and they’ve outdrawn the home team, and the home teams have had good crowds too. Our team is a very likable group and our school and the community has kind of fallen in love with it, an it’s made it that much more special for us.”
Friday’s playback game was a rematch of the season opener. The Cardinals won that one 34-26, but this is a far different team.
“I think we’ve established an identity as a team now whereas we had no idea what to expect the first day of the season,” Funsten said. “We prepare for every game the same way, and as we prepared for this one, I felt so much more comfortable, and I don’t think it was because the stress of states was away.
“When we were scouting them – they’re very talented, and we just thought, ‘We can defend the way they want to attack, we can handle their pressure, we can run what we want on offense.’ The girls understand their roles on our team, and they’ve really embraced them recently to the point where they’re letting me calm down a little bit on the sideline and in preparation because I’ve built such a trust with them.”
A pair of freshmen led the charge with Jackie Vargas collecting a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kara Grebe added six points off the bench.
“The story of the game tonight was our freshmen,” Funsten said. “Although the results of the game was not a high pressure situation, playing in front of 350 of your peers is sometimes nerveracking, but our girls really embraced it and they were really excited about it.
“I thought they played loose, which is not easy to do when you’re playing in front of a crowd as big as we had, especially the two freshmen combining for 17 points.”
Five of the Flying Cardinals – who took a 29-19 lead into halftime – scored six or more points. Nicole Kaiser also finished in double figures with 10 points, and Josie Barrett had nine on three three-pointers.
“Josie had two of them in the first quarter,” Funsten said. “We got down 4-0, and all of a sudden Josie made back-to-back threes, and we finished the first quarter up 14-8.
“In the fourth quarter, they made a run back at us to cut it to four. We got a stop, Maggie Weglos got fouled, knocked both ends of a one-and-one down. We got another stop, and in transition, Josie pulled up – it was right in front of the student section. It was Josie’s last game (at home), and it was so fitting that with the perfect backdrop – she was nothing but net on a transition three. That got (the score) up to nine, and I think it took a lot out of CB East.”
Weglos was a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and also had five assists and four rebounds.
“Maggie Weglos did a great job distributing the ball,” Funsten said. “She’s kind of taking on the role of whatever we need her to do.
“Against CB West, we needed her to be a scoring point guard. Tonight we needed her to be a distributor. We always need her to be a defender, and she always shows up in that aspect too. Everybody has fallen into their role, and they’re embracing it now.”
Bri Talbot (14 points) and Bailey McManus (11 points) led the Patriots.
Upper Dublin (21-6, 12-2 SOL) has earned an opening round date with the state’s top-ranked team, District 12 champion Cardinal O’Hara, next Friday. Central Bucks East (16-10, 6-6) will take on District 11 champion Easton.
Central Bucks East 8-11-8-10 37
Upper Dublin 19-10-7-14 45
Central Bucks East (37) – Bridget Birkhead 1 1-2 3; Gina Russo 1 0-0 2; Megan Browne 1 0-0 2; Bailey McManus 4 0-2 11; Bri Talbot 4 6-7 14; Grace Stewart 2 1-2 5; Totals 13 8-13 37.
Upper Dublin (45) – Nicole Kaiser 4 2-2 10; Josie Barrett 3 0-0 9; Kara Grebe 3 0-2 6; Demi Balasa 1 0-0 3; Maggie Weglos 0 6-6 6; Jackie Vargas 4 3-4 11; Totals 15 11-14 45.
#11 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 53, #4 GARNET VALLEY 45 (Seventh place game)
The Indians took a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter only to watch that lead disappear as the Jaguars rallied to knot the score. Coach Lou Palkovics called a timeout, and the Indians responded, outscoring their hosts 13-5 the rest of the way to earn the win.
“We made it too exciting – it shouldn’t have been that exciting,” Palkovics said. “Even up 40-26, I didn’t think we were playing well.
“I didn’t think we had a lot of energy. We were turning the ball over way too many times against a team that was playing a packed in zone, but being up 14, I was pretty comfortable going into the fourth quarter.”
Sophomore Emily McAteer keyed the Jaguars’ run, scoring 11 of her team-high 18 points in the quarter. She had pair of threes and was 5-for-6 at the foul line in the frame.
“I’ve seen her a couple of times, so we kind of knew about her,” Palkovics said. “She got hot, and we started turning the ball over and not playing well.
“It was a recipe for disaster, but again, I think everybody understands – playback games, especially the seven-eight game, you’re like ‘How do I get them up for this game?’ You’re going to Garnet Valley, and we usually go 95, but 95 is closed because there’s a huge truck accident with an oil spill so we couldn’t go 95.”
Instead of arriving an hour before the game, the Indians arrived 35 before the opening tap.
“Those are all excuses,” Palkovics said. “I credit Garnet Valley, and I really like that kid McAteer and the way she plays. I’m really impressed by her. She’s got size and strength.”
The Indians, who led 23-17 at halftime and added to that lead with a 17-9 third quarter, received a boost from sophomore Olivia Boyle off the bench. Boyle contributed eight points, which included a pair of threes.
“Liv’s just been so patient with us,” Palkovics said. “She’s a great player. It’s just when you can go 9-10 deep and you’re trying to get people time – Liv’s only been getting four or five minutes a game, but I know she played over 10-12 minutes tonight.
“I brought her in in the second quarter when it was a tie game, and she hit a big three. She makes a big steal and hits a big two at the buzzer. In the second half, she comes in and hits a big three in the third quarter. She was a huge lift for us tonight. She made a couple of big assists. I give her a lot of credit with turning it around tonight for us.”
The Indians, who had just one field goal in the fourth quarter, were 11-for-15 from the foul line in the frame with Becca Margolis connecting on 8-of-10. In a game that saw the two teams whistled for 49 fouls (27 on the Indians), the teams combined for 52 foul shots with each side taking 26.
The Indians’ defense had 16 takeaways, led by Megan Haggerty with eight.
Margolis led the Indians with 18 points and also had six rebounds and two steals. Dana Bandurick added 10 points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Mackenzie Tinner had seven points, four rebounds and two steals while Hannah Weiler had three rebounds and two steals.
Council Rock North (18-9, 11-1 SOL) will face District 11 runner-up Nazareth in next Friday’s opening round of states.
“I told them, ‘I’ve made 15 or 16 state runs, and usually when you make a state run, there’s always the big dog waiting in the wings. Who knows if you get them in the first round or the fourth round, but you’re going to probably lose to them or play the game of your life, but there is no big dog out there. Nobody’s waiting out there to crush you. You already know you can play with every team in the east,’” Palkovics said. “I don’t care who we get and when we get them.
“You want to go into the state playoffs with a win. I’m not real happy with the way we won, but having played really well the last two games and having lost two games we could have won – for them to come back and tie it and for us to answer by going back up, I was like, ‘Okay, that’s how this team answers,’ so I’m happy with the way they answered and hopefully we can build on it.”
Council Rock North 12-11-17-13 53
Garnet Valley 10-7-9-19 45
Council Rock North (53) – Becca Margolis 4 9-10 18; Camryn Polinsky 0 2-2 2; Olivia Boyle 3 0-0 8; Emily Mackin 3 0-2 6; Dana Bandurick 3 4-8 10; Kaelin Mealy 1 0-2 2; Mackenzie Tinner 3 1-2 7; Totals 17 15-26 53.
Garnet Valley (45) – Camryn Faith 1 0-0 2; Emily McAteer 4 8-9 18; Jillian Nagy 1 0-0 2; Nicole Barnes 2 5-6 9; Sydney Fail 0 6-9 6; Brianne Boorcky 2 1-2 6; Madi McKee 1 0-0 2; 11 20-26 45.
#1 NORTH PENN 44, #2 BOYERTOWN 36 (Fifth place game)
If the district seedings had held true, Friday’s fifth place game would have taken place Saturday night at Villanova, but the script didn’t go according to plans for either squad.
As it was, coach Maggie deMarteleire was just happy to see her team win its second game in a row after falling to Abington in a quarterfinal game.
“I think we needed to gain back some momentum,” the Knights’ coach said. “Obviously, losing to West in the championship for the league was disappointing and then losing to Abington.
“We had really high expectations, but at this point you have to refocus. It’s a new day, you have life, but we have to play 32 minutes of basketball.”
The Knights, who trailed 12-11 after one quarter, outscored the Bears 14-7 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a six-point lead. They added to that lead in the third quarter and took a 38-27 lead into the final quarter.
Irisa Ye had a big defensive game, finishing with five steals – four in the second half.
“They would get a rebound, and she would get steals when they were trying to pass the ball out, and it was big,” deMarteleire said.
Jess Huber led the Knights with 17 points, which included three three-pointers. Ye added nine. Jess McKenzie and Bri Hewlett both had six points.
The Knights’ limited Abby Kapp, a Bucknell commit, to just four points.
North Penn (23-4, 10-2 SOL) will face Cedar Crest, District 3’s third place team, in an opening round state playoff game next Friday.
“To be honest, I’m just happy to play somebody who’s not in our conference right now,” deMarteleire said. “I’m not going to lie. I almost feel as though we play better when we play somebody we don’t know that well because that familiarity is not to our advantage.”
Boyertown 12-7-8-9 36
North Penn 11-14-13-6 44
Boyertown (36) – Katie Armstrong 5 0-0 10; Victoria Boalton 2 1-2 6; Alli Marcus 0 1-2 1;, Kylie Webb 3 1-2 9; Avery Sweisfort 1 0-0 2; Abby Kapp 1 2-2 4; Brynn Schmidt 1 2-2 4; Totals 13 7-11 36.
North Penn (44) – Jenny Hulmes 2 0-0 4; Irisa Ye 4 1-2 9; Jess Huber 5 4-4 17; Carley Adams 1 0-0 2; Jess McKenzie 2 2-2 6 Bri Hewlett 2 1-2 6; 16 8-10 44.
#5 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 58, #7 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 53 (Third place game)
Friday’s third place game was the rubber match between the rival schools, who split their regular season meetings. The Bucks needed an 18-8 fourth quarter to erase a 45-40 South advantage heading into the final frame.
Tori Abelson scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter after exploding for eight points in the third quarter. Izzy Treon added 13 points, which included six points in the third quarter – three on a conventional three-point play and three more on a trey. Abbey Spratt also finished in double digits, scoring 10 points. She had eight points – two three-pointers – in a first half that saw the two teams battle to a 25-25 halftime tie.
Haley Meinel had another big game for the Titans, leading all scorers with 19 points. Her eight first-quarter points jumpstarted the Titans, who led 12-9 after one quarter. She scored 11 more to ignite a 20-point third quarter for the Titans. Sophomore point guard Alexa Brodie added 12 points – six in the second quarter and four more in the third. She was a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line. Lexi Edwards added eight points while Meghan Kuypers had seven.
Central Bucks West (22-5, 9-3 SOL) will face Central York, the fourth place team from District 3, in next Friday’s opening round game. Central Bucks South (19-7, 7-5) will take on the fourth place team from District 11.
Central Bucks South 12-13-20-8 53
Central Bucks West 9-16-15-18 58
Central Bucks South (53) – Melissa Veal 2 1-2 5; Meghan Kuypers 3 0-0 7; Haley Meinel 6 6-6 19; Alexa Brodie 3 6-6 12; Maddie McShane 1 0-0 2; Lexi Edwards 1 5-9 8; Totals 16 18-23 53.
Central Bucks West (58) – Alex Burkauskas 1 0-0 3; Abbey Spratt 3 2-6 10; Bailey Tracy 2 0-0 4; Molly Rodebaugh 1 0-0 2; Maddie Burke 2 0-0 4; Kaili Carey 0 1-2 1; Tori Abelson 7 3-3 17; Izzy Treon 4 3-6 13; Maggie Rakowsky 1 1-1 4; Totals 21 10-18 58.
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