SOL Girls’ Basketball PIAA 6A Preview (3-15-19)

Neshaminy, Abington, Upper Dublin & Council Rock North will be in action in Friday’s PIAA 6A quarterfinal round. Check back for recaps.

Four SOL girls’ basketball teams will be in action Friday’s PIAA 6A Tournament. Neshaminy and Council Rock North will be facing brand new opponents. The Redskins will do battle with District 12 champion Cardinal O’Hara, and the Indians will face District 1 champion Garnet Valley.

Abington and Upper Dublin – that’s another story entirely.

The SOL American Conference rivals will be doing battle for the fourth time this season. Twice they met during the regular season, and they split the two games and shared the conference title. The third meeting came in the SOL Tournament semifinals. The Ghosts won that game and went on to capture the SOL Tournament title. The fourth will take place Friday in a state quarterfinal game. A recap of the three previous meetings will show that the games were all vastly different.

Game #1: Upper Dublin 66, Abington 61 (OT) (Thursday, Feb. 20, 2018)
The Flying Cardinals trailed 50-27 early in the fourth quarter, but fans who left early missed a comeback for the ages by the Cardinals, who forced overtime by closing out regulation with a remarkable 28-5 tear. Kara Grebe ignited the fourth-quarter rally, scoring 12 points including a putback at the buzzer to extend the game to overtime. The Cardinals outscored the stunned Ghosts 11-6 in OT to earn the win.
Upper Dublin – Kara Grebe led the Cardinals with 20 points while Jackie Vargas (14 points), Jess Polin (12 points) and Dayna Balasa (10 points) also finished the game in double figures.
Abington – Kassondra Brown, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark early in the game, led the Ghosts with 20 points. Cam Lexow and Khalis Whiting each added 12 points, and Tamia Wessels had 11.

Game #2: Abington 37, Upper Dublin 33 (Friday, Jan. 25, 2019)
In a game that featured a whole lot more defense than offense, it was a defensive switch at halftime that may have been the difference. Kassondra Brown, who had two first-half fouls, and Cam Lexow decided on their own to switch defensive responsibilities. Lexow took on UD’s 6-2 center Jackie Vargas and limited her to just one field goal in a second half that saw the Ghosts outscore their host 19-14 to earn the win that set up the two-way tie at the top of the conference standings.|
Abington – Kassondra Brown was the only Ghosts in double figures with 17 points.
Upper Dublin – Jackie Vargas (13 points) and Sarah Eskew (12 points) led the Flying Cardinals.

Game #3: Abington 56, Upper Dublin 44 (Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019)
The Ghosts turned a two-point lead at the end of three quarters into a 12-point win, thanks to a 15-5 fourth quarter tear to close out the game. Defense won it for the Ghosts, who forced the Cardinals into a 1-for-11 shooting effort in the final frame after burying nine three-pointers in the first three quarters.
Abington – Kassondra Brown, who was dominant in the paint, led all scorers with 21 points. Khalis Whiting added 13 points and Cam Lexow had 11.
Upper Dublin – Dayna Balasa’s 17 points led the Flying Cardinals. Included in those 17 points were five three-pointers. Jess Polin added 14 points while Jackie Vargas had 11 in a game that saw just four UD players contribute scoring.

Last year, the two teams met just once, and Abington hasn’t forgotten that it was Upper Dublin – en route to a state title – that sent the Ghosts home for the season in a state quarterfinal contest. In that contest, Upper Dublin had a 22-9 halftime lead, but the Ghosts used a 14-2 third quarter to get back in the game. The Cardinals won it with some clutch free throws down the stretch. Jackie Vargas scored nine points and Dayna Balasa had eight to lead the Cardinals. Cam Lexow’s 11 points led the Ghosts. Kassondra Brown added eight points.

Throw in last year’s meeting, and the Abington/Upper Dublin series is tied 2-2 with Friday’s state quarterfinal the rubber match between the SOL powers.

#1-2 NESHAMINY vs. #12-1 CARDINAL O’HARA (Friday, 6 p.m., Norristown High School)
Neshaminy

26-4 overall
12-0 SOL National Conference champions
Fell to Abington 51-44 in SOL Tournament title game
Led by Bucknell signee Brooke Mullin, who averages 14.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals.
Allison Harvey (9.1 points, 3.4 rebounds), who is dangerous from long range, and point guard Kristin Curley (8.1 points. 4.2 assists) are also key contributors.

How they got here: In a second round game, Neshaminy – sparked by a 26-6 seconds quarter – rolled to a 70-40 win over District 2 champion Hazleton. Allison Harvey led the Redskins with 15 points on five three-pointers. Brooke Mullin added 12 points and Kristin Curley had 10.
In last Friday’s state opener, Neshaminy notched a 48-38 win over District 3’s fourth place team, Cedar Cliff. The Redskins, minus Alexis McCoy (illness), were led by Brooke Mullin (18 points), Kristin Curley (12) and Emily Tantala (9).

Cardinal O’Hara

15-11 overall
8-4 Philadelphia Catholic League sixth place
Defeated Central 76-29 to capture the District 12 title
Led by freshman Sydni Scott, a PCL All-Catholic first team selection, and senior Kerry Patterson, a University of the Sciences commit who earned second team All-Catholic recognition. Sophomore Amaris Baker is a major contributor at both ends of the court.

How they got here: In Tuesday’s second round, Cardinal O’Hara led 27-9 early in the third quarter and then fought off a rally by Spring-Ford, District 1’s fourth place team, to earn a 43-37 win. Sophomore Amaris Baker led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Sydni Scott added 11 points, including a clutch three-point play after the Rams pulled to within one.
In an opening round game, Cardinal O’Hara rallied from an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat District 1’s 10^th place team, Plymouth Whitemarsh, 41-39. Sophomore Amaris Baker led O’Hara with 14 points and seven steals. Freshman Maggie Doogan came off the bench to score 11 points.

#1-3 ABINGTON vs #1-5 UPPER DUBLIN (Friday, 7:30 p.m., Bensalem High School
Abington

26-4 overall
13-1 SOL American Conference co-champions with Upper Dublin
SOL Tournament champions with 51-44 win over Neshaminy
Sixth straight trip to PIAA Tournament
Led by University of Rhode Island signee Kassondra Brown (18 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.6 steals.
Also receive important contributions from Tamia Wessels (11.6 points), Cam Lexow (10.9 points, 3.1 steals) and freshman point guard Khalis Whiting (10.7 points, 5.1 assists).

How they got here: In a second round game, Abington rallied from 10 down with two-and-a-half minutes remaining to defeat District 3 champion Cumberland Valley 52-48. Kassondra Brown, who battled foul woes, led the Ghosts with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Her steal with the game deadlocked 48-48 set up the game-winning shot by Cam Lexow, who added 12 points. Tamia Wessels had 14 points.
In an opening round contest, Abington crushed District 11’s fourth place team, Parkland, 56-34. Cam Lexow – 16 points, 4 steals – ignited the Ghosts offensively and defensively.

Upper Dublin

24-5 overall
13-1 SOL American Conference co-champions with Abington
Led by junior center Jackie Vargas (13.1 ppg), sophomore Dayna Balasa (9.7 ppg) and sophomore Sarah Eskew (7.2 ppg).

How they got here: In Tuesday’s second round, Upper Dublin defeated District 7 runner-up North Allegheny 41-32. Jackie Vargas led the Cardinals with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Dayna Balasa added 11 points, which included three three-pointers.
In an opening round game, Upper Dublin defeated District 3’s third-place team, Central Dauphin, 47-36. Leading the Flying Cardinals were Jackie Vargas (13 points), Dayna Balasa (12 points – 4 threes, 9 rebounds) and Kara Grebe (10 points).

#1-7 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH vs. #1-1 GARNET VALLEY (Friday, 7:30 p.m., Norristown High School

20-6 overall
10-2 SOL National Conference second place behind Neshaminy
Four seniors represent the heart and soul of the team.
Led by senior Dana Bandurick, who averages 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds.
Trio of sharpshooting guards – Sydney Blum (11.7 ppg), Olivia Boyle (9.0) and Camryn Polinsky (6.6 ppg) – have combined for 127 three-pointers. Blum leads the team with 57. Polinsky, the Indians’ point guard, averages 3.5 assists.

How they got here: In Tuesday’s second round, Council Rock North defeated District 3 runner-up Dallastown 40-29. Dana Bandurick and Sydney Blum led the Indians with 13 points each.
In an opening round state game, Council Rock North defeated District 12 runner-up Central 84-15. Dana Bandurick (20 points), Emma Benson (14 – 4 3s) and Sydney Blum (12) led the Indians.

Garnet Valley

27-1 overall
17-0 Central League regular season champion
District 1 6A champions
Seniors Emily McAteer and Brianna Borcky, a Drexel commit, both surpassed the 1,000-point milestone.
Loyola of Maryland commit McAteer, a 6-0 forward, is the school’s all-time leading scorer with over 1,700 points
Only loss of season came on Jan. 26 to District 1 5A champion Villa Maria Academy (58-46).

How they got here: In Tuesday’s second round, Garnet Valley rolled to a 62-40 win over Bethlehem Freedom. Emily McAteer was unstoppable, connecting on 11-of-14 shots and finishing with 24 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Center Madi McKee added 13 points and 10 rebounds while Brianne Borcky had 12 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a contest that saw the Jaguars connect on 29-of-44 shots from the floor (68.2 percent).

In an opening round game, Garnet Valley defeated Cedar Crest, the seventh place team out of District 3, 52-34. Emily McAteer’s 19 points led the Jaguars.