Four SOL teams – Neshaminy, Abington, Upper Dublin & Council Rock North – advanced to the Elite 8. Abington/Cumberland Valley photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison. Neshaminy/Hazleton photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos from both games.
#1-2 NESHAMINY 70, #2-1 HAZLETON 40
The Redskins made it look easy, racing up and down the court for one easy basket after another in Tuesday’s second round game at Liberty High School.
If the Cougars were hoping to set the tempo with their vaunted full-court pressure, the Redskins were having none of it.
“We saw the tempo they wanted to play, and I thought we were very aggressive attacking it,” coach Joe Lally said. “It wasn’t just about beating their press – it was about scoring against it.
“Our philosophy was – we’re not just going to get the ball inbounds. We’re going to aggressively attack it to score. Seventy points is a lot of points, but I think that’s because they kept pressing.”
Making life even easier for the Redskins was Allison Harvey. The senior sharpshooter buried just about every shot she took from beyond the arc, connecting on five three-pointers for a team-high 15 points.
Harvey scored the first points of the night for the Redskins, burying a three with a feed from Brooke Mullin, who pulled down the rebound of a missed Redskin foul shot. Neshaminy led by just one, 15-14, after one quarter, but in a preview of things to come, six players contributed points in the frame.
“We know it’s a team effort,” Harvey said. “We’re not going to win unless it’s a team effort, and my teammates did a great job of finding me with the ball when I had the hot hand.
“We just played as a team tonight, and we’re going to continue that.”
In the second quarter, the Redskins blew the game wide open. It began with Mullin kicking the ball out to Harvey, who buried her second three. Then it was Mullin sinking a pair at the foul line. Alexis McCoy turned a steal on the defensive end into a layup, and then it was Harvey coming up with a steal that resulted in a bucket by Emily Tantala just inside the arc, giving the Redskins a 24-14 lead.
A Mullin drive at the end of the press was followed by a Kelli Kowalick blocked shot that gave the Redskins possession. Harvey buried a three, and then it was Kristin Curley coming up with a steal that Mullin turned into an easy bucket. A Mullin steal resulted in another Harvey three, and when Curley turned a steal into a conventional three-point play, the Redskins led 37-18. After a Cougar miss, Tantala pulled down the defensive rebound and scored at the other end. A putback by Olivia Scotti capped a 26-6 quarter and sent the Redskins into halftime with a 41-20 lead.
“I feel like we were really prepared for this game, and we were excited to be playing in it, and the energy showed,” Kowalick said. “We played really well as a team.
“Having them in the press, our passing worked well with that, and that’s what helped us to get everybody open shots.”
A Hazleton comeback was not only unlikely, it was impossible against a Redskin squad that had been battling some adversity – McCoy and Curley were coming back from a stomach bug, and Mullin was dealing with the death of a relative.
“We’re always confident going into games,” Harvey said. “We just know we have to come together as a team, lift each other up when we’re down, and we’re going to get the wins.”
“Maybe it was iffy if some people are coming back from sickness,” Kowalick said. “You know they’re not going to be 100 percent, but Kristin and Lex both worked their butts off and played as hard as they could, and Brooke played amazing too as she usually does.”
Harvey was one of three players in double figures. Mullin finished with 12 and Curley had 10. Kowalick added eight points while Tantala, McCoy, Scotti and Meghan Ansel each had six in a contest that saw nine players contribute scoring.
Neshaminy (26-4, 12-0 SOL) will face Cardinal O’Hara – a 43-37 winner over Spring-Ford – in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
“We wanted to get back to the Elite 8 after getting knocked out last year,” Kowalick said. “(The seniors) got knocked out freshman year in the Elite 8, so we really want to get past it. It’s just a good feeling to get back to it.”
Neshaminy 15-26-14-15 70
Hazleton 14-6-12-8 40
Neshaminy (70) – Emily Tantala 3 0-0 6; Brooke Mullin 5 2-2 12; Kristin Curley 4 2-2 10; Kelli Kowalick 3 2-5 8; Allison Harvey 5 0-0 15; Alexis McCoy 2 2-2 6; Olivia Scotti 2 2-2 6; Sydney Tryon 0 1-2 1; Meghan Ansel 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 27 11-15 70.
Hazleton (40) – Marissa Trivelpiece 6 1-2 15; Brooke Boretski 1 1-2 3; Virginia Yurchak 4 2-2 11; Faith Grula 2 0-0 4; Olivia Wold 1 3-4 5; Diane Garnett 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 15 7-10 40.
Three-pointers: Neshaminy – Allison Harvey 5, Hazleton – Marissa Trivelpiece 2, Virginia Yurchak.
#1-3 ABINGTON 52, #3-1 CUMBERLAND VALLEY 48
The Ghosts were reeling.
Trailing by 10 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in Tuesday’s second round game, the Ghosts’ state run appeared destined to come to a disappointing end, but then – out of nowhere – they staged a comeback for the ages.
“There was nobody in that gym that thought we were going to win that game – everybody but us had written us off,” coach Dan Marsh said. “It was probably the greatest comeback I have ever been part of. I went into the locker room, and I was laughing and crying.
“I had no idea how react because I was so proud of them and their perseverance in adversity. It was one of the most amazing things to be a part of. I’m super proud of these kids. They’re not willing to be done yet, and that’s what happened.”
The Ghosts – with Kassondra Brown on the bench with four fouls – trailed by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter. They pulled to within four, 48-44, after a basket by Brown. The Eagles misfired on the front end of a one-and-one, and Brown connected on one-of-two at the charity stripe to make it a 48-45 game.
After an Abington steal on the defensive end, the Ghosts missed a shot but Kaeleigh Serianni came up with the rebound and was fouled going back up. She sank the first of two to make it a 48-46 game.
“This kid is a soccer player, but she joined us for her senior year because she wanted to be a part of something,” Marsh said of Serianni. “She’s been great.”
Freshman Khalis Whiting knotted the score 48-48 when she sank a pair of free throws, setting the stage for the defensive play of the game. It came with the Ghosts pressuring full court.
“We were out of timeouts, and we’ve been pressing now for four minutes, and I’m screaming at the top of my lungs – I want to back off so they’re going to have to run a play,” Marsh said.
The Ghosts didn’t hear him, and that turned out to be a good thing.
Brown came out of nowhere and stepped into a passing lane to intercept a pass just as the Eagles got the ball beyond midcourt. The senior center had just one girl to beat but saw a better option, passing to a wide open Cam Lexow for a basket that turned out to be the game-winner.
“That’s Kassondra in a nutshell,” Marsh said. “She barely played, she gets the steal and she dishes it. She could have tried to force it, but she didn’t.
“They had a chance to come down and tie it or take a lead with a three, and they travelled.”
Lexow found Whiting for a layup to ice the win for the Ghosts, and according to Marsh, there was plenty of credit to go around for this one.
“Once Cam (Lexow) gets going – I could literally see that they didn’t even want to pass the ball,” Marsh said of the Ghosts’ defensive catalyst. “She was tipping everything.
“Tamia Wessels, all the seniors, all of them – the whole team, the bench players that had to go in to foul and try and come up with steals since we had three kids with four fouls (Brown, Wessels and Whiting). Everyone contributed.”
Marsh acknowledged the game was a roller coaster of emotions.
“I was so angry at some points – you get in the state playoffs and they don’t let you play,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I was literally contemplating never coaching again. It was so frustrating – how am I going to recover from this?
“Miranda Liebtag – I have to give her credit for her leadership. She literally pulled the team together and said, ‘We’re going to get this done,’ and they got it done.
“That’s the biggest thing about this team – there’s nothing they have not been through, and they can lean on that experience.”
Early on, the Ghosts came out of the gate on fire, connecting on four three-pointers and opening up a 20-15 lead after one quarter. Tamia Wessels had the hot hand, burying a pair from beyond the arc and scoring eight points. Cam Lexow and Miranda Liebtag each added a three.
The points stopped coming in a second quarter that saw the two teams combine for just 11 points and only one field goal. Abington took a 25-21 lead into halftime, but that lead was erased in a third quarter that saw the Ghosts manage just six points. The Eagles led 33-31 heading into the final quarter.
“We were actually up seven with six minutes left in the third quarter, and then Kassondra (Brown) picked up her fourth foul,” Marsh said. “They got this huge momentum roll, and they went up 12 in the fourth quarter.
“Ninety-nine percent of every one of the teams I’ve ever been a part of – that last three that put them up 12 would have been the dagger, but not with this team.”
The Eagles still led 46-37 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, but the fun was about to begin for the Ghosts, who closed out the game with a 16-4 tear.
“That was a team we probably should have handled a little better, but they came in so prepared for our press,” Marsh said. “They stayed under control. We didn’t rattle them until the very end. We waited a little long, but we picked the right spot.”
Wessels led the Ghosts with 14 points while Brown had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lexow added 12 points, five deflections and two steals. Whiting added eight points.
Abington (26-4, 13-1 SOL) will face Upper Dublin for the fourth time this season in Friday’s quarterfinal round. Last year, the Flying Cardinals sent the Ghosts home for the season in the quarterfinals.
Abington 20-5-6-21 48
Cumberland Valley 15-6-12-19 52
Abington (52) – Tamia Wessels 5 0-0 14; Cam Lexow 5 0-0 12; Kassondra Brown 3 7-11 13; Miranda Liebtag 1 0-0 3; Khalis Whiting 3 2-2 8; Amanda Jackson 0 1-2 1; Kaleigh Serianni 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 17 11-17 52.
Cumberland Valley (48) – Linda Leitzel 1 6-6 8; Abbie Miller 2 0-0 4; Julie Jekot 6 0-1 16; Courtney Campbell 3 0-0 7; Hannah Sauve 0 2-2 2; Sam Murphy 0 6-6 6; Kennedy Kuffa 1 2-4 5; TOTALS 13 16-19 48
Three-pointers: Abington – Tamia Wessels 4, Cam Lexow 2, Miranda Liebtag, CV – Julie Jekot 4 Courtney Campbell, Kennedy Kuffa.
#1-5 UPPER DUBLIN 41, #7-2 NORTH ALLEGHENY 32
It was a long bus trip to Chambersburg, but according to coach Morgan Funsten, it was worth every second. The defending state champion Cardinals once again find themselves playing the role of giant killer in the state tournament, knocking off a North Allegheny team that was ranked first in the state a good portion of the season.
“To make that two-and-a-half hour drive and come out as focused and determined as we were in the first half was really a testament to our girls,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “They’re showing we’ve got something a little special going on like we did last year.”
The Cardinals led 9-5 after one quarter and took a commanding 24-11 lead into the intermission. Jackie Vargas led the Cardinals with 10 points – seven in the second quarter. Dayna Balasa had eight, including a pair of threes.
“We got down 5-1 early – gave up a basket off the tip and gave up a three to their best shooter, Rachel Martindale,” Funsten said. “It was kind of a grind-it-out first quarter, and towards the end of the first quarter, Jackie Vargas had a nice take to the basket to get it to 5-3, and Dayna Balasa and Sarah Eskew hit back-to-back threes, and we went from being down 5-1 to being up 9-5 at the end of the first quarter.
“We really carried that momentum into the second quarter, and we were really rolling. It was kind of pick your poison for North Allegheny as to who are you going to pay more attention to. It was really good balanced scoring, and defensively, we were getting the job done.”
Sarah Eskew was assigned the task of defending Martindale, and she limited the Akron University-bound senior to just five first half points – and only one early field goal.
“We were up 13 at halftime, and I think we shot about 60 percent in the first half,” Funsten said.
North Allegheny still trailed 30-19 heading into the final quarter, but it could have been less had it not been for a clutch three by Bliss Brenner to close out the third quarter.
“They started making some shots, and they got it to eight,” Funsten said. “We were holding for the last shot, and Jackie Vargas got double-teamed and maybe triple-teamed, and she passed out to Bliss Brenner. The triple team went to Bliss Brenner.
“Time was winding down, she threw up a shot at the buzzer, and it rattled in. They had been gaining some momentum, so that shot at the buzzer – for Bliss to have the awareness to get the shot off was great, and that gave us momentum going into the fourth.”
Martindale got the hot hand in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her team-high 13, and North Allegheny threatened to make things very interesting, pulling to within four.
“They were doubling us all over the place, and Dayna Balasa stepped in and made a big-time three from the corner to get it to seven,” Funsten said. “We got a defensive stop, Jackie Vargas made a couple of foul shots, and we stretched it to double digits.
“We struggled from the line to close the game out, but they never got within six after that, so we survived. We survived the long trip, and now we’re looking forward to playing in front of some of our fans on Friday night.”
The Cardinals were an uncharacteristic 8-of-17 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
Vargas finished with a team-high 17 points and completed her double-double with 10 rebounds to go along with two blocks. Balasa added 11 points, which included three three-pointers.
“Sarah Eskew played Rachel Martindale all night and did a good job on her,” Funsten said. “Kara Grebe and Anajae Smith teamed up to guard (Lizzy) Groetsch. We held her to five, and she averaged 14 or 15 a game, so that was a great job by them.
“(Groetsch) does such a great job getting to the basket. We have our insurance policy in the back with Vargas, so even if Groetsch finds her way to the basket, it’s really difficult to finish over Vargas. Jackie did a great job of recognizing when to step up and help. It was once again a great team effort.”
Upper Dublin (24-5, 13-1 SOL) will take on Abington in the fourth meeting between the two squads. The Ghosts hold a 2-1 advantage in the three games.
Upper Dublin 9-15-6-11 41
North Allegheny 5-6-8-13 32
Upper Dublin (41) – Bliss Brenner 1 0-2 3; Anajae Smith 0 2-4 2; Jess Polin 1 1-5 4; Sarah Eskey 1 1-2 4; Dayna Balasa 4 0-0 11; Jackie Vargas 5 7-9 17; TOTALS 12 11-22 41.
North Allegheny (32) – Paige Morningstar 2 0-0 4; Brynn Serbin 1 0-0 3; Rachel Martindale 4 2-2 13; Lizzy Groetsch 1 2-2 5; Katerina Balouris 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 11 4-4 12.
Three-pointers: Upper Dublin – Dana Balasa 3, Bliss Brenner, Jess Polin, Sarah Eskey, North Allegheny – Rachel Martindale 3, Lizzy Groetsch, Katerina Balouris, Brynn Serbin.
#1-7 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 40, #3-2 DALLASTOWN 29
Nothing came easily for the Indians, but good things rarely do.
When the dust had settled on Tuesday night’s second round game at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School, the Indians were still standing.
“It was a battle, it was definitely a battle,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “Both teams did their homework and knew a lot of stuff that was happening.
They were ready defensively, and they had some big bodies in there. (Aniya) Matthews is 6-3, and (Sam) Miller, who’s going to Saint Francis, is 6-1 or 6-2. I give them credit. They did their homework, and they were ready. The good part is we did ours too. They could not get anything going offensively.”
The Indians – sparked by nine first-half points from Sydney Blum – took an 18-15 lead into halftime, but it took no time at all for Dallastown to knot the score 18-18. Rock North answered with a 13-6 run to close out the quarter that included three-pointers by Sydney Blum, Olivia Boyle and Dana Bandurick.
“One of the bigger shots of the game was Dana stepping out and hitting a three,” Palkovics said. “It was a two-point game towards the end of the third quarter, and she hit a big three to put us up five.
“We went down and got a stop, and Abby (Jones) hits a shot just inside the three-point line. That put us up seven, and that was definitely the difference. We were able to kind of spread them out a little bit.”
The Indians took a 31-24 lead into the fourth quarter and added to it. Bandurick connected on 4-of-4 from the foul line in the frame to seal the Wildcats’ fate.
Blum and Bandurick both scored 13 points to lead the Indians. Olivia Boyle added eight.
“Syd (Blum) scored the first seven points of the game, which really helped,” Palkovics said. “She got us going offensively.”
The Indians’ coach also had high praise for his senior point guard.
“Cam Polinsky is one of the few players in this area that can control a game without scoring a point,” Palkovics said. “She can score if we need her, but she realizes – ‘Okay, I distribute, and if you want to step off me, I’m going to hit a three in your face.’ They knew they couldn’t sag off her. She runs the offense, and she pushes the ball better than most guards I’ve had.”
The Indians advanced to Friday’s Elite 8 where they will take on District 1 champion Garnet Valley.
“Having lost in the Sweet 16 the last two years – that’s what I talked about in the locker room,” Palkovics said. “Okay, the money is off our backs, we’ve exorcised our demons. Now let’s see if we can win a state championship.”
Council Rock North 11-7-13-9 40
Dallastown 6-9-9-5 29
Council Rock North (40) – Anna Cairone 1 0-0 2; Sydney Blum 5 1-3 13; Olivia Boyle 3 0-2 8; Dana Bandurick 3 6-6 13; Abby Jones 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 14 7-11 40.
Dallastown (29) – Claire Teyral 0 0-2 0; D’Shantae Edwards 6 0-0 12; Lily Jamison 0 1-2 1; Madi Moore 1 0-0 2; Aniya Matthews 3 1-2 7; Samantha Miller 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 13 2-6 29.
Three-pointers: CR North – Sydney Blum 2, Olivia Boyle 2, Dana Bandurick, CV – Samantha Miller.
About the Author
