Four SOL teams were winners in Friday night’s PIAA 6A Tournament. Neshaminy/Cedar Cliff photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Abington/Parkland photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison. Check back for galleries of both games.
#1-2 NESHAMINY 48, #3-4 CEDAR CLIFF 38
The Redskins erupted for 20 points in the second quarter, opening up a 31-15 halftime lead on their way to the win.
“It was a strange game,” coach Joe Lally said. “Overall, I’m just glad they persevered. You’re in the state tournament. We’re going to take the ‘W’ and move forward.
“We know there’s areas to improve on, and we know that we can and we will, but the reality is – it’s a win and we’ll take it.”
The Redskins were without Alexis McCoy (illness), and point guard Kristin Curley became ill at halftime but finished out the game.
“Playing without Lex – she’s a starter,” Lally said. “So anytime you go into a state tournament, and you don’t have one of your starters, that’s difficult, but I thought Emily Tantala did a great job starting in her position.
“The reality is it just makes us thinner on the bench. It’s not so much missing Lex in the starting lineup because Emily did a great job, but Lex is really versatile. She can play a small guard, she can play a bigger forward, so not having her limits our options.
“Kristin (Curley) didn’t miss a beat. She hit some big foul shots. My hat’s off to her. She was definitely not feeling well.”
The Redskins took a tenuous 11-8 lead into the second quarter when – behind seven points from senior Brooke Mullin – they outscored Cedar Cliff 20-7 to go into halftime with a commanding lead.
Mullin led all scorers with 18 points. Curley added 12 points and Tantala had nine.
“Emily Tantala was great,” Lally said. “Alli Harvey is not going to show up in the box score, but I thought she defended and rebounded really well.”
Neshaminy (25-4, 12-0 SOL) will face District 2 champion Hazleton in a second round game Tuesday. The Redskins defeated Hazleton 41-28 in last year’s state opener.
Cedar Cliff 8-7-12-11 38
Neshaminy 11-20-9-8 48
Cedar Cliff (38) – Eliana Hosey 1 2-2 4; Allision Dalby 0 0-2 0; Natalie Sassano 2 6-6 11; Natalie Uibel 3 1-1 7; Sophie Kaercher 5 1-4 11; Ryan Kaercher 1 1-2 3; Kira Gorham 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 12 13-21 38.
Neshaminy (48) – Emily Tantala 3 3-4 9; Olivia Scotti 1 0-0 2; Brooke Mullin 8 1-1 18; Kristin Curley 3 5-6 12; Kelli Kowalick 0 2-3 2; Allison Harvey 1 0-0 3; Meghan Ansel 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 17 11-14 48.
3-pointers: Cedar Cliff – Natalie Sassano, Neshaminy – Brooke Mullin, Kristin Curley, Allison Harvey.
#1-3 ABINGTON 56, #11-4 PARKLAND 34
The outcome was never in doubt in a contest the Ghosts led from wire to wire, but coach Dan Marsh was looking for a whole lot more fire than he saw in the first half of Friday’s state opener. Granted, the Ghosts – behind seven points from Cam Lexow and six from freshman point guard Khalis Whiting – led 25-12 at halftime, but something was missing.
“I said we haven’t seen the Spring-Ford energy yet,” coach Dan Marsh said of his team’s 74-55 win over the Rams in the district’s third place game. “That’s what we wanted to see – that type of energy, and they did it.
“We have to play with that kind of energy. I never thought we were going to lose, but I wasn’t that comfortable with our performance.”
The Ghosts’ coach should have felt a whole lot more comfortable after a one-minute stretch early in the second half that saw the Ghosts go on an inspired 10-0 tear that was ignited by their full-court press.
It began with the Trojans throwing the ball away on the inbounds after a Kassondra Brown bucket. Brown made the miscue hurt, connecting on another basket. Khalis Whiting stole the ensuing inbounds and scored, and then it was Tamia Wessels coming up with a steal that led to a Cam Lexow bucket.
Parkland called a timeout and this time got the ball across midcourt but not for long. Lexow – the catalyst on the Ghosts’ press – came up with a steal and finished off the 10-0 tear with a layup. Just like that, the Ghosts led 35-14.
“I think it’s diamond,” Lexow said of the Ghosts’ defensive alignment that spared the run. “Coach Marsh gives me freedom up there. Sometimes he’ll just leave me up since I cause havoc up there. I definitely think diamond and getting those three steals in a row really changed the momentum.”
Lexow had her own theory about the Ghosts’ slow start.
“We scrimmaged (Archbishop) Wood two days ago, and we did not play together as a team,” Lexow said. “We were frustrated. We felt we did not play to our potential.
“After that scrimmage, we sat down and talked, and the coaches led the discussion – (they said) we need a code word for frustration so we don’t get on each other. When you’re frustrated, go to each other and work with each other so you guys can get through it together.”
The Ghosts’ frustration had a whole lot to do with the fact that Brown had just three points – all on foul shots – in the first half. The senior center had six in the pivotal third quarter that saw the Ghosts score 22 points to put the game out of reach. They coasted the rest of the way.
And what was the word the Ghosts chose to use instead of frustration?
“Actually, the coach came up with the word eggs,” Lexow said of assistant coach Kathy Razler. “I guess she was trying to make everybody laugh.”
“I like it – I don’t know,” senior Miranda Liebtag said. “It’s a silly word, but we all know what it means.”
There were definitely some ‘egg’ moments for the Ghosts, but a 22-point win in their state opener was not a bad outcome for a performance both players and coaches felt was subpar.
“We were a bit tentative, and I’m not real sure why,” Marsh said. “We told them we had to get back to being aggressive, and we had spurts of it today. It certainly wasn’t consistent enough that we needed to be in order to keep advancing.
“They actually did a really good job of frustrating Kassondra. That’s a team that said – they’re going to try and shut down Kassondra. That’s why we’re a good basketball team because you can’t just pick and choose. We have other kids that can play. You’re going to crowd the paint and take away Kassondra, then other kids are going to be able to score and rely on our defense.”
Lexow’s 16 points and four steals led the Ghosts. Brown added nine points and a game-high nine rebounds. Wessels and Liebtag both had a pair of threes for six points.
Abington (25-4, 13-1 SOL) will take on District 3 champion Cumberland Valley in Tuesday’s second round.
EXTRA POINTS:
Parkland 7-5-11-11 34
Abington 18-7-22-9 56
Parkland (34) – Ashlyn Fritzinger 3 2-2 10; Kaitlyn Rothwell 3 0-0 7; Kaz Kennedy 2 5-6 9; Kassidy Stout 2 0-0 4; Zoey Wilkinson 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 12 7-8 34.
Abington (56) – Tamia Wessels 2 0-0 6; Cam Lexow 7 0-0 16; Kassondra Brown 2 5-6 9; Miranda Liebtag 2 0-0 6; Khalis Whiting 4 2-2 10; Becca Poohle 1 0-0 2; Krysten Brown 1 0-0 2; Allison Holden 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 21 7-8 56.
3-pointers: Parkland – Ashlyn Fritzinger 2, Kaitlyn Rothwell, Abington – Tamia Wessels 2, Cam Lexow 2, Miranda Liebtag 2, Allison Holden.
#1-5 UPPER DUBLIN 47, #3-3 CENTRAL DAUPHIN 36
The Flying Cardinals got off to a blazing start, survived a Central Dauphin comeback and finished strong in Friday’s opening round win at Milton Hershey High School.
“We came out really focused, we came out on fire,” coach Morgan Funsten said. “We got up 11-0. We were playing great, we were getting stops on defense, and it almost seemed like we relaxed a little bit.
“We made mistakes, and they have shooters who are really going to make you pay if you make mistakes, and they did. They actually took the lead – 14-13. We got from 11-0 and things are great to all of a sudden we’re losing. The girls really responded well towards the end of the second quarter to regain momentum and go up by five going into halftime.”
Junior Jackie Vargas scored eight first-half points and Dayna Balasa added a pair of threes for the Flying Cardinals, who took a 21-16 lead into the intermission. If there were any doubts about the outcome, those doubts were put to rest in a third quarter that saw the Cardinals – behind clutch three-pointers from Balasa and Sarah Eskew – open up a 34-21 lead. The Lady Rams never threatened.
“The message at halftime was – we can’t make the mistakes defensively in the second half that we did in the first half,” Funsten said. “That was the negative side of things, and the positive was – that was some great fight to be able to go down, regain momentum and be up five at halftime.
“We thought the first few minutes of the third quarter were going to be really important because we felt we could have put them away early and we let them back in. The defensive effort and the shot making in the third quarter – we may have got (the lead) up to 15 towards the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth.
“Early in the third quarter, I think we put our stamp on the game and got stops after scores, we shot the ball well, we had balanced scoring – we had three girls in double figures. It was a really good night.”
Vargas led the Cardinals with 13 points and five rebounds while Balasa added 12 points (4 three pointers ) and nine rebounds. Kara Grebe was also in double figures with 10 points and three rebounds.
“They played zone against us,” Funsten said. “We know teams are a little leery to play zone against us, and Dayna Balasa kind of showed why.
“She made four threes on the night, but maybe even more impressive than making four threes, she had nine rebounds for us. She doesn’t always necessarily fill the stat sheet in the rebound column, but she had a nose for the ball tonight.
“Jackie Vargas made some really tough shots underneath. Sarah Eskew played the best player on the other team, and in the half court, Sarah was close to perfect in defending her the way we wanted her to defend, and everyone was ready to help. Jess Polin did a great job handling the ball, and Kara Grebe chipped in 10 points. It was very balanced scoring and just a great team effort.”
According to the Cardinals’ coach, the celebration when it was over was reminiscent of last year’s state title run.
“The girls were blasting music after the game, they’re celebrating like we celebrated after wins last year,” Funsten said. “You’re nervous about – based off of our performance last year, is this enough to get them excited? That was probably my favorite part of the night was to see the girls’ reaction after winning.
“It reminded me of every time we won a state playoff game last year, so that means the girls are enjoying their time with each other, and they’re really celebrating the season and not looking at the end product. They’re enjoying the ride.”
Upper Dublin (23-5, 13-1 SOL) will face District 7 runner-up North Allegheny in a second round game Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 11-10-13-13 47
Central Dauphin 8-8-5-15 36
Upper Dublin (47) – Bliss Brenner 1 2-2 4; Anajae Smith 0 1-2 1; Jess Polin 1 1-2 4; Kara Grebe 4 2-4 10; Sarah Eskew 1 0-0 3; Dayna Balasa 4 0-0 12; Jackie Vargas 6 1-2 17; TOTALS 17 7-13 47.
Central Dauphin (36) – Haleigh Lackner 2 0-0 4; Caroline Shiery 2 0-0 4; Delaney Lackner 1 2-3 4; Sam Gress 4 1-2 13; Maddie LaFrance 2 0-0 5; Audrey Weigl 1 0-1 2; Izzy Vogel 1 0-0 2; Amelia Green 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 3-6 36.
3-pointers: Upper Dublin – Dayna Balasa 4, Sarah Eskew, Sarah Polin; Central Dauphin – Sam Gress 4, Maddie LaFrance.
#1-7 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 84, #12-2 CENTRAL 15
Eleven players contributed scoring for an Indian squad that opened up a 29-6 lead after one quarter and never looked back. Dana Bandurick scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the opening quarter. Sydney Blum had eight points in the frame, including a pair of three-pointers. Camryn Polinsky added five points, including a three.
“The team is playing the best they have played all year,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “My four seniors have a focus and sense of urgency I have not seen before. We’re just taking it one game at a time.”
The team’s four seniors combined for 53 points with Bandurick leading the way. She also had four rebounds, four steals and seven blocked shots. Olivia Boyle had 13 points and Blum finished with 12 points and four steals. Polinsy finished with eight points and five assists.
Rock North’s bench scored 27 points. Emma Benson led the charge with 14 points, which included four three-pointers. The Indians’ bench had five of the team’s 10 three-pointers.
Rock North was 23-for-38 inside the arc (61 percent) and 10-for-24 from beyond the arc (40 percent). Overall, the team connected on 33-of-63 shots (52 percent).
Council Rock North (20-6, 10-2 SOL) will take on District 3 runner-up Dallastown – a 43-39 winner over Downingtown East – in Tuesday’s second round.
Council Rock North 29-18-22-15 84
Central 6-5-0-4 15
Council Rock North (84) – Camryn Polinsky 3 0-0 8; Anna Cairone 2 0-0 4; Sydney Blum 4 2-2 12; Olivia Boyle 6 0-0 13; Jill Hopkins 0 2-2 2; Dana Bandurick 8 4-6 20, Emma Benson 5 0-0 14; Abby Jones 2 0-0 4; Julia Murphy 1 0-0 2; Riley Hamilton 1 0-2 2; Kristen Polinsky 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 33 8-12 84.
Central (15) – Alexis Lin 2 3-8 8; Jordan Carrier 2 0-0 4; Zoe Mousebrugger 1 0-0 2; Taylor Viz 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 5 4-12 15.
3-pointers: CR North – Emma Benson 4, Camryn Polinsy 2, Sydney Blum 2, Olivia Boyle, Kristen Polinsky, Central – Alexis Lin.
#12-1 CARDINAL O’HARA 41, #1-10 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 39
A young PW squad appeared poised to pull off a huge opening round win. Leading by eight with five minutes to go, things certainly looked promising, but the script didn’t exactly go as the Colonials had hoped and O’Hara escaped with the win.”
“It was a heartbreaking loss,” coach Dan Dougherty said. “We were the better team tonight for about 27 minutes, and (the ending) was painful to watch.
“They were so tight. I called three timeouts during the fourth quarter trying to bring them back together. There’s a thousand things I’d do differently. We had a shot with five seconds to go that just banged off the rim – it looked like it was going in to tie it up.
“It would have meant so much to beat O’Hara in Archbishop Carroll’s gym. It’s just gutwrenching. I said afterwards – it’s as painful a loss as losing the district championship two years ago with an 11-point lead. We just let this one slip away. It was so rough to see it happen.”
The Colonials, who found themselves deadlocked with the Lions 8-8 after one quarter, took a 22-19 lead into halftime, and after a 14-9 third quarter, the Colonials led 36-28 heading into the final frame that saw the Lions close it out with a 13-3 tear.
“We had a big height advantage tonight,” Dougherty said. “Lainey Allen, in the first quarter, was dominant.
“Anna McTamney was dominant in the second and third quarters. Syd Kesselman came in and hit two huge threes to put us up by eight in the third quarter, but they have two dynamic guards – it wasn’t even a press. They just upped their ball pressure, denied every pass, denied every handoff, and we just turned the ball over the last five minutes of the game.”
McTamney led the Colonials with 14 points, and Lainey Allen had 11. Kesselman and Jordyn Thomas each had six points.
“I’m incredibly proud,” Dougherty said. “I talked to them after the game, and I sound like a broken record. For three weeks, I’ve been telling them how proud of them I am.
“They so badly wanted to win the game. We’ve made playoff runs the last four years, and this was the best week of practice I’ve ever had leading into a playoff game. The kids had great energy. They really believed in their hearts they were going to beat this team tonight, and they came out and did it for the majority of the game, and that made it even tougher at the end. They’ll take it personally, they’ll work on it. They badly, badly want to achieve greatness. It’s a great learning experience. It’s just a real painful one.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-4 SOL) closed a successful season with a 21-7 record.
Plymouth Whiteamrsh 8-14-14-3 39
Cardinal O’Hara 8-11-9-13 41
Plymouth Whitemarsh (39) – Kate Flanagan 0 2-2 2; Sydney Kesselman 2 0-0 6; Anna McTamney 6 2-2 14; Lainey Allen 4 3-6 11; Jordyn Thomas 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 15 7-10 39.
#11-2 FREEDOM 50, #1-6 SOUDERTON 45
The Indians led by two after one quarter but managed just four points in the second, allowing the Patriots to turn a 14-12 deficit into a 27-18 halftime lead. The Indians trimmed five points off that lead in the third quarter only to watch Freedom come back to open up a 46-38 lead.
Souderton refused to go down quietly, but a three for the tie against the Patriots’ swarming defense clanged off the rim. The Patriots buried a pair of foul shots at the other end, and the winningest senior class in program history – which included Megan Bealer, Curran O’Donnell, Megan O’Donnell, Megan Walbrandt and Erica Stephens – saw its season come to an end.
During their years with the program, the Indians won a pair of SOL Continental Conference titles, last year’s SOL crown and last year’s District 1 6A title. The Indians also earned state tournament berths in each of the last three years, twice advancing to the final four. Souderton’s record over the last three years was 72-17.
Senior Curran O’Donnell led the Indians with 14 points, which included three three-pointers and a perfect 5-for-5 effort at the foul line. Megan O’Donnell, who was 4-for-4 at the foul line, added 10 points. Walbrandt and Bealer both added seven points while Mikaela Reese had six. For the game, the Indians buried 17-of-19 foul shots.
Souderton (11-1 SOL), the SOL Continental Conference champion, closed out its season with a 22-6 record.
Souderton 14-4-14-13 45
Freedom 12-15-9-14 50
Souderton (45) – Megan Bealer 0 7-8 7; Olivia Schneider 0 1-2 1; Megan Walbrandt 3 0-0 7; Curran O’Donnell 3 5-5 14; Megan O’Donnell 3 4-4 10; Mickaela Reese 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 12 17-19 45.
Freedom (50) – Brenna Ortwein 3 5-6 11; Corrin Gill 2 0-0 5; Kailey Turpening 3 2-2 11;Sydney Levy 2 0-0 5; Jennifer Kokolus 7 3-4 18; TOTALS 17 10-12 50.
3-pointers: Souderton – Curran O’Donnell 3, Megan Walbrandt, Freedom – Kailey Turpening 3, Jennifer Kokolus, Sydney Levy
#2-1 HAZLETON 40, #1-9 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 38
The ending came swiftly and without warning.
With the score knotted 38-38 after Jess Broskey buried a pair of fouls shots and just seven seconds showing on the scoreboard clock, overtime appeared inevitable. That overtime never happened as the Cougars went the length of the court, capping the trip with a baseline floater by Virginia Yarchak at the buzzer.
The ending was not without controversy as a Times-Leader video of the game-winning sequence suggests that the Yorchak’s shot did not leave her hand until after the clock hit zero. Whether it did or whether it didn’t, the outcome will stand, and the Bucks were left to deal with the stunning loss in a game they appeared to have won.
The Bucks, who led by one at halftime, took a 33-26 lead into the final quarter. They managed just five points in the fourth quarter – all at the foul line – while the Cougars scored 14, which included three three-pointers.
Freshman Emily Spratt’s nine points led the Bucks. Izzy Treon had eight points while Olivia Irons and Broskey had seven each. Maddie Burke, who had just five points, sat out a good portion of the first half with foul woes. She picked up two early fouls and – after taking a seat on the bench – returned only to pick up her third.
Central Bucks West (9-3 SOL) closed out its season with an 18-10 record.
Central Bucks West 10-12-11-5 38
Hazleton 11-10-5-14 40
Central Bucks West (38) – Olivia Irons 2 3-4 7; Jess Broskey 1 5-6 7; Maddie Burke 1 2-3 5; Emily Spratt 1 4-4 6; Izzy Treon 2 4-6 8; Tori Abelson 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 9 18-23 38.
Hazleton (40) – Marissa Trivelpiece 2 1-2 6; Kyra Antolick 1 2-2 4; Olivia Wolk 2 1-2 5; Brooke Boretski 1 0-0 3; Virginia Yarchak 4 0-1 10; Faith Grula 5 2-4 12; TOTALS 15 6-11 40.
3-pointers: CB West – Maddie Burke, Tori Abelson, Hazleton – Virginia Yarchak 2, Brooke Boretski, Marissa Trivelpiece.
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