Abington was the lone SOL girls’ basketball team to notch a win in Tuesday’s second round of the PIAA Tournament. Abington/Springfield-Delco photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back at the following link for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f884733941
CLASS 6A
#1-9 ABINGTON 40, #1-8 SPRINGFIELD-DELCO 35
“Survive and advance”
It’s the mantra of every team still playing basketball, and there’s not a team alive that cares how they won. The only thing that matters is that they won, and that certainly was the prevailing sentiment after Abington’s come-from-behind win over a pesky Springfield-Delco squad in a second round game at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
The win vaulted the Ghosts into the Elite Eight in the PIAA 6A State Tournament.
“Look, at this point, all that matters as my assistant, Dave Turetzky, says, ‘Survive and advance, survive and advance,’” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “It was ugly, we did not play well, and you have to give credit to them – they uglied the game up, and we couldn’t get any kind of flow offensively.
“Fortunately, we were able to persevere. That’s the one good thing we can take out of this is that we were able to persevere through such an ugly game. I’m proud of our kids.”
The Ghosts – who led 10-0 less than three minutes into the game – found themselves staring at a 27-23 deficit heading into the final quarter. Cire Worley took matters into her own hands, burying both ends of a 1-and-1 on her team’s first possession of the quarter and – after a Cougar miss – taking it coast to coast, scoring despite being fouled and burying the foul shot to complete the three-point play that gave the Ghosts a 28-27 advantage.
The Cougars’ Cora Fattori answered with a basket, but Maya Johnson scored for the Ghosts. Reynolds sank a pair at the foul line to up Abington’s advantage to 32-29. The Ghosts buried 8 of 11 foul shots in the final quarter.
“I’m comfortable,” Reynolds said of stepping to the line down the stretch. “We needed those buckets – I took a deep breath and took my time.”
A clutch 3-pointer by Worley on her team’s third try from beyond the arc on a key possession put the Ghosts on top 36-31. the Cougars trimmed that lead to three and had a chance to get closer, but Reynolds came up with a big steal and found Worley,
who was fouled and sank 1 of 2 for a 37-33 advantage with 1:34 remaining. The Cougars would get no closer the rest of the way, and the Ghosts are in the state quarterfinals.
“It feels good,” Reynolds said. “We just need to clean up some mistakes, but I never had a thought that we were going to lose.”
“We just have to win and survive,” Worley said. “It don’t matter how it looks as long as we get the win – a point, a half a point as long as we got the win.”
Early on, it looked as though it was going to be a cakewalk when the Ghosts – thanks to three early 3s by Jordyn Reynolds and then back-to-back triples by Abril Bowser – took a 9-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. Worley sank one of two at the foul line to up that lead to 10-0, but then the Ghosts’ offense stalled.
Abington managed just one field goal the remainder of the half, and that was a 3-pointer by Piper McGinley with 1:10 remaining in the second quarter to send the Ghosts into halftime with a 16-15 advantage.
“Even though we weren’t scoring, I felt as though we were still in the game,” Reynolds said. “As long as we play good defense, we’re going to get our points.”
“We’re a pretty good shooting team,” Marsh said. “Again, a team comes out in a 2-3 zone – we hit those three 3s, but from then on, it was a struggle.
“They went to a box-and-one on Cire, and we were struggling adapting to that. I think we started to panic a little bit, and we didn’t do the things we normally do. It’s something we have to learn from and something we have to work on.”
The Cougars outscored the Ghosts 12-7 in the third quarter to go on top by four heading into the final quarter, but the Ghosts would not be denied.
”We were doing things defensively we don’t normally do,” Marsh said. “We weren’t switching, we were going under screens – we were supposed to go over top.
“We did a lot of things tonight that we don’t normally do, and I don’t know why. Again, with this team not being in this big of a moment all the time, we panicked a little bit, and we did not do the things that we normally do, and they made us pay for it.”
Tuesday’s win was Abington’s fifth in a row since falling to Pennsbury in the second round of districts, a winning streak that began with their must-win over Plymouth Whitemarsh in a playback.
Worley’s 17 points, which included a 9-for-13 effort at the foul line, led the Ghosts. She scored nine of her points in the final quarter. McGinley had eight points, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers. Reynolds finished with seven, and Bowser had six.
Abington (25-6, 14-2 SOL) will face #12-3 Archbishop Carroll in Friday’s quarterfinal round. Carroll pulled off a major upset, rallying to send the game into overtime and defeating top-seeded Perkiomen Valley 41-38.
Abington faced Archbishop Carroll in the She Got Game Classic back in December. The Ghosts fell to the Patriots 48-44 on the heels of notching a wild 78-76 win over Albertus Magnus High School (N.Y.) 24 hours earlier.
“It was less than 12 hours later, so we didn’t have much legs, and it was a good game then, so I would anticipate another good game,” Marsh said.
Abington 10-6-7-17 40
Springfield-Delco 6-9-12-8 35
Abington (40) – Cire Worley 3 9-13 17; Maya Johnson 1 0-0 2; Abril Bowser 2 0-0 6; Jordyn Reynolds 2 2-2 7; Piper McGinley 2 2-4 8; Sarah Oleary 0 0-1 0; TOTALS 10 13-20 40.
Springfield-Delco (35) – Alexis Aaron 1 0-0 3; Kaitlyn Kearney 2 3-4 7; Taylor Hunyet 3 0-0 9; Anabel Kreydt 0 2-2 2; Cora Fattori 3 3-4 10; Alyssa Estep 2 0-0 4; Corinne Gayton-Williams 0 0-1 0; TOTALS 11 8-11 35.
3-point goals: Abington – Cire Worley 2, Abril Bowser 2, Piper McGinley 2, Jordyn Reynolds; Springfield-Delco – Taylor Hunyet 3, Alexis Aaron, Cora Fattori.
#3-1 CEDAR CLIFF 39, #1-6 UPPER DUBLIN 26
Cedar Cliff brought a gawdy 26-0 record into Tuesday’s second round state game. The Cardinals knew they faced a daunting task, but they more than held their own. They trailed by just four at halftime (20-16) with Nora Brady scoring nine of those points.
“First half I thought we played really well defensively,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “Nora Brady kept us in the game offensively – she made three 3s in the first half.
“They had a ridiculous size (advantage) over us. Their best player, Olivia Jones, is 5-10 – she’s a guard who can do it all. Then they have two 6-2 girls – one of them we played against last year on Central Dauphin. She transferred in, and they have a Division 1 soccer player as a point guard whose got good size and length in (Taylor) Ferraro, and their school’s all-time leading 3-point shooter, the coach’s daughter, Sydney Weyant.
“So they can attack you in a lot of different ways. The girls as always – they’re such a special group of girls – did everything in their power. In the first half, we only gave up four offensive rebounds, which was impressive against a team with that type of size. The second half we were not quite as good defensively. We gave up 10 offensive rebounds. Sometimes their best offense was just throwing a shot at the basket and chasing it. Going into halftime, I was really happy with how we played defensively. They made us uncomfortable offensively with their size, their length and their athleticism. They’re a very good defensive team.”
Cedar Cliff outscored UD 13-7 in the third quarter to take 33-23 lead into the final quarter on its way to the win.
“In the second half, we didn’t score as many points, but I thought we played much better on offense,” Funsten said. “We got much better shots – they just didn’t happen to fall. They wore us down.
“We wanted their role players and their bigs to make outside shots, and with the exception of a couple of mistakes, their role players and their bigs made perimeter shots in the third quarter, and that’s what extended their lead to about 10 going into the fourth. We got it to 33-26 about halfway through the fourth quarter. They have almost everybody back from their state Final Four team last year, and they’re very good at closing out games. We just couldn’t get it done.”
Funsten bids farewell to six seniors – Alaina Sanders, Lilli Kleiman, Catherine Scullen, Sofia Machada, Maisie McGarvey and Kaylee Fitzkee.
“The locker room was tough,” Funsten said. “We’re saying good-bye to six seniors who are just very special. They’re great kids, they come from great families, and I’m 100 percent certain, and a lot of people won’t believe me because they pay attention to the points scored and playing time, but we are 100 percent certain we would not have had the success we had this year if it wasn’t for the selflessness of those six seniors.
“When you have a young team, especially the girls who are playing the most who are so young, a lot of times they equate personal success with happiness, and I think the seniors did such a great job of modeling – it doesn’t matter what individuals do, it matters what the team does. They lived it every day at practice, at games, the way they cheered for their teammates, the way they conducted themselves. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of seniors to teach some really difficult lessons to some younger girls. They had a ton of energy, and they brought it every day to practice. They were so awesome. I can’t say enough about them. I feel so lucky to have coached that group and coached this team because it was a really special group.”
Brady’s nine points led the Cardinals. She also had six rebounds and one assist. Megan Ngo added seven points, three assists and three rebounds. Colleen Besachio had a team-high seven rebounds and also had two assists. Alaina Sanders added four rebounds.
Upper Dublin closed out its season with an 18-11 record, 11-5 SOL.
Upper Dublin 10-6-7-3 26
Cedar Cliff 13-7-13-6 39
Upper Dublin (26) – Alaina Sanders 1 1-2 3; Megan Ngo 3 1-1 7; Amy Ngo 2 0-0 5; Colleen Besachio 1 0-0 2; Nora Brady 3 0-0 9; TOTALS 10 2-3 26.
Cedar Cliff (39) – Ella Frey 2 0-0 4; Taylor Ferraro 2 0-0 5; Sydney Weyant 1 0-2 3; Alexis Buie 5 0-5 11; Kathryn Sansom 3 0-2 6; Olivia Jones 4 2-3 10; TOTALS 17 2-12 39.
3-point goals: UD – Nora Brady 3, Amy Ngo; Cedar Cliff – Taylor Ferraro, Sydney Weyant, Alexis Buie.
#7-2 UPPER ST. CLAIR 42, #1-4 PENNSBURY 31
Coach Frank Sciolla called his team’s second round contest in the state tournament a ‘hard game to describe.’ By any description, the loss brought to an end a remarkable season for the Falcons, one of just 16 teams in PIAA 6A still standing in Tuesday’s second round.
“(This was) certainly one of the most unique for me in my career,” Sciolla said of Tuesday’s game. “USC made their first two shots and jumped out 6-0. We battled back, but they went on a run and led by 11 at the half (23-12). It was clear that defensively the idea was to be extremely physical with Sof (Vitucci) at a level that we hadn’t seen since with Ava (Sciolla) last year. We kept track of knockdowns, and they recorded 11. It was a fantastic idea as it went undeterred the entire game.”
The Falcons may have trailed by 11 at halftime, but they were definitely not out.
“We came out and pressured in the third and came back to tie it,” Sciolla said. “With a chance to pull ahead, Sof drove and took a sidewalk slam delivered in a way that former WWE star Kevin Nash would be proud of.
“That took her out of the game and rendered her left hand useless for the rest of the game. To Sof’s credit, she returned in the fourth, but after taking several more knockdowns, she was worn. She played with incredible heart as she has all year. We had a chance to pull ahead with a great Neveah Dash drive and finish. She took a wicked elbow that split her lip open. But alas… it didn’t get her to the line.”
In fact, nothing the Falcons did put them on the line. They did not take one foul shot in what was described as a physical game.
“Layla Matthias was terrific on the backboard again and made some big shots to keep us close,” Sciolla said. “All 11 girls that dressed played meaningful minutes in a state playoff game, and I’m so proud of how prepared and tough we played.
“It was an Incredibly odd dynamic all game and not something normally seen in games of that level. I’m not sure we’ve ever played a game that hard and physical without shooting a free throw but kudos to USC because they had an outstanding plan and were able to work it to fruition.”
Vitucci’s 19 points led the Falcons – 10 of those came in a third quarter that saw the Falcons outscore their hosts 12-1 to even the score 29-29 heading into the final frame. USC responded with an 18-point fourth quarter to notch the win.
“I’ve spoken in measured or coded terms most of the year with this group because I think sometimes the narrative that we are ‘Ollie from Hoosiers’ takes away from the fact that we have very good players on this team,” Sciolla said. “You don’t get this deep or beat the teams we beat without good players. We have just wrapped up a run of six straight games against Hall of Fame Coaches that likely are the best in their school’s history.
“There have simply been no wounded antelopes along the way for us and tonight was no exception. USC has all the parts that you need to win a state title. Great guard play, a Division 1 post player, a Power 5 guard, size and shooters that surround them and, of course, outstanding coaching. We have been so fortunate to play so many teams this year that have district or state title potential, but this is the best group that we’ve seen. At the 6A level, there are no cupcakes at any round in states, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this group win it all.”
Sciolla went on to reflect on the season just completed.
“I’m extremely happy for our seniors – Nevaeh (Dash), Neve (Davis) and Izzy (Ruta),” the Falcons’ coach said. “Basketball is a hard sport to play, and as the nature of high school and club sports evolve, we see fewer girls playing it nationally. But they stuck it out. They’ve shown great leadership on the court, in the locker room, speaking to the youth in our community and the classroom.
“One of the big questions coming into this year was the same one we’ve faced so many times. ‘How will we replace so and so?’ It came up in 97, 2000, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2020 and again now. And it’s understandable. Great players don’t just come ‘walking in the door.’ Especially not at a public school. But ultimately that’s the challenge, and our senior leadership gave us the time and expertise to build and grow. They eliminated the variables that existed last April of who might be coaching, what we no longer have and to a certain extent…what we will be next year because of what is coming up. They refuted the notion that this was a transitional year, and they did it with clutch shots, big stops on defense and incredible positive energy at practice. In doing so, they carved out one of the most memorable years in school history and to be honest, maybe the most special year of my career.”
The Falcons finished the season with an impressive 21-9 record (12-4 SOL).
“This team gave us more than everything they have,” Sciolla said. “It’s impossible to count how many talks we had after games where we discussed how we had defied all statistical probability with shooting percentage. Any look at our game stats almost always made it look like we’d likely lost by double digits, but the girls were so good at hanging in long enough to have a chance at the end. We were Rocky II in most games, losing on all of the scorecards only to deliver a late knockout. We were infinitely aware of that throughout the year. That’s why chemistry is not a fake word in sports. We could likely have much more basketball talent next year but have nowhere near the same type of season. And that’s what made this special, and as coaches, we realized it week to week.
“And speaking of coaches, as always, I’m indebted to my staff. For 27 years, I’ve worked with and learned from incredible people and coaches. I’ve been with four different groups and grown from each. I realize I’m a bit high maintenance. I understand that most seasons end at Valentine’s Day, but I’m always driving for St. Patrick’s Day. Coaching is pretty much a voluntary job, and at Pennsbury it ends with the conclusion of the regular season. Yet, I’m asking them each year for another 30 hours a week for another 5-6 weeks, and I’m so appreciative of what they do for our kids with scouting, strength and conditioning, nutrition, social media marketing, college recruiting and, of course, practice and game coaching. They’ve inspired me and kept me motivated as at times I’ve missed seeing my son and daughter play, and that hasn’t been easy.
“I’m grateful to coach in this league. I’ve learned so much from the coaches in our division and in the crossover games. I realize I’m on the older side and that people might think I’m set in my ways, but I’m truly not. I’ve grown so much from watching these women and men, and there’s a big part of me that wishes I could have done this when I was younger and starting out.
“I never thought I’d have an experience with a team like I did in 2011 with Bristol. That team punched through every ceiling. But this team did it even better. I hope they hold on to these memories forever, and I hope they never lower their expectations for anything that they truly want. I know I won’t.”
Pennsbury 6-6-12-7 31
Upper St. Clair 9-14-1-18 42
Pennsbury (31) – Emily Panaro 1 0-0 2; Layla Matthias 2 0-0 4; Maggie Burns 2 0-0 4; Sofia Vitucci 9 0-0 19; Nevaeh Dash 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 15 0-0 31.
Upper St. Clair (31) – Rylee Kaocay 8 9-10 25; Kate Moore 1 0-0 3; Naomi Richardson 1 0-0 2; Katelyn Robbins 4 1-2 9; Mia Brown 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 14 10-12 42.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Sofia Vitucci ; USC – Rylee Kalocay 2, Kate Moore, Mia Brown.
CLASS 5A
#3-1 LANCASTER CATHOLIC 64, #1-1 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 54
The Lions knew it would be a tall task when they took the court against a Crusaders’ squad that brought a 24-2 record into Tuesday’s second round state game at Liberty High School. They certainly didn’t back down, battling until the final whistle.
“The score is not indicative of how tough the game was,” New Hope coach Steve Polinsky said. “It was really 4- or 5-point game most of the game. They were up as many as 14, and we cut it.
“We played well – we played really well. They’re just a really good team. They only lost two games. I give them all the credit. We knew it would be an uphill battle. Just little things like rebounding and secondary shots kind of shot us in the foot.”
The Crusaders led 19-10 after one quarter, but the Lions trimmed four points off that lead with an 18-14 second quarter surge. Reagan Chrencik and Emily Wilson led the Lions in the half as both scored nine points. Izzy Elizondo added six points in the first half.
The Lions continued to hang tough in the third quarter and trailed by just six (51-45) heading into the final frame, but they never could get over the hump, and a special season came to an end.
Chrencik’s 19 points, which included three 3-pointers, led the Lions. Wilson finished with 17 points, which included three 3s, Gabby D’Agostino added nine points, and Elizondo had eight.
“I’m so proud of the girls. We’re young, we had a good run. To me, the only disappointment is not having Reagan Chrencik anymore. Other than that, I think we did a really good job of energy and effort.”
“This was a great learning experience for these girls. It was a good setting, and it was a good game.”
New Hope-Solebury closed out its season with an 18-8 record (14-3 SOL), capturing a share of the SOL Freedom Division title and the District 1 3A crown.
New Hope-Solebury 10-18-17-9 54
Lancaster Catholic 19-14-18-13 64
New Hope-Solebury (54) – Gabby D’Agostino 3 3-3 9; Ella Dudick 0 1-2 1; Izzy Elizondo 4 0-0 8; Emily Wilson 7 0-0 17; Reagan Chrencik 7 2-3 19; TOTALS 21 6-8 54.
Lancaster Catholic (64) – Rylee Kratz 5 3-4 13; Lily Lehman 5 1-2 12; Mary Bolesky 4 8-10 20; Stella Higgins 1 1-5 3; Carleigh Anderson 1 6-9 8; Autumn Lipson 3 0-0 8; TOTALS 19 19-30 64.
3-point goals: NHS – Emily Wilson 3, Reagan Chrencik 3; LC – Mary Bolesky 4, Autumn Lipson 2, Lily Lehman.
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