Souderton & Pennsbury were winners in SOL girls’ basketball action Thursday. Neshaminy/Souderton photos courtesy of Jesse Garber (https://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p607997628)
Non-league
SOUDERTON 44, NESHAMINY 39
“It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Yogi Berra said it and the Souderton girls’ basketball team proved it, rallying from eight down with just over two minutes remaining to earn the electrifying non-league win.
“My hat’s off to Lynn (Carroll) and her girls,” Neshaminy coach Joe Lally said. “They made big plays late in the fourth to come back to win. They executed and we didn’t.”
Big plays hardly covers a stretch that seemed unlikely at best when Brooke Mullin sank both ends of a one-and-one to put the Redskins on top 39-31 with 2:29 remaining in regulation. The Indians – whose relentless defense kept them within striking distance – admit their tanks were pretty close to empty by that time.
“My legs were killing,” said senior Megan Walbrandt, who spent the night shadowing the Bucknell-bound Mullin.
“Tonight was the first time I’ve ever had to ask coach for a sub,” senior point guard Megan O’Donnell said. “We were tired, but we were running on adrenaline. I was not even close to tired in the last two minutes of the game.”
It was Walbrandt’s bucket off the dribble with 2:15 remaining that began the wild Souderton run. The Redskins misfired on the front end of a one-and-one, and although they came up with the offensive board, a turnover gave the ball back to the Indians.
Out of a Souderton timeout, Walbrandt kicked the ball out to Megan O’Donnell, who buried her first basket of the game – a three-pointer that pulled the Indians to within three with 1:30 remaining.
“The play was not meant for me,” O’Donnell said. “Walbrandt flipped me the ball and told me, ‘Meg, shoot it,’ so that gave me the confidence to shoot. I don’t think I would have shot if it wasn’t for her.”
A Redskins’ turnover set the stage for an O’Donnell runner in the paint, and the Indians were within one with a minute remaining.
“None of my shots were planned, but they went in,” O’Donnell said. “Our main focus for this whole game was defense. We wanted to shut down their main players but not leave anyone neglected because we know they’re such a good team, and I think we really defended well as a whole team tonight.”
The Redskins missed the front end of another one-and-one, and out of another Souderton timeout, it was Bealer scoring on a tough drive in traffic to give the Indians their first lead since early in the third quarter, 40-39.
The Redskins missed a shot at the other end, and with 13 seconds remaining, Mikaela Reese sank both ends of a one-and-one to put Souderton on top 42-39.
“Foul shots were always my thing – I’ve always liked taking foul shots,” Reese said. “Mentality-wise – it was just like any other foul shot.”
Lally called a timeout with 7.4 seconds remaining, and it was Reese delivering the game-saving defensive play out of the timeout, blocking the Redskins’ inbounds pass on their own end line and coming up with the ball.
“We always play our out-of-bounds defense where the on-ball defender turns and helps – their back is to the inbounder,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “A half a second before the ref hands the girl the ball, I said, ‘Mikaela, turn around.’ She just jumped as high as she could.”
Reese connected on both ends of a one-and-one to put the finishing touches on the emotional win.
“When Meg (O’Donnell) hit the three and (Megan Bealer) hit the two, it’s all just adrenadline – ‘We have it, this is our game now,’” Walbrandt said. “That’s what pumped me up. When everyone is playing for each other – Mikaela (Reese) stole that, and I had more energy than I had at the beginning of the game.”
“When you have so much energy, you’re not thinking how tired you may be,” Bealer said.
*****
All but lost in the shuffle of the wild finish was the fact that the first three quarters were a roller coaster ride for both teams. The Indians couldn’t buy a basket early, and the Redskins opened up an 8-0 lead when Mullin – who finished with a game-high 18 points and 14 rebounds – complete a three-point play midway through the quarter. Back-to-back Bealer threes made it an 8-6 game, and the Indians trailed by just one heading into the second quarter. The Redskins struggled against the Indians’ pressure defense and turned the ball over seven times in the opening quarter.
“They’re very aggressive, and we knew that coming out,” Curley said. “I don’t think we comprehended how much they were going to speed us up.
“We tried to work on it at practice, but you just can’t match what they did. Once we commit one turnover, I think it just snowballs after that, and then it’s all a matter of keeping our heads.”
A pair of Mullin foul shots to open the second quarter broke a four-minute Redskin scoring drought and gave the ‘Skins a 10-7 lead. The Indians answered with a 13-2 run to go on top 20-12. The run began with a Reese bucket and included six points from Olivia Schneider off the bench. Also included in the run was a nifty putback by Erica Stephens as well as a Curran O’Donnell three.
“(Olivia) just has a knack of knowing when to go backdoor, knowing when to curl, and she has such a nice touch around the basket,” Carroll said. “She’s leading the team in field goal percentage because she takes smart shots.
“Erica (Stephens) also had really good minutes in the second quarter for us. She had that big offensive rebound, and her defense was good.”
In the closing seconds of the half, Mullin banked home a three and – after a Souderton turnover – hit on a pair of foul shots to trim the Indians’ lead to 20-16.
Riding the momentum of their late surge, the Redskins used a pair of Mullin foul shots and a Curley three to go on top 21-20. The two teams spent the quarter exchanging leads, and four straight points by Mullin too close out the quarter put the Redskins on top 30-27.
A Walbrandt three early in the fourth quarter knotted the score. A three-point play by Kelli Kowalick was followed by an Emily Tantala basket, and the Indians led 35-21. Another Curley bucket upped that lead to 37-31, and when Mullin connected on a pair at the line, the Redskins had a 39-31 lead, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
“We talked yesterday at practice how this game was really going to tell us a lot about where we are right now,” Carroll said. “Obviously, we’re pretty happy we got the win, but even if we had lost this game, it showed us we’re continuing to get better every game out, we’re continuing to have different kids step up. Every night it’s balanced scoring. Our kids just made plays.”
And on a night when defense was once again a key, Carroll tipped her hat to Walbrandt, whose 12 points led the Indians.
“I think a reason it’s so hard to play against Megan Walbrandt is because she’s one of a kind,” the Indians’ coach said. “What she does is unlike what any other defender can do. If I’m a kid who she’s defending, it’s got to be – enough already. She’s just so tough and so smart, but I think Bealer did a great job on (Allison) Harvey, Megan O’Donnell did a great job on Curley. When Mullin tried to post up, Megan had weak-side help. Everybody played their part.”
Last year, Neshaminy saw its season end at the hands of Souderton in the state quarterfinals.
“I feel like this was just one of those days – every team has one,,” Curley said. “I think we just lost focus towards the end of the game which we don’t like to see happen, but we’re going to take this and never forget it. I hope we see them again in playoffs.”
Souderton (10-1, 5-0 SOL) will face Springside Chestnut Hill Academy on Sunday at 8 a.m. at Jefferson University as part of the Maggie Lucas Play-by-Play Classic. Neshaminy (12-2, 5-0) will take on Mount Lebanon at Jefferson University at 10 a.m.
Neshaminy 8-8-14-9 39
Souderton 7-13-7-17 44
Neshaminy (39) – Emily Tantala 2, Brooke Mullin 18, Kristin Curley 9, Kelli Kowalick 7, Allison Harvey 3.
Souderton (44) – Megan Bealer 9, Olivia Schneider 6, Megan Walbrandt 12, Erica Stephens 2, Curran O’Donnell 3, Megan O’Donnell 5, Mikaela Reese 7.
SOL National Conference
PENNSBURY 69, HARRY S TRUMAN 40
The Falcons, who led 18-8 at the end of one quarter, took a 36-15 lead into halftime and never looked back. They received contributions up and down their lineup.
Junior Cami Wiegand led the Falcons with 17 points, six rebounds and two steals. Freshman Ava Sciolla added 13 points, five deflections and five steals. Mary Miller had eight points, and Kate Mix added six on a night that saw 11 players contribute scoring. Abbi Nassivera had a team-high six assists to go along with three rebounds. Skylar Sulby had a career-high five points.
For the Tigers, Daisha Campbell led the way with 20 points, which included a 10-for-14 effort at the foul line. Sophomore Haniyyah Jones added 14 points.
Pennsbury (10-2, 4-1 SOL) will face North Penn on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. at Jefferson University in the Maggie Lucas Play-by-Play Classic. Harry S Truman (2-10, 0-5) will host Chester on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Pennsbury18-18-20-13 69
Harry S Truman 8-7-7-18 40
Pennsbury (69) – Lily Hochenhousler 2, Abbi Nassivera 3, Bella Arcuri 5, Kate Mix 6, Mary Miller 8, Nicole Pompili 5, Ava Sciolla 13, Cami Wiegand 17, Haley Soley 2, Lacey Taylor 3, Skyler Sulby 5.
Harry S Truman (40) – Haniyyah Jones 14, Zuri Clarke 3, Daisha Campbell 20, Hannah Smith 3.
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