Pennridge, CB South, PW, Wissahickon and Upper Dublin were winners in SOL girls’ basketball action Friday. Check out all the recaps.
SOL Continental Conference
PENNRIDGE 51, WILLIAM TENNENT 44
The Rams opened up an 11-point lead in the third quarter and looked as though they might be able to coast to the finish line. The visiting Panthers had other ideas, rallying to knot the score 36-36 with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Pennridge closed out the game with a 15-8 tear.
“For us, it was really trying to get back to running some offense and trying to get their heads back on,” Elton said. “We had a couple of players come up big at the end of the game.”
Early on, the Rams, who had a one-point lead after the first quarter, took a 24-16 lead into halftime. Rose McCormick – who scored a team-high 16 points – had eight points in the first half.
“We got into a little bit of foul trouble,” Elton said. “Rose (McCormick), Emilee (Cramer) and Gill (Anderson) – from an offensive standpoint – really kept us in the game.
“While they helped us on the offensive side, everyone helped us on the defensive side, so that worked well.”
The Rams took a 36-30 lead into the fourth quarter when the Panthers staged their rally. The Rams had an answer.
“In the fourth quarter, Corinn (Mart) stepped up and made a big two and a big three,” Elton said. “Sam (Muredda) had a couple of points in that quarter and made a free throw, and Brooke Bachtle was 5-for-6 from the line to finish the game out.
“Again, it was a solid defensive effort all the way around. Our supporting players came in and did a nice job. You can look at different phases of the game and see where different people stepped up.
“Tennent plays hard. They’re a nice little team, and they want to compete too. They didn’t make it easy, that’s for sure. Everybody stepped up defensively, and from an offensive standpoint, different people stepped up at different times. It was a good team win.”
In addition to McCormick, Muredda added eight points while Anderson had seven and Bachtle had six.
“We’re spending a lot of time right now on confidence and trying to get them into these games mentally,” Elton said. “I really truly believe that we have pretty good talent and that we’re in a position to be able to compete with these teams.”
For the Panthers, the game, according to coach Laura Whitney, was the tale of two halves. They scored 16 points in the first half and 28 in the second.
“It’s definitely a tough loss,” Whitney said. “The first half killed us with awful turnovers and rushed shots.
“Despite having 13 of our 18 turnovers in the first half, we managed to still be in it and not let it get too out of hand. I’m really proud of how hard they played and the fight they showed. It would have been really easy to give up, but we just never quit and showed a lot of character. Unfortunately, I think we used up too much energy to come back that we couldn’t get over the hump.”
Emma Stanfield led the Panthers with 18 points, and Haley Crossley added 16. Bryn Evans chipped in with 10, the third Panther in double figures.
Pennridge (5-5, 1-3 SOL) will play Neshaminy on Saturday at Plymouth Whitemarsh at 4 p.m., and William Tennent will host Upper Moreland on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both games are part of the SOL Challenge.
William Tennent 8-8-14-14 44
Pennridge 9-15-12-15 51
Pennridge (51) – Corinn Mart 5, Sam Muredda 8, Sophie Cweiber 2, Brooke Bachtle 6, Gill Anderson 7, Rose McCormick 16, Evelyn Loughery 2, Emilee Cramer 5.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 53, NORTH PENN 39
The Knights put on an offensive clinic in the early moments of Friday’s game, stunning the Titans as they opened up a 17-2 lead. Bri Hewlett and Jenny Hulmes both had a pair of 3-pointers in that Knight run.
“I think they were 4-for-4 from the 3-point line right from the beginning,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “They came out and they hit their shots. I give them a lot of credit.
“North Penn came out ready to play, and they played hard. It took us a little bit of time to respond, but I was happy with our response. Once we made a couple of adjustments, we were able to work our way back into the game.”
Behind seven points from Alexa Brodie, the Titans began to battle back, reeling off 13 unanswered points to make it a 17-13 game at the end of one quarter.
“Defensively, we made a couple of slight adjustments, and we just needed to play our pressure defense that we’ve been used to playing, and it allowed good things to happen,” Mattern said. “They got up 17-2 – they hit shots.
“We missed a couple of free throws and layup opportunities. We just needed to settle into the game because it was 17-2 pretty quick.”
By halftime, the Titans had rallied to knot the score 26-26. Brodie led the way with 11 points. South began to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Knights 14-6 behind seven points each from Brodie and Mackenzie Ehresman. The Titans added to that lead in the fourth quarter.
“We only gave up 13 points in the second half, so I was really happy with our defensive effort and our work on the boards in the second half,” Mattern said. “Unfortunately, we had a rather slow start, but North Penn was ready to play.”
Brodie led all scorers with 21 points while Ehreseman – who has been coming on strong – had 15. Haley Meinel added 11 points.
“Mackenzie and Alexa made some big baskets when necessary, and Haley just keeps pounding and working,” Mattern said. “I just think the combination of everyone together was really what kind of pushed us over the top.”
Hewlett led the Knights with 11 points while Hulmes added nine on three 3-pointers. Carley Adams had six points.
Central Bucks South (12-0, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Saturday for an 11:30 a.m. SOL Challenge contest. North Penn (4-7, 0-5) will host Pennridge on Tuesday.
Central Bucks South 13-13-14-13 53
North Penn 17-9-6-7 39
Central Bucks South (53) – Lindsay Scott 3, Haley Meinel 11, Alexa Brodie 19, Maddie McShane 3, Mackenzie Ehresman 15.
North Penn (39) – Jenny Hulmes 9, Cayla Sharkey 2, Alli Lindsay 4, Alaina Mullaly 2, Kate Early 5, Carley Adams 6, Bri Hewlett 11.
SOL American Conference
WISSAHICKON 40, UPPER MORELAND 28
The Trojans picked up their third win in as many games after a 1-4 start. Defense – the stingy kind – has been a common denominator in all three wins that has seen the Trojans allow 23, 24 and, on Friday, 28 points.
“(We) continue to work hard on the defensive end to create more offensive opportunities and high percentage shots,” coach Rodney Cline said.
A 13-3 first quarter set the tone for Friday’s win. Brianna Tilghman accounted for 10 of those points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. Victoria Selverian also buried a three in the frame.
The Trojans scored only two points in the second quarter but limited the Golden Bears to just five and took a 15-8 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Trojans once again found their offensive stride, outscoring the Bears 17-8 to go on top 32-16. Selverian led the way with seven points.
Tilghman led all scorers with 16 points while Selverian added 10. Anna Schools had six points.
For the Golden Bears, Caitlin Carr led the way with 10 points while Phoebe Longstreth and Kaiya Herb each added six.
Wissahickon (4-5, 4-2 SOL) will play its fourth game in six days when the Trojans travel to Council Rock North on Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest. Upper Moreland (3-6, 1-4) will be on the road at William Tennent for a 7 p.m. game. The two games are part of Saturday’s SOL Challenge.
Upper Moreland 3-5-8-12 28
Wissahickon 13-2-17-8 40
Upper Moreland (28)- Phoebe Longstreth 6, Caitlin Corr 10, Kaiya Herb 6, Hannah Finn 2, Kathryn Morrow 4.
Wissahickon (40) – Victoria Selverian 10, Carly Fadel 3, Brianna Tilghman 16, Victoria Williams 5, Anna Schools 6.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 73, CHELTENHAM 35
The Colonials turned up the defense in the opening quarter of Friday’s contest, keeping the visiting Lady Panthers off the scoreboard while scoring 21 points of their own. Although the Panthers found their offensive stride in the second quarter, scoring 17 points, the Colonials took a 43-17 lead into halftime. The Lady Panthers never threatened.
Taylor O’Brien led the Colonials with 27 points, which included a pair of threes and a 5-for-5 effort at the foul line. Senior Lauren Fortescue also had a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. Freshman Anna McTamney added 10 points, eight rebounds, three bocks and two steals in a standout supporting role. Gia Schweitzer chipped in six points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-1, 6-0 SOL) will host Abington on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. as part of the SOL Challenge. Cheltenham (5-5, 1-3) will be on the road at Bensalem for a 2 p.m. SOL Challenge contest.
Cheltenham 0-17-10-8 35
Plymouth Whitemarsh 21-22-17-13 73
Plymouth Whitemarsh (73) – Taylor O’Brien 27, Lauren Fortescue 13, Gia Schweitzer 6, Ali Diamond 2, Haley Zygmunt 5, Lily Belle McGroarty 3, Bria Rivers 5, Anna McTamney 10, Sydney Kesselman.
UPPER DUBLIN 60, HATBORO-HORSHAM 17
The Flying Cardinals seized early control of Friday’s contest, opening up a 23-3 lead after one quarter and never looking back. They limited the Hatters to single digits in all four quarters.
Senior Nicole Kaiser led a balanced Cardinal attack with 13 points to go along with seven rebounds. Sophomore Jackie Vargas added 12 points and five rebounds, and freshman Dayna Balasa had 10 points and three assists. Kara Grebe chipped in eight points and eight rebounds.
For the Hatters, Sydney Kemp led the way with seven points and seven rebounds.
Upper Dublin (10-3, 5-1 SOL) will face Imhotep Charter at the Play By Play Classic at Thomas Jefferson University at 4 p.m. Hatboro-Horsham (4-9, 3-3) will take on Central Bucks West on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Central Bucks East as part of the SOL Challenge.
Upper Dublin 23-17-12-8 60
Hatboro-Horsham 3-6-4-4 17
Upper Dublin (60) – Meg Barbera 5, Nicole Kaiser 11, Sarah ESkew 3, Kara Grebe 8, Maggie Weglos 5, Dayna Balasa 10, Lindsey Schreiber 1, Kayla Wolf 5, Jackie Vargas 12.
Hatboro-Horsham (17) – Lexie Brett 2, Cam Ryan 4, Kylie Halkoo 2, Sydney Kemp 7, Sarah Sciubba 2.
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