CB West, CR North, Souderton, Neshaminy & Upper Dublin were winners in Sunday’s Maggie Lucas Play by Play Classic at Thomas Jefferson University.
The Suburban One League stood tall on Sunday at the Maggie Lucas Play by Play Classic at Thomas Jefferson University. Six SOL girls’ basketball teams competed in the annual event – five were winners with the only loss coming in an all-SOL matchup.
Souderton trounced Philadelphia Catholic League power Neumann-Goretti 48-28, and Central Bucks West stunned previously undefeated Garnet Valley, 43-39. Neshaminy won a 44-41 thriller over North Penn. Upper Dublin rolled to a 41-29 win over Imotep Charter, and Council Rock North exploded for 81 points in an 81-45 rout of Springside Chestnut Hill.
SOUDERTON 48, NEUMANN-GORETTI 28
The Indians had themselves quite a week.
On Tuesday, Souderton snapped a 16-game losing streak to archrival North Penn dating back to Jan. 5, 2010, with a convincing 55-27 win. Two days later, the Indians stymied Central Bucks West in a 38-17 win, and on Sunday, they capped the week with a 20-point win over the three-time defending PIAA 3A champion Saints, ranked 17th in USA Today’s Super 25 Preseason Rankings.
There wasn’t much of a response from fans in attendance when the Saints raced out to a 14-7 second-quarter lead, but there was an unmistakable buzz when the Indians closed out the first half with a definitive 13-0 tear to go into halftime with a 20-14 lead.
“Coming into this game – they’re a really well-known team, and they’re extremely athletic,” junior Megan Walbrandt said. “We knew they were going to be aggressive on defense, up in our face, so I think we were just all a little frazzled in the first quarter, but then we started making shots and we’re like – we’re just as good as this team, and we really ran away with the game after that.”
The Saints reeled off nine straight points to open the third quarter, going on top 23-20. It turned out to be their last hurrah as they scored just five points the rest of the way against an Indian squad that closed out the game with an impressive 28-5 run.
“In the beginning of the game, we were having a hard time getting into a flow, and as soon as we started to run sets where our girls had a little more freedom to make decisions and we were forcing them to defend us longer, we started to have more success,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “We kind of went with that for most of the game, and it seemed to work. We were getting in the lane and taking good shots, dribble penetrating and kicking it out.
“The key to the game we talked about before was make sure we’re composed and playing with confidence – don’t be intimidated. This is one of the best teams in the state and will probably win a state championship again this year. How do you make sure you’re playing with composure and confidence, and if there’s a possession where you don’t, how do you make sure that doesn’t turn into a second bad possession. We started off – we were a little flustered, and our offense was not good, but then we overcame it and didn’t really get back to that lack of composure at any other point.”
If ever a win qualified as a ‘team win,’ this was it as everyone contributed. Walbrandt and Alana Cardona led a balanced attack with 10 points each. Megan Bealer and Kate Connolly both had nine while point guard Tori Dowd had six. Meghan O’Donnell had four points off the bench.
The Indians’ balance is underscored in the final three quarters of Sunday’s contest that saw them score 13, 12 and 16 points respectively with no player having more than two field goals in a quarter.
Bealer and Connolly both had eight rebounds, and Connolly also had five blocks. Cardona had eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Dowd had two assists and three steals.
Walbrandt, who earned team MVP honors, has been a catalyst on the defensive end. Three days after holding CB West’s dangerous sophomore Maddie Burke scoreless, she limited Hartford-bound Jabria Ingram to just nine points.
“She keeps doing it for us at both ends of the court,” Carroll said. “She is playing with a lot of confidence right now. The bigger the task we give her on defense, the better she seems to play on offense. She’s as determined a defender as I’ve ever coached. She and Tori (Dowd) are cut from the same cloth in that sense. They love to play defense, and they get angry if they get beat to the basket. They want to know how many points their kid had – they’re that kind of player.”
“Our defense has really picked up,” Walbrandt said. “We’re playing really good team defense lately. Especially going into this week, we have three more games.”
Souderton (10-2, 3-1 SOL) will be on the road at William Tennent on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Indians will host Pennridge, and on Friday, they will travel to Central Bucks South for a key conference showdown.
Souderton 7-13-12-16 48
Neumann-Goretti 9-5-9-5 28
Souderton (48) – Tori Dowd 6, Megan Beaer 9, Alana Cardona 10, Megan Wabrandt 10, Megan O’Donnell 4, Kate Connolly 9.
Neumann-Goretti (28) – Kiara Koger 6, Dajiah Parmley 2, Tatiana Jones 11, Jabria Ingram 9.
NESHAMINY 44, NORTH PENN 41
In one of the day’s most exciting contests, the Redskins rallied from a late deficit to earn the dramatic win. Neshaminy – trailing by as many as five late – knotted the score when Emily Tantala buried a clutch 3-pointer. Kristin Curley – who was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter – buried a pair at the foul line with 8.4 seconds left to give the ‘Skins a lead they would not lose.
The win was the 100th of Lally’s career, and this one was hard earned.
“I’m very happy with the way we responded,” the Redskins’ coach said. “Maggie (deMarteleire) was pulling out every trick that she’s capable of and knows, and we seemed to be biting right into the trap. I told our girls – that’s the best 4-8 team that we will ever play.”
Early on, the Redskins – sparked by 11 points from Curley – led 15-10 after one quarter, and they took a 24-22 lead into halftime. The Redskins suffered a major setback when they lost Brooke Mullin to five fouls early in the third period.
“It was all my fault,” Lally said. “After she picked up her fourth foul, we were transitioning on offense, and I was trying not to use a timeout – I’m thinking on the offensive side we’re okay.”
Mullin, however, was whistled for a charge on her team’s ensuing offensive possession and lost for the remainder of the contest.
“That’s on me – I should have gotten her out of the game,” Lally said. “We’re playing without Brooke in the lineup for pretty much the whole second half, and Olivia Scotti had three fouls. I thought the kids did really good.
“We got some really big minutes from Meghan Ansel, and we got some big minutes from Emily Tantala. They answered the bell. That was good for us as a team. They got a taste to see what it’s like to compete at that level and have some success.”
The Knights led 33-31 after three quarters, but the Redskins regrouped for the win.
Curley, who earned team MVP honors, led all scorers with 19 points, which included a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe.
“Kristin really accepted the challenge,” Lally said. “She played extremely well.
“She’s really coming into her own where you see she has the ability to get to the basket and create her own shot. She can step in and knock down the 10-12 footer, she can step out and hit the three.
“I was telling our coaches – I really think she grew up today because at one point, I called a timeout and said, ‘You’re deferring on shots that you need to take.’ She went right back out and started taking the shots we think she should take, and it made a big difference instantly.”
Neshaminy (9-3, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday, and North Penn (4-8, 0-5) will host Pennridge on Tuesday.
Neshaminy 15-9-7-13 44
North Penn 10-12-11-8 41
Neshaminy (44) – Brooke Mullin 7, Allison Harvey 6, Kristin Curley 19, Olivia Scotti 1, Meghan Ansel 8, Emiy Tantala 3.
North Penn (41) – Jenny Hulmes 8, Alayna Faison 4, Alaina Mullaly 1, Kate Early 4, Carley Adams 5, Jess McKenzie 6, Bri Hewlett 13.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 81, SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL 45
Becca Margolis erupted for 26 points – 22 in the first half, and teammates Dana Bandurick (19 points) and Mackenzie Tinner (16 points) also turned in huge performances as the Indians put on an offensive clinic, connecting on 34-of-55 shots from the floor (62 percent). They were 5-for-12 from beyond the arc while heir opponens were 17-for-46 (37 percent) and 5-for-16 from 3-point land.
If Sunday’s game is any indication, the Indians – who scored 53 points in the first half – have found their stride.
“We came back from Florida where we played great,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “We played Bensalem after zero practices and looked bad. We then played Neshaminy after zero practices and looked terrible.
“We are playing really well right now. The girls have a businesslike approach.”
The Indians – who committed just five turnovers the entire game – certainly took care of business in a hurry, opening up a 28-9 lead after one quarter with all but two of those points scored by Margolis (9 points), Bandurick (9 points) and Tinner (8 points).
The second quarter was more of the same as the Indians connected on four three-pointers with Margolis connecting on a pair. The senior point guard had 13 points in the quarter. Sydney Blum and Olivia Boyle – who had seven points – also buried threes. The Indians, who led 73-39 after three quarters, coasted to the win.
Council Rock (8-5, 4-1 SOL) will travel to Abington Wednesday for a conference showdown.
In addition to leading the way offensively, Margolis – named team MVP – also had six steals and nine assists. Bandurick had three steals and seven assists, and Camryn Polinsky had three steals and six assists. As a team, North had 13 steals and 28 assists.
Council Rock North 28-25-20-8 81
Springside Chestnut Hill 9-16-14-6 45
Council Rock North (81) – Becca Margolis 26, Camryn Polinsky 2, Dana Bandurick 19, Sydney Blum 3, Olivia Boyle 7, Emma Benson 2, Kaelin Mealey 6, Mackenzie Tinner 16.
Springside Chestnut Hill (45) – Joelle Bridges 4, Reya Seifert 2, Becca Arnold 3, Mo’ne Davis 11, Destiny Rogers 11, Caroline Clark 14.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 43, GARNET VALLEY 39
A young Central Bucks West squad showed its mettle on Sunday.
Three days after scoring just 17 points in a loss to Souderton and minus one of its top offensive weapons in Diane Nicholson (injury), the Bucks knocked off an undefeated Jaguar squad that entered Sunday’s game atop the District One 6A power rankings.
“I think we learned a lot from our loss against Souderton,” sophomore Maddie Burke said. “We just came back with confidence and with a different mindset.”
Whatever the mindset may have been, the Bucks will certainly want to keep it. They set the tone early in Sunday’s win, forcing turnovers and burying shots.
Abbey Spratt ignited a 10-0 run when she buried a three-pointer less than a minute into the contest. A baseline three by Kaili Carey after a Jaguar turnover made it a 6-0 game, and Izzy Treon’s fast break basket after another miscue gave the Bucks an 8-0 lead, prompting the Jaguars to call a hasty timeout. After a Jaguar miss, Burke scored a basket that made it 10-0. The Jaguars got on the board when Emily McAteer scored at the 4:23 mark.
Eight straight points by Burke, which included a pair of 3-pointers, gave the Bucks a 16-6 lead after one quarter. They led 29-18 at the intermission. Burke accounted for 14 of those points.
“She’s got to do that for us, and you know what – we’re probably going to live and die with that,” coach Terry Rakowsky said. “As we develop, hopefully we’ll get that third, fourth and fifth kid to give us five points and a couple of rebounds. If we get that, we can probably stay with everybody. If we can’t do that, we can (lose) by 30 to anybody.”
The Bucks led 33-30 after Treon scored on a drive, but the Jaguars made it a 35-31 game with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter. Treon converted another drive, and a Burke three – her fifth of the game – gave the Bucks a 40-31 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Bucks scored just three points in the final quarter- a three by Spratt – but held on for the win, maintaining possession for the better part of the final three minutes.
“This was huge,” Rakowsky said. “Today we got the people to shoot the ball, and we got extra stuff from our third, fourth and fifth players, and we got decent play off the bench.
“We played our style, which we’re going to back to where we just play defense. If they beat us, they beat us. This was a big win, they were undefeated.”
Burke – who earned team MVP honors – led all scorers with 19 points while Treon had eight and Spratt, seven.
“It was awesome,” said Burke of the win. “We really were down on ourselves after (the Souderton game), but it’s good we bounced back against such a good team.”
Central Bucks West (8-6, 4-2 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday and then will travel to Bethlehem Catholic for a non-league game on Saturday.
Central Bucks West 16-13-11-3 43
Garnet Valley 9-9-13-8 39
Central Bucks West (43) – Abby Spratt 2 1-5 7; Olivia Irons 4, Maddie Burke 19, Kaili Carey 3, Izzy Treon 8, Julia Kreider 2.
Garnet Valley (43) – Morgan Falcone 4, Emily McAteer 14, Nicole Barnes 5, Madi Mckee 8, Brianne Borkey 8.
UPPER DUBLIN 41, IMHOTEP CHARTER 29
Behind five points from sophomore Jackie Vargas, the Flying Cardinals opened up a 12-1 lead after one quarter and took a 22-11 lead into the intermission. Imhotep never threatened, but UD coach Morgan Funsten had some concerns after Sunday’s win.
“I was pleased with how we came out, although I didn’t think we had the same level of focus that we typically do,” the Cardinals’ coach said. “I didn’t think we had great body language in the first quarter despite getting up early.
“I think more of it was Imhotep not coming ready to play as opposed to us coming really ready to play. We have to be mentally tougher throughout the game. I questioned, maybe for the first time all year, our mental toughness throughout the game.
“It didn’t seem like we were into it. Some of it could have been a different style of play that we’re not used to, but it’s the type of thing – if the other team has a different style of play, you make the adjustments early and you’re okay. I don’t think we ever made as many adjustments mentally as we should have.”
Vargas, who was named team MVP, led the Cardinals with 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. Nicole Kaiser and Dayna Balasa both added nine while Maggie Weglos added seven. Kaiser also pulled down nine rebounds.
Upper Dublin (11-3, 5-1 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 12-10-9-10 41
Imhotep Charter 1-10-4-13 29
Upper Dublin (41) – Meg Barbera 2, Nicole Kaiser 9, Maggie Weglos 7, Dayna Balasa 9, Jackie Vargas 14.
Imhotep (29) – Cintron 9, Swift 8, Herder 3, Parker 2, Charles 5, Harvey 2.
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