Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday.
American Conference
CHELTENHAM 49, UPPER MERION 36
Ashley Jones led all scorers with 22 points, which included three treys in a third quarter that saw the Lady Panthers turn a 25-20 halftime lead into a 39-25 advantage heading into the final quarter.
“That was obviously huge,” Cheltenham coach Brendan Nolan said. “Upper Merion is one of those teams that test you.
“We’ve had a couple of wide margin games lately, and suddenly, you have a team that stares you down a little bit and isn’t afraid to bump you and play you physically. I think we adjusted well to it, and we had to win a game differently than we’re used to winning it. I was proud of the girls for that.”
Monet McGorda also finished in double figures with 12 points while Amarri Trueheart had six for the Lady Panthers.
“I thought the defense of Katie Valeri and Jordan Wilson was outstanding on Trueheart and Jones,” UM coach Tom Schurtz said. “We really made it tough for them to make shots.
“I know Jones finished with 22, but she didn’t get a lot of shots. She had to shoot over 60 percent from the field today because she did not get a lot of looks. (Cheltenham) did a nice job. They made enough shots to keep us at arm’s length, but the girls played hard.”
Sophomore Jessica Michael led the Vikings with 14 points, which included four three-pointers – three in the fourth quarter. Regie Robinson added 13.
“Ashley Jones had back-to-back-to-back three’s in the middle of the third,” Schurtz said. “That pushed the lead up to double figures, but to our credit, we didn’t falter. We kept coming.
“In the fourth quarter, Jess Michael hit back-to-back three’s to cut the lead to six with about five to go. They did a nice job. They stretched it out.”
The Vikings trailed by just two after one quarter (14-12) and remained within striking distance at halftime.
“It always feels like an ugly game when we play each other,” Nolan said. “It’s a very physical game.
“It was a lot of transition – both teams were getting out and running. We got out to a fast start. They had an 8-0 run in the second quarter, and we answered that with a 4-0 run to end the half.”
The win was the third of the week for the Lady Panthers after falling to state-ranked Mount St. Joseph Academy 69-58 in a game they led at the intermission.
“I certainly have taken a lot away from that game, and I think the girls have taken away a lot,” Nolan said. “In the last couple of days, I’ve tried to really show them what things were costing us.
“The Mount’s a team that has five girls that can all play on the perimeter and they can all shoot the ball, and that’s a difficult team for us to defend. I don’t know that I prepared them for certain things that the Mount did, but there were other things we were prepared for them to do, and we didn’t react very well.”
Defense, according to the Lady Panthers’ coach, is going to be a point of emphasis.
“Defensively, we all had to look at each other and say, ‘If we’re going to achieve any of the goals we have, we are going to have to be better defensively,’” Nolan said. “We gave up 42 points in the second half to the Mount. We’re not going to beat anybody playing defense like that.
“We had a long break over the holidays, and we really worked a lot on offensive execution, and it shows, but now we’re really turning our focus for the rest of the season on our defense and how we have to defend in the half court because in playoff games it really comes down to how you execute your half-court offense and how you play half-court defense. I think we’ve got the one half. I think our half-court offense is better than it’s ever been, but our half-court defense is getting better, but it still has a little ways to go.”
The Lady Panthers improved to 7-1 in league play (10-3 overall) while the Vikings are 4-4 in the league (9-6 overall).
Upper Merion 12-8-5-11 36
Cheltenham 14-11-14-10 49
Upper Merion (37) – Jordan Wilson 3, Regie Robinson 13, Jessica Michael 14, Tatiana Pleasant 2, Eryn Brady 4.
Cheltenham (49) – Ashley Jones 22, Monet McGorda 12, Amarri Trueheart 6, Gabrielle Wright 5, Nashira Brown 4.
UPPER DUBLIN 34, NORRISTOWN 24
Josie Barrett buried three three-pointers in the first quarter to propel the visiting Flying Cardinals to a 12-1 lead. The Eagles answered with a 13-6 second quarter surge to make it an 18-14 game at the intermission, but the Cardinals outscored their hosts 12-4 in the third quarter to go on top 30-18 on their way to the win.
Barrett led all scorers with 13 points while Allison Chernow added nine points and four assists. Julie Cross had six points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and three assists, and Alissa Klammer had three points, four rebounds and three steals.
Brianna Schools led the Eagles with nine points while Taijah James added eight.
The Cardinals are 8-0 in league play (11-2 overall) while the Eagles are 4-4 in the league (7-7 overall).
Upper Dublin 12-6-12-4 34
Norristown 1-13-4-6 24
Upper Dublin (34) – Alissa Klammer 3, Josie Barrett 13, Julie Cross 5, Allison Chernow 9, Demi Balasa 3.
Norristown (24) – Tatiana Dewalt 4, Brianna Schools 9, Lauren Fortescue 3, Taijah James 8.
Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 39, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 38
Sam Carangi had just one basket in Thursday’s contest at South, but it was the difference maker in the game. Moments before the sophomore point guard buried a three-pointer that turned out to be the game winner, South junior Jordan Vitelli hit nothing but net on a three from well beyond the arc to knot the score 36-36, erasing a once 17-point deficit for the Titans.
Any momentum the Titans may have had went out the window when – fifteen seconds later – Carangi answered with a long-range bomb of her own from beyond the arc, giving the Maidens a 39-36 lead.
North Penn did not score a point in the final six minutes of the game and misfired on three foul shots, but the Titans managed just two points in the final six minutes, a pair of foul shots from freshman Haley Meinel to make it a 39-38 game with 2:33 remaining in regulation.
“We were getting a little frustrated because our leading scorer, Sam Carangi, wasn’t getting the ball, and she wasn’t putting up any points, but when she made that three, that was a big turnaround for us,” sophomore Jess Huber said. “It changed the game.”
While Carangi’s shot loomed large, it was the Maidens’ strong start that was the difference in the game. From the opening tap, the Maidens, who – minus several players – fell by 18 in the initial meeting between the two teams, came at the Titans with pressure defense the length of the court. They not only forced turnovers – 10 unofficially in the quarter – they scored some easy buckets inside.
“North Penn came out with a lot of intensity, and that’s a credit to them,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “They came out and showed they really wanted to win that game.
“We weren’t executing. We turned the ball over in every facet of the court.”
It was Huber setting the tone when she scored on a strong drive on the Maidens’ opening possession of the game.
“I thought her decision making on offense was very good,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said of Huber. “She took the ball to the basket strong. She made good decisions on entry passes.
“I just thought she made good decisions period, and that was the difference.”
After a Titan miss, Irisa Ye buried a three-pointer, and then it was Ye coming up with a steal that resulted in an easy basket by Huber. Another Titan miscue resulted in a driving bucket by Ye, and the Maidens led 9-0. Yet another turnover set the stage for a Ye putback, and the Maidens led 11-0. A basket by Kaley Smith put the Titans on the scoreboard at the 5:27 mark, but the Maidens went on to open up a 29-12 lead with 3:37 remaining in the first half.
“We knew we needed this win, and we came out looking to win,” Huber said. “We were very energetic, and everyone was ready to go.”
The Titans closed out the half with a 6-0 run to make it a 29-18 game at the intermission.
Junior Mikaela Giuliani, who had a game-high 10 rebounds, had a huge half, scoring 11 of her game-high 13 points in the first two quarters. Huber scored nine of her 12 points in the half while Ye had seven of her nine points in the first half.
The Titans trimmed the Maidens’ lead to 36-31 heading into the fourth quarter, sparked by six points from Taylor Dunn.
“I thought we played better in the second half,” Mattern said. “If we had 10-12 turnovers in the first 12 minutes of the game, we had five or six the rest of the game.
“We really found our composure and our ability to fight back into it.”
A bucket by Heinel after a Maiden travel violation to open the fourth quarter made it a 36-33 game, setting the stage for Vitelli’s bucket and the dramatic finish.
“We get into trouble when we take too many quick three’s on consecutive possessions,” deMarteleire said. “That’s when we get in trouble because it’s long rebounds, and the team goes the other way, so that’s when we get in trouble.
“Overall, I was pleased with our defense, and if we could put four quarters together like the first quarter, we’re going to be in good shape.”
The Maidens – who were 0-for-5 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and 7-for-15 in the game – misfired on a one-and-one with 16 seconds remaining. A jump ball on the rebound gave the Titans possession. Mattern called a timeout with eight seconds remaining, but her team’s shot for the win fell short at the buzzer.
“We played well the second half,” Mattern said. “We scored 20 in the second half, and I thought we were still struggling to score a little bit.”
Dunn led the Titans with 12 points while Vitelli added eight, all in the second half.
Both teams boast identical 6-2 records in conference play to trail first place CB West by one-and-a-half games. Both are 11-3 overall.
North Penn 20-9-7-3 39
Central Bucks South 9-9-13-7 38
North Penn (39) – Irisa Ye 9, Taylor Thames 2, Mikaela Giuliani 13, Jess Huber 12, Sam Carangi 3.
Central Bucks South (38) – Taylor Dunn 12, Jordan Vitelli 8, Sam Clevenstine 2, Kaley Smith 2, Melissa Veal 2, Haley Meinel 6, Emma Gardy 3, Meghan Kuypers 1, Mackenzie Ehresman 2.
National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 56, WILLIAM TENNENT 43
Jessica Gerber had another big game for the Indians, scoring a game high 25 points. The senior point guard also had three rebounds, one steal and one assist. Megan Haggerty added 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Michaela Finneyfrock led the Indians under the boards with seven rebounds to go along with four points, one steal and one assist.
The Indians exploded out of the gate to a 16-2 lead after one quarter, but the Panthers refused to go down quietly, outscoring the Indians 11-7 in the second quarter and 16-11 in the third to go into the fourth quarter trailing by just five (34-29). Rock North closed out the game with a 22-14 quarter to earn the double-digit win.
For the Panthers, Kyla Gibson had the hot hand, finishing with 22 points. Senior Angela Pomponio added eight points.
The Indians are 6-2 in league play (9-5 overall) while the Panthers are 3-5 in the league (8-6 overall).
William Tennent (43) – Braylin Dougherty 5, Angela Pomponio 8, Alyssa Christiansen 2, Kyla Gibson 22, Sarah Richie 2, Brianna Broccardi 4.
Council Rock North (56) – Becca Margolis 5, Jessica Gerber 25, Michaela Finneyfrock 4, Madison Attanasio 3, Megan Haggerty 11, Samantha Saifer 2, Emily Mackin 2, Mackenzie Tinner 2, Hailey Burns 2.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 59, HARRY S TRUMAN 35
The Tigers took a 7-6 lead into the second quarter when the Golden Hawks found their offensive stride, outscoring their hosts 19-9 to go into halftime with a 25-16 lead. They added to that lead in the second half when they outscored the Tigers 34-19.
Allison Taub led the Golden Hawks with another double-double, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Shannon Taub added 15 points, and Cara Barlow had 12 points, four rebounds and three steals. Sophomore point guard Payton Spadaccino added six points, seven assists and six steals.
Truman’s Jayda Campbell led all scorers with 17 points while Daeja Moore had nine and Sabria Lytes, eight points.
The Goldens Hawks are 6-2 in league play (9-5 overall) while the Tigers are 1-7 in the league (7-9 overall).
Council Rock South 6-19-16-18 59
Harry S Truman 7-9-12-7 35
ABINGTON 45, PENNSBURY 19
The Ghosts opened up a 20-7 lead after one quarter on their way to the convincing win. Deja Rawls led the Ghosts with 19 points while Sammy Lochner had 11. Liz O'Leary had nine points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.
The Ghosts are 8-0 in league play (12-3 overall) while the Falcons are 2-6 in the league (4-8 overall).
Abington 20-7-9-9 45
Pennsbury 7-2-2-8 35
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