Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Pennsbury/CR North photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 46, PENNSBURY 43
Sometimes rejuvenating a struggling offense is really just as easy as simplifying the game plan. According to coach Lou Palkovics, that was the case in Thursday’s win that saw the Indians rally from a 10-point deficit to earn the important win.
“I’ve been coaching for so long, and sometimes as a coach, you have to simplify the offense,” the Indians’ coach said. “We just decided that with three usually very good three-point shooters on the court – why not just go a little four-out and stick Dana in the middle.
“You’ve got to close out on Cam (Polinsky), you’ve got to close out on Syd (Blum), and you’ve got to close out on Liv (Boyle), so eventually, we’re going to get a good post entry in to Dana (Bandurick).”
The Indians made some nice entry passes to Bandurick, and the senior standout also did her share to create havoc, scoring 16 of her game-high 22 points in the second half – 10 in the pivotal fourth quarter.
“Dana is so smart in there, using her body,” Palkovics said. “I always teach her to set up for the second pass.
“You let them fight to where they want to get position, we’ll fight for the second pass, and she was just real smart tonight.”
While Bandurick was all but unstoppable under the basket, even more impressive was her steal near midcourt when she stripped the Pennsbury ball handler and coasted in for a layup with just under a minute remaining. The basket broke a 43-43 tie and turned out to be the game-winner.
“How about that steal?” Palkovics said. “That steal was big. Her arms are so long, and you could just see – she was plotting. She was plotting for that crossover.”
“A few times earlier in the game, she completely crossed me over,” Bandurick said. “After guarding her a bit, I got used to her rhythm, and I knew it was coming. I was waiting for that crossover. I learned from my three other mistakes.”
If that wasn’t enough, Bandurick delivered a block at the other end of the court that deflected off a Falcon player, giving the Indians possession. The senior forward sank one-of-two at the foul line with 21.6 seconds remaining, and the Falcons’ shot for the tie fell short.
Bandurick finished the game with 22 points, five rebounds, five steals and one blocked shot.
“We’ve always known Liv is so athletic, and she always has a way of getting her hands in and tipping the ball,” Olivia Boyle said of her teammate. “Once she gets the ball, no one can catch up to her because she’s so fast.”
“She’s one of the best athletes in the league, if not the best athlete,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said of Bandurick. “Which is an inspiration to kids who go through injuries to see her come back and be just as athletic. She really competes, and she has so much experience.
“Tonight in the second half, she scored 16 points, she had several great finishes, she’s relentless to the ball, and she made big plays when she had to.”
Also coming up big was Boyle, who scored seven of her 12 points in the opening quarter when the Indians were struggling to find their offense. She also had four assists.
“We needed that,” Bandurick said. “That was so huge. A lot of our shots were not falling, and we relied almost completely on Liv.
“Pennsbury had a lot of energy, and I didn’t feel we came out as strong as we could have, but Liv definitely helped us out. If Liv wouldn’t have come out as strong as she did in the beginning, I don’t know if we could have caught up.”
Added Palkovics, “What I like about Liv too is Cam (Polinsky) doesn’t have to be overburdened running the point all the time. Liv is so good with handling the ball she can get us in into offenses and take some of the stress off of Cam.”
The Indians trailed by 10 at halftime and five at the end of the third quarter, thanks to a basket in the closing seconds by Bandurick. Cam Polinsky buried a three to open the third quarter, and after Cami Wiegand put the Falcons on top 36-32 with her third three of the game, Sydney Blum answered just seconds later with a bucket that pulled the Indians within two. The two teams exchanged leads until Bandurick’s basket with less than a minute remaining.
“I feel as though we did play hard, but we didn’t play hard enough – we could have done better,” said Pennsbury’s Mary Miller of the Falcons’ second-half effort.
The game was a story of two halves for both squads. The Falcons had all the momentum in the first half. Behind 10 points from Wiegand and five each from Mary Miller and Ava Sciolla, they opened up a 15-9 lead after one quarter and extended that to 27-17 by halftime. The second half was another story entirely for the Falcons, who showed they could stay with the conference’s top squads. They lost to both Rock North and Neshaminy – defending tri-champions – by three points.
“This one hurt tonight because we were in control,” coach Sciolla said. “We simply must be better with fouls.
“In all four losses, we have been in foul trouble in the middle of the second quarter. Tonight we were kind of in control, but again, you’re putting some people in spots that are difficult against a team that’s really good like this and used to winning big games. Soon we will get over the hump and win one of these games.”
Wiegand led the Falcons with 15 points, and Sciolla – who struggled with foul woes – finished with 12 but saw limited minutes in the second half. Miller added seven.
For the Indians, Blum added seven points, five rebounds, three blocks shots and a steal. Polinsky also had four assists, and Abby Jones had six rebounds.
The Indians connected on 18-of-45 shots (40 percent) while the Falcons were 15-for-42 (36 percent).
Council Rock North (12-3, 6-1 SOL) will travel to Mount St. Joseph for a non-league game on Sunday, and Pennsbury (11-4, 4-3) will host Cheltenham in a non-league game on Saturday.
Council Rock North 9-8-11-18 46
Pennsbury 15-13-6-10 43
Council Rock North (46) – Camryn Polinsky 3, Anna Cairone 2, Sydney Blum 7, Olivia Boyle 12, Dana Bandurick 22.
Pennsbury (43) – Bella Arcuri 4, Kate Mix 4, Mary Miller 7, Nicole Pompili 1, Ava Sciolla 12, Cami Wiegant 15.
NESHAMINY 53, BENSALEM 23
Eight players scored four points or more for the Redskins, who were led by the 10-point effort of Meghan Ansel. Brooke Mullin added nine points, and Emily Tantala had eight. Kelli Kowalick had seven points, and Allison Harvey, six points.
The Redskins opened up a 16-7 lead after one quarter and took a commanding 30-9 lead into halftime on their way to the decisive win.
Haley Keen and Taylor Hood both scored five points to lead the Owls.
Neshaminy (15-2, 7-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday, and Bensalem (9-5, 3-4) will be on the road at New Hope-Solebury on Saturday for a non-league game.
Bensalem 7-2-7-13 23
Neshaminy 16-14-15-8 53
Bensalem (23) – Michaela Sit 2, Haley Keenan 5, Samantha Daut 3, Chloe Munyon 3, Gianna Paglaccetti 3, Taylor Hood 5, Pooja Singamneni 2.
Neshaminy (53) – Sydney Tryon 4, Emily Tantala 8, Brooke Mullin 9, Kristin Curley 4, Alexa McCoy 5, Kelli Kowalick 7, Allison Harvey 6, Meghan Ansel 10.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 54, HARRY S TRUMAN 14
The Golden Hawks opened up a 19-2 lead after one quarter and took a 39-9 lead into halftime.
“It was a nice team effort,” coach Blair Klumpp said. “We were really disciplined defensively and picking our spots to be aggressive.
“We tried to contain them and keep everything in front of us. They were shorthanded without (Daisha) Campbell and (Haniyyah) Jones, so we wanted to focus on defending well and moving while the ball was in the air.
“(Nicole) Blaustein, (Carley) Irvin and (Madison) Broaddus really worked well together defensively and combined for 14 of our 22 steals. But they were playing smart as well and working well together.”
Blaustein’s 13 points led a balanced attack. Hannah Binder and Montanna Chambers both added eight points, and Carley Irvin had seven. Karly Wunder chipped in six points.
Blaustein also had a team-high seven steals. Maddie Broaddus had four and Irvin, three. Chambers also had three assists while Irvin, Blaustein and Broaddus each had two.
“One thing I was proud of tonight was no one really was out to ‘get theirs,’” Klumpp said. “We shared the ball really well and had 13 assists on 21 field goals.
“We picked our spots well and executed some things we emphasized in practice – moving the ball, moving on defense while the ball was in the air, and jump stopping to get ourselves balanced. A lot of times when you emphasize a lot of fundamental things in practice it can be mundane and boring for them but the girls put what they practiced into play tonight.”
The Golden Hawks received contributions up and down their lineup. Ryann Szydlik had a team-high 12 rebounds, and Chelsea Jameson had five.
“We were a little shorthanded tonight as well, so it was good to get some contributions from girls who saw some extended minutes,” Klumpp said. “The effort was really good. We won a lot of 50/50 balls, deflected a lot of passes and forced a lot of jump balls on top of the steals.
“Nicole (Blaustein) and Carley (Irvin) did a real good job sparking our transition. They both made good decisions with the ball, especially in transition. Maddie (Broaddus) played with a lot of energy and confidence tonight. Ryann Szydlik was really good off the bench, very effective on the glass, which was a battle we needed to win. She’s been playing well jayvee and practicing really well. She gets better going up against Hannah (Binder) and Bailey (Vetter), so I am glad it carried over. Chelsea Jameson was also very active in an expanded role today.”
Council Rock South (6-8, 3-4 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Tuesday, and Harry S Truman (2-13, 0-7) will be on the road at Upper Moreland for a non-league game Saturday.
Council Rock South 19-20-13-2 54
Harry S Truman2-7-2-3 14
Council Rock South (54) – Montanna Chambers 8, Chelsea Jameson 4, Karly Wunder 6, Madison Broaddus 4, Carley Irvin 7, Riana Szydlik 2, Nicole Blaustein 13, Bailey Vetter 2, Hannah Binder 8.
Harry S Truman (14) – Hannah Smith 4, Kayla Becker 2, Kiera Smith 5, Leyla Bayram 2, Dahlia Gumaa 1.
SOL Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 50, NORTH PENN 29
The Indians took just a 22-18 lead into halftime but blew the game wide open with a 28-11 second half.
“North Penn played really well,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “We were only up four at the half.
“Megan Walbrandt took over in the third quarter and made some big shots. A lot of our field goals in the fourth quarter were off their full-court pressure, which they were forced to do because of the score, and our girls did a great job of executing and advancing the ball for layups.”
Walbrandt scored all 11 of her team’s points in a third quarter that saw the Indians allow just three. Mikaela Reese led the Indians’ fourth quarter charge with eight points.
Walbrandt led all scorers with 16 points while Reese and Olivia Schneider each added nine. Megan O’Donnell had eight points, and Megan Bealer had seven points. O’Donnell also had four assists and six rebounds while Bealer’s six assists and seven rebounds led the Indians, who connected on 12-of-15 shots at the foul line.
The Knights, who buried 7-of-8 foul shots, were led by the 11-point effort of Karley Adams. Alli Lindsay added seven points.
Souderton (13-1, 7-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Tuesday, and North Penn (6-7, 3-4) will be on the road at Archbishop Carroll for a non-league game Monday.
North Penn 11-7-3-8 29
Souderton 16-6-11-17 50
North Penn (29) – Cayla Sharkey 5, Alayna Faison 2, Alli Lindsay 7, Rachel Dunne 2, Karley Adams 11, Val McGriff 2.
Souderton (50) – Megan Bealer 7, Olivia Schneider 9, Megan Walbrandt 16, Erica Stephens 1, Megan O’Donnell 8, Mikaela Reese 9.
SOL American Conference
ABINGTON 71, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 26
Abington’s starters did most of their damage in the first quarter, bursting out of the gate to a 37-7 lead. Tamia Wessels had 12 points in the opening quarter, which included three three-pointers. Kassondra Brown had 10 points in the quarter, and Cam Lexow added seven. Khalis Whiting had six.
For the game, Brown led all scorers with 16 points, and Lexow added 15. Wessels finished the game with 14 points, and Whiting had 11. Amanda Jackson added nine points off the bench.
Rileigh Serroni’s eight points led the Spartans.
Abington (12-2, 7-1 SOL) will travel to Governor Mifflin for a non-league game on Saturday, and Springfield Township (2-12, 1-7) will be on the road at Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Abington 37-16-9-9 71
Springfield Township 7-6-8-5 26
Abington (71) – Tamia Wessels 14, Cam Lexow 15, Kassondra Brown 16, Miranda Liebtag 5, Khalis Whiting 11, Amanda Jackson 9, Kaeleigh Sierianni 1.
Springfield Township (26) – Grace Barraclough 4, Leajah Sistrunk 4, Rileigh Serroni 8, Maddie Yoder 4, Emily Smith 4, Sydney Hannings 2.
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