Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. Abington/Springfield Twp photos provided courtesy of Larry Small. Pennsbury/CB South photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for galleries of both games. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS' BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
BENSALEM 49, NORTH PENN 45
Amber Howard was a difference maker.
The Bensalem sophomore set the tone for a standout performance with some impressive moves that resulted in back-to-back baskets on the low post, turning a 14-12 Owls’ lead into an 18-12 lead just over a minute into the second quarter.
“It’s super fun to watch from a coach’s point of view,” Bensalem coach Steve Johnson said of his sophomore standout’s nifty moves. “Amber came out on fire. She didn’t settle for her 3-pointers. She just relentlessly attacked the rim, and they had trouble guarding her, and she took advantage. I’m super proud of her.”
Howard’s early baskets turned out to be a preview of things to come as the talented sophomore scored nine of her team’s 11 points in the second quarter to send the Owls into halftime with a 25-23 lead.
Howard finished with a game high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds in a stellar showing.
“She knew how they were playing her, and she just took it right to the rack,” Johnson said. “She got huge, ginormous, enormous rebounds in the fourth quarter. I wouldn’t want to be under there the way she grabbed those.
“She played smart basketball, and she just played real composed for a 10th grader.”
The Knights outscored the Owls 12-7 in the third quarter to go on top 35-32. Abby Plaugher had a pair of huge plays for the Knights, burying a three from well beyond the arc to give her team a five-point edge early in the quarter. Her conventional three-point play midway through the frame put the Knights on top 33-27, but on the Owls next trip down the court, Howard penetrated and kicked the ball to Delaney Bell, who buried a baseline three to make it a 33-30 game.
It was still a three-point game heading into the final quarter, but the Knights upped that lead to 38-32 when Plaugher connected on a three early in the frame.
“Fourth quarter and down six with a couple minutes left – you just know you can’t let it go,” Bensalem senior Maddie MacDougall said. “You’re so close you can almost taste it. You can’t let it go. You have to keep going.””
Howard scored on a short baseline jumper, and after a Knight turnover, Bell buried a 3-pointer, and just like that it was a one-point game, 38-37.
“Coach always says – the next one’s going in,” Bell said. “You just have to have that mentality.
“Sometimes you come up big for your team, and it’s really rewarding because you work on it so much in practice. We’ve got the green light, so we’re just going to let it fly.
“A game like this give us a lot of confidence. It shows that basketball is a game of runs like coach always says. You have to really push to the end and do everything you can to battle back.”
Freshman Cam Crowley sank the front end of a one-and-one to up the Knights’ advantage to two, but Bell got that back when – on her third try in traffic – she scored the equalizer on a putback. The Owls led 41-39 when Howard scored on a tough follow-up shot in the paint, but Plaugher connected on both ends of a one-and-one to knot the score.
MacDougall hit nothing but net on a three to put the Owls on top 44-41 with 3:15 remaining. It was her only basket of the game, but it loomed large.
“We know it’s not always going to go in, but we know we have our team behind us,” MacDougall said. “There’s definitely some fear behind taking the shot, but you just have to have confidence in yourself. You can’t be thinking that it’s not going to go in. You just have to shoot it.”
After the Knights came up empty, Averi McCoy sank both ends of a one-and-one to give the Owls a five-point lead. Caleigh Sperling buried a pair at the line to pull the Knights to within three, and it was a one-point game when – with 25 seconds remaining – Kelly Donnelly scored on a putback.
With 14.1 seconds remaining, Bell connected on a pair, and after a North Penn miss for the tie, Peyton Miller – with 1.1 seconds remaining - sank one-of-two at the line for the 49-45 final. The win brought a welcome end to a five-game losing streak for the Owls.
“It feels great to finally be able to battle back and win a close game,” Bell said. “It feels good because our hard work paid off. We did play some good teams in that five-game losing streak, but we beat a good team here, and it’s on to the next.”
“We definitely wanted to end the losing streak,” MacDougall said. “And tonight we did.
“They’re a competitive team, and it’s really fun going back and forth with them and just having to compete. Nobody likes easy.”
In addition to Howard, Bell had 14 points and McCoy had 12 – eight in the first quarter to propel the Owls to a strong start.
“We’ve been handling a lot of adversity this year,” said Johnson, who has lost two of his top six players to injuries. “I’m so happy that they just came out and played together. We were down at times, but we didn’t let it get to us. I’m super pleased with all the girls, all 12 girls.”
Miller came up big in the paint, pulling down eight rebounds.
“She was clutch – hitting 1-of-2 at the foul line at the end and coming up with eight rebounds off the bench,” Johnson said.
“Our two sophomores came up big,” MacDougall said of Howard and Miller.
For the Knights, Plaugher’s 14 points led the way. Liv Stone added 10 points – eight in the first half. Crowley finished with eight points.
Bensalem (6-6, 3-6 SOL) will host Pennridge on Thursday, and North Penn (4-8, 3-6) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Friday.
Bensalem 14-11-7-17 49
North Penn 11-12-12-10 45
Bensalem (49) – Talia DiMichele 1 0-0 2; Averi McCoy 4 3-4 12; Maddie MacDougall 1 0-1 3; Delaney Bell 5 2-2 14; Peyton Miller 0 1-2 1; Amber Howard 8 1-6 17; TOTALS 19 7-15 49.
North Penn (45) – Caleigh Sperling 1 3-4 5; Cam Crowley 3 1-2 8; Abby Plaugher 4 4-5 14; Kelly Donnelly 2 0-0 4; Liv Stone 3 4-4 10; Kiera Sparango 1 2-4 4; TOTALS 14 14-19 45.
3-point goals: Bensalem – Delaney Bell 2, Maddie MacDougall, Averi McCoy; NP – Abby Plaugher 2, Cam Crowley.
PENNRIDGE 65, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 56
To say Tuesday’s game didn’t start out on a promising note for the Rams would be an understatement. They hadn’t even played one quarter when they found themselves staring at a 17-4 deficit.
“They went on an 11-0 run – it was 11-0, we picked up a couple, but it was 17-4 with two minutes left in the quarter,” Pennridge coach Mike Elton said. “It caught us a little bit off guard. We weren’t really executing the plan we had talked about. I don’t know. It just slipped away for a bit.”
By the end of the first quarter, the Rams trailed 19-10, and in the second quarter, they managed just two field goals but benefitted from 15 trips to the foul line, converting 13 of those into points and taking a 27-26 lead into halftime.
Both Anna Croyle and Katie Yoder were a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. Ava Fantaskey was 2-for-3 and also had both of her team’s baskets for six points. For the Golden Hawks, Karissa Smedley and Lily Bross both had eight points.
“We got back to what we originally talked about,” Elton said. “We started attacking the basket a little more, and they started fouling.
“We picked it up on defense, and things changed in the second quarter. We held them to seven and had a decent run. We stuck with that strategy for most of the game. It was mostly just looking to attack.”
That meant more trips to the foul line for the Rams, who finished the game 30-for-38 at the line.
The Golden Hawks outscored their hosts 17-16 in the third quarter to knot the score 43-43 heading into the final quarter. Cam Gregory buried a pair of 3s, and Kathryn O’Kane had five points, including a three.
The Rams responded with a 22-point fourth quarter. Ella Brown came off the bench and made her presence felt, scoring all eight of her points in the final quarter, which included a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line.
“The bench was really strong,” Elton said. “They came in and really did a nice job. Ella Brown did a nice job. She’s starting to get some time now, and she’s improving.”
Croyle added six points as the Rams outscored their visitors 22-13.
“What kind of helped was they were in a little bit of foul trouble, and we made quite a bit of foul shots,” Elton said. “It was a typical Pennridge/Council Rock South game. They played hard.
“I give our kids a lot of credit. They went down pretty quick, but they just stuck with it and did what they had to do.”
Croyle – one of four Rams in double figures – led the way with 19 points, which included a 7-for-10 effort at the line. Fantaskey, who was 5-for-6 from the stripe, added 11 points while Katie Yoder and Emma Pyne both had 10 points. Yoder buried 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. Brown finished with eight points.
For the Golden Hawks, Karissa Smedley led the way with 17 points. O’Kane added nine points, including a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. Bross and Liliana Metrick both added eight points. Metrick had all eight of her points – which included two 3s – in the fourth quarter. Gregory and Mia Stock each had six points.
Pennridge (8-7, 3-5 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Friday, and Council Rock South (7-5, 4-5) will host Souderton on Friday.
Council Rock South 19-7-17-13 56
Pennridge 10-17-16-22 65
Council Rock South (56) – Kathryn O’Kane 2 4-4 9; Liliana Metrick 3 0-0 8; Lily Bross 3 0-0 8; Katie Purpura 1 0-0 2; Cam Gregory 2 0-0 6; Mia Stock 3 0-0 6; Karissa Smedley 7 3-4 17; TOTALS 21 7-8 56.
Pennridge (65) – Ella Brown 2 4-4 8; Anna Croyle 6 7-10 19; Katie Yoder 1 8-9 10; Ava Fantaskey 3 5-6 11; Olivia Poole 0 2-2 2; Emma Pyne 4 1-1 10; Ryan Hodder 1 3-6 5; TOTALS 17 30-38 65.
3-point goals: CRS – Liliana Metrick 2, Lily Bross 2, Cam Gregory 2, Kathryn O’Kane; Pennridge – Emma Pyne.
PENNSBURY 45, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 41
Tuesday’s game was an uphill battle before the Falcons even stepped on the court.
“Coaching is rarely smooth,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “There’s a seemingly masochistic element to it that defies explanation to friends and family outside of it. This year has been a grind
with people in and out of the lineup.
“Tonight we knew we were down a couple starters, and then moments before the game we didn’t think we’d have Ava as well. She wasn’t feeling well, and we pulled her from the starting lineup and the next thing you know…you’re starting three sophomores, and it’s a junior standing in the captain’s circle, but that would portend a good omen as that junior was Nevaeh Dash.
“Nevaeh scored the first hoop on a nice pull-up. We held it together for about four minutes and Ava entered. And she battled. She made incredible shots to keep us in the mix as we kept pulling her in and out while we tried to figure a way out to slow down the always excellent Taylor Hinkle.”
The Falcons – behind five points from Sciolla and four from Dash – led 13-11 after one quarter, and they took a 24-23 lead into halftime. While Sciolla had 12 points for the Falcons, Taylor Hinkle accounted for 10 of South’s points in the half.
“At halftime we seemed gassed,” Sciolla said. “We couldn’t press as we normally do as we were deep down the rotation, and even if we did, Yoyo (Samayoa) is so tough, and she just handles it.”
Sparked by eight points from Hinkle, the Titans outscored the Falcons 13-3 in the third quarter and took a 36-27 lead into the final frame.
“We were down nine, but there was no panic,” Sciolla said. “Sometimes I think when you have all these 10th graders on the floor, they don’t know enough to be scared.
“Layla Matthias was incredible, and she was everywhere. She’s our brown-haired, non-tattooed Dennis Rodman. There’s no one like her in the league. She got her hands in so many loose balls that it flipped the game.
“In coming back, Sofia (Vitucci) made a big hoop, Nevaeh and Ava hit huge 3s that brought an outstanding crowd to its feet. Layla 
brought it to one with a free throw with 40 seconds left and Ava tracked down the miss.
“Off a sideout, they stayed with the face guard on Ava, and that opened up a lane and Nevaeh went down the gut and finished strong to give us the lead, and then she did a great job of covering down on the next possession and forcing a turnover. Daniella MacDonald made it a two-point game on the free throw line with eight seconds to go, and then Ava rebounded that miss and she was fouled, and she iced the game with two free throws at two seconds to go.”
Sciolla led all scorers with 19 points, which included three 3-pointers and a 4-for-4 showing at the foul line. She also had eight rebounds. Matthias also had eight rebounds. Dash added 10 points, and MacDonald had eight, which included a 6-for-7 effort at the foul line.
“We are so happy for Nevaeh because the last few games she was struggling with her shot and clearly frustrated, but she never stopped shooting or working, and tonight she made enormous plays in a great atmosphere,” Sciolla said. “We ask so much of her, and she guards one to five at this level.
“Ava’s toughness battling to play is why she is what she is. At the end of three quarters, we wanted to shut her down. She gave us the Rocky ‘You ain’t stopping this fight’ talk.’”
For the Titans, Hinkle’s 18 points led the way.
“South played so well all game and they came into the game red hot,” Sciolla said. “They play really well together, and Hinkle is special. Once in a while, you need to win these types of games under these types of circumstances if you want to be really good. And hopefully by this weekend, we get a few very important pieces back into the equation.”
Pennsbury (12-1, 7-1 SOL) – which occupies the top spot in the District One 6A rankings - will travel to Central Bucks East on Friday, and Central Bucks South (9-4, 5-4) – ranked 12th - will host Neshaminy on Friday.
Central Bucks South 11-12-13-5 41
Pennsbury 13-11-3-18 45
Central Bucks South (41) – Alyssa D’Orazio 2 0-0 5; Mackenzie Erb 2 0-0 4; Taylor Hinkle 8 1-2 18; Samantha Schiesser 1 2-2 4; Maddie Tantum 1 2-5 4; Allison Sauers 1 0-0 3; Yoyo Samayoa 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 16 5-9 41.
Pennsbury (45) – Ava Sciolla 6 4-4 19; Layla Matthias 2 2-3 6; Daniella MacDonald 1 6-7 8; Sofia Vitucci 1 0-0 2; Nevaeh Dash 4 1-2 10; TOTALS 14 13-16 45.
3-point goals: CBS – Alyssa D’Orazio, Taylor Hinkle, Allison Sauers, Yoyo Samayoa; Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 3 Nevaeh Dash.
SOUDERTON 38, NESHAMINY 33
The Indians are not exactly strangers to slow starts but going scoreless in the opening quarter had to be unexpected of a Souderton squad ranked third in the latest District One 6A rankings. Despite their offensive woes, the Indians trailed by just a 15-9 score at halftime.
“I think part of it was definitely shooting percentage,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “We were obviously 0-for the first quarter, including four foul shots, but in the first half, we were 3-for-21 from the field. Part of the issue is that of that 21 shots, 11 were 2s, 10 were 3s, and that’s just not the balance that we want. We were also 2-for-9 from the line.
“It was one of those games where we were struggling to finish from everywhere. Our shot selection wasn’t terrible, but it needed to be better. Defensively, we were happy with both quarters.”
The third quarter – that was another story entirely. Sparked by nine points from Casey Harter and six from Teya McConnaha, the Indians erupted for 22 points and took a 31-24 lead into the final quarter.
“In the second half, I was really, really impressed with our girls,” Carroll said. “I feel that type of shooting performance as a team can really get in your head, and they erased it and came out in the third quarter – it was a 22-9 quarter, and we scored in a lot of different ways – from the perimeter, Casey (Harter) attacking the basket, Teya (McConnaha) finishing down low.
“We were 3-for-4 from the line in that quarter. Brooke (Fenchel), Erin (Bohmueller) and Casey (Harter) had big 3s in the third quarter. We really tried to open up the court a little bit. We were having success with Casey getting to the basket, and then they collapsed in, and she’s kicking it out and finding open players.
“That can feel very embarrassing not scoring in the first quarter of a game, and now we’re starting to prove we’re a really good basketball team – ‘Oh wow, wait a minute, it’s 8-0,’ but they hung in.”
The Redskins held a 9-7 edge in the fourth quarter and made things very interesting down the stretch.
“I probably held the ball more than we should have, and it was a one possession game with Casey (Harter) at the foul line and less than 30 seconds,” Carroll said. “They had kids hitting shots. The two 3s they had in the fourth quarter were down the stretch – Taylor Gurysh hit one and Lindsay Little hit another one. The second one cut it to one possession, and Casey hit free throws to seal it.
“They were without a starter – Mimi Smith, and that does hurt them. They had kids come in and give them good minutes off the bench. Both (Reece) Zemitis and (Lola) Ibarrondo were in a little bit of foul trouble, and that definitely hurt them.”
Harter’s 17 points, which included an 8-for-9 effort at the foul line, led the Indians. The junior point guard was 5-for-6 in the fourth quarter. McConnaha and Bohmueller each added six points. McConnaha had another huge game under the backboards, pulling down 11 rebounds.
For Neshaminy, Ibarrondo led the way with 13 points to go along with two rebounds, three assists and two steals. Gurysh added 10 points. Jess Purdy’s five rebounds led the ‘Skins. Skylar Lall had four.
“Lola Ibarrondo was great,” Carroll said. “She played really, really well. That kid’s going to be a player. Gurysh had five points in the first quarter. It was 5-0 – Taylor Gursh over Souderton. She really started the game for them well.
“We’ve watched a ton of film on them, and they’re getting better and better each game. We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy one. You don’t win many games not scoring in the first quarter, so we were fortunate. Our girls hung in and played extremely hard, especially in the third quarter. Neshaminy is going to continue to play well and beat good teams.”
Souderton (11-2, 8-1 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Friday, and Neshaminy (8-3, 6-2) - ranked 15th - will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Friday.
Souderton 0-9-22-7 38
Neshaminy 8-7-9-9 33
Souderton (38) – Brooke Fenchel 2 0-0 5; Erin Bohmueller 2 0-0 6; Mikayla McGilian 0 0-2 0; Casey Harter 4 8-9 17; Grace McDonough 1 2-5 4; Teya McConnaha 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 12 10-16 38.
Neshaminy (33) – Skylar Lall 1 0-0 3; Taylor Gurysh 4 0-0 10; Lindsay Little 1 0-0 3; Lola Ibarrondo 3 6-8 13; Reese Zemitis 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 11 6-8 33.
3-point goals: Souderton – Erin Bohmueller 2, Casey Harter, Brooke Fenchel; Neshaminy – Taylor Gurysh 2, Skylar Lall, Lindsay Little, Lola Ibarrondo.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 51, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 33
Emily Spratt had a big night for the Bucks.
The senior captain scored a game high 21 points – 15 in a first half that saw the Bucks open up a 30-17 lead. All told, 10 of 12 West players put their names in the scoring column.
“I thought the girls came out and really executed tonight,” West coach Zach Sibel said. “It was great to get contributions from everyone. Spratt led by example and got hot early, and the team followed suit.”
Spratt buried a pair of 3s and had 10 points in a first quarter that saw the Bucks hold a 12-10 edge. In the second quarter, Spratt had five points and her teammates combined for 13 as the Bucks opened up a 30-17 halftime lead on their way to the big win.
In addition to Spratt, Alexis Castro added six points and six rebounds, and Gabi Senior had five points, five steals and four rebounds.”
“I have been really impressed with Gabi Senior these last few games as she’s really stepped up on both ends as has Alexis Castro,” the Bucks’ coach said. “Getting that type of production from sophomores is great and shows their growth this season.
“Taylor Madden had some awesome minutes tonight as well, knocked down a huge 3 and was just ready to play when we needed her. All around, it was a really nice team win for us.”
For the visiting Indians, Riley Hamilton’s eight points led the way. Kristen Polinsky added seven.
Central Bucks West (11-2, 6-2 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Friday, and Council Rock North (2-11, 1-8) will host North Penn on Friday.
Council Rock North 10-7-9-7 33
Central Bucks West 12-18-11-10 51
Council Rock North (33) – Claire Pirkle 0 2-2 2; Kiera Katz 1 1-4 3; Lizzie Lustig 2 0-0 5; Ella Cairone 1 0-0 2; Riley Hamilton 1 5-5 8; Sofia Shields 1 0-0 2; Kristen Polinsky 3 0-2 7; Ruth O’Keefe 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 11 8-13 33.
Central Bucks West (51) – Tai Henkels 0 2-2 2; Katie Finnan 1 0-0 2; Taylor Madden 1 1-2 4; Emily Spratt 9 1-2 21; Alexis Castro 3 0-0 6; Ava Longo 1 0-0 3; Jenna Christie 1 0-0 2; Gabi senior 1 3-4 5; Peyton Cramer 1 0-0 3; Gabby Reichner 0 3-4 3; TOTALS 18 10-14 51.
3-point goals: CRN – Lizzie Lustig, Riley Hamilton, Kristen Polinsky; CBW – Emily Spratt 2, Taylor Madden, Ava Longo, Peyton Cramer.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 59, HARRY S TRUMAN 20
Ten players contributed scoring for the visiting Patriots, who opened up an 18-7 lead after one quarter and extended that to 37-8 by halftime.
Erin LeRay, who had a pair of 3-pointers, led a balanced attack with 14 points – eight in the first quarter and 12 in the opening half. Kendall Gregor added 12 points, which included two 3s and a 4-for-6 effort at the line. Elise Duffy added 11 points.
For the Tigers, Patricia Monroe had seven points and Hannah Smith finished with six.
Central Bucks East (6-6, 5-4 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Friday, and Harry S Truman (0-9, 0-7) will travel to Central Bucks West on Friday.
Central Bucks East 18-19-12-10 59
Harry S Truman 7-1-6-6 20
Central Bucks East (59) – Erin LeRay 5 2-2 14; Keira Shea 1 0-0 2; Shayne LeRay 1 0-0 2; Anna Barry 2 0-0 5; Jackie Dalby 2 0-0 5; Elise Duffy 5 0-0 11; Sydney Ralph 1 0-0 2; Kendall Gregor 3 4-6 12; Emily Curran 1 0-0 2; Bella Haurin 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 23 6-8 59.
Harry S Truman (20) – Mayah Alford 2 0-0 4; Hannah Smith 3 0-0 6; Patricia Monroe 3 1-1 7; Dahlia Gumaa 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 9 2-5 20.
3-point goals: CBE – Erin LeRay 2, Kendall Gregor 2, Anna Barry, Jackie Dalby, Elise Duffy.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossovers
UPPER DUBLIN 53, LOWER MORELAND 23
Rich Becker’s Lower Moreland squad had just lost to Upper Dublin by 30 points, but instead of lamenting the lopsided loss, the Lions’ coach chose to look well beyond the final score.
“As strange as it sounds, this was one of those games where you go into the fourth quarter down 19, and you're not upset because it was a competitive 19 points,” said Becker, whose team trailed 28-12 at halftime. “The difference in the game was shooting and a few misses or makes each quarter. After the game, our coaching staff was talking, and we don't feel like we were that overmatched. We're just not where they are on offense.
“Upper Dublin was more consistent on offense than we were, and that's a compliment to where they are as a program. They're well coached and run a lot of nice stuff. I thought we did a nice job of slowing them down a bit, but at the end of the day, they had enough talent to counter what we were doing.”
Sophomore Amy Ngo’s 16 points – which included four 3-pointers - led the Flying Cardinals. She also had a team high five assists to go along with two deflections and three steals. Colleen Klammer added 13 points, connecting on all six shots she took from the field. She also had six rebounds and one block. Aditi Foster and Geena Sarnoski both had nine points. Foster also had a team high eight rebounds to go along with two assists, five deflections and three steals. Sarnoski also had three rebounds, one steal and a team leading seven assists.
“Number 22, Ngo, is a beast,” Becker said. “We watched her on film, and she is a complete player. She can attack the rim and has a college level shooting range. On one possession, she was a good three or four feet behind the 3-point line and made an effortless three. That's tough to defend.”
Tori Finnegan and Jess Dugo each scored six points to lead the Lions.
“On our end, I thought we protected the ball well, and other than the fourth quarter when we went to our bench, we made them work for their points,” Becker said. “Upper Dublin will put pressure on the ball, and for the most part, we were able to handle that. Our next step is to get more of our role players to be aggressive on the offensive end. In order for us to take that next step as a program, we have to get more balanced on offense.”
Upper Dublin (8-6, 6-3 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Thursday, and Lower Moreland (4-5, 2-5) will travel to Cheltenham on Thursday.
Lower Moreland 7-5-7-4 23
Upper Dublin 16-12-10-15 53
Lower Moreland (23) – Tori Finnegan 2 2-3 6; Jess Shein 1 0-0 2; Liz Neeld 1 0-0 2; Jess Dugo 2 0-0 6; Zoe Alden 1 0-0 2; Brianna McFerran 2 1-1 5; TOTALS 9 3-4 23.
Upper Dublin (53) – Alaina Sanders 1 0-0 2; Kaylee Fitzkee 2 0-0 4; Aditi Foster 3 3-7 9; Geena Sarnoski 3 2-2 9; Colleen Klammer 6 0-0 13; Amy Ngo 5 2-2 16; TOTALS 20 7-11 53.
3-point goals: LM – Jess Dugo 2; UD – Amy Ngo 4, Colleen Klammer, Geena Sarnoski.
ABINGTON 82, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 38
Dan Marsh wants his players to return and give back to the program. Gabbie Nolan is a perfect example of a former player doing just that, returning to teach in her former school district and also coach Abington’s junior varsity.
“She’s going to be a head coach someday,” Marsh said of Nolan. “She went through the program, and she was this shy introverted kid in ninth grade, and now she’s this strong, intelligent woman.
“I’m like, ‘This is what we want our Lady Ghosts to be.’ What better way to do that to showcase her as the head coach one game. As a male in a female sport, she’s what we want them to grow up to be. Why not take a side step and say, ‘This is your role model, this is who we want you guys to be.’ She’s been doing a phenomenal job with our JV team. I’m happy to showcase her. Somebody is going to need a coach out there, and I would highly recommend her.”
On Tuesday night at Springfield, Marsh – who was on the sidelines – turned over the reins of the varsity to Nolan.
“At first I felt really nervous, but when the game started and during the pregame and everything, I felt fine,” Nolan said. “It was a really cool experience overall. I think it was cool for the girls to be part of too – just to see the cycle of somebody going through Abington and then coming back to coach at Abington and then being able to coach varsity.
“Overall, it was a really great experience. I’m happy that Marsh allowed me and offered me (an opportunity) to do that.”
Coming as no surprise, Nolan – herself a teacher – enjoys the teaching part of coaching.
“For a while in college, I lost the passion I had for sports, and then seeing the other side of it with coaching reignited the passion I once had,” she said. “It’s really cool specifically to coach high school girls because I recently was in their position, so I understand how much goes into it. I also think my favorite part of coaching so far besides showing them a coach that has passion is being able to help them gain confidence because obviously looking back – I was really shy and quiet, and I’ve had coaches that were able to help me gain confidence. I think being able to do that has been my favorite part.”
She credits her high school coach for instilling confidence in her.
“When I was in high school, Marsh would tell me all the time – ‘You have no idea how good you are in sports, you have no idea how good of a person you are,’” Nolan said. “I didn’t realize the characteristics he saw in me until throughout college and after college.
“I didn’t really expect that I was going to become a coach. It was something I found when I started teaching that I was really interested in it. It kind of led me to have a passion for it, but back in high school, I would have not said that I would become a coach. I was more quiet and shy.”
Nolan’s debut was an impressive one as the Ghosts opened up a 22-10 lead after one quarter and stretched that to 55-21 by halftime on their way to the convincing win.
“The hardest thing for me was just the timing of the game,” Nolan said. “I was talking to Marsh, and the biggest difference between JV and varsity is the speed of play.
“Even though it was more of a slow game, it still was fast to me compared to what I’m used to, so I think the timing and the speed is a really, really big adjustment because you don’t have much time to make decisions, you don’t have much time to decide who you’re going to sub and when. It’s just getting experience and making more game-like situation decisions.”
Cire Worley led the Ghosts with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Abril Bowser added 13 points while Jordyn Reynolds and Krysten Brown each had nine points. Dani Brusha finished with eight in a contest that saw the Ghosts connect on nine 3-pointers.
For the Spartans, Alana Decker’s 14 points led the way. Ashley Jenkins added eight, and Samiyyah Thompson had seven.
Abington (12-1, 8-0 SOL) will host William Tennent on Friday, and Springfield Township (2-8, 0-7) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham.
Abington 22-33-18-9 82
Springfield Twp 10-11-10-7 38
Abington (82) – Cire Worley 21, Abril Bowser 13, Jaida Helm 3, Maya Johnson 6, Dani Brusha 8, Jordyn Reynolds 9, Piper McGinley 7, Krysten Brown 9, Harper McGinley 4, Ashley Reilly 2.
Springfield Twp (38) – Emma Yoder 2, Samiyyah Thompson 7, Jayla Daniels 4, Alana Decker 14, Ashley Jenkins 8, Paige Robinson 3.
3-point goals: Abington – Jordyn Reynolds 3, Dani Brusha 2, Maya Johnson 2, Abril Bowser 2.
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 75, HATBORO-HORSHAM 53
It was raining 3s at New Hope-Solebury on Tuesday.
The Lions connected on 12 shots from beyond the arc. Junior Reagan Chrencik and senior Madi Fasti each had four, but it was another player that ignited the Lions as senior Emma Ives buried a pair of 3s in the first quarter, propelling the Lions to a 16-11 lead after one quarter.
The Lions – sparked by 11 points from Chrencik and eight from Fasti – took a 28-21 lead into halftime. Nothing unusual about the first half, but the third quarter – that was another story as the Lions erupted for 30 points to go on top 58-37.
Chrencik connected on three 3-pointers. Freshman Izzy Elizondo had one three and nine points, and freshman Emily Wilson had a trey and eight points. Not to be forgotten, Fasti also had a three as the Lions buried six 3s in the quarter.
The Lions’ explosive offensive performance came on the heels of a 74-point effort in an 89-74 loss to Abington last Thursday.
“I believe that loss to Abington was a blessing,” coach Steve Polinsky said. “We had two great practices and it helped the girls come together as a team. Even though we loss to Abington it actually helped our confidence.”
Chrencik led the Lions with an impressive double-double – 24 points and 11 rebounds.
“Reagan is just playing at another level,” Polinsky said. “Her outside shooting has been really good the last two games.”
Fasti, Wilson and Elizondo all scored 14 points.
“Our freshmen were excellent tonight,” Polinsky said. “Both Emily and Izzy struggled in first half, but we always tell them to keep shooting. Izzy scored all her 14 points in the second half.”
For the Hatters, Alice Hall led the way with 15 points. Alyssa Tooley, who had a pair of 3s, added 10 points. Leah Harrington scored seven while Sam Hollish and Kitty Randa both had six.
“Alice Hall had a nice game tonight,” Polinsky said. “We tried to double her whenever we could.”
New Hope-Solebury (5-6, 4-4 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (5-4, 4-4) will host Unionville in a non-league game Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 11-10-16-16 53
New Hope-Solebury 18-12-30-15 75
Hatboro-Horsham (53) – Caroline Shegogue 1 0-0 2; Alice Hall 6 3-6 15; Kitty Randa 2 2-7 6; Leah Harrington 1 5-6 7; Emily Nelson 0 1-2 1; Alyssa Tooley 4 0-1 10; Alli Hewish 0 1-2 1; Emily Thomas 1 2-2 5; Sam Hollish 1 3-4 6; TOTALS 16 17-30 53.
New Hope-Solebury (75) – Emily Wilson 5 3-8 14; Isabella Elizondo 6 1-1 14; Emma Ives 2 0-0 6; Reagan Chrencik 7 6-7 24; Madi Fasti 5 0-0 14; Grace Fitzgerald 0 1-2 1; Caroline Ives 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 26 11-18 75.
3-point goals: HH – Alyssa Tooley 2, Emily Thomas, Sam Hollish; NHS – Izzy Elizondo, Reagan Chrencik 4, Madi Fasti 4, Emma Ives 2, Emily Wilson.
UPPER MORELAND 56, QUAKERTOWN 34
The Golden Bears took a 21-10 lead into halftime and then delivered a 23-point third quarter that was pretty much a long-range shooting clinic. Kiera Coyle buried four 3-pointers while EmmyFaith Wood and Mike Lancit each had one, propelling the visitors to the convincing win.
“Last Friday against Upper Dublin was deflating,” coach Matt Carroll said of his team’s 37-28 loss to the Cardinals. “We really thought we were prepared to pick up a big win against a good team, and it just didn’t happen. They out-played us and out-coached us.
“Responding to disappointment is such a big aspect of sports, and we really responded well. We had two good practices and then played really well tonight. We’ve been in a little bit of a funk shooting the ball, but Kiera made sure to fix that tonight. They play a 3-2 zone and we had to focus on getting in the middle and getting open jumpers from there. EmmyFaith and Mikel were amazing at getting inside and finding open shooters. Kiera just stood in the corner and knocked them down.”
Wood - who had three 3-pointers - led all scorers with 20 points. Holly Gohl added 15, and Coyle finished with 12.
For the Panthers, Carolyn Sipprell led the way with 15 points, which included a 5-for-6 effort at the foul line. Katie Hagerty added six points.
“Defensively, we played really well for three quarters,” Carroll said. “Sipprell is a handful, and I thought EmmyFaith and Kylie (Gaul) really made life difficult for her. She got hers, and she’s really good, but Emma and Holly (Gohl) played really intelligent help defense and it sparked our offense. It was a nice bounce-back win for the girls.”
Upper Moreland (8-2, 6-1 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Wednesday, and Quakertown (6-7, 3-5) will be on the road at Lower Moreland on Friday.
Upper Moreland 9-12-23-12 56
Quakertown 4-6-13-11 34
Upper Moreland (56) – Brooke Lobban 2 0-0 4; Kylie Gaul 1 0-0 2; EmmyFaith Wood 8 1-3 20; Kiera Coyle 4 0-0 12; Holly Gohl 6 2-2 15; Mikel Lancit 1 0-1 3; TOTALS 22 3-6 56.
Quakertown (34) – Carolyn Sipprell 5 5-6 15; Katie Hagerty 3 0-0 6; Katie Catalano 1 0-0 3; Maureen Healey 0 2-2 2; Laney Mitchell 2 0-0 4; Leah Mestayer 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 13 7-8 34.
3-point goals: UM – Kiera Coyle 4, EmmyFaith Wood 3, Holly Gohl, Mikel Lancit; Quakertown – Katie Catalano.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 56, WILLIAM TENNENT 17
The Colonials connected on four 3-pointers in the opening quarter, jumping out to a 13-0 lead. By halftime, they led 29-7 on their way to their 13th win without a loss.
Lainey Allen and Abby Sharpe led a balanced attack with 13 points each. Kaitlyn Flanagan and Jordyn Thomas both added 11 points. Sharpe and Flanagan each had three 3-pointers in a contest that saw the Colonials bury seven. Erin Daley added seven points.
Savannah Zeaman and Courtney Bragen both had five points for the Panthers.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (13-0, 9-0 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Friday, and William Tennent 2-10, 2-6) will host Upper Moreland on Wednesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13-16-15-12 56
William Tennent 0-7-7-3 17
Plymouth Whitemarsh (56) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 3 2-2 11; Fiona Gooneratne 0 1-2 1; Erin Daley 3 0-0 7; Abby Sharpe 3 4-4 13; Lainey Allen 6 1-1 13; Jordyn Thomas 5 1-2 11; TOTALS 20 9-11 56.
William Tennent (17) – Ella Mednick 1 0-0 2; Savannah Zeaman 1 3-4 5; Chase Dubzak 1 0-0 3; Courtney Bragen 2 0-0 5; Morgan Volz 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 6 3-4 17.
3-point goals: PW – Kaitlyn Flanagan 3, Abby Sharpe 3, Erin Daley; WT – Chase Dubzak, Courtney Bragen.
WISSAHICKON 24, CHELTENHAM 22
Rodney Cline didn’t have a whole lot to say after his Trojan squad eked out a win over the visiting Lady Panthers.
“We just need to play better,” the Trojans’ coach said. “It’s as simple as that – we just need to play better.”
Underscoring the shooting woes on both sides was their combined 7-for-28 effort at the foul line. The Lady Panthers connected on just 2-of-10 while the Trojans were 5-for-18.
The Trojans jumped out to a 10-0 lead after one quarter and took a 17-7 lead into halftime, but they managed just two field goals in the second half and connected on only 3-of-10 at the foul line, allowing the Lady Panthers to get back in the game.
Amelia Yevoli scored seven of her game high 10 points in the second half to lead the visitors.
“We lost a tough one,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “We couldn’t hit a shot in the first quarter, but our defense kept us in the game. We had our opportunities late but just couldn’t capitalize in the last seconds.”
For the Trojans, Kaitlyn McGeary and Julia Verrier each had seven points.
Wissahickon (6-6, 3-6 SOL) will be on the road at Upper Dublin on Thursday, and Cheltenham (2-8, 0-6) will host Lower Moreland.
Cheltenham 0-7-6-9 22
Wissahickon 10-7-3-4 24
Cheltenham (22) – Mikahila Leighton 1 0-0 2; Arianna Davis 2 0-0 4; Tyrina Ragsdale 1 1-6 3; Cassie Bugg 1 1-4 3; Amelia Yevoli 4 0-0 10; TOTALS 9 2-10 22.
Wissahickon (24) – Ava Schools 0 1-2 1; Chloe Acuna 1 0-0 2; Emlyn Ebert 1 0-0 3; Ashley Klein 2 0-0 4; Kaitlyn McGeary 2 3-10 7; Julia Verrier 3 1-6 7; TOTALS 9 5-18 24.
3-point goals: Cheltenham – Amelia Yevoli 2; Wissahickon – Emlyn Ebert.
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