Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday.
Non-league
PENNRIDGE 49, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 46
After battling to a 19-19 halftime time, the Rams – sparked by eight points and a pair of 3s from Samantha Murphy – scored 18 third-quarter points to go on top 37-34.
Ella Brown’s nine fourth-quarter points led the Rams in a frame that saw the two teams exchange points.
“It was a really good high school basketball game,” Pennridge coach Jason Rapp said. “I don’t think the lead ever got past two possessions either way.”
Key stretch: “In the fourth quarter, with about four-and-a-half minutes left, they hit a 3 to go up one, and over a two-minute period, we go down and Ella (Brown) hits two 3s, and we were able to get a five-point lead with about a minute-and-a-half to go,” Pennridge coach Jason Rapp said. “They cut it to three on a great (play) after a timeout, and then we just kind of hung on.
“We did a good job defensively, making them work a couple possessions. We made them take a lot of time off the clock, and we survived.”
Key players: Four players combined to score all of Pennridge’s points. Ella Brown’s 20 points led the way. The senior had a pair of 3-pointers and nine points in the pivotal fourth quarter. Samantha Murphy added 11 second-half points, which included three 3-pointers. Madison Lapp had nine points on three 3s, and Layla Verbit also had nine points.
For the Lions, Emily Wilson & Mary Tresler led the way with 11 points, and Kayla Fennell added 10 points.
Pennridge coach Jason Rapp on the win: “It’s a really good win, especially after both of us played last night. They had to go to overtime to beat Pennsbury, and they have to get on the bus again to come down here. They have some good basketball players. Andy (Krasna) does a really nice job with them. They have two legitimate college basketball players, and their bigs give you problems. Kayla Fennell did a good job for them. They get a girl coming off the bench who hit a huge 3. It was a fun game, and it’s more fun when you win.”
“Defensively, I thought we did a pretty good job of finding (Izzy) Elizondo and (Emily) Wilson, and Wilson still got us for 11, but I thought we made them work. Our girls did a good job finding them.
“Ella (Brown) was able to get 20, and we got some scoring from some other people, and we hit 3s. Madison Lapp hit two 3s in the first half. Sam Murphy again comes out in the third quarter and buries two 3s and adds another one later in the fourth. When you get four people to score nine points and above, that’s pretty good in high school. That was good for us.
“Number 13 for them, (Mary) Tresler, did an unbelievable job rebounding. We’re undersized, and we just have to compete a little harder on the glass, and we were able to do that today.
Up next: Pennridge (11-4, 2-3 SOL) will host Souderton on Tuesday, and New Hope-Solebury (9-6, 4-1) will be on the road at Springfield Twp Tuesday.
New Hope-Solebury 12-7-15-12 46
Pennridge 12 7-18-12 49
New Hope-Solebury (46) – Danielle Wilson 1 0-0 3; Kayla Fennell 4 0-0 10; Izzy Elizondo 2 0-0 5; Emily Wilson 4 0-1 11; Mary Tresler 4 3-6 11; Ella Dudick 3 0-3 6; TOTALS 18 3-10 46
Pennridge (49) – Ella Brown 7 4-5 20; Samantha Murphy 4 0-0 11; Madison Lapp 3 0-0 9; Layla Verbit 3 3-4 9; TOTALS 17 7-9 49.
3-point goals: NH-S – Emily Wlson 3, Kayla Fennell 2, Danielle Wilson, Izzy Elizondo; P – Samantha Murphy 3, Madison Lapp 3, Ella Brown 2.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 44, WISSAHICKON 24
Sparked by 10 points from Jules Tropea, the Titans raced out of the gate with an 18-3 lead over the visiting Trojans. They never looked back on their way to the non-league win.
Key players: Jules Tropea’s 17 points included a 10-for-12 effort at the foul line and led the Titans’ attack. Gabby Tropea added nine points, and Ella Wheeler had seven.
For the Trojans, Julia Littieri had six points. Kai Potter had seven rebounds.
Central Bucks South coach Beth Mattern: “I was really happy with the energy and intensity with which we came out and played as a team.
–Props: “Ella Wheeler and Juliana Tropea helped to kick start us today with strong play. They finished, were active on the boards, and played solid defense. Megan Schmidt and Emma Carver played with a lot of energy and had some great hustle plays and continued to leave everything on the court for the team.”
Wissahickon coach Kathie Sims: “Despite the loss, I was proud of the girls today. They showed great resilience and kept their heads up the entire time. The team’s perseverance and hard work are something to build on as we move forward.”
Up next: Central Bucks South (8-8, 3-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East Tuesday, and Wissahickon (3-11, 0-4) will be on the road at Upper Dublin Tuesday.
Wissahickon 3-11-6-4 24
Central Bucks South 18-10-11-5 44
Wissahickon (24) – Maura Jacob 2 1-4 5; Julia Letieri 2 2-3 6; Kristen DiGiovanni 2 0-0 5; Casey Burden 0 2-2 2; Kai Potter 1 1-2 3; Ava Stout 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 8 6-8 24.
Central Bucks South (44) – Ella Wheeler 2 2-2 7; Jules Tropea 3 10-12 17; Emma Carver 1 0-0 2; Riley Campbell 1 0-0 2; Gabby Tropea 2 5-7 9; Sophie Mills 1 0-0 2; Megan Schmidt 2 1-2 5; TOTALS 12 18-23 44.
3-point goals: W – Kristen DiGiovanni, Ava Stout; CBS – Ella White, Jules Tropea.
CHELTENHAM 59, WEST CHESTER EAST 50
The Lady Panthers used a key stretch in the first half to take a lead they would not lose. They led 16-13 after one quarter and then erupted for 23 second-quarter points to go into halftime with a 39-25 lead on their way to the win.
Key players: Zoe Thompson dominated in the paint, and her double-double included 14 points and 16 rebounds as well as three blocks and three steals. Jiah Price led the Lady Panthers with 20 points to go along with nine rebounds, two steals and two assists. Paige Powell contributed 15 points and three steals. Maya Simmons had eight points, five assists and two steals.
Cheltenham assistant coach Chris Manser: “(We) used an 18-0 run in the second quarter to turn a two-point deficit – down 18-16 – into a 16-point lead. Maya Simmons and Paige Powell scored 14 of the 18 points during that stretch.”
–Props: “Kennedy Tolbert and Aniyah Wallace-Solomon came off the bench to take turns guarding Annalise Kubasko, who scored 14 first-half points and held the Vikings’ guard to only two points in the second half.
Up next: Cheltenham (10-4, 5-0 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Tuesday in a key SOL Freedom contest.
West Chester East 13-12-11-14 50
Cheltenham 16-23-8-12 59
West Chester East (50) – Annalise Kubasko 16, Kayla Cochran 9, Sofia Keith 8, Sieria Sweeney 4, Lauren Horan 4, Lyla Flowers 9.
Cheltenham (59) – Jiah Price 20, Paige Powell 15, Maya Simmons 8, Ali Charles 2, Zoe Thompson 14.
3-point goals: WCE – Kayla Cochran, Lauren Horan, Lyla Flowers.
PENNSBURY 40, NEW FOUNDATIONS 6
The Falcons – less than 24 hours removed from a disappointing home loss to New Hope-Solebury – owned this one from the opening tap and led 13-0 after one quarter. They took a 27-2 lead into halftime on their way to the no-doubt-about-it win.
Key players: Ava Jordan’s nine points led the Falcons. Sammie Hawes had seven points.
Pennsbury assistant coach Kaitlin Kelly: “We did a good job coming out strong today after a tough loss last night. It can be a challenge playing the night before then being back in the gym 12 hours later for another game, but I think our girls handled that really well. We knew we had to come out right from the start with intensity and focus.”
–Props: “Our girls did a good job moving the ball and looking for each other. A focus of ours was to be better on the backboard today. We had freshman Bella Stewart grab six rebounds and freshman Keira Socha pull down five. Sammie Haws also did a great job defensively with three steals and six rebounds. Now we shift our focus on getting better every day as we approach the second half of the season with conference play again.”
Up next: Pennsbury (11-6 4-1 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
New Foundations 0-2-3-1 6
Pennsbury 13-14-11-2 40
New Foundations (6) – Keniyah Moody 2 1-2 6; TOTALS 2 1-2 6.
Pennsbury (40) – Emily Panaro 2 0-0 4; Grace Schaufler 0 2-4 2; Bridget McGonigle 1 0-0 2; Bella Stewart 2 0-2 6; Maggie Burns 1 0-0 2; Sammie Haws 2 2-2 7; Adrianna Oberto 0 2-2 2; Ava Jordan 4 0-0 9; Keira Socha 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 14 6-8 40.
3-point goals: NF – Keniyah Moody; P – Bella Stewart 2, Keira Socha 2, Ava Jordan, Sammie Haws.
LIBERTY 53, BENSALEM 36
The Owls – playing their third game in three days and fifth of the week – trailed 16-6 after one quarter and 29-17 at halftime. They never could make up the ground they lost, falling for the first time in six games.
“We battled as hard as we could,” Bensalem coach Steve Johnson said. “Liberty is an extremely talented team that just outmatched us. Our girls played a ton of games this past week and finally get some rest and normalcy next week. Looking forward to going back into league play.”
Talia DiMichele buried four 3-pointers and led the Owls with 14 points. Grace McShane had three 3s and added 13 points. They scored all 17 of their team’s first -half points.
Up next: Bensalem (9-7, 2-3 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North on Wednesday.
Liberty 16-13-13-11 53
Bensalem 6-11-10-9 36
Liberty (53) – Kendall Medina 6 1-3 15; Laney Foster 1 0-0 3; Anijah Davis 3 0-0 6; Nayaly Torres 1 0-0 3; Ava Kopetskie 5 7-9 20; Shauna Beatty 2 0-0 4; Chloe Rumelhart 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 19 8-12 53.
Bensalem (36) – Talia DiMichele 5 0-0 14; Mary Beck 1 0-0 3; Grace McShane 4 2-2 13; Gianna Creque 1 1-1 3; Sydney Daut 1 0-0 2; Ariana Jenkins 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 12 4-5 36.
3-point goals: L – Ava Kopetskie 3, Kendall Medina 2, Laney Foster, Nayaly Torres; B – Talia DiMichele 4, Grace McShane 3, Mary Beck.
AVON GROVE 57, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 46
The Indians came up short in Saturday’s non-league road game. They led by one after one quarter but trailed 25-23 at halftime. The Red Devils had the better of play in the second half, outscoring their visitors 32-23.
Amara Arroyo’s 12 points included three 3-pointers and led the Indians. Julia Koval added 11 points, which included a 9-for-10 effort at the foul line. She scored all of her points in the second half. Skyler Wright had nine points on three 3-pointers.
Up next: Council Rock North (3-13, 1-4 SOL) will host Bensalem on Wednesday.
Council Rock North 14-9-14-9 46
Avon Grove 13-12-19-13 57
Council Rock North (46) – Skyler Wright 3 0-0 9; Julia Koval 1 9-10 11; Amara Arroyo 4 1-2 12; Addie Martin 1 0-0 2; Brynn Rodgers 1 0-0 2; Alexa Bondra 2 1-1 5; Meg Reichenbach 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 14 11-13 46.
Avon Grove (57) – Leila Rubin 6 7-8 20; Jessica Ziegler 0 1-4 1; Sara Ball 1 2-4 5; Addison Stenz 2 3-8 7; Nora Okonowicz 4 0-0 9; Gabby Beltran 4 7-7 15; TOTALS 17 20-31 57.
3-point goals: CRN – Skyler Wright 3, Amara Arroyo 3, Meg Reichenbach; AG – Leila Rubin, Sara Ball, Nora Okonowicz.
About the Author
