Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Bensalem/Wissahickon photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
NESHAMINY 45, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 30
Neshaminy is finding its stride.
Zach Sibel would certainly attest to that and offered some unsolicited praise after his CB West squad was stymied by the Redskins at every turn in a non-league loss.
“Neshaminy is going to be a team that makes a deep playoff run,” the Bucks’ coach said. “They have talent at a number of positions and really made tough shots tonight. They got the game to a place where they could stay in their zone.”
There’s no mistaking, this Redskin squad looks a whole lot different than the one that took the court in the season’s early days.
“We were still coming together,” sophomore Reese Zemitis said. “Everyone was learning what each other does. We’ve been focusing on what’s important to us like defense, checking out and just really contributing to each other on offense.”
Sophomore point guard Lola Ibarrondo, who transferred from Conwell-Egan, has been a welcome addition to the Redskins’ lineup, and if there was a transition period, it is clearly over.
“All the chemistry – we’re all coming together very well and all working very hard, and we’re just going to keep getting better,” Ibarrondo said. “I had to get to know all the girls, but everyone is super cool, and I’m very thankful to be a part of this team because it just feels like a family. We all work extremely hard, and we’re going to be really good in the coming years.”
The Redskins, who led 9-8 after one quarter, took a 16-10 lead into halftime after a low-scoring first half. Zemitis and Ibarrondo both had seven points to lead the Redskins in the half. Katie Finnan’s five points led the Bucks.
Neshaminy all but put the game out of reach with a 13-4 third quarter that saw Zemitis go to work down low, scoring on some tough shots in traffic.
“We were getting out in transition more, we were pulling down a lot of big boards and she could not be stopped,” said Ibarrondo, nodding in the direction of Zemitis.
“I think we were executing on offense really well,” Zemitis said. “We were running our plays, being more patient than we were in the first half. We were starting to read the plays well.”
The Bucks and Redskins both scored 16 points in a fourth quarter that featured 24 trips to the foul line between the two squads.
Zemitis scored 15 points to lead all scorers while Ibarrondo had 14. Taylor Gurysh contributed eight points, all at the foul line in the fourth quarter where she was 8-for-10.
“We’re much better than we were at the beginning of the year, and that doesn’t take anything away from the teams that beat us,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “Lola has the ball in her hands so much, and she dominates the game and dominates our offense. She doesn’t have to score 15-20 points. She can do that by getting us into offense, looking for breakdowns.
“She had two really good drives to the basket that went in and out. They were great drives. “
Emily Spratt’s 14 points led the Bucks with 11 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Tai Henkels added six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
“For us, shots didn’t fall tonight, and with that, we got behind the eight ball,” Sibel said. “It was a game that didn’t go our way, but I was incredibly proud of how we battled. We never gave up and we kept getting off the canvas and moving forward.
“It’s easy to get lost in the woods while staring at the trees. We will get better and continue to move forward. We have yet to play our best basketball.”
Neshaminy (10-3, 8-2) will face West Chester Rustin as part of the Hoops for Hope Classic on Sunday at Cabrini University (7:30 p.m.). Central Bucks West (12-3, 7-3) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Neshaminy 9-7-13-16 45
Central Bucks West 8-2-4-16 30
Neshaminy (45) – Skylar Lall 1 0-0 3; Taylor Gurysh 0 8-10 8; Anna Soska 1 3-4 5; Lindsay Little 0 0-1 0; Lola Ibarrondo 5 3-3 14; Reese Zemitis 6 2-2 15; TOTALS 13 16-20 45.
Central Bucks West (30) – Tai Henkels 2 0-0 6; Katie Finnan 1 2-4 5; Emily Spratt 4 4-10 14 Ava Longo 0 3-4 3; Gabi Senior 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 8 9-18 30.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Skylar Lall, Lola Ibarrondo, Reese Zemitis; CBW – Emily Spratt 2, Tai Henkels 2, Katie Finnan.
Non-league
BENSALEM 47, WISSAHICKON 34
The Owls notched their third win in as many games, capping a big week with a non-league win over the visiting Trojans. This game, according to coach Steve Johnson, highlighted the Owls’
dominance under the backboards.
“I am really pleased with the way our team has been rebounding,” the Owls’ coach said. “Amber Howard had a career high 16 rebounds – 11 of them being offensive. She’s been working really hard.
“Our whole team is crashing the glass nicely and proof of that is Averi McCoy grabbing six boards from the point guard position.”
Sparked by five points from Eva Schools, the Trojans led 11-10 after one quarter. The Owls answered with a 9-3 second quarter to go into halftime with a 19-14 lead. Howard and Delaney Bell each had eight points to lead the Owls.
The Owls outscored their visitors 28-20 in the second half. Howard was the offensive catalyst for the Owls, scoring 12 points while Bell and McCoy both 
had six. Kaitlyn McGeary’s seven points led the Trojans in the second half.
Howard – who had herself quite a week – posted an impressive double-double, scoring a game-high 20 points to go along with 16 rebounds. Delaney Bell added 14 points, and McCoy had six.
McGeary’s 11 points led the Trojans while Friedman added nine and Schools had seven.
Bensalem (8-6, 4-6 SOL) will be on the road at Souderton on Tuesday, and Wissahickon (6-8, 3-7) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Wissahickon 11-3-12-8 34
Bensalem 10-9-16-12 47
Wissahickon (34) – Eva Schools 3 0-0 7; Kylie Friedman 3 3-4 9; Chloe Acuna 2 1-2 5; Emlyn Ebert 1 0-0 2; Kaitlyn McGeary 4 34 11; TOTALS 13 7-10 34.
Bensalem (47) – Delaney Bell 6 0-0 14; Maddie MacDougall 1 0-0 3; Averi McCoy 3 0-0 6; Amber Howard 8 4-5 20; Mikayla Donahue 1 0-0 3; Sydney McCoy 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 19 5-7 47.
3-point goals: Wissahickon – Eva Schools; Bensalem – Delaney Bell 2, Maddie MacDougall, Mikayla Donahue.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 74, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 70
Points came easily for both sides in Saturday’s non-league game that featured a pair of teams that like to get up and down the court. In the end, it was the Golden Hawks coming out on top.
“I think to say we needed a win was an understatement,” Rock South coach Blair Klump said. “We had a four-game skid against good teams and teams that were playing well, but each loss was unique within itself and provided a good learning experience for our staff as well as for our girls.
“New Hope has been playing really well of late and has been scoring a lot of points. They put up 70-plus on Hatboro-Horsham and Abington in the last ten days and scored in the 60s Friday night. Both of us were coming in off a back-to-back, so we thought, even though we were the traveling team, our depth and pace could be a big advantage today.
“Steve (Polinsky) does a really good job and has done a good job getting numbers back in that program. They really compete for 32 minutes, and that’s a credit to him and his girls. For us, the challenge to our girls was getting our identity back. What type of team are we/should we be, and how do we re-assert ourselves to get there? Our jayvee team set a great tone of the effort and energy needed today. I thought we came out and matched it.”
The Golden Hawks and Lions took turns taking the lead, and by halftime, the two squads had combined for 80 points with the Golden Hawks holding a tenuous 41-39 lead.
Freshman Cam Gregory led the charge for the Golden Hawks in the half, connecting on three 3-pointers in the second quarter and scoring 14 points in the opening 16 minutes.
For the Lions, senior Madi Fasti had 13 first-half points, which included two 3s, Reagan Chrencik also was in double figures with 10 and Izzy Elizondo had eight.
The scoring pace for both squads slowed down in the third quarter, and the Lions – with three players combining for four 3s – outscored the Golden Hawks 16-11 to take a 55-52 lead into the final quarter. The Golden Hawks upped the tempo and – sparked by eight points from Gregory – put 23 points on the board, taking the lead for good late in the contest.
“Coach (Blair) Klump’s team does a great job driving and kicking,” New Hope coach Steve Polinsky said. “It was a really fun game to be a part of.
“Despite the loss I was really happy with our pace today. To score over 70 points in three of our last four is where we want to be offensively.”
Gregory’s 23 points – which included five 3s – led all scorers. The freshman also had two steals. Karissa Smedley stuffed a stat sheet with 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Kathryn O’Kane added seven points and five rebounds. Lily Bross had a team high six assists to go along with four points and two steals.
“Offensively, we have really emphasized our spacing, our mismatches, and getting in the lane and playing off of two feet,” Klump said. “I thought we did a really good job today driving and kicking and attacking again, and our assist-to-turnover ratio was in a good spot. Cam (Gregory) had a real strong game on both ends of the floor and made some tough plays down the stretch on both ends.
“Lily Bross had a real good floor game offensively, and she and KP (Katie Purpura) hit free throws late that made it three- and four-point games. Karissa (Smedley) had a really strong all-around game, touching all areas. She doesn’t care if she’s our leading scorer – she’s just as happy getting as many rebounds and assists as she is points, and most, if not all, of her assists were in drive and kickouts, and we asked her to be more aware of those opportunities.”
Katie Purpura had a huge game under the backboards, pulling down 14 rebounds to go along with four points and two steals.
“Katie Purpura was back to just being all over the place defensively with deflections, and she was just incredibly active rebounding the ball,” Klump said. “That activity and those little things like deflections (she and Lily Bross led us in deflections), loose balls, focused in on defensive game plans and plan of attack offensively is what we need to be. KP symbolized that and the rest of the team fed off of it.
“Our bench has played really well the last two games in particular. Even in our loss to Souderton, they came in with some defensive energy and toughness, and today we got some threes from our bench in both halves. I thought Kathryn O’Kane was good, especially in the second half defensively and driving to the basket. Fi (Reckner) did a nice job touching other areas besides the scorebook (three assists and three rebounds) and then hits a big three to put us up six. I’m happy for the girls to get a win against a team that’s been playing well because, naturally your confidence starts to dip a bit when you lose four in a row. We have another opportunity Monday to have a strong practice prior to CB South and build off this win.”
For the Lions, Chrencik – who buried four 3-pointers – led the way with 21 points, and Fasti had 16 points and Elizondo finished with 17. Emily Wilson added eight points.
“Reagan is one of the best basketball players in this area, and we really challenged our girls to be aware of where she was at all times,” Klumpp said. “She had 21, but she worked really, really hard for them.
“We had Cam on her primarily, but once we started getting momentum with our pressures, it became a scramble situation, and a lot of times someone else needed to locate and guard her and we did a really good job communicating that. Fasti has been playing really well for them both driving and shooting, and their two freshmen (Elizondo and Wilson) have really improved as the season has gone along.”
Council Rock South (8-6, 4-6 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday, and New Hope-Solebury (6-7, 5-4) will be on the road at Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 18-23-11-22 74
New Hope-Solebury 16-23-16-15 70
Council Rock South (74) – Kathryn O’Kane 1 5-7 7; Liliana Metrick 1 0-0 3; Lily Bross 1 1-2 4; Haley Thompson 1 0-0 3; Katie Purpura 1 2-2 4; Cam Gregory 8 2-6 23; Fiona Reckner 1 0-0 3; Mia Stock 2 1-3 5; Karissa Smedley 7 4-5 20; TOTALS 24 15-25 74.
New Hope-Solebury (70) – Emily Wilson 3 0-1 8; Izzy Elizondo 7 2-2 17; Emma Ives 1 0-0 3; Reagan Chrencik 6 5-5 21; Madi Fasti 5 3-4 16; Ella Dudick 1 0-0 3; Nina Mexler 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 24 10-12 70.
3-point goals: CRS – Cam Gregory 5, Karissa Smedley 2, Lily Bross, Haley Thompson, Fiona Reckner; NHS – Regan Chrencik 4, Madi Fasi 3, Emily Wilson 2, Izzy Elizondo, Emma Ives, Ella Dudick.
NORTH PENN 64, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 55
A very young and steadily improving Knight squad notched its most impressive win of the season, defeating a Crusaders squad that brought a 9-2 record into Saturday’s game with some impressive wins in that number.
“This is our first win streak – even though it’s two (wins) in a row, it’s a streak that we haven’t seen before,” said NP coach Bri Cullen, whose team rolled to a 63-38 win over Council Rock North one day earlier. “We beat a team yesterday and had a very good offensive game, and today they had an overall game.
“We set our goals every game, and today for the first time in the entire season, they hit every goal. This was a really good win. We’ve been in close games before, but for the first time, we got to the fourth quarter and actually finished the game with conviction.”
Four players scored in double figures for the Knights. Sophomore Caleigh Sperling led the way with 18 points, and sophomore Olivia Stone added 14. Freshman Kelly Donnelly and junior Abby Plaugher both contributed 13 points.
“The ball moved around a lot today,” Cullen said. “The first half was very close, but come the third quarter, I think our offensive rebounding was the pivotal difference in the game.”
The Knights had 17 offensive rebounds, and no one, according to Cullen, was more effective under the glass than Stone and Sperling.
“They probably each had six,” the Knights’ coach said. “That was a really big difference for us. It’s been one of my focuses recently, and they stepped up to the assignment. They saw a very challenging game and took it on.”
The Crusaders – behind nine points from Gabby Casey – led 19-17 after one quarter, but the Knights answered with a 16-10 second quarter to go into halftime with a 33-29 lead. A 13-6 third quarter tear was highlighted by eight points from Sperling, and the Knights, who took a 46-35 lead into the final quarter, sealed the Crusaders’ fate with a 13-for-19 effort at the foul line.
“They were so prepared,” Mullen said. “Number 15 (Gabby Casey) is such a hard player. She got in foul trouble a little bit early, and that changed the pace of the game, but Caleigh Sperling really did a good job with her assignment.
“Caleigh is a very strong defender. She really listened to direction, and she followed those directions. She scored when she was open, but she dished the ball just as much.”
Casey’s 19 points led the Crusaders, but she managed just 10 points over the final three quarters.
North Penn (6-8, 4-6 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
Lansdale Catholic 19-10-6-20 55
North Penn 17-16-13-18 64
Lansdale Catholic (55) – Sanyiah Littlejohn 3 0-0 6; Nadia Yemola 3 0-0 7; Olivia Boccella 2 2-2 8; Lauren Edwards 3 4-6 10; Gabby Casey 9 0-0 19; Sam McHugh 2 1-3 5; TOTALS 22 7-11 55.
North Penn (64) – Caleigh Sperling 7 3-6 18; Cam Crowley 1 1-2 3; Abby Plaugher 4 5-6 13; Kelly Donnelly 4 2-3 13; Leah Mikulski 1 1-2 3; Oliva Stone 4 6-9 14; TOTALS 21 18-26 64.
3-point goals: LC – Olivia Boccella 2, Nadia Yemola, Gabby Casey; NP – Kelly Donnelly 3, Caleigh Sperling.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 60, ST. HUBERT’S 22
The Patriots put together a 16-0 run in the closing minutes of Friday’s loss to Pennsbury. They picked up where they left off when they traveled to St. Hubert’s on Saturday, scoring 23 points in the first quarter and adding 17 more in the second to go into halftime with a 40-14 lead.
No one had a hotter hand than sophomore Anna Barry, who buried four 3s in the first quarter and scored 16 points in the quarter, 18 in the first half.
“We just came out really firing and ready to go,” East coach Liz Potash said. “I have no idea what our shooting percentage was, but it was unbelievable. We had 40 points at halftime.
Anna (Barry) had a huge first quarter – she was hitting them from all over the place, but she can do that. She had three last night in the last three minutes of our game. We were really shooting the ball well.”
Potash gives her captains time to share their input after every game.
“I didn’t think of it, but Elise Duffy or Emily (Curran) made just a good point and said, ‘I think we carried the momentum of the last three minutes of the Pennsbury game last night and it just carried into today,’ and it did,” Potash said.
To get a feel for Saturday’s opponent, the Patriots’ coach watched film of St. Hubert’s game against Council Rock North, a team the Patriots had faced.
“Going into the game, I was confident – I felt we were the better team, but I’ve never seen us shoot the ball the way we shot today,” Potash said. “If only we could have made a couple of those last night. We’re just so streaky, but we ended up with 12 3s today. We just came out on fire.”
The Patriots were equally impressive on defense.
“Defensively, we were very focused,” Potash said. “Their one player, number 23, (Gianna) Grassifulli, scores about 20 a game for them. She’s tough. We held her to 15. I was not expecting that kind of game, but it was nice to see. It was fun for the kids, and everyone was involved. It was a total team effort. Everyone was able to get in and contribute, which is always great.”
In addition to Barry, Kendall Gregor added eight points while Shayne LeRay and Sydney Ralph both added seven points. LeRay and Gregor each had a pair of 3s while Ralph and Elise Duffy both had one.
Central Bucks East (7-7, 5-5 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Tuesday.
Central Bucks East 23-17-11-9 60
St. Hubert’s 8-6-7-1 22
Central Bucks East (60) – Keira Shea 1 0-0 2; Shayne LeRay 2 1-2 7; Anna Barry 9 2-2 26; Jaclyn Dalby 1 0-0 2; Elise Duffy 2 0-0 5; Sydney Ralph 3 0-0 7; Kendall Gregor 2 2-2 8; Emily Curran 0 1-2 1; Bella Haurin 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 21 6-8 60.
St. Hubert’s (22) – Mackenzie McLaughlin 1 1-2 3; Charlotte Pugh 1 0-0 2; Alexa Price 1 0-2 2; Gianna Grassifulli 5 5-7 15; Kate Patterson 0 0-1 0; TOTALS 8 6-12 22.
3-point goals: CBE – Anna Barry 6, Shayne LeRay 2, Kendall Gregor 2, Elise Duffy, Sydney Ralph.
NAZARETH ACADEMY 54, HARRY S TRUMAN 41
The Tigers got off to a slow start, and after scoring just six points in the first quarter, they picked things up in the next three. Although they came up short, the Tigers finished strong.
“All and all, it was a good game, and the girls were able to come together and play well even though we were missing several players for various reasons this afternoon,” Truman coach Ashida Cooper said.
Sophomores Patricia Monroe and Mayah Alford led the Tigers in scoring with 15 and 10 points respectively.
“Mayah Alford had a standout game on the defensive end, converting her steals into easy points and rallying the team together,” Cooper said. “Patricia Monroe also contributed today by attacking the basket and creating shots for both herself and her teammates.
“Our two seniors – Dahlia Gumaa and Hannah Smith – were able to come up in a big way and contribute points when we needed it the most.”
Gumaa had eight points and Smith added five.
Harry S Truman (0-11, 0-8 SOL) will host Pennridge on Monday.
Harry S Truman 6-11-10-14 41
Nazareth Academy 10-16-19-9 54
Harry S Truman (41) – Mayah Alford 4 1-1 10; Hannah Smith 2 1-2 5; Camille Monroe 1 0-0 3; Patricia Monroe 6 3-4 15; Dahlia Gumaa 4 0-0 8; TOTALS 17 5-7 41.
Nazareth Academy (54) – Nicole Burks 3 0-0 6; Cait Week 0 2-2 2; Reese Power 8 1-2 19; Devon Cheeseman 1 0-2 2; Rileigh Donohoe 5 0-0 12; Natalie D’Alfonso 1 1-2 3; Abby Rock 4 0-2 8; Grace Gordano 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 23 4-10 54.
3-point goals: HST – Mayah Alford, Camille Monroe; Nazareth – Reese Power 2, Rileigh Donohoe 2.
POTTSTOWN 39, CHELTENHAM 33
The Lady Panthers hung tough in Saturday’s non-league game but could not get over the hump. They trailed 22-14 at halftime and pulled to within five heading into the final quarter, 27-22, but the visiting Trojans held on for the non-league win.
“Pottstown came to play, we didn’t and they deserved the win,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said.
Tyrina Ragsdale’s 13 points led the Lady Panthers, and Mikahila Leighton added eight. Amelia Yevoli had six points.
Both teams struggled at the foul line where the Lady Panthers connected on just 3-of-13 shots.
Cheltenham (2-11, 0-8 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday.
Pottstown 8-14-5-12 39
Cheltenham 4-10-8-11 33
Pottstown (39) – Jayla Zipay 0 0-2 0; Trinell Watson 7 9-11 23; Tamaya Jarrett 3 1-4 9; Brynn McClure 1 1-5 3; Mikyla Brandon 0 4-6 4; TOTALS 11 15-28 39.
Cheltenham (33) – Mikahila Leighton 4 0-1 8; Janiya Townes-Wakefield 1 0-0 2; Arianna Davis 2 0-0 4; Tyrina Ragsdale 5 3-12 13; Amelia Yevoli 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 15 3-13 33.
3-point goals: Tamaya Jarrett 2.
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