Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Sunday.
Four SOL teams competed in the Maggie Lucas Classic at Jefferson University on Sunday. Plymouth Whitemarsh was scheduled to take on Scranton Prep on Sunday at 4:30 p.m., but that game was cancelled because of potential weather issues for Scranton Prep. In four games against some of the area’s top teams, the SOL was 1-3.
Non-league
UPPER DUBLIN 41, GARNET VALLEY 37
Three UD players finished the game in double figures in a remarkably balanced scoring effort. Freshman Megan Ngo led the Cards with 12 points to go along with five assists and five rebounds.
“For a girl her size, she finds a way to make plays, whether it’s sharing the ball, scoring or grabbing defensive rebounds,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said.
Colleen Besachio was one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. She also had two assists and two blocked shots. Amy Ngo – named UD’s game MVP – added 10 points, three rebounds and three assists. Alaina Sanders contributed six points while Nora Brady had five rebounds.
“The story was – we just got really nice balance offensively and defensively,” Funsten said.
Jefferson University was a familiar setting to the Flying Cardinals, who two weeks earlier faced West Catholic in the Blue Star Invitational on that same court. UD rolled to a 46-26 win in that game, opening up a 13-4 lead after one quarter and never looking back.
Any thoughts that Sunday’s game would follow a similar pattern were put to rest in a hurry.
“We fell behind early – we got down 9-2,” Funsten said. “We played the early game there two Sundays ago, today we played at noon. It might as well have been a morning start.
“We were so good in the first quarter of that game. I don’t know what the difference was today, but we started out slow. Some of it had to do with Garnet Valley was making some tough shots.“
The Cardinals – behind five points from Megan Ngo – trimmed the Jaguars’ 9-2 lead to 9-7 at the end of one quarter, and the Cardinals outscored Garnet Valley 9-5 in the second quarter to take a 16-14 lead into halftime. Amy Ngo’s five points led the Cards in the second quarter.
Garnet Valley took a 26-24 lead into a final quarter that saw the Cardinals close it out with a 17-point frame to earn the win.
“We made some big shots,” Funsten said. “Megan Ngo and Nora Brady made back-to-back 3s early in the fourth quarter to go from us being down two to up four.
“Midway through the fourth quarter, Alaina Sanders scored six points in a row. It was awesome to get that contribution from Alaina. The coaching staff and entire team was really excited for her. She typically helps us in other ways. Today she helped us in the scoring column, which was exciting.”
Garnet Valley trimmed UD’s lead to four with 35 seconds remaining.
“We had just turned the ball over, and they attacked the basket, and Amy Ngo stepped up and took a charge,” Funsten said. “It was just awesome. She’s fearless. I think it’s important for someone coming back from an injury to take hits like that and realize it’s going to be okay.
“It was a great team win. We’re battling for a playoff spot. We knew Garnet was close to us, and we knew this was a first round playoff type of game. We were excited to come out on top.”
Garnet Valley was led by Haylie Adamski (15 points) and Kylie Mulholland (13 points).
“They have two really good players – Adamski and Mulholland,” Funsten said of the Jaguars. “Adamski is a 6-foot guard who is already very good and is just going to keep getting better. Nora Brady played her today and did a good job on her.”
Upper Dublin (11-5, 8-3 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 7-9-8-17 41
Garnet Valley 9-5-12-11 37
Upper Dublin (41) – Alaina Sanders 3 0-0 6; Megan Ngo 3 4-4 12; Amy Ngo 3 3-4 10; Colleen Besachio 4 2-2 10; Nora Brady 1 0-1 3; TOTALS 14 9-11 41.
Garnet Valley (37) – Kylie Mulholland 6 0-0 13; Savannah Saunders 1 2-2 4; Haylie Adamski 6 1-2 15; Jordan Daubenberger 1 0-0 3; Sarah Sigston 1 0-2 2; TOTALS 15 3-6 37.
3-point goals: UD – Megan Ngo 2, Amy Ngo, Nora Brady; GV – Haylie Adamski 2, Kylie Mulholland, Jordan Daubenberger.
HAVERFORD 55, ABINGTON 47
Cire Worley ensured her spot in the storied history of the Abington girls’ basketball program when she surpassed Deja Rawls’ all-time career scoring record. After Sunday’s 19-point performance, Worley now has 1,499 career points.
“Cire is the ultimate basketball player,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “She’s a great leader, she has a super high basketball IQ and is a high-level scorer who can beat you in multiple ways. I feel privileged to have been a part of her doing this. She makes my job easy.”
Despite Worley’s standout effort, the Ghosts came up short against an undefeated Fords squad that is at the top of the District 1 6A power rankings.
The Ghosts, who trailed by one after a quarter, took a 26-24 lead into halftime. They scored just nine points in the third quarter and trailed 37-35 heading into the final quarter when they were outscored 18-12.
Included in Worley’s 19-point effort were three 3-pointers. Jordyn Reynolds added 10 points while Abril Bowser had seven, and Maya Johnson, six points.
Caroline and Rian Dotsey led the Fords. Caroline, a 6-2 power forward who is committed to Maine, led all scorers with 24 points, which included a 6-for-6 effort at the foul line. Rian added 15 points and was 6-for-7 at the charity stripe.
Abington (15-3, 10-1 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for a division showdown on Tuesday.
Abington 13-13-9-12 47
Haverford 14-10-13-18 55
Abington (47) – Cire Worley 7 2-3 19; Maya Johnson 2 1-2 6; Abril Bowser 2 2-2 7; Mikiaya Durham 1 0-0 3; Jordyn Reynolds 3 3-3 10; Piper McGinley 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 16 8-10 47.
Haverford (55) – Sky Newman 4 0-0 8; Aniya Eberhart 3 0-1 6; Caroline Dotsey 9 6-6 24; Rian Dotsey 4 6-7 15; Mollie Carpenter 0 2-5 2; TOTALS 20 14-19 55.
3-point goals: Abington – Cire Worley 3, Maya Johnson, Abril Bowser, Mikiaya Durham, Jordyn Reynolds; Haverford – Rian Dotsey.
CARDINAL O’HARA 32, NESHAMINY 19
In a contest that featured a whole lot more defense than offense, it was O’Hara limiting the Redskins to single digits in all four quarter on its way to the win.
The Lions led 8-7 after one quarter and took a 14-11 lead into halftime.
“The first half saw both teams playing excellent defense,” coach John Gallagher said. “A late O’Hara basket at the end of the second quarter extended their lead to 14-11.
“We spent a good part of the first half feeding the ball successfully into the mid and low post area. The result of the ball in that area was not as successful as we would have liked and that was due in part to the strong defense by O’Hara.”
The Lions held the Redskins to just eight points in the second half and only three field goals.
“The O’Hara defense turned it up in the second half, and it led to three early turnovers in the quarter, assisting them in opening the game up,” Gallagher said. “Since the game was low scoring, a 10-point lead was large enough to carry the Lions to victory.”
Freshman Camryn Rodriguez, who was moved up to varsity, scored her first varsity points for Neshaminy.
Taylor Gurysh, whose seven points led the Redskins, was named Neshaminy’s game MVP. She also had three assists. Reese Zemitis was held to just two points but led the ’Skins with six rebounds.
Mollie Rullo scored a game-high 13 points and earned MVP honors for O’Hara, which upped its record to 12-2 (4-0 PCL).
“We made a concerted effort to upgrade our non-league schedule this year,” Gallagher said. “The reason was to better prepare our team for the SOL schedule and hopefully a push towards districts.
“We believe what O’Hara was successful in doing against us will pay off as we move forward. Players and coaches will learn from this game and will look to make adjustments. When you take away the losses we gave our non-league opponents, their overall record is 64-4.”
Neshaminy (12-4, 9-2 SOL) will host Pennsbury Tuesday. The Redskins hold a one-game lead over the Falcons in the division standings.
Neshaminy 7-4-4-4 19
Cardinal O’Hara 8-6-11-7 32
Neshaminy (19) – Lola Ibarrondo 0 3-4 3; Taylor Gurysh 3 0-0 7; Ava Irizarry 1 0-0 2; Reese Zemitis 1 0-0 2; Lindsay Little 1 0-0 3; Camryn Rodriguez 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 7 3-4 19.
Cardinal O’Hara (32) – Brigid 0 0-2 0; Natalie 1 0-0 2; Greta Miller 1 0-0 2; Joanie Quinn 4 0-0 10; Mollie Rullo 6 1-1 13; Meg Rullo 1 2-2 5; TOTALS 13 3-5 32.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Taylor Gurysh, Lindsay Little. O’Hara – Joanie Quinn 2, Meg Rullo.
EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 37, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 29
The Bucks capped a grueling three-games-in-three-days stretch with an early morning game against Episcopal in the Maggie Lucas Classic at Jefferson University.
The Bucks came up short, but there were bright spots in the loss, including the 15-point effort of senior Tai Henkels.
“Tai’s been on fire,” West coach Zach Sibel said. “She’s had 15 (points) in the last two games against Governor Mifflin and Episcopal and really plays with that West heart. She’s rebounding all over the floor, she’s in passing lanes and bringing energy on both ends of the floor. I think it’s been neat.
“We proved on Saturday if we play together, we can make things happen. When you have your biggest player step up when they need to – you see that. It’s never easy playing three good opponents in a row Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We’re looking forward to taking some of the momentum from the weekend into this week as league play gets started again.”
The Bucks managed just one point in the opening quarter but rebounded with a 12-point second quarter that was sparked by 10 points – including 2 3s – from Henkels.
Episcopal took a 20-13 lead into halftime, and the Bucks, who played EA all but even in the second half, never could dig their way out of that first-half hole.
Sibel credited the play of Janelle Blokker.
“She’s a freshman who’s seeing more time for us,” the West coach said. “She’s a standout soccer player but is the quintessential dual-sport athlete who’s really invested in both sports, which is neat in a world of specialization.
“She’s coming in, and she had two good games. We came out with a win in one of those, but it’s cool to see a trend and those habits being formed.”
Central Bucks West (7-10, 5-6 SOL) will host Central Bucks East Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Central Bucks West 1-12-8-8 29
Episcopal Academy 4-16-9-8 37
Central Bucks West (29) – Gabi Senior 1 0-0 2; Tai Henkels 5 3-4 15; Alexis Castro 2 1-1 5; Ava Longo 2 0-0 4; Gabby Reichner 0 1-2 1; Janelle Blokker 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 11 5-7 29.
Episcopal Academy (37) – Riley Thibedeau 3 0-0 6; Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf 1 3-3 5; Anna Maloney 1 0-0 3; Natalie Magnotta 3 4-4 12; Bella Notaro 2 1-2 5; Taylor Hammond 1 0-0 2; Brynn Kehl 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 13 8-9 37.
3-point field goals: CBW – Tai Henkels 2; Episcopal – Natalie Magnotta 2, Anna Maloney
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