Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Monday.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
CHELTENHAM 54, WISSAHICKON 27
Three Lady Panthers finished Monday’s crossover game in double figures. Jiah Price led the balanced attack with 16 points, Paige Powell added 13, and Maya Simmons had 12 points.
Cheltenham opened a 14-7 lead after one quarter and put some distance between themselves and their visitors with a 20-point second quarter to go into halftime with a 34- 15 advantage on their way to the big win.
“I was worried after three days off, we would come out sluggish,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “But after a couple minutes, we got going. Great team effort and balance. We need to focus on tomorrow’s game as we head to New Hope for a tough matchup.”
The Lady Panthers’ big three led the offensive charge in the opening half – Simmons had 10 points, including a pair of 3s, while Price had nine points and Powell had eight.
While the trio of Simmons, Price and Powell led the way, Arianna Davis and Cassie Bugg each had six points.
For the Trojans, Ashley Klein led the way with 10 points, five rebounds and one steal. Julia Lettieri added seven points, three assists and one steal.
Cheltenham (8-8, 4-6 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Tuesday, and Wissahickon (6-10, 5-5) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Wissahickon 7-8-9-3 27
Cheltenham 14-20-16-4 54
Wissahickon (27) – Maura Jacob 1 0-0 3; Julia Lettieri 3 1-2 7; Kristen DiGiovanni 1 0-0 2; Casey Burden 1 0-0 2; Ava Stout 1 0-0 3; Ashley Klein 4 2-7 10; TOTALS 11 3-9 27.
Cheltenham (54) – Jiah Price 6 4-7 16; Paige Powell 6 1-2 13; Maya Simmons 5 0-0 12; Arianna Davis 3 0-1 6; Ije Ojukwu 0 1-2 1; Cassie Bugg 2 2-5 6; TOTALS 22 8-17 54.
3-point goals: Wissahickon – Ava Stout, Maura Jacob; Cheltenham – Maya Simmons 2.
Non-league
LOWER MORELAND 55, MARPLE NEWTOWN 50
The Lions opened up an 18-14 lead after one quarter and took a 30-24 lead into halftime on their way to the non-league road win. Three LM players finished in double figures in a balanced team effort.
“This was definitely a character win,” LM coach Rich Becker said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we were able to hang on and walk out of Marple Newtown with the W. After starting 1-3, we’ve won eight of nine, and our average margin of victory during that span has been by about 18 points, so it was good for us to win a close game against a very gritty opponent.
“As a coach, you know your team, and with us not being able to get on the court since Thursday to play or practice and the girls having midterms and being on a different schedule, I was really worried about how we’d play tonight. On offense we were not as crisp as we’ve been, and defensively, we had a few mistakes, but I was proud of how our girls competed.”
Freshman Sydney Santora’s 10 points, which included a 3, led the Lions in the opening half. Emma DiJoseph had a pair of 3s and six points in the first half.
The two teams spent the second half exchanging baskets. Marple Newtown was in this one until the final whistle, but the Lions prevailed.
“We went into the half up by six and early in the third quarter we extended the lead to 14 points, but from that moment on, Marple Newtown went on a little run, and late in the third they scored to cut the lead to two points, but then Briana (McFerran) answered back with a 3 to make it five points to start the fourth quarter.
“In the fourth, it was back and forth, and with about 1:45 left, we were up eight, and in spite of some poor decisions on our end, we ended up winning by five. It was good to be in this type of a game and be able to pull out the win.”
Dani Brusha led the Lions with 14 points – nine in the second half. Briana McFerran and Santora both had 11 points while Emma DiJoseph had eight points, and Mollie Martin had seven points.
“On a night where we were out of sync, we were still about to get three girls in double digits, and both Briana and Sydney made some adjustments on defense and played extremely tough in the post against girls that were bigger than them,” Becker said. “I don’t know how many rebounds Sydney had, but it was easily in double digits.”
Lower Moreland (10-4, 7-2 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
Lower Moreland 18-12-13-12 55
Marple Newtown 14-10-14-12 50
Lower Moreland (55) – Briana McFerran 4 2-6 11; Dani Brusha 5 3-8 14; Amelia Brown 2 0-2 4; Sydney Santora 3 4-8 11; Mollie Martin 3 0-0 7; Emma DiJoseph 3 0-0 8; TOTALS 20 9-24 55.
Marple Newtown (50) – Olivia Gicking 3 1-2 9; Taylor Murrin 6 0-0 12; Rowan Hildlen 5 3-10 13; Ellia Dibona 5 2-4 14; Catherine Kirby 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 20 6-16 50.
3-point goals: LM – Emma DiJoseph 2, Mollie Martin, Sydney Santora, Dani Brusha, Briana McFerran; MN – Olivia Gicking 2, Ellie Dibona 2.
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 42, WILLIAM TENNENT 39
The Panthers opened up a 19-9 lead in the opening quarter and took a 26-22 lead into halftime. They took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter when they were outscored 14-6 and came up just short.
Avery Kocur and Halie Staub combined for 35 of their team’s 39 points. Kocur scored a game-high 18 points – which included five 3-pointers. She scored 16 of those points in the first half. Staub added 17 points – 10 in the first quarter.
William Tennent (7-9, 5-5 SOL) will travel to Springfield Twp on Tuesday.
Academy of the New Church 9-13-6-14 42
William Tennent 19-7-7-6 39
Academy of the New Church (42) – Amirah Laster 1 1-2 3; Arianna Frank 3 0-0 7; Jayda Mayo 4 1-2 11; Ahlexus Vellefranche 1 0-0 2; Xola Wade 2 9-14 13; Bre Molock 1 0-0 2; Te’a Richards 1 0-0 2; London Lynch 0 2-4 2; TOTALS 13 13-22 42.
William Tennent (39) – Aubrey Lynch 0 1-2 1; Katherin Balibar 0 2-2 2; Avery Kocur 6 1-2 18; Halie Staub 6 3-10 17; Megan Volz 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 12 8-18 39.
3-point goals: ANC – Jayda Mayo 2, Arianna Frank; WT – Avery Kocur 5, Halie Staub 2.
About the Author
