Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday.
SOL Colonial Division
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 62, PENNRIDGE 31
The Patriots took control of this one in a hurry, opening up a 36-21 lead in the first quarter and then limiting the Rams to just 10 points in the second half on the way to their seventh win without a loss in division play.
Key stretch: The Patriots made a statement in the first quarter, opening up a 23-10 lead. Jess Lockwood’s 10 points led East in the quarter. Natalie Berndt added eight points.
Key players: Jess Lockwood added another double-double to her resume with 17 points (all in the first half) and 12 rebounds to lead the Patriots. Natalie Berndt added 15 points, which included three 3-pointers. Point guard Haley Moran contributed 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Sydney Ralph had 13 points.
For the Rams, Ella Brown had 20 points – 16 in the first half.
Central Bucks East coach Liz Potash: “Tonight we got another team effort, having four players score in double figures. Jess Lockwood had another double-double, and Haley Moran contributed seven of the team’s 18 total assists.
“We got off to a hot start in the first quarter and made some defensive adjustments to slow Ella Brown down in the second half. Natalie Berndt did a great job defending her in the third and holding her to four second-half points. Pennridge was coming in on a seven-game win streak, and when we played them the first time around, they were able to cut into a large second half lead, so coming out strong in the third was a big key at halftime. We have two more games this week, so it’s a quick turnaround to prepare for the weekend.”
Pennridge coach Jason Rapp: “East came out knocking down shots and forcing us into eight turnovers in the first quarter. Unfortunately, we were unable to recover tonight. Credit to East for executing on both ends tonight.
“We need to have a short memory about this one tonight and have a good practice tomorrow in preparation for a huge game versus Lower Merion on Saturday.”
Up next: Central Bucks East (13-3, 7-0 SOL) will host Gwynedd Mercy in a non-league game Saturday at noon, and Pennridge (12-5, 3-4) will host Lower Merion in a non-league game Saturday (12:30 pm).
Pennridge 10-11-8-2 31
Central Bucks East 23-13-18-8 62
Pennridge (31) – Ella Brown 6 8-8 20; Julia Lenox 1 0-0 2; Madison Lapp 1 1-4 4; Layla Verbit 1 2-6 5; TOTALS 9 11-18 31.
Central Bucks East (62) – Sydney Ralph 5 1-1 13; Haley Moran 4 5-6 14; Emma Penecale 1 0-0 2; Natalie Berndt 5 2-2 15; Savannah Hayes 0 2-2 2; Jess Lockwood 5 5-6 17; TOTALS 20 15-17 62.
3-point goals: P – Madison Lapp, Layla Verbit; CBE – Natalie Berndt 3, Jess Lockwood 2, Sydney Ralph, Haley Moran.
SOL Liberty Division
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 47, WISSAHICKON 20
The Colonials held the Trojans scoreless in the second quarter on their way to the decisive road win.
Key stretch: PW – behind five points from Eliza Meersman – opened up a 16-5 lead after one quarter and never looked back. They shut out the Trojans in the second and took a 25-5 lead into halftime.
Key players: Eliza Meersman led the Colonials nine points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. AJ also had nine points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals in a strong outing. Liv Patete handed out six assists.
For the Trojans, Julia Lettieri had seven points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dan Dougherty: “Solid team win at Wissahickon tonight. We were able to hold them scoreless from mid-first quarter until mid-third quarter. Defensively, kids were playing hard, rotating well, and rebounding.
–Props: “Offensively, we had 14 assists on 18 made baskets (AJ Avery and Liv Patete each had six). Great stat lines for AJ Avery and Eliza Meersman tonight. Lastly, great to see one of our role players, Mia Baron, knock down a couple of threes tonight. We’ve been slowly getting her more playing time as season progresses, and it is good to see her shooting with confidence.”
Wissahickon coach Kathie Sims: “We didn’t play as a team tonight, and it showed in our performance. We struggled to communicate effectively on the court, which led to missed opportunities and breakdowns in both offense and defense. We must learn from this game and come back stronger by focusing on teamwork and trusting each other. Together, we can improve and reach our full potential.”
Up next: Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-6, 3-2 SOL) will face Masterman in a non-league game Sunday (10:30 am) at the Maggie Lucas Classic at Thomas Jefferson University. Wissahickon (3-13, 0-6) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 16-9-15-7 47
Wissahickon 5-0-4-11 20
Plymouth Whitemarsh (47) – Taylor Williams 2 1-1 5; Liv Patete 2 1-2 5; AJ Avery 3 3-4 9; Kenna Winland 2 2-3 7; Mia Baron 2 0-0 6; Eliza Meersman 4 0-2 9; Brooke Peduzzi 1 0-0 2; Grace Harvey 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 18 7-12 47
Wissahickon (20) – Maura Jacob 1 0-0 3; Julia Lettieri 3 0-1 7; Georgia McNichol 1 0-0 3; Kai Potter 1 0-0 2; Ava Stout 1 2-4 5; TOTALS 7 2-5 20.
3-point goals: PW – Mia Baron 2, Eliza Meersman, Kenna Winland; W – Maura Jacob, Julia Lettieri, Georgia McNichol, Ava Stout.
SOL Freedom Division
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 47, UPPER MORELAND 32
The Lions led this one wire to wire over a UM squad that was without Mikel Lancit.
Key stretch: The Lions opened up a 23-7 halftime lead with Izzy Elizondo scoring 13 points. Ella Dudick added eight points.
Key players: Emily Wilson and Izzy Elizondo were once again double trouble for their opponents, combining for 32 of their team’s points. Wilson’s 17 points, included three 3-pointers. She scored 15 of her points in the second half. Elizondo added 15 points.
New Hope-Solebury Andy Krasna: “Upper Moreland was shorthanded without Mikel Lancit, who can hurt you in so many ways. Not having her in their lineup allowed us to concentrate on stopping Lianna Adames who is very dangerous from the perimeter. We were able to chase Lianna off the perimeter and throw extra defenders at her when she drove to basket. Upper Moreland did a nice job adjusting in the second half, but our lead was too great for them to overcome.
“In our last practice, we emphasized committing to a greater effort defending on each possession, and our team did just that tonight. I was a bit concerned because one of the SOL’s top defenders, Kayla Fennell, was hit in the face with a ball during warm-ups and did not play in the game. Hopefully, Kayla will be back in the lineup next week after this freak accident three minutes before tip-off.”
–Props: “Freshman Danielle Wilson stepped into the limelight and did a super job in her first start of the season. She was composed when pressured, set up her teammates, and defended well.
“Emily Wilson and Izzy Elizondo were incredible on both ends. Emily was making things happen and is playing at such a high level. Her confidence is sky high, and she has become an elite combo guard who excels off the ball or as the point guard. That was self-evident tonight. Izzy is so intelligent and always plays within herself. She is often face-guarded and double-teamed, yet she makes teams pay for all the attention that she gets by creating for her teammates. Ella Dudick had a huge first half, scoring eight points, but more importantly rebounded and defended in the paint which helped us hold Upper Moreland to seven first half points. Freshman Mary Tresler gave us a great defensive effort but landed herself in foul trouble, yet still helped us on the boards and as a help defender.”
Upper Moreland coach Josh Adelman: “Wilson and Elizondo played their usual steady games for New Hope. They hit all over the place, very controlled shots. We played another bad second quarter and battled to close it to 10 in the second half, but just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Up next: New Hope Solebury (11-6, 6-1 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (9-7, 3-3) will host Souderton in a non-league game Monday.
New Hope-Solebury 10-13-11-13 47
Upper Moreland 3-4-13-12 32
New Hope-Solebury (47) – Dannielle Wilson 1 0-0 2; Izzy Elizondo 6 2-2 15; Emily Wilson 5 4-4 17; Mary Tresler 2 0-0 4; Ava Canlas 0 1-2 1; Ella Dudick 4 0-1 8; TOTALS 18 7-9 47.
Upper Moreland (32) – Lianna Adames 3 0-0 7; Marie Meyer 3 3-4 10; Hailey Kramer 2 2-4 6; Brogan Neely 1 0-0 3; Charlie Clement 1 0-0 2; Hailey Milks 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 12 5-8 32.
3-point goals: NH-S – Emily Wilson 3, Izzy Elizondo; UM – Lianna Adames, Marie Meyer, Brogan Neely.
Wednesday, Jan. 22
BENSALEM 51, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 33
The Owls put on quite a show from beyond the arc, burying 11 3-pointers on their way to the big road win. Grace McShane led the way with four 3-pointers while Mary Beck had three 3s.
Key stretch: The Owls set the tone for their big win with a 12-2 opening quarter that was highlighted by five points from McShane.
Key players: Grace McShane had herself a night, leading the Owls with 23 points. Mary Beck added 11 points.
For the Indians, Amara Arroyo had 11 points with three 3-pointers.
Bensalem coach Steve Johnson: “I really want to give CR North’s five seniors their flowers. They are five great competitors and even better kids. From afar, I’ve watched those five play a vital part in building for Coach Kelly with little things like summer camp for his middle school kids and their youth night game.”
Defense, defense, defense: “I was happy with our team’s effort defensively. There have been games this season where our man-to-man defense has been decent, there have been games when it was almost non-existent with lack of communication, but today we were firing on all cylinders, and I was really proud of our rotations.”
–Props: “Grace did a heck of a job causing turnovers and shot the ball well from behind the arc. Mary Beck gave us a great spark off the bench. Sydney Daut and Ariana Jenkins held down our back line and rotated very well in our half-court defense.
“Bench energy was phenomenal all game. We have some selfless kids who put the team before themselves and for that I am grateful.”
Council Rock North coach Jack Kelly: “Tonight, we honored our seniors – Skyler Wright, Kayla Smith, Amara Arroyo, Megan Reichenbach and Josie Boyle – and the impact that they have had on our program. They have been dedicated to our program for four years, and they have shown what it means to be resilient, play with energy and effort, and be good teammates. We are upset that we did not have a better performance, but credit to Bensalem – they really played well together as a team, and Grace McShane really has our number. We are going to keep working and keep playing hard in an effort to improve one day at a time.”
Up next: Bensalem (10-7, 3-3 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Friday, and Council Rock North (3-14, 1-5) will host Neshaminy Friday.
Bensalem 12-18-8-13 51
Council Rock North 2-10-7-14 33
Bensalem (51) – Talia DiMichele 3 2-4 9; Mary Beck 3 2-3 11; Grace McShane 8 2-2 23; Devon Bell 1 0-0 3; Ariana Jenkins 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 17 6-9 51.
Council Rock North (33) – Skyler Wright 1 0-0 2; Julia Koval 3 1-1 7; Amara Arroyo 3 3-4 12; Alexa Bondra 4 0-0 8; Megan Reichenbach 0 1-2 1; Josie Boyle 1 1-1 3; TOTALS 12 6-7 33.
3-point goals: B – Grace McShane 5, Mary Beck 3, Talia DiMichele, Devo Bell, Ariana Jenkins; CRN – Amara Arroyo 3.
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