Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Friday. CR North/William Tennent photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL American Conference
ABINGTON 38, UPPER DUBLIN 34
It was a seemingly minor change, and for those unfamiliar with Camryn Lexow, it might have seemed like risky business for 6-2 center Kassondra Brown to trade responsibilities on the defensive end with the 5-9 Lexow. After all, Brown matched UD center Jackie Vargas – who is also 6-2 – inch for inch. Lexow didn’t.
“Going into the locker room at halftime, I had two fouls,” Brown said. “It wasn’t even (coach Dan) Marsh’s idea, to be honest. Me and Camryn made the switch ourselves. She might be the greatest defender in PA.”
Lexow – who will take her immense soccer talent to the University of Virginia – is an elite athlete, and what she lacks in size, she makes up for with speed and agility.
“One of my major roles is defense,” Lexow said. “I like a challenge, I like going up against someone that is going to be a problem or is potentially the best player on the other team, and I always volunteer.
“In the first half, Kassondra had two fouls and was going in and out of the game. I thought when I was on (Vargas) I was limiting the options and opportunities she had on the court. At halftime, me and Kassondra talked, and I thought that I would be more impactful on Vargas and limit her options, and Kassondra could get her rebounds.”
It was a simple plan that the duo executed to perfection. Vargas had only one field goal after the halftime intermission and four points after scoring nine in the first despite picking up a pair of fouls and going in and out of the lineup.
The key to Lexow’s success could be summed up in one word: anticipation.
“That’s my biggest word,” she said. “A lot of the girls – they go for it, not thinking, and with me, I’m one of the ones who saves my fouls for when they’re really needed.
“My biggest word is anticipation and just knowing where you are on the court and where you are in the game.”
With the task of containing Vargas no longer on her shoulders, Brown was at her dominating best in the paint, pulling down every rebound that mattered and scoring eight of her game-high 17 points in the second half. She finished the game with 15 rebounds.
Lexow, meanwhile, was working her special brand of magic – she finished with five rebounds, five assists, five tips, three steals and two blocked shots and just generally created havoc on the defensive end.
“Cam is such a disrupter,” Marsh said. “No matter what you do, no matter where you put her, she’s going to disrupt what they do because she’s such a great anticipator, she’s so fast – there’s nothing she can’t do.
“She said to me at halftime, ‘Coach, let me take Vargas.’ I’m looking at her like, ‘Okay’ because I know when she gets that in her head, just let her go. Let Cam be Cam. We call her Camtastic. It changed everything for us.”
Lexow admits that initially her motivation for playing basketball was the competitiveness and staying in shape for soccer.
“But then it became something more than just something to keep me in shape for soccer,” she said. “We’re a family, we want to win, and it’s more than what I thought it would be.”
The Cardinals led 9-6 when Vargas scored on the post to close out the first quarter. They led 13-8 when Anajae Smith buried a baseline three. Despite battling foul woes – Brown picked up her second three minutes into the second quarter while freshman point guard Khalis Whiting was on the bench after picking up her third with 6:17 remaining in the half, the Ghosts were right there and trailed by just one (19-18) when sophomore Amanda Jackson buried her second three-pointer in the closing seconds of the half.
“She stepped in and has just been phenomenal for us,” Marsh said of Jackson. “Amanda played great on their 24 (Sarah Eskew). I was really proud of her.”
“Amanda stepped up big, only being a sophomore,” Brown said. “I hope she can keep it up the rest of the season. I believe in my teammates.”
Lexow buried a three to open the second half, giving the Ghosts a 21-19 lead. Eskew answered with a basket at the other end, but Khalis Whiting took the ensuing inbounds coast to coast for the score. An Eskew three gave the Cardinals a one-point edge, but Whiting burst through the paint for a bucket and a lead the Ghosts would not lose. They led by seven (34-27) after Brown buried a pair at the line. A Vargas bucket made it a 34-29 game heading into the final quarter.
Defense was the name of the game in a fourth quarter that saw the two teams combine for seven points. The Cardinals pulled to within two (35-33) after Eskew scored on a spinning drive at the 2:37 mark. It would be the Cardinals’ final bucket of the game.
“Honestly, we beat them at their own game because we had to back off of our aggressive press,” Marsh said. “We couldn’t foul, I said to my assistant coach, ‘We’re going to have to beat them in the half court.’
“We executed a few nice plays and were able to get some good looks. Khalis made two huge free throws. She had a great second half for us. I was really proud of her for recovering (after picking up three first-half fouls).”
For the Ghosts, who watched a 23-point fourth-quarter lead slip away in an overtime loss to Upper Dublin in the initial meeting, revenge was sweet.
“It wasn’t about us losing, but the way we lost – it was kind of embarrassing,” Brown said. “That’s not Abington basketball, so going into this game, we knew we had to rebound.”
“That loss definitely hurt us,” Lexow added. “We know we’re better than that. We just had a moment where we all – not just one of us – had a brain (lapse).
“Going into this game, we were all really motivated and hyped. We did not want to lose again, especially on their home court knowing all of their fans were going to be there. We definitely wanted to show them who we really are. It feels amazing. We took that spot back, they know where we stand. We’re always going to be in it until the end.”
In addition to Brown, Whiting scored eight points, and Jackson had six.
Vargas led the Cardinals with 13 points and Eskew had 12.
“When we watch the video, we’ll have a better idea of exactly what happened,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “The initial reaction in the locker room was – I’m really proud of my girls, and that’s what we try to emphasize – don’t always look at the result.
“You don’t necessarily always have control over whether or not you make shots. You have control of your preparation, your effort, your focus, and I really do think that was all there. If we sit in the locker room and scream at them for losing and missing some shots, I don’t think we’re doing our jobs.
“As big as the game was and as upsetting as it was for all of us, including me – this is hurting a lot to me right now, but the only thing I felt was I’m really proud. It wasn’t just tonight – it was what led up to tonight. I thought we were ready to play. I thought we played well, I thought we handled the pressure well, I thought we kept them off the glass. I was proud, and I think this game will make us better.”
With four conference games remaining, the two teams share the top spot in the conference standings.
Abington (15-2, 9-1 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday, and Upper Dublin (14-3, 9-1) will be on the road at Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
Abington 6-12-16-3 37
Upper Dublin 9-10-10-4 33
Abington (37) – Cam Lexow 3, Kassondra Brown 17, Miranda Liebtag 3, Khalis Whiting 8, Amanda Jackson 6.
Upper Dublin (33) – Jess Polin 2, Kara Grebe 1, Sarah Eskew 12, Jackie Vargas 13, Anajae Smith 5.
WISSAHICKON 32, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 29
The Trojans took a 17-10 lead into halftime but then managed just one point in the third quarter as the Spartans rallied to knot the score (18-18). The Trojans made enough big plays in the fourth quarter to win the tightly-contested game.
“I’ve never seen it before, I’ve never seen us shoot so bad in my life,” coach Rodney Cline said. “I just give the girls a lot of credit for keeping fighting defensively.
“One of our best shooters, Lily Hyatt, hit a crucial three-point shot when we were up by one. (Anna) Schools came down and penetrated, made a layup, and Victoria Williams hit two free throws down the stretch.”
Schools led the Trojans with 12 points while Lauren Fadel added six.
“I have to give credit to one of our girls,” Cline said. “Lauren Fadel probably had eight or nine steals herself. Her anticipation and her hustle is fun to watch. It’s fun to watch somebody that can move on the defensive end the way she does.”
For the Spartans, Grace Barraclough led the way with 11 points, and Emily Smith had six.
Wissahickon (6-11, 3-7 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday, and Springfield Township (2-14, 1-9) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Springfield Township7-3-8-11 29
Wissahickon 10-7-1-14 32
Springfield Township (29) – Grace Barraclough 11, Rileigh Serroni 5, Maddie Yoder 2, Emily Smith 6, Emily Guicheteau 3, Sydney Hannings 2.
Wissahickon (32) – Lily Hyatt 5, Anna Schools 12, Lauren Fadel 6, Rebecca Selverian 3, Libby Kunzier 2, Victoria Williams 4.
UPPER MORELAND 38, HATBORO-HORSHAM 29
The Golden Bears found themselves on the short end of a 6-4 score after one quarter but outscored the visiting Hatters 14-6 in the second to go into halftime with an 18-12 lead on their way to the win. The outscored the Hatters 20-17 in the second half.
“This game was the offensive struggle we knew it would be,” UM coach Matt Carroll said. “Both teams know each other so well that we knew the winning team wouldn’t get into the 40’s.
“We expected they would take away Bean (Hughes) and Phoebe (Longstreth) who scored 34 of our 36 points in our first game. Combined the two of them only had 15 of our 39 but still impacted the game greatly.
“Bean got a lot of good looks tonight they just didn’t fall. In typical Bean fashion, she dominated the game in other ways with 17 rebounds and eight blocks. Phoebe drew a lot of Hatboro’s attention, which allowed other girls to get open looks."
Hughes had 11 points to share the team lead with Kaitie Opferman, who also had 11.
“Kaitie Opferman was awesome for us in the first half," Carroll said. "She was there at four o’clock getting up shots and working on stuff. It’s so easy to root for a kid who puts in the work. Her minutes in the second half dropped, and she was the loudest one on the bench. That’s the definition of a great teammate.
“Coach (Dennis) Steinly did a great job mixing up defenses against us and really made it hard for us to get what we wanted. We didn’t make it easy for ourselves offensively. We missed some gimmes and a ton of free throws but it was enough. We did enough tonight and at this point of the year we will take it.”
The Hatters were led by the double-digit efforts of their freshmen, Emily Thomas (13 points) and Alice Hall (12), who combined for 23 of their 29 points.
Upper Moreland (11-5, 6-4 SOL) will host Harry S Truman in a non-league game Monday, and Hatboro-Horsham (7-10, 4-6) will travel to Quakertown for a non-league game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Hatboro-Horsham 6-6-10-7 29
Upper Moreland 4-14-11-9 38
Upper Moreland (38) – Phoebe Longstreth 4, Kaiya Herb 2, Kaitie Opferman 11, Emma Meakim 3, AbbyEllen Wood 2, Bean Hughes 11, Hannah Finn 5.
Hatboro-Horsham (29) – Emily Thomas 13, Cam Ryan 1, Kylie Halko 2, Maddie Throne 2, Alice Hall 11.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 45, CHELTENHAM 43
The Lady Panthers threw a scare into a Colonials’ squad with 16 wins. They trailed by just two at halftime (20-18), and it was a three-point game heading into the final period, 37-34. Not a whole lot changed in a fourth quarter that saw the Lady Panthers hold a 9-8 edge.
For the Colonials, sophomore Anna McTamney’s 19 points led the way. Freshman Kaitlyn Flanagan added 10, and senior Sydney Kesselman had eight.
Cheltenham freshman Umayrah Sulayman had a breakout game, sharing game scoring honors with 19. Kelia Holmes added eight points, and Kai Williams had seven.
“We played an excellent game and worked hard for four quarters,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “Some rough calls at the end were the difference.
“I’m proud of our team’s effort and the way they played. Now we have to build on this effort moving forward.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-2, 8-2 SOL) will travel to Abington on Tuesday, and Cheltenham (2-15, 0-10) will travel to Pennsbury on Monday for a non-league game.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 18-2-17-8 45
Cheltenham 6-12-16-9 43
Plymouth Whitemarsh (45) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 10, Mackenzie Leszczynski 1, Sydney Kesselman 8, Anna McTamney 19, Jordyn Thomas 4, Lilly Belle McGrorty 3.
Cheltenham (43) – Madison Rorer 9, Umayrah Sulayman 19, Kelie Holmes 8, Kai Williams 7.
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 30, SOUDERTON 28 (OT)
Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to your opponent.
That’s exactly what Lynn Carroll did after the Indians – on their Senior Night – were stunned by a Titan squad led by Alexa Brodie. The all-state point guard not only scored 21 of her team’s 30 points, she also set up the game-winning basket in overtime – a layup by junior Allie Burke.
“Alexa Brodie – I’ve never seen a kid play with so much determination and as well as she did tonight against what I would say was really, really good defense,” Carroll said. “She played great, and she had plenty of motivation to want to win this game for redemption reasons and all that stuff.”
Brodie certainly hadn’t forgotten Souderton’s four wins over the Titans last year, including a double overtime thriller in the District One 6A title game.
“She was outstanding,” Carroll said of the senior point guard. “I don’t think there was much more we could have done defensively against us. We had two, sometimes three defenders on her, and she was hitting really tough shots, those three-point shots that we saw in the district championship game last year.
“It was a tie game in overtime, and obviously, we think she’s going to take the shot, and with about 1.6 seconds on the clock, she throws the ball to Allie Burke, who lays it in and gets fouled. Good for that kid too.”
Brodie had 13 points in a first half, but the Indians – thanks to a 19-point second quarter – took a 22-18 lead into halftime. The Indians managed just six points the rest of the way while Brodie and company – despite scoring just one point in the third quarter – scored 12.
“I wasn’t sure if either one of us were going to score 20 points tonight,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “I think Lynn (Carroll) would agree with me – we both had opportunities to pull ahead in that game. Both teams gave the opportunity right back to the other team to keep it close.
“The girls all battled out there. There were injuries – swollen lips and what not. It was a tough fight. It was two teams who definitely wanted to win tonight. I’m just really grateful the way it ended up. I’m really proud of my girls and their effort. It was not a pretty game or the cleanest, but in the end, I’m proud of them for that effort and fighting through it.”
Burke scored the only field goal of an overtime that saw the Titans ‘outscore’ the Indians 3-1.
“Alexa had the ball and went right to left,” Mattern said of the game-winning sequence. “Two Souderton girls were on her, maybe even three.
“Alexa had set it up with Allie. She told Allie, ‘This is the spot I want you in. Do not move.’ She set it up so that as soon as she could get the ball to her – she just winged that ball.
“I rode Allie hard tonight. She would admit it probably wasn’t her best effort, but in the moment when we needed her the most, she was awesome. She didn’t hesitate, she caught that ball and it went in. It was probably one of the best layups I’ve seen all season from her. That was a great moment for her, and I hope she’s really proud of that because not a lot of people can say they have a game-winning basket.”
Brodie connected on eight field goals in the win – five from beyond the arc.
“When the game was on the line, the fact that Alexa had already pre-determined how she knew she wanted the ball to go – in a game where we were struggling,” Mattern said. “We were struggling honestly at times with just catching the ball and being really strong with it. Alexa hit five threes and had scored 21 of our 28 points at that time – all she was thinking about was what was going to be best for the team, and that’s just special, and she made it happen.
“She is a real passionate person and player. Tonight she just wanted to lay it all out there. If this was her last effort against Souderton, she wanted it to be her best.
Megan O’Donnell’s nine points led the Indians while Mikaela Reese added six.
“We missed six layups in the first quarter alone,” Carroll said. “It was one of those games for us, but (South) earned it, they deserved it, and Alexa Brodie was absolutely outstanding.”
Central Bucks South (8-8, 6-3 SOL) will host Pennridge on Tuesday. Souderton (14-2, 8-1) will host Lower Merion in a non-league tilt on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Central Bucks South 8-10-1-8-3 30
Souderton 3-19-3-2-1 28
Souderton (28) – Megan Bealer 4, Olivia Schneider 3, Megan Walbrandt 3, Curran O’Donnell 3, Megan O’Donnell 9, Mikaela Reese 6.
Central Bucks South (30) – Alysssa D’Orazio 1, Mackenzie Erb 4, Allie Burke 3, Alexa Brodie 21, Sofia Sonnet 1.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 52, NORTH PENN 44
The Patriots fell behind early but battled back to trail by just a 15-13 score after one quarter. They outscored the visiting Knights 18-6 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 31-21 lead. The Knights didn’t go down quietly.
“We got off to a slow start – they were up 8-0 right off the bat,” East coach Liz Potash said. “We just kind of clawed our way back in.
“The girls started doing some good things, and we had a 10-point lead by halftime. It kind of got interesting in the fourth quarter. They made a couple of defensive changes. It was 41-39, and we went on a little bit of a run to pull away. It was pretty balanced scoring on our end.”
Emily Chmiel led the Patriots with 14 points while Caroline Pla added 13. Gabby Wilga added nine points. Both Skylar Krause and Mia Salvati scored eight.
“I thought Emily Chmiel had a nice game off the bench,” Potash said. “Mia Salvati hit two threes in a row in the second quarter that were kind of big.
“We were able to do just enough to pull it out. They are definitely scrappy, they hung around. They got us the first time at our place, and I know the girls were pretty motivated to get them back, especially after the way Tuesday night went (a 45-40 loss to CB South), it was important for us to bounce back. It was a good win.”
North Penn was led by the double-digit efforts of Alli Lindsay (12 points) and Cayla Sharkey (10 points). Alaina Mullaly added nine points, and Val McGriff had seven.
Central Bucks East (8-8, 5-4 SOL) will host Council Rock South in a non-league game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. North Penn (7-10, 3-5) will host Gwynedd Mercy in a non-league game Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
North Penn 15-6-15-8 44
Central Bucks East 13-18-10-11 52
North Penn (44) – Cayla Sharkey 10, Alli Lindsay 12, Rachel Dunn 2, Alaina Mullaly 9, Carley Adams 4, Val McGriff 7.
Central Bucks East (52) – Mia Salvati 8, Gabby Wilga 9, Caroline Pla 13, Emily Chmiel 14, Skylar Krause 8.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 71, WILLIAM TENNENT 31
The Indians had four players in double figures in Friday’s win. Sydney Blum led the way with 18 points. Eleven of those – which included three threes – came in a first quarter that saw the Indians open up a commanding 25-5 lead. All told, Blum had four three-pointers on a day that saw the Indians bury 10. She also had four steals and a pair of blocked shots.
Camryn Polinsky added a career-high 14 points. The senior point guard had six first-quarter points and then added eight more – which included a pair of treys – in the third quarter. Polinsky also had two steals and five rebounds.
If the opening period belonged to Blum, Dana Bandurick owned the second quarter, scoring 11 of her 13 points. She also had four of her six blocks in the frame and finished with three steals. Olivia Boyle added 10 points, which included a pair of threes. Emma Benson had six points on two threes.
For the Panthers, Chelsea Meltzer had 13 points, and Hannah Reimel added 10.
Rock North shot 53 percent from the field (24-for-49). The Indians buried 10-of-20 shots from beyond the arc. Tennent shot 11-for-28 (28 percent). The Panthers were 2-of-11 from long distance.
Council Rock North (15-3, 8-1 SOL) will host Neshaminy in a key conference battle on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. William Tennent (4-14, 1-7) will host Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Council Rock North 25-11-19-16 71
William Tennent 5-6-7-13 31
Council Rock North (71) – Camryn Polinsky 14, Anna Cairone 4, Sydney Blum 18, Olivia Boyle 10, Dana Bandurick 13, Emma Benson 6, Abby Jones 4, Riley Hamilton 2.
William Tennent (31) – Chelsea Meltzer 13, Hannah Reimel 10, Jenna Rodebaugh 2, Haley Crossley 4, Kailyn Hansen 2.
Non-league
PENNSBURY 54, VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 31
Ava Sciolla had the hot hand for the Falcons, burying five three-pointers and finishing with a game-high 21 points. She also had 10 rebounds to complete and impressive double-double. The freshman point guard had a steal and two blocks as well.
Sciolla and the Falcons put on an impressive display of long-range shooting in the first quarter. Sciolla sank three treys, and Kate Mix also had three three-pointers to go along with a foul shot for 10 first-quarter points as the Falcons raced to a 21-5 lead. They took a 33-11 lead into halftime and never looked back.
In addition to Sciolla and Mix, Nicole Pompili added seven points.
Pennsbury (13-4, 5-3 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Monday in a non-league game.
Pennsbury 21-12-14-7 54
Villa Joseph Marie 5-6-8-12 31
Pennsbury (54) – Lily Hochhausler 2, Madison Donovan 2, Kate Mix 12, Mary Miller 5, Nicole Pompili 7, Ava Sciolli 21, Cami Wiegand 5.
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