Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action on Monday.
National Conference
WILLIAM TENNENT 53, PENNSBURY 42
Angie Pomponio turned in an impressive 23-point effort to lead the Panthers to the big win over the Falcons. Included in Pomponio’s performance were two three-pointers and a 9-for-11 showing from the foul line. She was 7-of-9 from the charity stripe in a fourth quarter that saw the Panthers outscore the Falcons 17-6.
The win avenged a 13-point loss at the hands of the Falcons on Dec. 23, and it was the fifth in a row for the suddenly streaking Panthers.
“They’re pretty pumped,” Tennent coach Paul Veltre said. “They don’t always show it because they’re a kind of reserved group of kids.
“We’re cramming a lot of games in a short number of days, so anything that is giving us a lift going forward is important.”
In the early meeting between the two teams, senior Sajanna Bethea torched the Panthers for 30 points. She had 16 in Monday’s rematch.
“We played very good defense,” Veltre said. “We had to really expend a lot of energy and time dealing with Bethea and (Kaitlin) Kelly. They demand a lot of attention.
“The first time we played them we just did a terrible job defensively on Bethea. She’s a very dynamic player when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. We did everything we could to try and slow her down.”
Kelly finished with eight points, which included two three-pointers. Pomponio was assigned the task of defending Kelly.
“We spent a lot of time on her, trying not to let her get a shot off,” Veltre said. “It was a team effort.”
The Panthers led 13-4 at the end of one quarter only to watch the Panthers answer with a 20-10 tear in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 24-23 lead. The two teams were deadlocked 26-26 heading into the final frame when the Panthers exploded for 17 points.
Nikki Alden and Kyla Gibson both scored 13 points for the Panthers. Gibson also was matched up defensively against Bethea. Niasia Boone added seven points for the Falcons.
The Panthers improved to 5-4 in the league (11-5 overall) while the Falcons are 6-4 in the league (7-9 overall).
William Tennent 13 10 13 17-53
Pennsbury 4 20 12 6-42
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 61, NORTH PENN 53 (OT)
The Titans were on their way to a decisive win.
Or at least so it seemed when Emma Gardy buried a three-pointer at the buzzer ending the third quarter to put the Titans on top 41-25. Things looked even bleaker for the Lady Knights when Lauren Mosher (Chloe Entenberg assist) scored early in the fourth period to up the Titans’ lead to 18. It didn’t seem all that significant when freshman Jess Huber answered with a basket for the Lady Knights, but that bucket ignited a dazzling Lady Knights’ run that was capped when freshman Irisa Lee scored on a driving basket to trim a once commanding lead to one (46-45) with 52 seconds remaining in regulation.
The six minutes in between Huber and Lee’s baskets featured an aggressive, trapping Lady Knight defense that created all kinds of havoc for the Titans.
“We weren’t patient,” South senior Alysha Lofton said. “We weren’t running our game. We were running their game.
“That’s not what we do as a team. We had to slow down and get our composure back, and that’s what we did in overtime.”
Ye’s bucket came after the Titans were whistled for a five-second violation on the inbounds following an Erin Maher trey from long range. Lofton, who led all scorers with 18 points – which included an 11-for-12 effort at the foul line, gave the Titans a 48-45 lead when she buried both ends of a one-and-one.
“Foul shots are game changers,” Lofton said. “You can win and you can lose on foul shots.”
That three-point lead was anything but secure, and Vicky Tumasz found Maher cutting to the bucket for an easy deuce to make it a one-point game with 38 seconds remaining. When Brie Wade – with the bonus in effect - connected on one-of-two from the foul line, the Titans led 49-47 with 28 seconds remaining.
The Lady Knights misfired on a pair at the foul line, and the Titans returned the favor, missing a pair to set up a clutch Huber bucket with 5.4 seconds.
Taylor Dunn, who finished with 10 points, banked home a three-pointer to open OT, and when she came up with a steal and was fouled, the sophomore guard buried a pair to give the Titans a lead they would not lose.
“That was huge,” coach Beth Mattern said. “It was that little energy that we really needed at that moment.
“It was hard to watch that fourth quarter because things we were doing well in quarters one, two and three like finishing foul shots and making baskets, we struggled to do in the fourth quarter.
“We kind of regrouped in that little break before overtime and said, ‘Let’s pull it back together. It’s 0-0.’”
The win avenged a 44-25 loss to the Lady Knights in the Dec. 17 meeting between the two teams, and it vaulted South into the top spot with the Maidens. Both teams are 8-2 while Central Bucks West is 7-2.
“It was a terrible loss the first time we played them,” Lofton said. “This time we were up there with them and showed we could play with one of the good teams in the state.”
While the Titans were without sophomore guard Jordan Vitelli (injury), the Lady Knights suffered a setback of their own when Sam Carangi was whistled for her third foul with 4:07 remaining in the second period. The freshman point guard had 11 points when she took a seat on the bench, and the Lady Knights trailed by just one (19-18).
It was still a one-point game (21-20) after Vicky Tumasz turned a steal into a short pull-up jumper. Lofton answered with a tough drive at the other end, but Bri Cullen sank one-of-two from the foul line to make it a 23-21 game with 1:47 remaining in the half. Kaley Smith was fouled on a second-chance opportunity, and the junior guard buried both shots. Adding insult to injury, Lofton was fouled with one second remaining. She connected on both shots, sending the Titans into halftime with a 27-21 lead. All told, the Titans connected on 12-of-13 shots from the foul line in the first half. They were 31-of-40 for the game.
The Titans, who dominated the paint, outscored the Lady Knights 14-4 in the third quarter. Mosher scored six of her 13 points in the frame, and Gardy buried a pair of three-pointers, but it was the Titans’ defense that may have been the difference.
“I think that’s what won the game,” Dunn said. “Defense always wins games – it’s not about the offense. Defense sets up our offense.”
“It’s what we work on at practice,” Lofton said. “She (coach Beth Mattern) stresses it all the time. It’s what we do best.”
Mattern also pointed to her team’s defense as key.
“We work on our team defense every single day,” the Titans’ coach said. “We’re just really working on our defense taking us through because if we struggle to score, that’s what is going to keep us in the game.
“We’ve worked hard to make sure we can execute on that end, but they did a great job changing the tempo on us in the fourth quarter.”
Despite seeing limited time, Carangi led the Lady Knights with 14 points while Tumasz, who picked up her fifth foul in the closing seconds of regulation, added 13 points. Maher had nine points and Huber, eight points.
“I was pleased with Jess Huber’s play,” deMarteleire said. “She made some big plays for us, and she followed instructions and did what we asked her to do.
“It was kind of tough – we fought our tails off the last five minutes to get into overtime, and we have two guards on the bench fouled out of the game. Hopefully, we learned something from tonight. It doesn’t feel so good right now, but we’ll get back to work.”
The Titans upped their record to 15-3 overall while the Maidens are 14-3 overall.
North Penn 11 10 4 24 9-53
Central Bucks South 11 16 14 8 12-61
PENNRIDGE 46, QUAKERTOWN 28
The Lady Rams sprinted out of the gate to a 17-7 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 28-8 lead into halftime. The win came on the heels of Pennridge’s win over Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
“We definitely needed some wins because we were coming off a tough stretch, and we have a hard week coming up,” Pennridge coach Lindsey Tennett said.
Three players finished the game in double figures for Pennridge. Ashley George, Devan Rimmer and Shelby Schoonover each scored 11 points to lead the Lady Rams. George also led the way under the backboards with nine rebounds - five offensive. Monika Brill had four rebounds while Rimmer and Jess Tennett each had three.
“Ashley George really stepped up for us,” Tennett said. “She’s a big threat for us inside and out. Most people don’t expect a post player to be able to knock down three’s like she does.
“She hit a couple of outside shots, and she was a big presence inside.”
Tennett was especially pleased with her team’s defensive performance.
“We harp on defense,” she said. “One of our goals tonight was to box out, which they did better at.
“We always tell them – offense will come. It’s defense we want to focus on. Tonight they all came out, and they gave their all on defense. It was an all-around team effort tonight.”
Tennett lauded the effort of Alex Villella off the bench. The Lady Rams' reserve had two rebounds and two points.
For the Lady Rams, Monday’s game was the first of five in the next six days. They upped their league record to 4-6 (6-10 overall) while the Panthers fell to 0-10 in the league (1-15 overall).
Pennridge 17 11 2 16-46
Quakertown 7 1 8 12-28
American Conference
WISSAHICKON 37, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 33
Not a whole lot separated the Trojans and Spartans when the two teams squared off in an American Conference battle at Wissahickon, but the Trojans edged the Spartans in three of four quarters to earn the win.
“This was important for the girls,” Wissahickon coach Rodney Cline said. “We came off a great all-around game on Friday (against Upper Merion), and we just wanted to see some consistency.
“We see glimpses of it. Today it was just good to reward ourselves with our defensive presence. Sometimes we struggle on offense.”
The Trojans, according to Cline, missed 23 shots inside the paint.
“We’re getting the ball where we need to,” the Trojans’ coach said. “We just got to capitalize on all that hard work.”
Cline lauded the performance of senior Jessica Steitz.
“Jessica came out as a senior this year, and she played really well on the defensive side with steals and hustle,” the Trojans’ coach said. “We were on the ground 18 times and had 12 deflections. We were hustling on defense and capitalized on the offensive side enough to get the win, but we could have done even more.”
Cline, who starts three freshmen, acknowledged the play of point guard Carolina Mack.
“She stepped up and hit some big free throws on one-and-one’s,” he said. “She’s real strong with the ball. She understands the game. She’s getting confidence and looking for her shot.”
Senior captain Bridget Sweeney had nine rebounds and five points.
“She averages 10 or 11 rebounds a game, and she had three or four blocks,” Cline said. “She’s a beast. She plays inside-outside.
“She’s inside a lot of times on defense, she brings up the ball on defense, and she can shoot the three.
“We lost 60 percent of our lineup, so everyone’s role has changed tremendously. People are stepping up and understanding their roles and what they need to contribute. It’s starting to jell. We just want to become consistent.”
Brittany Gelman and Daria Earland led the Trojans with eight points each. Lori Carradorini had six.
Meghan Wheatley scored nine points to lead the Spartans while Veronica Asman added eight. Jewell Ringgold had six points.
The Trojans are 2-8 in league play while the Spartans are 1-9 (4-13 overall).
Springfield 7 7 9 10-33
Wissahickon 8 9 9 11-37
UPPER MERION 48, UPPER MORELAND 30
The Vikings opened up an 18-8 lead over the Golden Bears. The second and third quarters were basically a draw, and the Vikings took a 36-27 lead into the final quarter when they outscored the Golden Bears 12-3.
Regie Robinson and Katherine Bailey led the Vikings with 12 points each. Shekema Gentles had another big night under the basket, contributing 11 points and 15 rebounds.
For the Golden Bears, Karli Lynch (11 points) and Lindsay Walder (10 points) led the way offensively.
The Vikings are 6-4 in SOL play (10-7 overall) while the Golden Bears fell to 2-8 in the league (4-13 overall).
Upper Merion 18 9 9 12-48
Upper Moreland 8 9 10 3-30
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