Three SOL teams competed in Sunday’s Blue Chip Super Showcase. All three were winners.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 67, GARNET VALLEY 50
In a battle of two of the top teams in last week’s District One 6A power rankings, it was the Bucks – seeded fifth – rallying from a four-point deficit after one quarter to go into halftime with a 36-31 lead. They outscored the third-seeded Jaguars 31-19 in the second half to win going away.
“The level of speed on defense picked up,” coach Terry Rakowsky said. “There were a couple of plays Tori (Abelson) made from the help side that they were beating us on in the first quarter that she was taking away on anticipation, aggression and speed.
“What I really thought changed in the second and third quarters – we started to secure some of their missed shots, which we were not doing in the first quarter. Once we did that and got out in transition, they couldn’t stay with us.”
The Bucks once again displayed their ability to change the momentum of a game in a heartbeat. In the first quarter, they struggled to combat the size of a Jaguar squad that started four players 5-10 or taller, falling behind 10-5 and still trailing 14-10 at the end of one quarter.
“Honestly, I feel like we come out and we overthink it, and we’re really tense,” sophomore Tori Abelson said. “We just have to get in the groove of things.
“We come out and we know we want to get out and play defensive obviously. Once we get a couple stops and we start hitting our shots – people bring energy, like Abbey Spratt who makes great defensive plays. Little things like that bring us energy, and we take that and go with it.”
The Bucks took their first lead after back-to-back baskets by Diane Nicholson – a 3-pointer – and Abbey Spratt, who finished off a fast break after a Jaguar turnover. A pull-up jumper by Abelson put the Bucks on top 25-22, and after the Jaguars pulled to within one on a putback, Alex Burkauskas buried a baseline three to put the Bucks on top 31-26. They still led by five (36-31) after Maddie Burke turned a Maggie Rakowsky steal into an easy bucket.
The Bucks – who buried nine three-pointers in the game – connected on five shots from beyond the arc in the 26-point second quarter. They needed every one of those to combat the 15-point effort of sophomore Emily McAteer, whose 20 first-half points singlehandedly kept the Jaguars in the game.
Nicholson and Burkauskas – who is coming back from an injury – each had a pair of threes in the Bucks’ second-quarter run.
“We’re working really hard to get her back to 100 percent,” coach Rakowsky said of Burkauskas. “She can shoot. We’re trying to get her physically in shape to play more.”
The Bucks blew the game open with a 13-0 tear to open the third quarter. Burke got things started with a three-pointer, and after a Burke block on the defensive end, Rakowsky hit nothing but net on a three. A bucket by Nicholson was followed by a three-point play from Abelson after pulling down an offensive board. Burkauskas capped the run by turning a steal on the defensive end into a layup. The Bucks led 49-31 on their way to the decisive win.
“Every third quarter – the first three minutes decides the game, and that’s how we play,” Abelson said. “We just want to come out and set the tone after halftime – get rested up and then come out and play our best basketball, and that will hopefully carry over to the fourth.
“Even if we’re not playing well in the first half, if we come out in the third quarter strong, it just sets the tone.”
Nicholson led the Bucks with 16 points while Abelson added 15 and Burke, 11. Rakowsky finished with nine and Burkauskas had eight.
After scoring 20 points in the first half, McAteer managed just four in the second half, and those points came in the fourth quarter after the outcome had been decided.
Central Bucks West (15-3, 8-2 SOL) will travel to Souderton for a key conference battle on Tuesday,
Garnet Valley 14-17-12-7 50
Central Bucks West 10-26-19-12 67
Garnet Valley (50) – Camryn Faith 1 0-0 2; Emily McAteer 9 6-7 24; Nicole Barnes 2 0-0 4; Maddy Sorokanych 3 1-1 7; Brianne Borcky 3 3-4 11; Totals 18 10-12 50.
Central Bucks West (67) – Alex Burkauskas 3 0-0 8; Abbey Spratt 1 1-2 3; Diane Nicholson 6 2-2 16; Maddie Burke 4 1-2 11; Tori Abelson 5 5-5 15; Izzy Treon 2 1-2 5; Maggie Rakowsky 3 0-0 9; Totals 24 10-13 67.
UPPER DUBLIN 51, BONNER-PRENDERGAST 35
Josie Barrett ignited an 18-point first quarter for the Flying Cardinals, scoring 11 points to give Upper Dublin an early 18-6 lead. The Cards buried four threes in the frame.
“We came out on fire,” coach Morgan Funsten said. “We came ready to play today, and the energy we had coming in was really impressive.”
The Cardinals took a 31-16 lead into halftime.
“Defensively, we weren’t playing as well as we wanted in the first half,” Funsten said. “They have a freshman point guard (Dakota McCaughan) who’s going to be an absolute star. She scores most of her points on the perimeter. She’s got impressive, impressive ball handling skills, great vision, and she’s tiny (5-2). She’s got really, really deep range. Maggie Weglos played her, and we held her to no 3-pointers made. Maggie did a great job on her. She made some really tough shots but only finished with six.
“We thought the key to shutting them down was to shut her down. We were doing some different things defensively to try to do that, and we were losing some assignments and we gave them some open shots. We weren’t overly pleased with how we played defensively, but offensively, we were making shots, so it kind of hid any mistakes we were making defensively. As the game went on, we defended much better.”
In addition to throwing some serious defense at McCaughan, Weglos contributed five points, seven assists and five rebounds.
The Flying Cardinals received another big offensive performance from Nicole Kaiser who scored a game-high 20 points.
“It was kind of a quiet 20 because 12 of her 20 were from the foul line,” Funsten said of Kaiser’s 12-for-14 effort at the line. “She did a great job of attacking the basket and drawing fouls.”
In addition to scoring 16 points, which included four three-pointers, Barrett also added eight rebounds and three steals.
“She continues to do more than just shoot the ball,” Funsten said. “The stuff she does defensively disrupts what the other team is trying to do.”
Freshman Jackie Vargas was a presence in the paint with six points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
“Jackie Vargas disrupted many shots when they attacked the basket,” Funsten said.
The Cardinals buried 18-of-22 shots from the foul line.
“We were able to extend our lead and keep our lead where it was,” the Cardinals’ coach said. “When we looked back at the game at the end, we thought we won the game in the first quarter.
“We led by 12 at the end of the first quarter, and they never got it to single digits at any point in the game.”
The Cardinals have come back strong after a loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
“We’ve had a few disappointing losses this year,” Funsten said. “We haven’t lost two in a row all year, so we view that as a positive that our girls are responding to adversity well.
“The girls were very excited to play today and really embraced the challenge and came out in the first quarter – I couldn’t have asked for any more energy and any more confidence in the first quarter. Making shots requires shooting the ball with confidence, and I thought the girls did a great job of having that despite having that setback this week.”
Upper Dublin (13-5, 8-2 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday night.
Upper Dublin 18-13-10-10 51
Bonner-Prendergast 6-10-9-10 35
Upper Dublin (51) – Nicole Kaiser 20, Josie Barrett 16, Demi Balasa 4, Maggie Weglos 5, Jackie Vargas 6.
Bonner-Prendergast (35) – Caroline Manfre 4, Maggie McPeak 9, Maeve McCann 2, Emily Monaghan 6, Alexis Gleason 4, Maddie Oxenberg 2, Dakota McCaughan 6, Katie Logan 2.
NORTH PENN 68, ABINGTON FRIENDS 28
A tweet by AFS Athletics said it best: “AFS girls varsity basketball runs into @NPKnightsGBB buzz saw…”
There’s perhaps no better way to describe a contest that saw the Knights dominate play from start to finish. They jumped out to a 21-5 lead after one quarter with Irisa Ye accounting for eight of those points with four baskets. Jess Huber began another productive outing with a pair of 3-pointers, and the Knights were just getting started. By halftime, they led 37-11. Huber already had four three-pointers and 14 of her game-high 22 points.
Ye and Bri Hewlett both finished with 13 points while Sam Carangi added seven points, five assists and four steals.
North Penn (15-2, 7-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South on Tuesday.
Abington Friends 5-6-12-5 28
North Penn 21-16-16-15 68
North Penn (68) – Jenny Hulmes 2, Irisa Ye 13, Jess Huber 22, Sam Carangi 7, Carley Adams 5, Jess McKenzie 6, Bri Hewlett 13.
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