Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. Photos of the CR North/Neshaminy game provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of action photos…CLICK HERE.
National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 50, NESHAMINY 49 (OT)
In a riveting battle for the top spot in the conference standings, sophomore Dana Bandurick – with time expired in overtime – calmly buried a pair of foul shots, turning a one-point deficit into the heartstopping win for the Indians.
“There was no time on the clock, and nobody was on the line,” coach Lou Palkovics said of the end-of-game scenario. “That was a lot of pressure. It was pretty amazing. Dana played really well.
“She hit a couple of 14-15 footers early in the game. She felt confident going to line. It was a nice win.”
The Redskins had a chance to make life much more difficult for the Indians. With seven seconds remaining in overtime, the ‘Skins – who had a one-point lead – misfired on a pair of foul shots. The Indians’ shot for the lead fell short, but Bandurick was there for the rebound. She was fouled going up for the shot and sank both foul shots.
Earlier, the Indians actually had a chance to win it in regulation. They had a three-point lead with time winding down in regulation.
“We were up by three, and with 14 seconds, they were bringing the ball out. I said, ‘Let it get to seven or eight (seconds) and then I want you to take the foul,’” Palkovics said. “I’d rather put them on the line to shoot the one-and-one.”
That, however, didn’t happen as the Indians’ defender tripped when the Redskins were inbounding the ball, and freshman Kristin Curley buried a three to knot the score.
“She was wide open,” said Palkovics, whose team’s shot for the win in regulation fell short. “Too many times we tried to give it back. It was really poor execution at the end of regulation.
“I know we ended up closing out the game, but we did too many bad things at the end. You don’t need to take a bad shot when you’re winning under a minute, and we did that. We had two really bad turnovers – we got lucky at the end.”
The Indians led 7-0 out of the gate as the ‘Skins did not get on the board until Brooke Mullin sank a pair at the foul line with 2:12 remaining in the opening period. The Indians took a 17-14 lead into halftime, but that was erased in a third quarter that saw the Redskins – propelled by the eight-point effort of Emily Alexis – outscore the Indians 14-11 to knot the score 28-28. The fourth quarter could not determine a winner, and the stage was set for overtime.
Bandurick led all scorers with 19 points while Becca Margolis – who had a key three –pointer in overtime – added 15. She had three three’s in the contest.
“I’m real impressed with Dana, and Becca played great again,” Palkovics said.
Hannah Weiler added six points for the Indians. Neshaminy was led by the 13-point effort of Alexis. Curley added 12 points while Devon Storms and Allison Harvey each had seven.
Both Neshaminy and Rock North entered the game without a loss in conference play. The Indians are now alone atop the conference standings.
“You always want to play well in the big games,” Palkovics said. “I felt as though Red Bank Catholic was a big game, and we didn’t play well in the second half.
“We said to the kids – ‘You played 16 minutes against CB South (in a 57-33 loss), you played 16 minutes against Red Bank Catholic (in a 53-37 loss), but you better play 32 minutes tonight if you want to win,’ and they did. They played hard, they played great, and they were very efficient in what we were running. We’re happy. We’re going to use this as a springboard. Several people commented that it was the best girls game that they saw.”
Council Rock North (7-2, 4-0 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Thursday, and Neshaminy (6-2, 3-1) will host Harry S Truman on Friday.
Neshaminy 3-11-14-13-8 49
Council Rock North 11-6-11-13-9 50
Neshaminy (49) – Emily Alexis 13, Brooke Mullin 9, Meghan Ansel 1, Devon Storms 7, Allison Harvey 7.
Council Rock North (50) – Becca Margolis 15, Megan Haggerty 3, Emily Mackin 3, Dana Bandurick 19, Hannah Weiler 6, Mackenzie Tinner 4.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 48, PENNSBURY 32
Allison McGowan turned in a glittering offensive performance, scoring 20 points to lead the visiting Golden Hawks to the big win. Sparked by seven points from McGowan, the Hawks opened up a 10-2 lead after one quarter and extended that to 23-12 by halftime. They went on to outscore the Falcons 25-20 in the second half.
Also for the Falcons, Kasey Schlupp had nine points, and Faith Turner had eight. Payton Spadaccino chipped in with six points.
Sydney Buell led the Falcons with 15 points. Cami Wiegand added seven.
Council Rock South (4-4, 2-1 SOL) will host Pennridge on Wednesday in a non-league contest. Pensbury (3-5, 0-3) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Thursday.
Council Rock South 10-13-15-10 48
Pennsbury 2-10-12-8 32
Council Rock South (48) – Payton Spadaccino 6, Bailey Vetter 1, Kasey Schlupp 9, Faith Turner 8, Allison McGowan 20, Hannah Binder 4.
Pennsbury (32) – Kate Mix 5, Sydney Buell 15, Cami Wiegand 7, Meredith Webber 5.
ABINGTON 67, HARRY S TRUMAN 29
The visiting Ghosts exploded out of the gate to a 20-2 lead over the Tigers after one quarter. They led 37-13 at halftime and added to that lead in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 30-16. The loss snapped a hot streak for the Tigers, who won six of seven games in December.
Five players finished the game in double figures for the Ghosts. Kassondra Brown led a balanced attack with 14 points while Jordyn Allen added 13. Lizzie O'Leary had 12 points, and Sam Brusha contributed 11. Tamia Wessels had seven points.
Freshman Daisha Campbell led the Tigers with nine points, which included a pair of three’s. Senior Sabria Lytes had six points and 15 rebounds, 11 on the defensive end. Briana Cliney added seven rebounds.
Abington (6-3, 2-2 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks East Friday for a non-league game, and Harry S Truman (6-2, 1-2) will travel to Neshaminy Friday.
Abington 20-17-17-13 67
Truman 2-11-13-3 29
Abington (67) – Tamia Wessels 7, Lizzie O'Leary 12, Britney James 5, Sam Brusha 11, Kassondra Brown 14, Jordyn Allen 13.
Harry S Truman (29) – Daisha Campbell 9, Sabria Lytes 6, Briana Cliney 3, Alexis McCoy 4, Daeja Moore 4, Jayda Campbell 3.
Non-league
BENSALEM 36, CHICHESTER 31
Haley Keenan (15 points) and Sydney Bawuah (13 points) combined for 28 points to lead the young Owls to the non-league win.
The kids are growing up,” coach Don Bogan said. “Now they’re understanding certain things. It isn’t middle school anymore. This is high school, and they’re rising to the occasion.
“Keenan is averaging around 12 points a game and Bawuah is right behind her. I’m starting four freshmen, and that’s hard, but they’re hanging in. They’re playing hard, they’re playing tough, and they don’t give up.”
It was the Owls’ defense that was the difference in Tuesday’s win. They did not allow a point in the first quarter, racing to a 10-0 lead. They were outscored 14-8 in the second quarter and went into halftime with an 18-14 advantage. The two teams exchanged baskets in the second half.
“The whole year our defense has been pretty good,” Bogan said. “Even the games that we lost, we just didn’t score offensively, but we’ve been in the 40-point range basically the whole year.
“We’re getting better offensively, but defense is our key. We have some lapses at times. We’re not really good at boxing out at times, but those are young mistakes, and we’re getting better. I’m really proud of them. We’re coming to battle every game, and everybody knows it, and that’s all that matters.”
Bensalem (2-7, 0-3 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Friday.
Chichester 0-14-12-5 31
Bensalem 10-8-12-6 36
Chichester (31) – Lanza 2, Carrafa 15, Brant 9, Riggs 5.
Bensalem (36) – Sydney Bawuah 13, Haley Keenan 15, Chloe Munyan 4, Alayna McSeed 4
Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 45, SOUDERTON 27
The Knights didn’t show a whole lot of rust after a 10-day layoff during the holiday break.
In Tuesday’s key conference battle, they led by just five at halftime but then opened the second half with an 8-0 tear. The sequence began with Sam Carangi finding Bri Hewlett for an easy bucket, and Jess Huber followed with back-to-back three-pointers. Just like that the Knights had turned a 21-16 halftime lead into a 29-16 advantage. The Indians never recuperated.
“We talked about taking advantage of some mismatches offensively in the paint, and we played really good defense,” North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “We rebounded pretty well.
“Our offense was a little sketchy here and there. There were some times it looked really good and other times, not so much. I think the layoff has a little bit to do with that. Our motto offensively is – let’s get the best shot that we can, and we certainly weren’t doing that in the first half. It wasn’t the whole time, but there were long periods of time where we weren’t getting the best shots that we could. In the second half, I thought we did a better job of that.”
Hewlett and Irisa Ye – who both finished with a game high 12 points – carried the bulk of the offensive load for the Knights in the first half. Ye had six points in the first quarter and Hewlett five as the Knights opened up a 15-10 lead over the Indians, who received five points from Sami Falencki.
“Irisa played really well and scored baskets at key times,” deMarteleire said. “Two times she scored at the end of the quarter, twisted herself like a pretzel and made a layup. She played very well on defense also.”
Both teams managed just six points in the second quarter, and momentum swung in North Penn’s favor in a third quarter that saw the Knights outscore the Indians 14-7.
“We were much more unselfish in the second half, and I thought did a really nice job,” deMarteleire said. “We played really smart at the end when they were trying to trap.
“We just played really good defense, and we rebounded well. They didn’t get many second chance opportunities.”
While Hewlett and Ye led the Knights with 12 points each, Carangi added eight.
Anyone looking for the definition of balanced scoring need look no further than North Penn’s top four scorers – Carangi, Huber, Ye and Hewlett. Through seven games, all four have all scored between 75 and 80 points for an average between 10.7 and 11.4 points a game.
Falencki led the Indians with eight points – all in the first half – while Kate Connolly and Megan Walbrandt both had seven.
North Penn (6-1, 2-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Thursday at 7 p.m. in a key conference battle. Souderton (6-2, 2-1) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Friday.
North Penn 15-6-14-10 45
Souderton 10-6-7-4 27
North Penn (45) – Jenny Hulmes 2, Irisa Ye 12, Jess Huber 8, Sam Carangi 4, Jess McKenzie 2, Mia Melchior 5, Bri Hewlett 12.
Souderton (27) – Tori Dowd 2, Alana Cardona 3, Megan Walbrandt 7, Sami Falencki 8, Kat Connolly 7.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 62, WILLIAM TENNENT 43
Bridget Birkhead scored 22 points to lead an impressive offensive performance by the Patriots, who connected on 24-of-47 shots from two-point range (19-of-32 in the paint). The senior guard also had a game high 13 rebounds to go along with five assists in a standout performance.
The Patriots opened up a 21-15 lead after one quarter and took a 34-29 lead into halftime.
“I was really proud of how well we played and executed in the first half,” Tennent coach Laura Whitney said. “Even though we got caught up in their pace of play early, our girls responded.
“My concern at halftime was the fact that we gave up too many first-half points and didn’t do a great job on the boards.”
East seized control of the game with a 28-14 second half.
“It’s a tough loss for our team, especially with the way we played in the first half, but still so many positives as we continue to develop and get better,” Whitney said.
Also for the Patriots, Bri Talbot added 14 points while Grace Stewart and Megan Browne both contributed eight points. Stewart also had seven rebounds.
The Patriots were unselfish with the basketball, finishing with 16 team assists.
For the Panthers, Kyla Gibson led the way with 13 points. Bryn Evans had 10 points, Emma Stanfield added nine and Kelly Scipione had seven.
Central Bucks East (4-4, 2-2 SOL) will host Abington in a non-league game Friday, and William Tennent (3-6, 0-3) will host Pennridge on Friday.
Central Bucks East 21-13-14-14 62
William Tennent 15-14-8-6 43
Central Bucks East – Bridget Birkhead 22, Megan Browne 8, Bailey McManus 5, Mel Wetzel 5, Bri Talbot 14, Grace Stewart.
William Tennent (43) – Kelly Scipione 7, Kyla Gibson 9, Bryn Evans 10, Brianna Broccardi 4, Emma Stanfield 9.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 64, PENNRIDGE 34
Diane Nicholson had a breakout offensive performance for the Bucks. The sophomore transfer exploded for 20 points – which included four three-pointers – to lead the Bucks to the big win.
The Bucks took a 22-7 lead after one quarter and went into halftime with a 39-15 advantage. Nicholson led the way with 10 points while Izzy Treon and Maggie Rakowsky both scored all seven of their points in the opening half.
Also for the Bucks, Molly Rodebaugh had eight points and Maddie Burke added seven in a contest that saw 10 players contribute scoring.
Samantha Muredda and Evelyn Loughery led the Rams with seven points each.
Central Bucks West (7-2, 3-1 SOL) will host Souderton on Friday, and Pennridge (4-6, 0-4) will be on the road at Council Rock South on Wednesday for a non-league contest.
Central Bucks West 22-17-13-12 64
Pennridge 7-8-7-12 34
Central Bucks West (64) – Abbey Spratt 3, Diane Nicholson 20, Bailey Tracy 2, Molly Rodebaugh 8, Maddie Burke 7, Kaili Carey 3, Mari Casale 3, Tori Abelson 4, Izzy Treon 7, Maggie Rakowsky 7.
Pennridge (34) – Samantha Muredda 7, Brooke Bachtle 2, Gillian Anderson 2, Corinn Mart 2, Rose McCormick 2, Claire Podraza 4, Evelyn Loughery 7, Sophie Cweiber 3, Stephanie Cicero 2, Emilee Cramer 3.
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 46, BISHOP SHANAHAN 31
The Titans used a 21-10 third quarter to blow open a close game, turning a 17-15 halftime lead into a 38-25 advantage.
“We executed well on the defensive and offensive ends of the court,” coach Beth Mattern said. “We made a couple of adjustments at halftime, and we were able to get a nice rhythm during the third quarter.”
Lexi Edwards scored all eight of her points in the third quarter, which included a pair of treys. Haley Meinel scored seven of her game high 14 points in the frame, including a three, while Alexa Brodie also buried a three-pointer and added five points.
Defensively, the Titans limited Kelly Greenhut and Courtney Warley – who combined for 21 points – to just two field goals and nine points in the second half.
While Meinel led the Titans with 14, Brodie added 12 and Meghan Kupers had 10, including three three-pointers.
Central Bucks South (9-0, 3-0 SOL) will put its perfect record on the line Thursday when the Titans travel to North Penn to take on the defending conference champions.
Central Bucks South 8-9-21-8 46
Bishop Shanahan 10-5-10-9 31
Central Bucks South (46) – Melissa Veal 2, Meghan Kuypers 10, Haley Meinel 14, Alexa Brodie 12, Lexi Edwards 8.
Bishop Shanahan (31) – Mikayla Maxwell 3, Megan Cox 2, McCarter 3, Jennifer Sendi 2, Kelly Greenhut 10, Courtney Warley 11.
American Conference
WISSAHICKON 32, CHELTENHAM 20
The Trojans picked up where they left during the holiday break, winning their third straight game to even their record at 4-4 after a 1-4 start.
“The girls are playing with experience, they’re playing with confidence, and they’re playing together,” coach Rodney Cline said. “They’re buying into what our philosophy is, and they want it.
“It was all about wanting it tonight, and they went out there and executed the game plan.”
The Trojans broke a 7-7 tie after one quarter by outscoring their visitors 10-2 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 17-9 lead. They increased that advantage to 25-12 heading into the final quarter.
The game was won in the middle two quarters that saw the Trojans outscore the Lady Panthers 18-5.
“It was defense,” Cline said. “We were very fortunate the previous years to give the girls experience at the varsity level.
“Defensively, we lock down. We still have some things to work on, but we lock down on defense. We play man-to-man, and the girls are starting to understand the concept of playing man-to-man defense.
“We knew they were big, so they were going to be a force down low, so at times, we switched up the game plan. We’re not a big team, but we switched things up on the bigs so they didn’t feel comfortable. The best part about it was our perimeter play. Our perimeter defense forced six or seven five-second counts.”
Cline credited several players for giving the team a boost.
“We received contributions from everyone,” the Trojans’ coach said. “Lexi Carradorini was a spark off the bench.
“Jasmine Bishop, another guard, was another spark off the bench. These two girls are no bigger than 5-6, but Jasmine Bishop was taking rebounds from 5-9 girls because of the heart she has and the willingness and the want. It was fun to see.”
Cline used 10 players in a contest that saw Julianne Griffin lead the way with nine points while Brianna Tilghman added six.
The Trojans, who connected on 15-of-20 foul shots, buried 5-of-6 in the fourth quarter.
“Brianna Tilghman was 4-for-4 at the end of the game, and between Brianna, Victoria Selverian, Lexi Carradorini, Jasmine Bishop – they played hard on perimeter defense,” Cline said. “Our bigs played tough – Julianna Griffin, Carly Fadel and Hilma Meiby. It was a contribution from everybody. Everyone played their role.”
Caitlin Wallace led the Lady Panthers with seven points. No other player had more than four.
Wissahickon (4-4, 1-3 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Friday, and Cheltenham (5-4, 3-1) will travel to Penn Wood on Wednesday for a non-league contest.
Cheltenham 7-2-3-8 20
Wissahickon 7-10-8-7 32
Cheltenham (20) – Mia Leonard 3, Caitlin Wallace 7, Courtney Murray 2, Danielle Brown 3, Kelin Holmes 1, Nashira Brown 4.
Wissahickon (32) – Brianna Tilghman 6, Megan Oberholtzer 2, Jasmine Bishop 3, Lexi Carradorini 4, Julianne Griffin 9, Victoria Selverian 4, Carly Fadel 4.
QUAKERTOWN 48, UPPER MORELAND 32
The Panthers equaled their league win total of all of last season on Tuesday when they won their first conference game, and they hope there are more to come. If they are breathing a sigh of relief that they are no longer facing a steady diet of state-ranked teams (three SOL Continental squads are ranked in the top 10), it’s hard to blame them.
“It’s such a relief because last year losing by 30 or 40 points – it’s a heartbreaker, and it’s so hard to gain that confidence to go out in a game and say, ‘We’re going to win this,’” senior Marina Cooke said. “This year it’s just so much different.”
Although they struggled last season, the Panthers, according to their coach, never backed down from the competition.
“I’m very proud of the girls the past couple of seasons – they would compete with the Central Bucks Wests and North Penns, and they would try,” coach Brittany Remmey said. “When you’re going up against schools that are different feeder programs, different size and number of kids, it’s challenging.”
Tough as it was, the experience might well be benefitting the Panthers this year. They certainly looked confident in Tuesday’s win, turning a 13-6 lead after one quarter into a 34-17 halftime lead.
Cooke, junior point guard Maggie Garlick and senior center Jill Martin did most of the damage. Cooke and Garlick led the Panthers with seven points each in a 21-point second quarter. Cooke led the Panthers with 10 points in the opening half while Garlick added nine and Martin, eight points.
“When you have Jill and Marina, they set the tone for the rest of the team,” Garlick said. “They bring us together.”
A key to the Panthers’ strong offensive showing in the first half was their defense. Garlick was the catalyst, collecting four of her team-high six steals in the half.
“The goal is to just be aggressive and set the tone of the game – come out strong so that their team is on their (heels) and we dictate the pace of the game,” Garlick said.
The Golden Bears – sparked by six points and seven rebounds from Maura Casey – played the Panthers all but even in the second half but could not put a dent in the their commanding lead.
“We know we’re small, and we talked at halftime – not only were they bigger than us, they outworked us,” UM coach Matt Carroll said. “We came out in the second half, especially Maura Casey – she took it kind of personally and worked really hard.
“The girls fed off of that, but we put ourselves in a position early where we had to try to fight back, and we didn’t have enough today.”
The Panthers owned the backboards against a shorter Golden Bear squad. Martin led the way with 10 rebounds to go with 12 points in a double-double. Freshman Caitlin Rosenberger had nine rebounds, and Cooke had eight boards to go along with 13 points. Garlick had seven rebounds and a game high 14 points.
Rebounding, according to Remmey, has been a point of emphasis.
“In any drill, we give them one point for a defensive rebound, two points for an offensive rebound,” the Panthers’ coach said. “If we miss a shot, that’s fine – get that offensive board though.”
Casey led the Golden Bears with eight points and nine rebounds.
“She played much more energetic (in the second half), and we have to get that to start,” Carroll said. “We can’t afford to do that in the second half.”
Phoebe Longstreth, Caitlin Corr and Noelle Woodman each added six points.
Carroll acknowledged that it was a challenge to try and match up with the much taller Panthers.
“In the beginning, we would front the big girl (Martin), but we weren’t in position weak-side to help,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “They made good passes – they throw it high and she finishes.
“In the second half, we played behind her and doubled her when she got it, but she’s a good passer. When we would help, we wouldn’t help the helper. It’s things we have to continue to work on, and we’ll be better the next time we play them.”
Quakertown (3-5, 1-2 SOL) will host Springfield on Friday, and Upper Moreland (0-10, 0-4) will be on the road at Wissahickon Friday.
Quakertown 13-21-11-3 48
Upper Moreland 6-11-6-9 32
Quakertown (48) – Maggie Garlick 14, Roni Best 4, Marina Cooke 13, Caitlin Rosenberger 5, Jill Martin 12.
Upper Moreland (32) – Phoebe Longstreth 6, Caitlin Corr 6, Brianna Hughes 5, Noelle Woodman 6, Maura Casey 8, Cassidy Murphy 1.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 53, HATBORO-HORSHAM 35
Taylor O’Brien was all but unstoppable, scoring a game high 30 points. It is the junior guard’s second consecutive outing with 30 or more points. She also had 10 rebounds and three steals in a stellar performance.
“Taylor was incredible,” coach Dan Dougherty said. “She scored 30 points with an aggressive box-and-one defense on her most of the night.”
The Colonials found themselves on the short end of a 23-21 score at halftime but dominated the second half at both ends of the court, outscoring their visitors 18-5 in the third quarter and 32-12 in the second half.”
“Hatboro was red hot to start the game,” Dougherty said. “At halftime, we talked about how to attack the box-and-one defense.
“Laurel Suchsland and Ali Diamond knocked down a couple three’s, Lauren Fortescue was able to drive to basket. Defensively Lauren Coscia and Laurel Suchsland really captained the defensive effort of closing out to shooters while protecting the rim. I’m very proud of how they responded tonight after being outplayed in the first half to win the second half.”
Suchsland finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Coscia had four blocked shots while Fortescue, who had seven points, had several big steals that led to easy transition baskets.
The Hatters were led by the 10-point, seven-rebound effort of Bergen Sims. Katie Fisher and Kylie Halko both added six points. Julia Thornton had four assists and three points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-0, 4-0 SOL) will be on the road at Cheltenham Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (4-7, 3-2) be travel to Upper Dublin on Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-11-18-14 53
Hatboro-Horsham 11-12-5-7 35
Plymouth Whitemarsh (35) – Taylor O’Brien 30, Lauren Fortescue 7, Ali Diamond 3, Laurel Suchsland 8, Victoria Betterly 2, Lauren Coscia 3.
Hatboro-Horsham (35) – Bergen Sims 10, Julia Thornton 3, Katie Fisher 6, Kylie Halko 6, Nikki Willliams 2, Syd Kemp 3, Courtney Anderson 3, Laura Marvin 2.
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