Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Souderton/CB East and Bensalem/Truman photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for photo galleries.
SOL National Conference
PENNSBURY 50, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 23
The Falcons opened up an early lead and never looked back, and it was freshman Nicole Pompili stealing the spotlight for the Falcons, finishing with a game-high 16 points.
“This is not a surprise,” coach Frank Sciolla said. “She’s a ninth grader who’s been in our rotation since the first game of the season. She has a marketable skill with her ability to shoot the ball.
“She was a key member of what was probably the best AAU team in her age group in the Delaware Valley last year, and she’s been with that team a number of years, so everyone knows who she is,” coach Frank Sciolla said. “She’s been able to have success on a Pennsbury team that is having its best year in a long, long time.
“Nicole sometimes gets swept to the side just because of the dynamic we have, but she can shoot, she can finish with either hand, she’s physically tough, and it was good for her tonight because they really had a lot of attention to some of our other girls. They’re not going to let Cami (Wiegand) shoot it, they’re not going to let Ava (Sciolla) shoot it. Really, it became Nicole’s game, and she took advantage of that.”
The Falcons led 17-5 after one quarter, and although the Golden Hawks held a 10-5 advantage in the second quarter, the Falcons took a 22-15 lead into halftime.
“They had a good game plan in terms of how to guard us, and they did a good job in the second quarter,” Sciolla said. “They did a nice job keeping us off the backboards.
“They’re in an interesting situation. They have a lot of underclassmen playing in the backcourt. Nicole Blaustein and Carley Irvin are both in 10th grade, and they have a lot of pieces, and they’ve got a really good coach, who’s positive and has a direction.
“They’re just going to have to really make a commitment in the offseason because of the teams that are in our league. It’s really hard to succeed because so many of the teams in our league have girls that are playing in AAU and are playing at a high level.”
The Falcons outscored the Golden Hawks 28-8 in the second half. Pompili led the way with 11 points, which included a pair of threes. The freshman had three three-pointers in the game.
Bella Arcuri added eight points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Sciolla added seven points, a team-high 10 rebounds and five deflections. Mary Miller had six points, four rebounds and three assists. Kate Mix added four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Nicole Blaustein’s eight points led the Golden Hawks.
Pennsbury (15-4, 6-3 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Monday, and Council Rock South (6-13, 3-7) will host Upper Moreland on Monday.
Pennsbury 17-5-13-15 50
Council Rock South 5-10-3-5 23
Pennsbury (50) – Lily Hochhausler 1, Abbi Nassivera 2, Madison Donovan 3, Bella Arcuri 8, Kate Mix 3, Mary Miller 6, Nicole Pompili 16, Ava Sciolla 7, Cami Wiegand 2, Skyler Sulby 2.
Council Rock South (23) – Montanna Chambers 3, Chelsea Jameson 1, Carley Irvin 3, Nicole Blaustein 8, Jenna Culp 4, Hannah Binder 4.
BENSALEM 72, HARRY S TRUMAN 35
The Owls honored the squad’s lone senior, Michaela Sit, by earning a resounding win, their 12th of the season.
“Michaela had seven (points), and she must have had 12 rebounds,” coach Sheldon Per said. “She’s been a tower of strength all year on the boards.
“We struggle offensively, but we got a lot of layups tonight off fast breaks. We pressed them early and they coughed it up.”
Haley Keenan had a huge night for the Owls, finishing with 31 points in three quarters of action. Chloe Munyon added 11 points.
For the Tigers, Daisha Campbell had 19 points, and Hannah Smith had nine.
With the win, the Owls maintain their stronghold on the 20th spot in the latest District One 6A power rankings.
“I don’t know the last time our girls’ basketball team earned a position in districts,” Per said. “We’re still not there, but we’re close.
“The kids are getting experience, they’re easy to coach, and they work hard. I just tried to explain to them that the next four games are really tough and they have to be at their best.”
Bensalem (12-6, 6-5 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday. Harry S Truman (2-18, 0-10) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Harry S Truman 6-11-4-14 35
Bensalem 22-17-19-14 72
Harry S Truman (35) – Daisha Campbell 19, Hannah Smith 9, AJ Litten 5, Dahlia Gumaa 2.
Bensalem (72) – Maddie Macdougall 5, Emily Wineburg 4, Michaela Sit 7, Haley Keenan 31, Samantha Daut 4, Delaney Bell 3, Chloe Munyon 11, Taylor Hood 2, Kira Loucks 1, Pooja Singamneni 3, Devlin 1.
NESHAMINY 56, WILLIAM TENNENT 25
Eleven players put their names in the scoring column for the Redskins, including Skylar Lall and Laura Chroba, who scored their first varsity points.
Behind eight points from Allison Harvey and seven from Alexa McCoy, the Redskins raced out of the gate to a 24-6 lead after one quarter. They took a 30-18 lead into halftime and outscored their visitors 28-7 in the second half.
“Neshaminy is a very good team,” Tennent coach Laura Whitney said. “Joe (Lally) has done a great job with them. They have so many weapons offensively that can beat you from the outside or off the dribble. They play smart and move the ball well and get great shots. I expect them to do well in the playoffs and make a run at states.”
The Panthers’ coach was disappointed with her team’s showing.
“You can’t expect to win games when you have the same number of turnovers as you do points,” Whitney said. “Neshaminy deserves a lot of credit. They did a great job of disrupting us and not allowing us to get into any rhythm offensively. We struggled early against their press. I don’t think we had a half court offensive possession until the two-minute mark of the first quarter. We were too soft and careless with the ball and just made poor decisions. They are a team that makes you pay for mistakes. You give them easy layups and some open three’s and you quickly find yourself down 20-2.
“On a positive note, I was proud of how our girls responded in the second quarter and fought themselves back into the game. We had a nice stretch defensively where we got some great stops and allowed ourselves to make a run. Going into halftime only down 12 was huge considering how bad we were the first half. Take away a couple turnovers and it could have easily been an eight-point game. Unfortunately, the second half you felt the momentum swing right back to Neshaminy. An unlucky call defensively, which leads to two points and then a turnover on our next possession and just like that you go from down 11 to 15.”
Harvey led the Redskins with 12 points while McCoy had 11. Brooke Mullin and Kristin Curley both had seven. Emily Tantala added six points.
Haley Crossley’s 11 points led the Panthers. Caitlin Somerville added seven.
Neshaminy (18-2, 10-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North for a conference showdown Friday at 6 p.m. William Tennent (4-15, 1-8) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday.
William Tennent 6-12-5-2 25
Neshaminy 24-6-13-15 56
William Tennent (25) Caitlin Somerville 7, Chelsea Meltzer 3, Hannah Reimel 2, Jenna Rodebaugh 2, Haley Crossley 11.
Neshaminy (56) – Sydney Tryon 2, Emily Tantala 6, Brooke Mullin 7, Kristin Curley 7, Alexa McCoy 11, Alex Ziegler 2, Kelli Kowalick 2, Allison Harvey 12, Meghan Ansel 4, Skylar Lall 1, Laura Chroba 2.
SOL Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 45, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 29
Don’t be fooled by the final score. According to coach Lynn Carroll, Thursday’s win over the Patriots was much tougher than the 16-point win suggests.
“They gave us some trouble – we had to earn it,” the Indians’ coach said. “With three minutes left in the third quarter, we were up eight, and they made a nice play and had a really, really good look on a layup that didn’t fall but would have cut it to six.
“For us, they throw so much junk defense at you, and it gets you out of the flow. Every time down the court, I’m trying to figure out what they’re in, and the girls are trying to figure out what they’re in. We knew they would do that, so it gets you out of the flow a little bit. We knew we had to defend well in case we’d go through a few minutes of a scoring drought, which we did on several occasions, but our defense was really, really good.”
Underscoring the Indians willingness to share the ball in Thursday’s win was the fact that Megan Walbrandt finished with six assists, Megan O’Donnell added four assists, Megan Bealer had three, and Curran O’Donnell had two assists.
“We kept saying, ‘Just play basketball, don’t worry about what they’re in. Regardless of what play we call, see what’s available,’ and we really started to do that towards the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter,” Carroll said. “We were really moving the ball around and finding the open person, being patient enough to get a high percentage shot. Erica (Stephens) was a result of that, down the stretch especially.”
Stephens scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half and was a key piece in the Indians’ strong finish.
“A couple minutes into the third quarter, I subbed her in, and she didn’t come back out,” Carroll said. “She just finished, made smart plays, kicked it out when she didn’t have it.
“I was really, really happy for her that she was able to step up and help us win this game. She’s a kid who’s been on varsity four years and kind of waited her turn and waited her turn and stayed positive, playing behind Alana (Cardona) and Kate (Connolly) last year. She’s just a good kid, and I couldn’t be happier with the success she had tonight.”
The Indians appeared to be in control when they opened up a 25-13 halftime lead. Curran O’Donnell led a balanced Indian attack with eight points, including a pair of threes. The Patriots – who were without Aubrey DeAngelis – trimmed the Indians’ lead to eight in the third quarter but would get no closer.
With the win, the Indians clinched a share of the conference title.
“We’ve really, really tried to not focus on that,” Carroll said. “I told the girls at one point – you’re not allowed to talk about that, but in the locker room after the game, I did congratulate the girls because they deserve it. We’re just not quite ready to celebrate that yet.”
In addition to Stephens, Curran O’Donnell finished the game in double figures with 10 points, and Megan O’Donnell had eight.
For the Patriots, Emily Chmiel had eight points and Skylar Krause had six.
Souderton (16-2, 9-1 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Friday, and Central Bucks East (9-9, 5-5) will be on the road at Quakertown on Friday.
Souderton 14-11-8-12 45
Central Bucks East 7-6-8-8 29
Souderton (45) – Megan Bealer 5, Olivia Schneider 2, Megan Walbrandt 2, Erica Stephens 12, Curran O’Donnell 10, Mikaela Reese 4, Hayley Fenchel 2.
Central Bucks East (29) – Mia Salvati 4, Sydney Ives 1, Gabby Wilga 2, Caroline Pla 2, Elise Duffy 4, Emil Chmiel 8, Skylar Krause 6, Emily Barry 2.
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