Three SOL girls’ basketball teams were invited to compete in the prestigious Blue Star Invitational (East) at Jefferson University on Sunday. Check out the recaps.
PENNSBURY 51, ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 49
The Falcons had an early wake-up call for a 9:15 a.m. game against the defending PCL champion Patriots, who advanced to the PIAA 5A title game last March. They survived a slow start and rallied to win it at the end when Ava Sciolla – named game MVP – buried a shot in the closing seconds to give the Falcons the dramatic win.
“When it came to the end of the game, we were up two, we couldn’t get a rebound, we fouled them, and to their credit, they made both free throws,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “There was about 20 seconds to go. We didn’t call a timeout. We knew where we were going to go. Ava got to her spot – she was able to elevate and knocked down a shot. They had a chance with three seconds to go, but they weren’t able to get a shot off. We turned them over, and that was it.”
The Falcons, who trailed 13-6 after one quarter, still trailed by six at halftime and five entering the final quarter. They rallied to win it in the fourth quarter, playing with a confidence that received a boost at the Title IX Classic in Washington, D.C., over the holiday break.
“We had a 12:30 game in Washington, D.C., the getaway game the last day of the tournament,” Sciolla said of his team’s contest against Osbourn Park. “We were happy we were going to play them because we felt like – we’re going to play this team that’s really good, we had a day to prepare for them, and we felt like it reminded us of teams that we see at home and that we had a chance to win.
“We wound up winning (35-30), and I thought it was a signature win for us. Everyone needs a signature win, and we were glad to have it. I think there was some confidence in being able to beat a team like that.”
When Sciolla looked across the court at the Patriots, he knew more than a few players from his years coaching against them on the AAU circuit.
“They played for the Comets AAU program, and you get to see these girls grow up,” the Falcons’ coach said. “Playing Carroll and knowing how good they are combined with knowing a lot of the Carroll kids since they were in fourth grade, it gives a certain emotion to it. Add to that, (Carroll coach) Renie Shields, in my opinion, is one of the four best high school coaches in our area regardless of gender. I have to admit that I was pretty excited to coach against her because I think she does an incredible job.
“That goes out the window at 9:15. We’re down 10 points in the first quarter. They’re making shots, and I’m not going to say we were frazzled, but we started a little bit slow. We got ourselves together, we got a couple of nice drives to the basket, we got some stops.”
The Falcons – behind six second-quarter points from Sciolla – trimmed Carroll’s lead to three only to watch the Patriots sink a three at the buzzer to go into halftime with a 24-18 lead.
“We came out in the second half and we were just really solid defensively,” Sciolla said. “Erin Sweeney is a Drexel signee, Grace O’Neill is point guard, and they’ve got a lot of other good players. We wanted to be solid defensively.”
In the third quarter, Nicole Pompili buried a pair of threes and had eight points. Abbi Nassivera and Bella Arcuri also each had a three. Siolla – who spent the game penetrating and then kicking the ball out – had six points in the quarter, but, the Falcons still trailed by five heading into the final frame.
“We don’t take for granted how well Ava passes, but I guess we probably do,” Sciolla said. “Against a team like that that’s going to be so solid defensively – when they were trying to run that second or third girl at her, she did what she does and she found people as usual, and we were knocking the shots down.
“When it came time for them to just be maybe a step slower to run at her, then she was able to get loose herself. She was really solid. Nicole Pompili had a couple of big drives, and Bella Arcuri made a huge drive.”
The Patriots managed just seven points – all on foul shots – in the fourth quarter while the Falcons connected on three three-pointers. Mary Miller turned one of her treys into a four-point play.
“We’re just so happy that Mary has been so aggressive looking to take that shot,” Sciolla said. “It’s something we begged her to do in previous years, and she wasn’t comfortable with it. She gives you so much with her ability to slash and play defense. She did a good job there.”
Sciolla led all players with 19 points, and Pompili had 10. Arcuri and Miller both had eight.
“Abbi Nassivera, who was spending time face guarding their best players, grabbed some enormous rebounds for us and also made a big shot,” Sciolla sdaid. “I’m sure people were wondering where we were going back in October. A lot of these girls have stepped up and they have filled in and made their own name. They have been great.”
Pennsbury (8-2, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 6-12-19-14 51
Archbishop Carroll 13-11-18-7 49
Pennsbury (51) – Ava Sciolla 8 3-3 19; Abbi Nassivera 2 0-0 4; Bella Arcuri 2 2-2 8; Mary Miller 3 1-1 8; Mia Spinelli 1 0-0 2; Nicole Pompili 4 0-1 10; 20 6-7 51.
Archbishop Carroll (49) – Maggie Grant 3, Meg Sheridan 6, Karli Dougherty 1 0-0 2; Erin Sweeney 10, Grace O’Neill 9, Taylor Wilson 11, Rose Henry 1, Nikki Mostardi 7.
3-point goals – Pennsbury – Bella Arcuri 2, Nicole Pompili 2, Mary Miller, Carroll – Meg Sheridan 2, Erin Sweeney, Taylor Wilson, Nikki Mostardi.
NATIONAL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (Md.) 46, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 42 (OT)
National Christian Academy plays a national schedule. Philadelphia was one of many stops for the Panthers, who – since Dec. 18 – have competed in the Nike Tournament of Champions, Title IX Invitational and the New Year’s Resolution Showcase.
The Bucks, who knew they would face a tough challenge, got off to a slow start – they managed just two points in the first quarter and trailed 22-10 at halftime. They staged a second-half rally, extending the Panthers to overtime where they were outscored 9-5.
“I hate to say it because it’s cliché, but it was a tale of two halves,” coach Zach Sibel said. “The first half shots weren’t falling. They had a 10-point lead, and it was up to 12.
“We kept saying, ‘You’ve got to stay with it, you’ve got to stay with it. Trust what you do, trust your defense, and trust your teammates and handle adversity together. It’s got to be something that’s done together because you can’t make a 10-point lead feel like 20,’ and they responded to that. Lilly Evans actually got us rolling, so it was good to see her get the ball moving a little bit. Players stepped up around her.”
The Bucks still trailed 31-22 heading into the final quarter when they outscored the Panthers 16-6 to send the game into overtime. Maddie Burke had a pair of threes, and Emily Spratt had six points, which included a 4-for-5 effort at the foul line.
“Maddie was in foul trouble,” Sibel said. “Again, we’re going to trust her to play with fouls, but that unfortunately took her out a chunk of the game.
“The beautiful thing about Maddie Burke and what’s so awesome about her is – she’s the first one up in timeouts, she’s the first one to grab a teammate when she’s out of the game and will tell them, ‘Hey, look for this…’ She’s such an incredible leader. Then when her number was called in the fourth quarter, we put her right back out. She played the whole fourth quarter and overtime, and she made big shot after big shot. It was cool to see that.”
Spratt led the Bucks with nine points, Burke had eight and Jess Broskey added seven. Olivia Irons and Anna Blue both had six points – both connected on a pair of treys.
“Girls played their roles,” Sibel said. “Shots weren’t falling early, but we made plays when we needed to at the end.
“They were a tough athletic team that was going to try and grind the game out, and we were able to fight back and handle adversity. This was a good game for us – it was good to see us respond and see some different kinds of teams. To see teams that roll out size and athleticism like that and complement that with shooting is big. You can’t take anything away from that team. They made a lot of plays, but we never gave up, which was great to see.”
Central Bucks West (6-3, 3-0 SOL) will host North Penn on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 2-8-11-16-5 42
National Christian 9-13-9-6-9 46
Central Bucks West (42) – Paige Gilbert 1 0-1 2; Olivia Irons 2 0-0 6; Emily Spratt 2 5-7 9; Jess Broskey 2 3-3 7; Maddie Burke 3 0-2 8; Lilly Evans 1 2-3 4; Totals 13 10-15 42.
National Christian (46) – Ciara Harris 3 5-6 13; Amaree McKnight 1 2-2 5; Kaylah Barnes 3 0-2 6; Jali Tucker 0 1-2 1; Sarah Austin 1 6-9 9; Aaliyah Bevans 0 2-2 2; Kaiya reek 2 1-1 5; Jersey Mayfield 1 0-0 3; Daria Douglas 1 0-0 2; Totals 10 17-24 46.
3-point goals: CBW – Olivia Irons 2, Anna Blue 2, Maddie Burke 2, National Christian – Ciara Harris 2, Amaree McKnight, Jersey Mayfield.
PAUL VI (N.J.) 55, UPPER DUBLIN 43
The Flying Cardinals – two days removed from their upset at the hands of Upper Moreland – wrapped up a difficult weekend with a loss to undefeated Paul VI High School.
They trailed by just one after a quarter and two (21-19) at the intermission – this despite managing just two field goals in the first half. Keeping the Flying Cardinals in it was their 11-for-15 effort at the foul line in the half.
The game got away from the Flying Cardinals in the third quarter when the Eagles went on a 17-4 tear. Jackie Vargas accounted for the Cardinals’ only points. The Cardinals – behind eight points from Vargas and six from Dayna Balasa – scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, but they never threatened as the Eagles scored 17 points.
Vargas led the Cardinals with 13 points, which included a 6-for-8 effort at the foul line. She also had four rebounds and three blocked shots. Kara Grebe had nine points and was 4-for-6 at the foul line. Polin had six points on a pair of threes, and she also had eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
The Cardinals’ offensive woes are underscored by the fact that they connected on just 3-of-16 two-point shots (18.8 percent). They were 7-of-22 from beyond the arc (31.8 percent). The Eagles held a 33-25 advantage under the backboards and scored 20 points in the paint compared to just six points in the paint for the Cardinals.
Upper Dublin (6-4, 3-1 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh in a conference showdown Wednesday.
Upper Dublin 7-12-4-20 43
Paul VI 8-13-17-16 55
Upper Dublin (43) – Bliss Brenner 0 2-2 2; Jess Polin 2 0-0 6; Kara Grebe 2 4-6 9; Sarah Eskew 0 2-3 2; Dayna Balasa 3 2-2 11; Jackie Vargas 3 6-8 13; Totals 10 16-21 43.
Paul VI (55) – Hannah Hidalgo 4 5-6 13; Abaigeal Babore 4 1-2 12; Sara McShea 2 1-1 6; Eleanor Robinson 5 2-2 12; Janice Ashong 1 3-4 5; Nile Miller 3 0-0 7; Totals 19 12-15 55.
3-point goals: Dayna Balasa 3, Jess Polin 2, Kara Grebe, Jackie Vargas.
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