PW won a double overtime thriller over Upper Dublin in a battle of SOL American powers. Check out the recaps for all of Saturday’s SOL girls’ basketball action. Upper Moreland/Dock photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL American Conference
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 57, UPPER DUBLIN 55 (2 OT)
FORT WASHINGTON – Taylor O’Brien emerged from her team’s locker room, an unmistakable tear glistening in her eye. The PW senior’s emotions were still running high long after the final horn had sounded on the Colonials’ double overtime thriller in a battle of SOL American Conference powers.
“This was one of our most important games of the season, and just knowing that we could come out on top with all my teammates and all my family and friends here – this experience was amazing, and I wouldn’t want it no other way, especially in such a tight, close game,” O’Brien said. “To come out on top is just so surreal.”
Surreal could also describe a sequence at the end of regulation that saw O’Brien spearhead a comeback that seemed unlikely at best when sophomore Jackie Vargas sank both ends of a one-and-one to give the Cards a 42-37 lead with 21 seconds remaining in regulation.
The improbable comeback began with O’Brien connecting on a tough 3-pointer in traffic with eight seconds remaining. Then, after the Cards sank one-of-two to go back up by three (43-40), the Colonials corralled the miss of the second shot and called a timeout with 3.5 seconds remaining.
In an electrifying sequence, O’Brien received the inbounds under UD’s basket, dribbled beyond midcourt and – as she approached the arc – lofted a contested 3-pointer that fell through the net at the buzzer.
“Taylor is just incredibly special,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “I can’t tell you how often in four years I’ve seen her make that shot. She makes that shot all the time in practice, in games. She has great range from 3-point range.
“I’m not giving myself credit, but we drew it up, and the kids ran it properly. Taylor listened to us counting the time down. It was well executed.”
It was all part of a brilliant 36-point effort that put O’Brien’s name in the program’s record books for breaking Nikki Flocco’s career scoring mark of 1,615 points. O’Brien now has 1,623.
“I love competition, and everyone on our team loves to be in these situations,” said O’Brien, who buried four of her six 3-pointers in the final quarter. “Your heart is going, going, but you have to stay calm. I knew I had to get the shot off, so I just threw it up and hoped. I didn’t think it was going to go in at all.
“It was pretty sure the ugliest shot I’ve ever seen. I can’t even describe it. Everyone was so excited and in the moment, and we knew we weren’t going to lose the game. We were going to keep pushing and pushing.”
The excitement was far from over. With 27 seconds remaining in the first OT, Vargas turned a Jess Polin pass into a bucket that gave the Cards a 47-45 lead, but PW freshman Anna McTamney – who was fouled after pulling down an offensive rebound — sank a pair at the foul line to knot the score. The Cards shot for the win fell short.
In the opening minute of the second overtime, Maggie Weglos and Lauren Fortescue exchanged 3-pointers. The Cards led 53-50 after Vargas kicked it out to Polin, who sank her third three of the game. It was a 55-55 game after O’Brien buried a pair at the foul line with 1:55 remaining. Fortescue delivered several huge steals in the final minute and connected on 2-of-4 at the foul line to seal the win.
“It was a heavyweight fight, two of the best teams in the district,” Dougherty said. “If there’s one coach that I know game plans harder than we do, it’s Morgan.
“It was a great fight. Both teams won the game, both teams lost the game multiple times.”
The game was a dogfight from the outset. The Colonials took a 22-20 lead into halftime. O’Brien had 16 points in the half – all 12 of her team’s points in the second quarter.
The Cardinals – behind seven points from senior Nicole Kaiser – outscored the Colonials 14-8 in the third quarter to go on top 34-28. They took their largest lead (38-31) when Vargas – whose stellar 22-point effort led the Cards – scored on a drive with 3:55 remaining.
That set the stage for O’Brien, who buried four 3-pointers in the final 3:40 and accounted for all 15 of her team’s points in the frame.
“Everybody was there supporting our team,” O’Brien said. ‘It was just amazing to be at Upper Dublin’s gym and win in front of their crowd.
“Their fans were cheering, our fans were cheering. We had so much support. It was just amazing.”
The Bucknell-bound senior – who never left the court – also had four rebounds and three steals in a brilliant outing.
“O’Brien making four threes in the fourth quarter alone – I can’t picture one of the threes that was not somewhat contested,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “She’s just so athletic, she can rise up and shoot over people.
“I don’t even think we did a horrible job on her. She stepped up and did what great players do and even more than what great players do. I’m a little bit at a loss.”
For the game, the Colonials connected on 10 threes with Fortescue, Gia Schweitzer, Ali Diamond and Sydney Kesselman delivering one each. Fortescue finished with seven points – five in the second overtime, five rebounds and four steals.
It was special win,” Dougherty said. “I’m so happy for Taylor and the team. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of something like that.
“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, and she’s so much fun. She’s a great teammate. Her teammates love her. I couldn’t be happier for her.
In addition to scoring a team-high 22 points, Vargas completed an impressive double-double with 13 rebounds to go along with three blocks.
“The improvement she made from last year to this year is just remarkable,” Funsten said of his sophomore center.
Kaiser contributed 14 points and five rebounds. Polin had nine points, eight assists and five rebounds, and Weglos had five points, six rebounds and three assists.
“I told the girls afterwards – I was extremely proud of their preparation and effort,” said Funsten. “They did everything we asked them to do.
“With our young kids, we try not to treat them like young kids. Our expectations of them are the same as our expectations of our upperclassmen, and they rise up to it. I thought everybody contributed tonight, everybody made a big play. It’s just a shame it had to end the way it did, but it was a great game.
“I told the girls – two good things come out of this. Number one, we get to play again tomorrow, and number two, we get to play them again in a few weeks.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-1, 4-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday, and Upper Dublin will take on Lancaster Catholic on Sunday at Thomas Jefferson University (formerly Philadelphia University) at 1:10 p.m.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-12-6-15-7-7 57
Upper Dublin 7-13-14-9-7-5 55
Plymouth Whitemarsh (57) – Taylor O’Brien 36, Lauren Fortescue 7, Gia Schweitzer 3, Ali Diamond 5, Anna McTamney 3, Sydney Kesselman 3.
Upper Dublin (55) – Mega Barbera 2, Nicole Kaiser 14, Jess Polin 9, Kara Grebe 3, Maggie Weglos 5, Jackie Vargas 22.
SOL Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 51, WILLIAM TENNENT 24
The Titans led by just two at the end of one quarter but outscored the Panthers 13-4 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 19-12 lead. They owned the second half, outscoring their hosts 31-12.
“It is a disappointing loss because I thought we really executed our game plan defensively in the first half,” Tennent coach Laura Whitney said. “The second half we didn’t play with the same intensity and gave them too many easy baskets.
“Our help defense wasn’t where it needed to be, and we also did a poor job of boxing out. CB South is a great team, and I knew if we were going to give ourselves a chance, we needed to defend and compete for 32 minutes, and unfortunately, we didn’t do that tonight.”
Alexa Brodie led the Titans with 17 points, scoring seven in the second quarter and eight in the third. The junior point guard buried three 3-pointers. Mackenzie Ehresman added nine points, doing most of her damage at the foul line where she was a perfect 7-for-7. Haley Meinel added seven points.
For the Panthers, Haley Crossley led the way with nine points, and Bryn Evans added eight.
Central Bucks South (10-0, 4-0 SOL) is off until Friday when the Titans will host North Penn. William Tennent (6-3, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
Central Bucks South 6-13-18-14 51
William Tennent 8-4-9-3 24
Central Bucks South (51) – Caroline McSorley 2, Lindsay Scott 3, Allie Burke 4, Haley Meinel 7, Alexa Brodie 17, Maddie McShane 3, Mackenzie Ehresman 9, Madison Addinger 2.
William Tennent (24) – Emma Stanfield 5, Kelly Scipione 2, Haley Crossley 9, Bryn Evans 8.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 53, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 42
The Bucks took a tenuous 23-22 lead into halftime, but behind the torrid shooting of Maddie Burke, they took control of the game in the third quarter. The sophomore guard buried four 3-pointers in the third quarter, sparking an 18-13 West surge. They went on to outscore the Patriots 30-20 in the second half. Juniors Diane Nicholson and Izzy Treon combined to score all 12 of West’s fourth quarter points with Nicholson accounting for seven.
Burke finished with a game-high 17 points, which included five 3-pointers. Nicholson and Treon both added 15 points. Treon connected on 5-of-6 at the foul line.
For the Patriots, Caroline Pla led the way with 11 points. She kept the Patriots close in the first half with nine points on three 3-pointers. Gina Russoo added 10, which included two threes, and Bailey McManus added three 3-pointers for nine points. Sophia Mancuso had two threes for six points on a day that saw the Patriots bury 10 shots from beyond the arc.
Central Bucks West (4-5, 3-1 SOL) will host Pennridge on Tuesday, and Central Bucks East (7-4, 2-2) will host William Tennent on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 10-13-18-12 53
Central Bucks East 8-14-13-7 42
Central Bucks West (53) – Abbey Spratt 2, Diane Nicholson 15, Maddie Burke 17, Izzy Treon 15, Lilly Evans 4.
Central Bucks East (42) – Sophia Mancuso 6, Gina Russo 10, Caroline Pla 11, Audrey LaBouliere 4, Bailey McManus 9, Elyse Shine 2.
SOL National Conference
NESHAMINY 56, PENNSBURY 31
Allison Harvey had the hot hand in the opening quarter of Saturday’s game between the archrivals, scoring 11 first-quarter points – which included three 3-pointers – and propelling the Redskins to a 20-6 lead. Kristin Curley added seven points in the frame.
By halftime, the Redskins led 36-10, and Harvey had scored all of her game-high 16 points.
Also for the Redskins, Curley and Olivia Scotti each added nine points while Brooke Mullin and Meghan Ansel both had eight. Neshaminy connected on seven 3-pointers. Coach Joe Lally was pleased with his team’s unselfish play in the win.
For the Falcons, Cami Wiegand’s nine points led the way. Mary Miller added eight and Bella Arcuri had seven. Pennsbury is without Kate Mix, its top returning scorer from last year. The junior guard tore her ACL.
Neshaminy (6-3, 3-0 SOL) will host Lawrenceville School on Monday in a non-league contest. Pennsbury (4-6, 1-3) will be on the road at Council Rock South on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 6-4-11-10 31
Neshaminy 20-16-11-9 56
Pennsbury (31) – Abbi Nassivera 2, Bella Arcuri 7, Mary Miller 8, Sydney Buell 5, Cami Wiegand 9.
Neshaminy (56) – Brooke Mullin 8, Allison Harvey 16, Kristin Curley 9, Olivia Scotti 9, Kelli Kowalick 2, Meghan Ansel 8, Emily Tantala 4.
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 47, DOCK MENNONITE ACADEMY 22
An extra day of practice served the Golden Bears well. They seized early control of Saturday’s non-league game against Dock Mennonite, opening up a 16-8 lead after one quarter and keeping Dock off the scoreboard in the second quarter en route to a 24-7 halftime lead.
“With snow cancelling our game on Friday we were able to practice and prepare for our game against Dock,” coach Matt Carroll said. “Our girls really wanted to play Friday night against Springfield but came to practice very focused and it paid off in our game.
“Dock has a couple offensive sets that they run very well, but the extra day of practice gave our girls the opportunity to have a better understanding of what to expect and our girls played very well defensively.”
Phoebe Longstreth sparked the Golden Bears in the first quarter, burying a pair of threes. The junior point guard scored eight of her team-high 10 points in the first half.
“We have been struggling to shoot the ball recently, and Phoebe Longstreth came out and made two early threes,” Carroll said. “This took the pressure off of everyone else, and the girls kept the momentum going.
“We had 12 players contribute in many ways, 10 of which scored and 11 recorded a rebound. It was a complete team effort and a win that the girls really deserve. We know we have a long ways to go but this was a great confidence boost for our players and coaches.”
The Golden Bears outscored their visitors in each of the four quarters.
In addition to Longstreth, Kaiya Herb added nine points while Hannah Stainback had seven. Abby Ellen Wood chipped in six points.
Upper Moreland (2-5, 0-3 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday.
Dock Mennonite 7-0-8-7 22
Upper Moreland 16-8-14-9 47
Dock Mennonite (22) – Jocelyn Pflager 4, Kate Strickland 10, Brooke Bozarth 6, Cailey Ridge 2.
Upper Moreland (47) – Phoebe Longstreth 10, Caitlin Corr 2, Kaiya Herb 9, Hannah Stainback 7, Abby Ellen Wood 6, Hannah Finn 2, Kathryn Morrow 1, Kaitlyn Opferman 2, Kaya Meakim 4, Cassidy Murphy 4.
PENNRIDGE 52, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 35
Sparked by a strong first quarter, the Rams took a 27-19 lead into halftime and added to that lead in the second half, outscoring the visiting Golden Hawks 25-16.
Sam Muredda led a balanced Pennridge attack with 12 points, and Emilee Cramer also finished in double figures with 10 points. Gill Anderson and Rose McCormick both added seven points, and Brooke Bachtle had six.
Pennridge (4-4, 0-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Tuesday, and Council Rock South (3-5, 0-2) will host Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 9-10-7-9 35
Pennridge 16-11-13-12 52
Pennridge (52) – Corinn Mart 2, Sam Muredda 12, Sophie Cweiber 4, Brooke Bachtle 6, Gill Anderson 7, Maddie Stolarski 4, Rose McCormick 7, Emilee Cramer 10.
SAUCON VALLEY 45, QUAKERTOWN 33
The Panthers were without senior Maggie Garlick, who went down with an injury in Tuesday’s contest against Hatboro-Horsham, and they struggled to find their offense in the first half, falling behind 32-8. They closed out the game by outscoring their visitors 25-13 in the second half.
Samantha Howard led the Panthers with 12 points on four 3-pointers. Kimmy Best added 10 points, which included a pair of threes for the Panthers, who buried seven shots from beyond the arc.
Quakertown (1-9, 0-3 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
Saucon Valley 15-17-7-6 45
Quakertown 3-5-6-19 33
Saucon Valley (45) – Katherine Naiburg 5, Shannon Williams 2, Abbey Soltysiak 2, Katelyn Kramer 16, Kiele Riefenstahl 10, Olivia Williams 2, Helen Kreschellek 8.
Quakertown (33) – Abigail Dickson 2, Kimmy Best 10, Samantha Howard 12, Emma Pizzullo 4, Brianna Leftkoski 2, Hannah LaBonge 3.
ACADEMY PARK 68, CHELTENHAM 45
The Lady Panthers led 12-10 after one quarter, but the game began slipping away from them in the second, and they found themselves staring at a 32-22 halftime deficit. Academy Park added to its lead with an 18-5 third quarter.
Kelia Holmes led the Lady Panthers with 13 points. Kai Williams added nine points and seven rebounds. Yanisha Dormil contributed eight points and seven rebounds, and Courtney Murray also had eight points.
Cheltenham (5-3, 1-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Tuesday.
Cheltenham 12-10-5-18 45
Academy Park 10-22-18-18 68
Cheltenham (45) – Savannah Roberts 3, Yanisha Dormil 8, Tamara Choitz 2, Courtney Murray 8, Cashmear Moore 2, Kelia Holmes 13, Kai Williams 9.
Academy Park (68) – Shanalay Hightower 17, Riley Street 3, Taylor Flores 7, Mahya Woodton 14, Lashay Jackson 13, Anissa Fleming 7, Kiasa Cunningham 4, Sierra Thomas 3.
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 67, HARRY S TRUMAN 56
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