Ashley Jones continues to rewrite the record books, breaking the single game scoring record in Cheltenham’s win over PW. Check out all of Friday’s results. Photos are courtesy of Lisa Henderson. Check back for a photo gallery of the Quakertown/CB South game.
American Conference
CHELTENHAM 61, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 35
Ashley Jones was unstoppable.
The junior standout exploded for a Cheltenham single game record of 44 points, breaking the previous mark of Bruce Hall who scored 42 on Dec. 14, 2000.
“Obviously, she was phenomenal tonight,” coach Brendan Nolan said. “Gabbi Wright was in foul trouble and sat half of the first quarter and the entire second quarter.
“Kaitlyn Wallace, our other ball handler, did not play tonight, so Ashley really didn’t have a lot of options to give the ball up for long stretches of the game. She had to take on the double teams and sometimes triple teams. She just had to attack through them, and she did.”
Jones also had six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
“With her three assists, she accounted for (50) of our points – that’s insane,” Nolan said.
Mia Leonard took care of business in the paint with 23 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
“She played a huge game,” Nolan said of Leonard. “The truth is there wasn’t a lot of scoring from anyone else, but Ashley was just so effective at handling the ball and converting.”
With the exception of Jones, no Cheltenham player scored more than five points, but it didn’t matter all that much. Jones buried three three-pointers and scored 11 first-quarter points, leading the Lady Panthers to a 16-10 lead. By halftime, Jones had 19 points, and Cheltenham still led by a 28-23 margin.
“We haven’t been challenged a lot lately, so it was kind of good for us,” Nolan said. “We needed to get challenged.
“I said to the girls – really nothing has gone our way. We had 12 team fouls against us in the first half and they had four. Ashley kind of twisted her ankle and had to come out for a minute to get it quickly taped and get back in. Things hadn’t exactly gone our way, and we still had a lead. I said, ‘We have to fight through it, we have to keep playing,’ and they did.”
The Lady Panthers turned up the defense in the second half, outscoring the Colonials 15-6 in the third quarter to go on top 43-29 and closing it out with an 18-6 fourth quarter.
“I had been stressing defense so much at practice,” Nolan said. “When we played Prep Charter, our defense was so bad – I was embarrassed. It was so lazy and ineffective.
“I’ve been telling the girls, ‘You’re going to get in games that you’re going to have to shut teams down. You can’t just rely on scoring 70 points a game.’ We only gave up 12 points in the second half. Taylor O’Brien, who is key for them, did not score a field goal in the second half. I was not only impressed with the performance of Ashley, but as a team, I thought we defended really well. That to me is equally as important as the performance Ashley put out there.”
Jones added 11 points in the third quarter and 14 more in the fourth to finish with 44. Included in those 44 points were five three-pointers and a 7-for-10 effort at the foul line.
“As a coach, you kind of feel helpless,” Nolan said. “You can’t stifle her. You just have to let her go. As much as you want to plan and you want to out-execute – when you have a great player like that, you just have to let her be a great player.
“I’ve heard Schaef (Bob Schaefer) say a million times, and he lived by this – you have to let your stars be stars, and sometimes you have to just get out of their way and let them go, don’t overthink it, and tonight was a great example of that. She was the star, and you just had to let her be the star tonight.”
For the Colonials, O’Brien led the way with 13 points – she had 10 in the first half and only three foul shots in the second half. Ali Diamond added seven points and Laurel Suchsland added six.
Cheltenham (9-1, 5-1 SOL) will host Unionville in a non-league game Saturday (7 p.m.). Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-4, 4-2) will host Norristown on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-13-6-6 35
Cheltenham 16-12-15-18 61
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Taylor O’Brien 13, Gia Schweitzer 2, Ali Diamond 7, Sarah Putsch 2, Laurel Suchsland 6, Lauren Coscia 5.
Cheltenham: Ashley Jones 44, D’ajah Bouchereau 4, Mia Leonard 4, Gabrielle Wright 5, Nashira Brown 4.
UPPER DUBLIN 49, WISSAHICKON 17
Allison Chernow scored 14 points and added three assists and three rebounds to lead a balanced Flying Cardinal attack. Josie Barrett had nine points and four rebounds, and Demi Balasa contributed seven points, five rebounds and three steals.
Upper Dublin led 8-1 after on quarter and took a 22-11 lead into halftime. A 13-1 third quarter sealed the Trojans’ fate.
Lexi Carradorini led the Trojans with six points.
Upper Dublin (9-2, 6-0 SOL) will travel to Philadelphia to compete in the Play-by-Play Classic on Sunday. The Cardinals with face Wilson West Lawn at 11:30 a.m. Wissahickon (0-10, 0-6) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 8-14-13-14 49
Wissahickon 1-10-1-5 17
NORRISTOWN 56, UPPER MORELAND 13
The Eagles raced to a 24-2 lead after one quarter and never looked back on their way to the conference win.
Lauren Fortescue (12 points) and Precious Milan (11 points) led the Eagles. Patti Fortescue added nine points, and Beyonce Collins had six points in a contest that saw nine Norristown player get their names in the scoring column.
Norristown (9-4, 4-2 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday. Upper Moreland (4-7, 1-5) will host Lower Moreland Saturday in a non-league contest.
Upper Moreland 2-3-3-5 13
Norristown 24-15-13-4 56
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 41, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 33
The visiting Bucks – struggling against the Patriots’ three-two zone – found themselves staring at a 12-3 deficit early in the second quarter but outscored the Patriots 15-1 to close out the half. Although the Patriots erased the five-point halftime deficit and knotted the score in the third period, they struggled offensively, scoring just 14 points in the second and third quarters combined.
“We don’t really run that offense very often – our triangle, and we were just passing it, and we weren’t really looking for our shots,” Maggie Rakowsky said of West’s early offensive woes. “I feel like once we started looking for our shots and we hit a couple – that’s what really sparked it and brought up the energy.”
No one did more to bring up that energy than Rakowsky, who scored eight points – including a pair of threes – in the 15-point West run.
“We played basketball,” coach Terry Rakowsky said of his team’s comeback. “They were giving us the middle the whole time in their three-two, and we weren’t taking advantage of it.
“As we started to ball fake and then drive into the middle or ball fake and then pass into the middle, then stuff started to open up for us. Everybody collapses – we kick it. It’s just basic basketball. We didn’t do anything magical. We said – just play, look at the basket, see what the opportunity is if somebody’s open.”
In the opening quarter, the Bucks managed just one basket – that came at the end of a drive by Abby Spratt – while the Patriots were sparked by four points from Bridget Birkhead en route to an 8-3 lead. A Birkhead basket after a Bri Talbot steal put the Bucks on top 12-3, but back-to-back threes by Rakowsky and Alex Burkauskas sparked the 15-1 run that sent the Bucks into halftime with an 18-13 lead.
“I think it’s a mentality because we didn’t have trouble scoring in the first quarter and they were pressuring us the same way they were the rest of the game,” East coach Liz Potash said. “We knew they weren’t going to roll over after the first quarter. We knew they would keep attacking.”
The two teams were knotted 20-20 after a Talbot bucket, but the Patriots suffered a setback when Birkhead – whose nine points led East – picked up her third and fourth fouls in short order midway through the quarter and took a seat on the bench. By the time the quarter was over, the Bucks had opened up a 30-22 lead.
“It hurts us not to have Bridget on the floor,” Potash said.
The Patriots pulled to within four (36-32) late, but Makenzie Mason answered with a basket for the Bucks.
In addition to leading the way offensively, Rakowsky – who also had six rebounds and two steals – also ignited the Bucks’ trapping defense that resulted in numerous steals.
“She’s been doing that for two years – Maggie takes their point guard, and we overplay everywhere else,” coach Terry Rakowsky said. “It’s a winning formula for us right now.
“Maggie’s a real, real, real good defender. Last year every best kid we faced on the other team – she took. That was her role this year. This year her role is to do that, but it’s also now to score and be more offensive.”
Mason finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four steals. Maddie Maio added three steals while freshman Tori Abelson (five rebounds, two steals) and Burkauskas (three rebounds, two steals) also contributed.
For the Patriots, Grace Stewart added eight points.
With the win, the Bucks upped their record to 8-3 (5-1 SOL), and according to Maggie Rakowsky, the squad benefited from its trip to the Boo Williams Christopher Tournament where the Bucks were 1-2 in the Silver Bracket.
“We played a bunch of really fast, athletic teams,” she said. “That’s really different because we don’t get that sometimes around here, and it gave us a chance to run different offenses and try different things.”
Central Bucks West will face Council Rock North in the Maggie Lucas Play-by-Play Classic at Philadelphia University on Sunday (1 p.m.). Central Bucks East (7-5, 3-3) will travel to Souderton on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West: Alex Burkauskas 1 0-0 3; Abby Spratt 1 1-2 3; Maddie Maio 0 2-2 2; Makenzie Mason 4 1-3 9; Tori Abelson 1 0-0 2; Izzy Treon 1 2-4; Maggie Rakowsky 4 8-12 18; Totals 12 14-23 41
Central Bucks East: Bridget Birkhead 4 0-0 9; Kyra Scaliti 2 0-0 5, Bailey McManus 0 2-2 2, Melanie Wetzel 1 2-2 4, Bri Talbot 1 3-8 5, Grace Stewart 3 2-2 8, Totals 11 9-14 33.
PENNRIDGE 67, HATBORO-HORSHAM 50
The Lady Rams exploded out of the gate to a 19-4 lead after one quarter and maintained that lead the rest of the way.
Lydia Konstanzer had a monster night for the Lady Rams, finishing with 27 points and 16 rebounds for yet another double-double. She also had three steals and a blocked shot.
Devan Rimmer also had a big game, scoring 20 points and also picking up four steals. Gillian Anderson finished in double figures with 10 points to go along with eight rebounds and six steals. Brooke Bachtle had six points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks shots.
The Hatters were led by the 16-point effort of Cassidy Quattro while Bergen Sims added 12 points and Haley Seifert, 10. Kylie Halko had seven points.
Pennridge (7-5, 2-4 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (4-8, 0-6) will host North Penn on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 4-14-16-16 50
Pennridge 19-12-19-17 67
Hatboro-Horsham: Kylie Halko 7, Bergen Sims 12, Haley Seifert 10, Cassidy Quattro 16, Julia Thornton 3, Erin Wingen 2.
Pennridge: Brooke Bachtle 6, Gillian Anderson 10, Sam Muredda 2, Claire Podraza 1, Devan Rimmer 20, Margot Brill 1, Lydia Konstanzer 27.
NORTH PENN 47, SOUDERTON 35
The Lady Knights led 12-6 after one quarter and took a 19-10 lead into halftime. It was a 33-16 game heading into the final quarter when the Indians outscored their hosts 19-15.
Mikaela Giuliani led North Penn with 13 points, and Irisa Ye had 11. Bri Hewlett finished with seven points, and Mia Melchior, six points.
For the Indians, Tori Dowd led the way with 12 points – all in the second half. She also had four steals and three assists. Krista Schneider and Megan Walbrandt both added seven points, and Marissa Sandone had six.
North Penn (9-2, 6-0 SOL) will compete in the Play-by-Play Classic at Philadelphia University Sunday, facing Gwynedd Mercy at 2:30 p.m. Souderton (5-7, 2-4) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
Souderton 6-4-6-19 35
North Penn 12-7-14-15 47
Souderton: Tori Dowd 12, Krista Schneider 7, Alana Cardona 3, Megan Walbrandt 7, Marissa Sandone 6.
North Penn: Irisa Ye 11, Mikaela Giuliani 13, Jess Huber 4, Bri Hewlett 7, Sam Carangi 4, Jess McKenzie 2, Mia Melchior 6.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 68, QUAKERTOWN 41
Jordan Vitelli scored 20 points and Meghan Kuypers added 14 to lead a balanced Titan attack. Alexa Brodie finished with nine points. Courtney Dietzel led the Titans under the boards with 10 rebounds.
The Titans led 16-10 after one quarter and extended that lead to 40-21 by halftime, thanks to a 24-point second quarter that featured 12 points from Vitelli. The Titans – sparked by eight points from Vitelli and seven from Kuypers – scored 22 points in the third quarter.
Meghan Klee (16 points) and Jill Martin (10 points) led the way for the Panthers. Marina Cooke added six points.
Central Bucks South (9-2, 5-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday, and Quakertown (3-8, 1-5) will host Pennridge.
Central Bucks South 16-24-22-6 68
Quakertown 10-11-11-9 41
Central Bucks South: Alexa Brodie 9, Taylor Dunn 4, Melissa Veal 4, Meghan Kuypers 13, Tricia DeCesare 2, Haley Meinel 5, Jordan Vitelli 20, Courtney Dietzel 2, Mackenzie Ehresman 5, Madeleine McShane 4.
Quakertown: Sam Howard 2, Maggie Garlick 2, Spenser Gray 2, Olivia Morano 3, Marina Cooke 6, Meghan Klee 16, Jill Martin 10.
National Conference
WILLIAM TENNENT 56, BENSALEM 35
After scoring less than 30 points in five of their last six games, the Panthers found their offensive stride, rallying from an 11-9 deficit after one quarter to outscore the Owls 47-24 the rest of the way.
Kyla Gibson exploded for 27 points, and teammates Kelly Scipione and Sarah Richie also finished in double digits.
The host Owls received seven points from Lyric Lewis and four from Savannah Jordan to go on top 11-9, but Richie sparked an 18-8 second quarter surge, scoring all 10 of her points in the frame. Gibson, who had three points in the first quarter, also found her shooting stroke, connecting on a pair of three-pointers and scoring eight points.
Gibson added 10 points in the third quarter and six more in the fourth. Kelly Scipione scored nine of her 13 points in the fourth quarter, which included a 7-for-10 effort at the foul line.
Lewis (20 points) and Jordan (10 points) accounted for 30 of Bensalem’s points.
William Tennent (6-6, 2-4 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Tuesday, and Bensalem (5-6, 2-4) will be on the road at Council Rock North.
William Tennent 9-18-14-15 56
Bensalem 11-8-5-11 35
William Tennent: Kelly Scipione 13, Kyla Gibson 27, Sarah Richie 10, Jenna Rodebaugh 2, Brianna Broccardi 4
Bensalem: Destiny Rogers 2, Lyric Lewis 20, Savannay Jordan 10, Julia Rymarczuk 3
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