Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. CB West/NP photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut, UD/PW photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison and Bensalem/Truman photos courtesy of John Gleeson. CLICK HERE for photo galleries.
SOL National Conference
NESHAMINY 67 WILLIAM TENNENT 27
Allison Harvey had herself a night to remember on Tuesday, reaching the elusive 1,000-point milestone when she buried a three in the second quarter. The senior sharpshooter admits her elation included some relief.
“I just felt at that point I was focusing more on getting the points,” Harvey said. “Now that I got the thousand points, I’m really focusing on the team and what I can do to make the team better and moving forward with our season.”
Harvey’s accomplishment came just four days after teammate Brooke Mullin reached the 1,000-point plateau on Friday.
“Honestly, it just shows the type of basketball team we are and the selflessness that there’s two of us,” Harvey said. “That’s really what we strive for – it’s not personal goals, but team goals.”
Mullin and Harvey are the ninth and 10th female players to reach the elusive milestone, the first since 2010
“It’s a special accomplishment,” coach Joe Lally said. “Alli has been great her entire four years. I’m not surprised she reached that milestone.
“She works really hard in practice, she’s a great kid, she’s really coachable, and she’s been expanding her game to not just be a perimeter shooter. I also think she’s an underrated defender.”
The entire team, according to the Redskins’ coach, played a role in these historic accomplishments.
“I told the kids in the locker room today – it’s a great accomplishment for both of the players, but I said, ‘For many of you who have been with them at least three of the four years, it’s a great accomplishment for you also,’” Lally said. “When you play alongside two players who can score the ball – and we have other kids who can and do score the ball, but it’s really about winning. It’s not about someone getting points for us. That’s what I think is really special about it.
“I’ve never had someone come up to me and say –‘How many points away am I?’ ‘Do you think I can get a thousand?’ It’s just never been a topic. We just play.”
As for Tuesday’s game, the two teams were deadlocked 10-10 after one quarter, but the Redskins blew the game wide open in the second quarter, outscoring their hosts 20-4 to go into halftime with a 30-14 lead. Seven different players scored baskets for the ‘Skins in the second quarter.
The Redskins picked up where they left off in the third quarter, erupting for 22 points that included a pair of Harvey threes and scoring from six different players.
Ten players put their names in the scoring column for the Redskins. Harvey’s nine points on three three-pointers led the Redskins. Four players – Mullin, Emily Tantala, Olivia Scotti and Meghan Ansel – added eight points each. Kacie Sienko and Kristin Curley both had seven points while Alex Ziegler chipped in six.
For the Panthers, Haley Crossley’s eight points led the way. Chelsea Meltzer added six.
Neshaminy (12-1, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Souderton for a non-league game on Thursday, and William Tennent (2-10, 0-4) will travel to Council Rock South on Friday.
Neshaminy 10-20-22-16 67
William Tennent 10-4-5-8 27
Neshaminy (67) – Sydney Tryon 2, Emily Tantala 8, Kacie Sienko 7, Olivia Scotti 8, Brooke Mullin 8, Kristin Curley 7, Alex Ziegler 6, Kelli Kowalick 4, Allison Harvey 9, Meghan Ansel 8.
William Tennent (27) – Caitlin Somerville 2, Chelsea Meltzer 6, Jenna Rodebaugh 5, Haley Crossley 8, Erin Hart 5, Kailyn Hansen 1.
PENNSBURY 57, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 34
If it’s balanced scoring you like, this was the game for you.
Four Falcons scored in double figures with just three points separating those four players. Ava Sciolla finished with a game-high 13, and Kate Mix added 12. Cami Wiegand had 11, and Mary Miller contributed 10 points.
“They played us zone, then they went man-to-man, Ava (Sciolla) shook free a few times and was able to score against that, and we got a big bucket from Kate (Mix), and we pulled away,” coach Frank Sciolla said. “It was great balanced scoring, and we were really solid defensively.”
The Falcons, who led 10-3 after one quarter, took a 24-11 lead into halftime. Mix led the Falcons with eight points in the half, which included a pair of threes. Cami Wiegand added six points on a pair of three-pointers.
The Falcons had eight three-pointers in the game with Wiegand connecting on three and Mix adding a pair.
“Kate Mix was aggressive offensively in the first half,” Sciolla said. “She had a couple of nice buckets for us.”
Hannah Binder (13 points) and Carley Irvin (11 points) led the Golden Hawks.
“I think Blair Klumpp is doing a really good job,” Sciolla said of the Golden Hawks’ coach. “He’s really positive, he had a good game plan. He’s just got freshmen and sophomores he’s playing with, and it’s really hard to win with freshman and sophomore guards in our league.
“Hannah Binder was really solid inside for them, and I thought Carley Irvin played really well for him. She’s athletic, and she made some good plays at both ends.”
Wiegand led the Falcons on the boards, finishing with seven rebounds. Sciolla had six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mix added four rebounds and five deflections, and Miller had four rebounds and three assists.
“They hung,” Sciolla said of Rock South. “We just came out defensively and were really tough in the first half. That was spearheaded by Mary Miller – she had an incredible play at midcourt with a steal and a layup. She has really played well the last couple of weeks, being active and aggressive on defense.”
Pennsbury (9-2, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Thursday, and Council Rock South (4-7, 1-3) will host William Tennent on Friday.
Council Rock South 3-8-13-10 34
Pennsbury 10-14-14-19 57
Council Rock South (34) – Montanna Chambers 1, Nicole Blaustein 2, Madison Broaddus 2, Carley Irvin 11, Jenna Culp 5, Hannah Binder 13.
Pennsbury (57) – Abbi Nassivera 3, Madison Donovan 2, Bella Arcuri 3, Lauren Dignan 2, Kate Mix 12, Mary Miller 10, Nicole Pompili 3, Ava Sciolla 11, Cami Wiegand 11.
BENSALEM 53, HARRY S TRUMAN 44
(Game information will be added.)
SOL Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 50, PENNRIDGE 34
Sometimes the final score doesn’t tell the whole story.
A quick glance would suggest the Indians cruised to their ninth win in 10 games. That wasn’t the case. They actually trailed the visiting Rams by three in the third quarter but then turned on the afterburners, finishing the game strong.
“They’re good, and they play really hard,” coach Lynn Carroll said of the Rams. “In the first half, they had eight offensive rebounds, and they were just going hard to the ball.”
The Indians led 13-7 at the end of one quarter but then managed just five points in the second quarter and took a tenuous 18-16 lead into halftime.
“They went into a zone in the second quarter,” Carroll said. “We had a few bad possessions, and we had a couple of good shots that didn’t fall.
“We had 10 turnovers in the first half, so our halftime was about the fact that we had 10 turnovers and they had eight offensive rebounds. The third quarter they continued to play well.”
Curran O’Donnell buried a pair of huge threes in the third quarter, forcing the Rams to get out of their zone.
“We exchanged baskets for a lot of the third quarter,” said Carroll, whose team rebounded from a three-point deficit midway through the frame to go into the final quarter with a 35-28 lead.
The Indians closed it out with a 15-6 fourth quarter.
“Megan Walbrandt and Megan O’Donnell really kind of exploded in the second half,” Carroll said. “Megan Walbrandt’s field goals in the third quarter were tough shots where she created her own shot.
“Megan O’Donnell was 5-for-7 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. We did some stuff differently in the fourth quarter defensively, which helped. We just took care of the ball and had some pretty great man-to-man defense in the fourth quarter.”
Walbrandt led all scorers with 13 points, which included a 6-for-7 effort at the foul line. She also had a team-high seven rebounds.
Megan O’Donnell added 10 points, six from the foul line. She also led the defense with four steals. Curran O’Donnell and Mikaela Reese both had eight points, and Megan Bealer contributed seven.
Julia Kreider and Corinn Mart both scored eight points to lead the Rams. Evelyn Loughery added seven points.
“Kreider for them had a good game – she played well,” Carroll said. “She was really looking to attack the basket, and she hit a three.”
The Indians were 20-for-29 at the foul line while the Rams were just 1-of-2.
Souderton (9-1, 5-0 SOL) will host Neshaminy in a non-league game on Thursday, and Pennridge (7-5, 1-3) will host Central Bucks East on Friday.
Pennridge 7-9-12-6 34
Souderton 13-5-17-15 50
Pennridge (34) – Corinn Mart 8, Sam Muredda 2, Sophie Cweiber 3, Julia Kreider 8, Evelyn Loughery 7, Ashley Gordon 4, Emilee Cramer 2.
Souderton (50) – Megan Bealer 7, Olivia Schneider 4, Megan Walbrandt 13, Curran O’Donnell 8, Megan O’Donnell 10, Mikaela Reese 8.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 47, NORTH PENN 30
Maddie Burke’s 16 points led a trio of Bucks in double figures. Izzy Treon added 11 points and Jess Broskey had 10 for a West squad that opened up a 22-8 halftime lead and never looked back.
“We shared the ball well and did a great job on the boards,” West assistant Jen Fabian said. “North Penn was relentless, fought hard the entire game.”
The Knights were led by the seven-point effort of Carley Adams. Alli Lindsay, Alaina Mullaly and Val McGriff each added six points.
Also for the Bucks, Emily Spratt had seven points. The freshman guard had one of three three-pointers in an opening quarter that saw the Bucks outscore their visitors 12-3. Treon had a pair of threes in the frame.
Central Bucks West (6-4, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Friday, and North Penn (5-4, 2-2) will be on the road at Central Bucks South Friday.
North Penn 3-5-11-11 30
Central Bucks West 12-10-12-13 47
North Penn (30) – Alayna Faison 1, Alli Lindsay 6, Rachel Dunne 4, Alaina Mullaly 6, Carley Adams 7, Valerie McGriff 6.
Central Bucks West (47) – Olivia Irons 3, Jess Broskey 10, Maddie Burke 16, Emily Spratt 7, Izzy Treon 11.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 62, QUAKERTOWN 23
Junior Caroline Pla scored 15 points – which included three three-pointers – to lead three Patriots in double digits. Freshman Aubrey DeAngelis added 11 points with one three, and freshman Mia Salvati had 10, including a pair of threes. For the game, the Patriots connected on seven shots from beyond the arc. Sophomores Emily Chmiel and Emily Barry both had six points.
The Patriots – behind nine points from Pla – raced out of the gate to a 25-11 advantage after one quarter. They led the rest of the way.
Bri Lefkoski and Morgan Sipprell both scored six points to lead the Panthers.
Central Bucks East (4-7, 2-3 SOL) will be on the road at Pennridge Friday, and Quakertown (2-9, 0-4) will host Central Bucks West on Friday.
Quakertown 11-6-2-4 23
Central Bucks East 25-18-13-6 62
Quakertown (23) – Bri Lefkoski 6, Abigail Dickson 4, Morgan Sipprell 6, Fallon Grandinetti 2, Katie Offner 1, McClasky 4.
Central Bucks East (62) – Mia Salvati 10, Sydney Ives 3, Riley Van Aken 2, Gabby Wilga 4, Caroline Pla 15, Emily Chmiel 6, Skylar Krause 5, Aubrey DeAngelis 11, Emily Barry 6.
SOL American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 43, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 22
In a battle of perennial conference powers, a young Colonial squad gave the defending state champions all they could handle for one half. The Cardinals led their visitors by just a 17-15 score at the intermission.
“We were down 15-13 with less than a minute to go in the second quarter,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “We really didn’t come ready to play today.
“I thought we really turned a corner Sunday (in a win over Conrad) with game preparation and focus leading up to a game, something I challenged the girls the week before on, and they responded in a big way on Sunday. I think it’s hard to be consistent in anything you do, but I didn’t think our game preparation and our game focus was as good as it was on Sunday, and that’s something we need to improve on and something teams in the past have taken a lot of pride in, and I think this team needs to do a little better job of that.”
The two teams battled to an 11-11 tie after one quarter. In the second quarter, the shots stopped falling for both teams as they combined for just 10 points.
“Offensively, we thought we were getting really good shots in the first half,” Funsten said. “We got a lot of offensive rebounds. The ball just wasn’t going in.
“Defensively is where we were disappointed in the first half. Every time we made mistakes defensively, they took advantage and made a shot. As a team when you’re trying to improve, you actually want teams to take advantage of when you make mistakes so that you learn from them.
“Looking back on it – especially after you win, you say, ‘I’m glad they took advantage of the mistakes we made’ because we were making mistakes defensively in the first half, and they made us pay.”
The second half was another story. The Cardinals put the defensive clamps on the Colonials, who managed just seven points while UD scored 26.
“We began to pressure – the girls actually had the idea,” Funsten said. “I kind of asked them – Do you want to pressure? Do you want to keep doing what we’re doing, just do it better?
“The girls gave the idea – let’s pressure a little bit and see how it goes, so we pressured. The game picked up the pace a little bit. We started making some shots, and we got them out of a comfort zone in the half court, so we had a lot of success there. We were much happier with our defensive effort in the second half. We didn’t give them a lot of good shots at all.”
Jackie Vargas had a monster game for the Cardinals, finishing with a remarkable triple-double that included 20 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks.
“We didn’t get the balance we normally get,” Funsten said. “Jackie Vargas kind of went off. In a game where there weren’t a ton of points scored, those are huge numbers. She really dominated the game.
“She started off slow, and she’d be the first to tell you she really didn’t have a good first half, but in the second half, she really exploded and she dominated the game.”
Kara Grebe added seven points, five rebounds and three blocks.
For the Colonials, freshman Kaitlyn Flanagan’s eight points led the way. Freshman Lainey Allen added six points.
Upper Dublin (9-2, 5-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-2, 3-2) will host Upper Moreland on Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11-4-4-3 22
Upper Dublin 11-6-11-15 43
Plymouth Whitemarsh (22) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 8, Sydney Kesselman 2, Anna McTamney 2, Lainey Allen 6, Jordyn Thomas 2.
UPPER MORELAND 58, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 27
Behind eight points from Bean Hughes and six from Phoebe Longstreth, the Golden Bears raced out of the gate to an 18-7 lead after one quarter. Longstreth added 11 more points in a 22-point second quarter, and the Bears led 40-14 at the intermission on their way to the convincing win.
“Since returning from the New Year, we have had two practices and four games,” said UM coach Matt Carroll, whose squad had games Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday. “In years past, this could have been the type of game where we come out not ready to play, but it was quite the opposite.
“We were able to rotate through our nine varsity players and everyone made great contributions. We got our typical numbers from Phoebe (19 points and 5 rebounds) and Bean (18 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks), but what the other seven gave us allowed us to jump out to a big first quarter lead.”
The Golden Bears’ coach went on to laud the play of Kathryn Morrow, who scored five points off the bench.
“Kat Morrow was a big spark off the bench for us today,” Carroll said. “She’s a phenomenal soccer play, and her never-ending motor and tenacity are perfect for what we need from our bench. She’s only getting better as the season continues.
“I give Springfield a lot of credit though because they kept battling to the end. (Grace) Barraclough can be a tough matchup for us, and she got some of our girls in foul trouble in the first half. An 8-3 start to the first half of the year is great but we know our schedule gets much more difficult, starting this Friday with PW.”
Barraclough led the Spartans with 12 points while Rileigh Serroni added seven.
Also for the Golden Bears, Kaitie Opferman had six points.
Upper Moreland (8-3, 3-2 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday, and Springfield Township (1-10, 0-5) will host Cheltenham Friday.
Springfield Township 7-7-2-11 27
Upper Moreland 18-22-6-12 58
Springfield Township (27) – Grace Barraclough 12, Leajah Sistrunk 2, Rileigh Serroni 7, Maddie Yoder 3, Emily Smith 2, Emily Gutcheteau 1.
Upper Moreland (58) – Phoebe Longstreth 19, Kathryn Morrow 5, Kaiya Herb 1, Kaitie Opferman 6, Emma Meakim 3, Bean Hughes 18, Hannah Finn 4, Kelley Leighton 2.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 58, CHELTENHAM 42
The Hatters took a 14-13 lead into the second quarter and then outscored the Lady Panthers 17-9 to go into halftime with a 31-22 lead. The Lady Panthers – behind seven points from Kai Williams and a pair of threes from Maycie Cedeno – outscored the Hatters 16-14 in the third quarter to make it a 45-38 game heading into the final quarter. The Hatters closed it out with a 13-4 final frame.
“Hatboro came out ready to play and played well,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “We gave an embarrassing effort tonight, and it’s on me to demand more.
“We say Panther Pride, but we are not playing with much pride right now.”
Freshman Alice Hall scored 22 points – 20 over the final three quarters – to lead the Hatters. She scored 12 of her team’s 14 points in the third quarter. Maddie Throne added 10 points while Emily Thomas and Kylie Halko each had nine points.
The two teams combined for 50 trips to the foul line. The Hatters were 18-for-30. They were led by the 6-for-7 effort of Throne. Hall connected on 6-of-9.
Hatboro-Horsham (6-6, 3-2 SOL) will travel to Abington on Friday, and Cheltenham (2-9, 0-5) will be on the road at Springfield Township.
Hatboro-Horsham 14-17-14-13 58
Cheltenham 13-9-16-4 42
Hatboro-Horsham (58) – Emily Thoams 9, Cam Ryan 5, Sydney Kemp 3, Kylie Halko 9, Maddie Throne 10, Alice Hall 22.
Cheltenham (42) – Mikahila Leighton 1, Madison Rorer 5, Maycie Cedeno 3, Umayrah Sulayman 10, Kelia Holmes 4, Kai Williams 19.
ABINGTON 67, WISSAHICKON 43
Camryn Lexow is an elite soccer player. The University of Virginia-bound senior can play some serious hoops as well, and in Tuesday’s win, Lexow erupted for a game-high 28 points to lead the Ghosts. She also led the defense with seven steals.
Abington led from wire to wire, opening up a 25-10 lead after one quarter and extending that to 46-21 by halftime.
“I give them all the credit in the world,” Wissahickon coach Rodney Cline said. “They can shoot, they really can shoot. They shot the ball tremendously well tonight, but we fought them tooth and nail.
“We forced them into 28 turnovers, we had 33 turnovers. They punched us in the mouth early. They went up 10-0. Our girls didn’t settle down, so it took a little bit. Once we settled down – we only had eight turnovers in the second half. We competed, we played to the very end. I’m proud of my girls. They fought to the very end.”
The Ghosts, according to Cline, connected on 50 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. Tamia Wessels, who added 18 points, connected on her first three-pointers of the night in the opening quarter. She finished with four.
“She came out on fire,” Cline said. “I didn’t know she could shoot like that.”
Lexow and Miranda Liebtag – who finished with six points – both had a pair of threes.
“They were 8-for-12 in the first half from beyond the arc,” Cline said.
The Trojans’ defense limited Kassondra Brown to just six points.
“That was the scheme to hold her – she’s averaging a double-double,” Cline said. “I’m proud of our girls. We’re undersized. It was an enjoyable game.”
The Trojans were led by the 19-point effort of Anna Schools. Brianna Tilghman and Victoria Williams both had seven, and Lauren Fadel added six.
Abington (9-2, 5-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and Wissahickon (3-6, 2-3) will travel to Upper Dublin on Friday.
Abington 25-21-15-6 67
Wissahickon 10-11-7-15 43
Abington (67) – Tamia Wessels 18, Camryn Lexow 28, Miranda Liebtag 6, Khalis Whiting 3, Amanda Jackson 4, Isabella Kronfeld 2, Kassondra Brown 6.
Wissahickon (43) – Anna Schools 19, Brianna Tilghman 7, Lauren Fadel 6, Macey Segal 2, Victoria Williams 7.
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 44, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 33
Points weren’t easy to come by for either team in the first quarter of Tuesday’s non-league contest. The Titans – thanks to a Mackenzie Erb three – led 3-2 five minutes into the contest. Then Dana Bandurick went to work. The senior standout scored on a putback, followed that with a tough basket from the low post and finished off a fast break after Olivia Boyle pulled down a rebound on the defensive end.
Just like that, the visiting Indians led 8-3. Back-to-back Bandurick buckets to open the second quarter upped the Indians’ advantage to 12-3.
By halftime, the Indians led 23-10, and Bandurick had 15 points.
“I think our defense started to pay off,” Bandurick said. “I’m a big believer that you should always hustle for the ball.
“Some games your shots don’t fall and there are other factors you can’t control, but you can always control how hard you work. I always just try to hustle for the ball whenever I can.”
Bandurick finished the game with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.
“She did a nice job running the floor and was really aggressive on the boards, and we knew we needed to control the defensive boards,” South coach Beth Mattern said of Bandurick. “It was the tale of two halves, but it’s tough when you’re behind by 13.”
The Titans came to life in the third quarter. Alexa Brodie – whose 22 points led all scorers – set the tone when she converted a three-point play to open the quarter. It marked the beginning of a 14-5 Titan tear that was capped by a Brodie three, pulling the Titans to within four, 28-24. Taylor Hinkle had a pair of baskets in the run, and Erb also added a bucket. A late basket by Bandurick sent the Indians into the final frame with a 30-24 advantage.
“Anything we got going on offense seemed like we got off of transition,” Rock North coach Lou Palkovics said. “I’ve got to go back to the drawing board with some of our offenses and put in a couple of deviations because right now even our continuous offenses are not looking real good.”
Sydney Blum sank a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter, and that was followed by a fast break bucket by Olivia Boyle with an assist from Bandurick, and the Indians led 35-24. The Titans would not threaten the rest of the way.
“I think the biggest thing to take from this game is – when everybody’s a threat and everybody’s willing to get on the floor and go for loose balls and bring everything they have defensively, it opens up a lot of things offensively for us when we get out on transition, but we say that starts with getting stops,” Brodie said. “Our best offense comes from our defense. When we’re energetic on defense, and we’re going for loose balls and bringing everything we have, it brings a whole level of energy to our offense.”
Blum added eight points for the Indians, and Erb had seven for the Titans.
Council Rock North (8-3, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Friday, and Central Bucks South (4-6, 2-2) will host North Penn on Friday.
Council Rock North 8-15-7-14 44
Central Bucks South 3-7-14-9 33
Council Rock North (44) – Camryn Polinsky 4, Anna Cairone 2, Sydney Blum 8, Olivia Boyle 5, Dana Bandurick 20, Abby Jones 5.
Central Bucks South (33) – Taylor Hinkle 4, Mackenzie Erb 7, Alex Brodie 22.
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