Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Pennridge/PV photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Non-league
CHELTENHAM 41, ACADEMY PARK 39
The Lady Panthers haven’t had a whole lot to celebrate this season and just recently returned after an 18-day shutdown for COVID protocols.
On Saturday, sophomore EJ Ojukwu scored on a putback of a missed foul shot at the buzzer, capping a fantastic finish and giving the Lady Panthers their first win of the season.
“Academy Park came back to tie the game late, and then they got a steal, and they held for one with about 30 seconds left,” coach Ben Bowman said. “It was 39-39, and they held the ball down to a couple of seconds, they missed the shot, we got the rebound and I called timeout.
“We put in a play to get Amelia (Yevoli) the last shot since she was shooting well the whole game. We executed the play correctly, and they collided with her at halfcourt, so they fouled her, and we were in the bonus.
“Amelia got two foul shots with five seconds left. She missed the first one, missed the second one, and one our younger players, EJ (Ojukwu), got the rebound off a scramble under the basket – players were on the ground scrambling for it, and she shot a bank shot that went in for the win at the buzzer. That was basically the game. It was crazy.”
The game didn’t start off on such a promising note for the Lady Panthers, who didn’t score in the opening quarter and trailed 6-0. They rebounded to outscore Academy Park 13-6 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 13-12 advantage. Yevoli’s seven second-quarter points led the Lady Panthers. They took a 30-26 lead into halftime and withstood an Academy Park comeback to hold on for the win.
“We’re still trying to get our legs back under us. We’ve only had three practices, so it’s been tough,” Bowman said. “You go right into games because they’re making up so many games, so I knew today the early start was going to be a problem.
“We started out slow. We didn’t score in the first quarter. It’s tough to battle back. I know a lot of schools are dealing with this, but it was hard on us, it was hard on the girls. It was good for them to get this win to understand what it feels like to win, see their hard work pay off.”
Yevoli’s 17-point effort led the Lady Panthers. Arianna Davis added 11 points – seven in the third quarter.
“Whenever our teams meet, it is always a battle and this was no different,” Bowman said. “Luckily, we came away with the win this time around.
“We were down our starting forward Cassie Bugg, who sprained her ankle last night, and starting point guard Mikahila Leighton was in foul trouble so we needed girls to step up. It was a team effort.
“Amelia Yevoli took charge and had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Arianna Davis set the tone defensively and had 11 points. I’m happy to get this first win, but we need to find a way to build off of this the rest of the season.”
Cheltenham (1-5, 0-3 SOL) will host Abington on Tuesday.
Academy Park 6-6-13-14 39
Cheltenham 0-13-17-11 41
Academy Park (39) – Semaji Young 3 0-2 8; Jada Kinlaw 3 3-8 11; Jade Wilson 1 0-0 3; Davis 3 0-0 9; A. Kinlaw 0 0-3 0 Imani Bing 3 0-0 6; Akirah Hill 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 3-14 39.
Cheltenham (41) – Mikahila Leighton 1 1-2 3; Janiya Townes-Wakefield 2 0-0 4; Arianna Davis 4 3-6 11; Tyrina Ragsdale 1 0-7 2; Amelia Yevoli 7 0-2 17; EJ Ojukwu 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 16 6-23 41.
3-point goals: AP – Davis 3, Semaji Young 2, Jada Kinslaw 2, Jade Wilson; Cheltenham – Amelia Yevoli 3.
QUAKERTOWN 66, POTTSTOWN 34
The Panthers raced out of the gate to a commanding 27-7 lead on their way to a no-doubt-about-it non-league win over the visiting Trojans. Quakertown took a 41-15 lead into halftime.
Carolyn Sipprell’s 16-point effort, which included a 3-pointer, led the Panthers. The junior forward was 5-for-5 from the field and also pulled down a team high nine rebounds. Katie Catalano, who had a pair of 3s, added 12 points.
“Katie Catalano had a nice shooting percentage today,” Quakertown coach Brittany Bamford said. “She also made some very nice passes into Carolyn.
“One time in particular in the first quarter, Carolyn caught it and made a beautiful athletic move to the basket.”
Ava Pistone added 11 points, and Katie Hagerty had eight. Laney Mitchell was active defensively, according to Bamford, and was credited with five deflections.
Quakertown (4-5, 1-4 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Pottstown 7-8-8-11 34
Quakertown 27-14-14-11 66
Pottstown (34) – Jayla Zipay 1 1-2 3; Trinell Watson 9 0-0 21; Tamaya Jarrett 2 0-4 6; Mikyla Brandon 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 14 1-9 34.
Quakertown (66) – Carolyn Sipprell 6 3-4 16; Katie Hagerty 4 0-2 8; Katie Catalano 5 0-0 12; Maureen Healy 1 0-0 2; Carli Maha 1 0-0 2; Leah Mestayer 1 2-2 4; Addyson Davis 2 0-0 4; Ava Pistone 4 3-6 11; Katie Offner 2 1-2 5; Laney Mitchell 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 27 9-16 66.
3-point goals: Pottstown – Trinell Watson 3, Tamaya Jarrett 2; Quakertown – Katie Catalano 2, Carolyn Sipprell.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 61, PENNRIDGE 53
The Rams found themselves on the short end of a 22-8 score at the end of one quarter but held the visiting Vikings off the scoreboard until late in the second quarter.
“We actually had a two-point lead with about one minute left in the first half,” Pennridge coach Mike Elton said.
PV took a 27-24 lead into halftime. Katie Yoder’s 10 points led the Rams in the opening half. The Vikings led 47-40 heading into the final quarter, and the Rams – who hung tough – never could get over the hump.
“The lead was back and fourth in the third quarter, but they had a run at the end of the third quarter,” Elton said. “They expanded the lead in the fourth quarter, and we were able to make a run at it but not enough to get the win.
“It was a tough game for us, and I credit the team with continuing to battle back throughout the game.”
Yoder’s 18-point effort led the Rams. Emma Pyne added 14 points, which included four 3-pointers. Ava Fantaskey contributed 10 points, including two 3s, and Ella Brown had seven points.
Pennridge (6-5, 2-3 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Perkiomen Valley 22-5-20-14 61
Pennridge 8-16-16-13 53
Perkiomen Valley (61) – Jennifer Beattie 3 7-6 14; Julia Smith 4 0-0 10; Emma Miley 2 0-0 6; Grace Miley 2 2-4 7; Quinn Boettinger 10 4-4 24; TOTALS 21 12-15 61.
Pennridge (53) – Ella Brown 2 2-2 7; Katie Yoder 6 3-4 18; Ava Fantaskey 4 0-0 10; Emma Pyne 5 0-0 14; Ryan Hodder 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 18 7-8 53.
3-point goals: PV – Jennifer Beattie 2, Julia Smith 2, Emma Miley 2, Grace Miley; Pennridge – Emma Pyne 4, Katie Yoder 3, Ava Fantaskey 2, Ella Brown.
ARCHBISHOP RYAN 49, WILLIAM TENNENT 40
The Panthers won each of the first three quarters, opening up an 18-14 lead at halftime. They took a 32-27 advantage into the fourth quarter only to see it slip away.
“It was literally déjà vu of Tuesday night,” said Tennent coach Laura Whitney, whose team lost a nine-point lead in Tuesday’s 29-27 loss to Lower Moreland. “I think that makes it even more frustrating – two games back-to-back where you had the lead.
“Tuesday we led by nine at one point, and today we were up 10 at one point, and the game just slowly slipped away from us. Momentum completely shifted, and we were never really able to get ourselves back in the game. It’s frustrating to have back-to-back games like that.”
The big story of Saturday’s loss, according to the Tennent coach, was fouls.
“They shot (43) free throws, we shot (19),” Whitney said. “We had four girls foul out, two of which were starters, so it’s tough when you don’t have a deep bench to begin with. We were without one of our normal rotation players, so that was tough.
“We just had stretches where we didn’t execute offensively. Just some poor decisions, some silly fouls that came back to cost us, but give Ryan credit. They made free throws, and that was really the difference.
“I thought overall defensively we followed the game plan, we did what we needed to. We didn’t give up too many easy baskets. We missed a couple of boxouts and rebounds, but it really just came down to us being in foul trouble, not executing when we needed to offensively. Give Ryan credit – they capitalized.”
A bright spot in the disappointing loss was the 19-point performance of Chase Dubzak – who scored 11 of her team’s 14 points in the third quarter.
“She led us in scoring, and she was huge in the third quarter with a couple of twos, and she had two threes,” Whitney said. “It was good for her. This is only her second game back after having to sit two games, so for her, it was good just to find her rhythm and get her confidence. All season, she’s really been our leading scorer, and we rely a lot on her, so it was good to see her get herself going.”
Also for the Panthers, Courtney Bragen had 10 points.
William Tennent (2-5, 2-2 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
William Tennent 8-9-14-9 40
Archbishop Ryan 6-8-13-23 49
William Tennent (40) – Ella Mednick 1 2-2 4; Savannah Zeaman 0 0-2 0; Chase Dubzak 6 5-6 19; Courtney Bragen 3 4-6 10; Alyssa Lewicki 1 0-2 3; Morgan Volz 2 0-1 4; TOTALS 13 11-19 40.
Archbishop Ryan (49) – Ava Morsa 0 3-4 3; Jenna Gontz 1 0-0 2; Delaney Finn 2 5-8 10; Riley Lukach 2 5-8 9; Mackenzie Reed 1 7-9 9; Elle Fitzgerald 0 0-1 0; Haley Davis 4 9-12 17; TOTALS 10 29-43 49.
3-point goals: WT – Chass Dubzak 2, Alyssa Lewicki.
GWYNEDD MERCY ACADEMY 43, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 20
The Monarchs buried five 3-pointers in the first half and outscored the visiting Indians 27-12 on their way to the non-league win. Kristen Polinsky – who buried a pair of 3s – accounted for 10 of Rock North’s 12 points.
The Indians – already minus some firepower in the absence of Delaney McCaffery – lost Jaden Wan (knee injury) in the opening minute of the third quarter, and Polinsky didn’t get a whole lot of help as no other player scored more than four points.
Hannah Griffin jumpstarted the Monarchs, burying a pair of 3-pointers and scoring eight points in the opening quarter. The junior guard’s 11 points led all scorers. Maddie Newell added 10 points – all in the first half.
Council Rock North (2-7, 1-5 SOL) will host St. Hubert’s in a non-league game on Monday.
Council Rock North 7-5-5-3 20
Gwynedd Mercy 18-9-9-7 43
Council Rock North (20) – Kiera Katz 2 0-2 4; Ella Caairone 1 0-0 3; Megan Reichenbach 1 0-0 3; Kristen Polinsky 3 2-2 10; TOTALS 7 2-6 20.
Gwynedd Mercy (43) – Morgan Newall 1 0-0 2; Cara Lapp 0 1-2 1; Maddie Newell 3 2-2 10; Megan McDonnell 2 0-0 6; Hannah Griffin 4 0-0 11; Bianca Coleman 1 0-0 2; Sofia Coleman 3 0-0 7; Dylan Burke 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 16 3-4 43.
3-point goals: CRN – Kristen Polinsky 2, Megan Reichenbach, Ella Cairone; GMA – Hannah Griffin 3, Megan McDonnell 2, Maddie Newell 2, Sofia Coleman.
METHACTON 64, NORTH PENN 42
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