CB East, CB South & PW were winners in SOL girls’ basketball action Thursday. Check out the recaps. CB East/Pennsbury photos courtesy of Darryl Rule. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ GIRLS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
SOL non-league crossover
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 45, PENNSBURY 41
In a classic crossover battle, it was the Patriots coming up with big plays down the stretch to earn the hard-fought win.
“It was a great team win,” East coach Liz Potash said. “That is a really tough place to play. Being at Pennsbury in their gym, it’s just a really tough atmosphere. They do a really good job of packing in fans and getting the whole experience.”
The Falcons – behind five points from Sammie Haws – led 11-8 after one quarter, but the Patriots rallied to even the score at 23 by halftime. In the second quarter, Haley Moran had seven points, and Payton Willliams added six.
The second half was more of the same. The Patriots took a tenuous 34-33 lead into the final quarter when – propelled by seven points from Moran – they outscored their hosts 11-8.
Key players: Haley Moran led the Patriots with 17 points and three assists. Payton Miller stuffed a stat sheet with 11 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks.
For the Falcons, Keira Socha buried five 3-pointers for 15 points. Alyssa Thomas added 10 points.
Central Bucks East coach Liz Potash:
–The game: “We came out a little bit sluggish, and we talked about – the biggest thing with them is that you can’t get down early because they’ll really control the pace of the game, so we clawed back, and by halftime, we tied it up. We took a one-point lead into the fourth and then had some big plays in the fourth, hit some big shots to seal it.
“They’re tough, their kids are tough, and they defend tough. (Keira) Socha hit a ton of shots for them tonight. We lost her a couple times. We knew she could shoot. She hit two, and then after that, she just was feeling it.
“So, it’s a really good win, it’s an exciting one. It’s always a battle. You’re always going to be tested. They’re very good, and they’re going to win a lot of games. They’re going to give people a really hard time with the way they can defend. They have different kids on any night that can hit some shots, so we’re really
happy to come away with a win. It was a much-needed team win. We won the other night, but we were just a little bit off. We weren’t playing the way we had the first couple weeks of the season, so to come out tonight and really have a good complete game, battle back a couple times when we were down and then able to go ahead in the fourth quarter – it’s huge.”
–Props: “(Alyssa) Thomas is a really good point guard, and I thought Haley (Moran) did a really nice job defending her. It was a fun matchup to watch.
“(Sammie) Haws has been playing really well for them, scoring a lot, and it’s almost like a broken record at this point, but Natalie Berndt just made her life really difficult, and she ended up with five (points) for the game. Nat defended her so well. She’s tough – she’s strong, she can finish inside, she can hit shots outside, and it was a really tough matchup.
“Payton Williams had another unbelievable game, another double-double. She is just playing years beyond of where you think a freshman would be – 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks. She’s just so tough, and with her, one of the things is – late in the game she went 0-for-2 at the foul line, and I knew she was really upset with herself. She came down the next time and hit them. Just the mental toughness of someone that age playing in big games at this point in her career just speaks volumes for where she is.”
Pennsbury coach Frank Sciola:
–The game: “Central Bucks East is a terrific team. their combination of size and length is a unique challenge for us. We are
always going to be smaller, but it’s especially pronounced with them, but I thought our girls did a really good job battling with that.
“But their experience in the fourth quarter really showed. They have so much successful late game experience. It’s invaluable. Haley Moran is hard to stop. In the fourth quarter, on a broken play, she got a layup and built a little confidence, and then she made two really good pull-up jump shots that were smooth and then when we got caught in a switch, she buried a three and that was the game.
“This was a good time to have a game against a really good team and it will help us grow.”
–Props: “Keira Socha was outstanding again for us tonight and knocked down five threes.
“Alyssa (Thomas) was really good and very efficient with her shot making . We have to do a much better job of creating scoring opportunities for her because she does such a good job on her own.”
Up next: Central Bucks East will travel to Gwynedd Mercy Academy for a non-league game Saturday (12 noon), and Pennsbury will be on the road at Strath Haven for a non-league game at 12 noon.
Central Bucks East 8-15-11-11 45
Pennsbury 11-12-10-8 41
Central Bucks East (45) – Haley Moran 7 1-1 17; Emma Penecale 1 0-0 2; Natalie Berndt 2 1-1 6; Payton Williams 5 1-4 11; Jess Lockwood 4 0-0 9; TOTALS 19 3-6 45.
Pennsbury (41) – Sammie Haws 2 1-4 5; Alyssa Thomas 5 0-1 10; Shea Quenzer 1 1-2 3; Joley Hohman 4 0-0 8; Keira Socha 5 0-0 15; TOTALS 17 2-7 41.
3-point goals: CBE – Haley Moran 2, Natalie Berndt, Jess Lockwood; P – Keira Socha 5.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 39, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 31
The Titans found themselves on the short end of a 20-11 score at halftime. They found their offense in the third quarter, scoring 13 points, but the Indians put 11 points on the board and still led 31-24 heading into the final quarter when the Titans staged a gutsy comeback. They. were sparked by a defensive effort that did not allow a point in the frame while their offense put 15 points on the board.
In the fourth quarter, the Titans did most of their damage at the foul line, burying 10 of 14. Gabby Tropea was 4-for-4 at the line in the final frame and scored six of her team’s 15 points.
Key players: Jules Tropea’s 11 points led the Titans and included a 6-for-8 effort at the foul line. Riley Campbell added nine points on three 3s, and Gabby Tropea also had nine points – all in the second half.
For the Indians, Alexa Bondra scored 15 points.
Central Bucks South coach Beth Mattern
–The game: “It was a tale of two halves tonight. I thought Council Rock North came out prepared, lots of energy, and executed well. At halftime, we talked about our defensive effort and overall execution. We came out in the third and played relatively even and then had a nice fourth quarter.”
–Props: “Riley Campbell hit two big 3s in the second half that gave us a big boost. Jules Tropea was her steady self, Gabby Tropea had a big second half while Rylie DiCesare and Anna Granito played tough ‘D,’ and executed at a high level on the offensive end.”
Up next: Central Bucks South will be on the road at Bensalem on Saturday for an SOL non-league crossover at 12:30 pm, and Council Rock North will travel to William Tennent Tuesday for a crossover game.
Central Bucks South 7-4-13-15 39
Council Rock North 11-9-11-0 31
Central Bucks South (39) – Jules Tropea 2 6-8 11; Rylie DiCesare 3 1-2 7; Riley Campbell 3 0-0 9; Gabby Tropea 2 5-6 9; Anna Granito 0 3-8 3; TOTALS 10 15-24 39.
Council Rock North (31) – Lauren Smith.1 0-0 3; Brynn Rodgers 2 0-2 5; Alexa Bondra 6 2-4 15; Julia Koval 3 0-0 8; TOTALS 12 2-6 31.
3-point goals: CBS – Riley Campbell 3, Jules Tropea; CRN – Julia Koval 2, Lauren Smith, Brynn Rodgers, Alexa Bondra.
Non-league
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 49, WEST PHILADELPHIA 22
Eliza Meersman had a monster day for the Colonials, scoring 27 points and leading her team to the convincing non-league win.
The Colonials led 17-4 after one quarter and extended their advantage to 39-7. They were in command for four quarters.
Key players: Eliza Meersman scored 27 points in a glittering offensive performance. She also had a team-high eight rebounds. Grace Harvey added 10 points and was a catalyst on defense with five steals. Kenna Winland handed out five assists and also had four rebounds to go along with five points. Liv Patete had six rebounds, four assists and five points. Brooke Peduzzi contributed five rebounds and four steals.
Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dan Dougherty:
“It was a nice ‘get right’ win today after a couple tough matchups early in the week. Eliza Meersman had 17 of her 27 in the first half. Balanced effort from the whole starting five today.
–Props: “Can’t put enough praise on the effort, toughness Liv Patete provides on a daily basis. Classic three-sport athlete (soccer, flag football), she just has such great instincts, poise…has been such a rock for us.”
Up next: Plymouth Whitemarsh will host Lower Moreland in an SOL non-league crossover game Friday.
West Philadelphia 4-3-6-9 22
Plymouth Whitemarsh 17-22-6-4 49
West Philadelphia (22) – C.Cancash 1 0-0 2; D.Tindle 2 0-0 6; Williams 2 0-2 5; B.Tall 3 0-0 7; D.Floyd 1 0-1 2; TOTALS 9 0-3 22.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (49) – Liv Patete 2 0-0 5; Kenna Winland 1 1-1 3; Eliza Meersman 10 6-7 27; Brooke Peduzzi 2 0-0 4; Grace Harvey 5 0-0 10; TOTALS 20 7-8 49.
3-point goals: WP – Tindle 2, Williams, Tall; PW – Patete, Meersman.
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