Pennsbury & Neshaminy girls’ basketball teams competed on the second day of the She Got Game Classic in Washington, DC, on Sunday. Check out the game recaps.
Non-league
She Got Game Classic (Washington, D.C.)
PENNSBURY 40, BISHOP LOUGHLIN 35
Don’t look now, but Pennsbury is 4-0.
Yes, the Pennsbury squad that lost its top two scorers has shown that it is not without talent and, more importantly, that its players know how to respond in big moments.
In Sunday’s second of two games at the We Got Game Classic in Washington, D.C., the Falcons made some clutch foul shots down the stretch and won another close one, this on the heels of a come-from-behind win over Neshaminy three days earlier.
And they’ve done all of this in just six days.
“Four games in six days – likely a dumb move by the coach to schedule that as we work people into new roles,” coach Frank Sciolla said after Sunday’s win. “But it’s important to acknowledge that we played a ton of people last year, and because we had so many injuries, we wound up with nine different starting lineups last year, and so many people got to play.
“That experience is invaluable, and while everyone is in a different role this year, we really have to credit the girls for how quickly they been able to pick things up and understand what we want to do schematically and with our game planning. We understand we have an enormous transition coming into this season, but that the target on our back is no smaller than it has been.”
Sofia Vitucci was once again on top of her game for the Falcons. The junior guard scored a game-high 19 points that included five 3-pointers.
As for the game, the Falcons trailed 18-15 after one quarter. This despite the fact that they connected on five 3-pointers – three by Vitucci and two from Daniella MacDonald. They outscored Bishop Loughlin 10-2 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 25-20 advantage.
Neither team found its offense in a third quarter that saw Bishop Loughlin ‘outscore’ Pennsbury 5-4, and although the Falcons took a 29-25 lead into the final quarter, they found themselves deadlocked 35-35 late in regulation. Olivia Gilchrist, who was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe, buried both ends of a one-and-one with two minutes remaining to give the Falcons a lead they would not lose. Vitucci also came up huge in the fourth quarter, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers and sinking 2 of 2 at the foul line.
“Today’s game was a dogfight and back and forth, and almost every one of our games will be like that this year,” Sciolla said. “We will win some of them, and we will likely lose some of them. Loughlin was really athletic and made us make some poor decisions.
“We went through a number of different combinations and changed a number of things. It was ultimately Layla Matthias with her 12 rebounds that kept us solid on the defensive end. Sof (Vitucci) made big shots and Liv Gilchrist entered the game with about four minutes to go in the fourth quarter because she does exactly as she is asked and it makes her trustworthy. She did a nice job on offense, pulled down a big rebound, and then broke a tie by hitting both ends of a one and one late in the game.”
In addition to Vitucci, MacDonald added nine points.
With the challenging stretch of four games in six days behind his team, Sciolla gave a shoutout to his assistant coaches.
“Sean Ryan was a head varsity coach for 11 years, including doing it in the Catholic league,” the Falcons’ coach said. “He simply knows what it’s like to prepare and game plan to win. He’s a nuts and bolts and meat and potato type of person, and he has been so good for us and such a studying influence.
“Every day as I get requests for scouting tape on some of the teams that we played, I think about the fact that Logan Klock goes out and videotapes games himself. He’s somewhere almost every night, and preparation is so important, especially in a tournament like this where you may have to drive for five hours to get a look at a team.
“Kaitlyn Kelly understands her role on our bench and she connects really well with our players, and Lou Pompili has us mentally and physically ready to play every game.”
Pennsbury (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 15-10-4-11 40
Bishop Loughlin 18-2-5-10 35
Pennsbury (40) – Danielle Sherman 1 2-2 4; Sofia Vitucci 6 2-2 19; Oliveah Gilchrist 0 3-4 3; Daniella MacDonald 3 0-0 9; Nevaeh Dash 1 0-0 3; Izzy Ruta 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 12 7-8 40
Bishop Loughlin (35) – Janae Vernon 3 0-0 8; Joslin Walker 2 0-0 5; Dayia Anderson 2 1-3 5; Moniya Hankins 3 1-1 7; Kaylah Barr 3 2-2 10; TOTALS 13 4-6 35.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Sofia Vitucci 5, Daniella MacDonald 3, Nevaeh Dash; Bishop Loughlin – Janae Vernon 2, Kaylah Barr 2, Jaslin Walker.
URSULINE ACADEMY 75, NESHAMINY 55
It’s a safe bet coach John Gallagher would like his team’s chances if they scored 55 points, and on most days, that would be more than enough. But it wasn’t against a powerhouse Ursuline Academy squad that scored 47 points in the second half to blow open a close game.
The two teams battled to a 14-14 tie after one quarter with Reese Zemitis connecting on a pair of 3s to lead the Redskins. Ursuline held a 28-27 edge at halftime. Lola Ibarrondo’s 11 points led Neshaminy in the half.
Ursuline outscored Neshaminy 19-12 in the third quarter to go into the final frame with a 47-39 advantage, and they added to that with a 28-point third quarter.
Ibarrondo led the Redskins with 22 points, which included a 6-for-6 effort at the foul line. She also led the defense with five steals to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Zemitis added 17 points, which included three 3-pointers, and also had five rebounds and four assists. Taylor Gurysh finished with 14 points, a team-high six rebounds as well as two assists and one steal.
Ursuline boasts some outstanding young talent, none better than Gigi Banks, whose 26 points – which included five 3s – led all scorers. Taylor Brown added 17 points, including three 3-pointers.
Neshaminy (1-2, 0-1 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday.
Neshaminy 14-13-12-16 55
Ursuline Academy 14-14-19-28 75
Neshaminy (55) – Alena Cofield 0 0-1 0; Lola Ibarrondo 8 6-6 22; Taylor Gurysh 5 4-6 14; Anna Soska 1 0-0 2; Reese Zemitis 7 0-0 17; TOTALS 21 10-13 55.
Ursuline Academy (75) – Brown 6 2-2 17; Kelley 4 2-3 10; Anthony 1 0-0 3; Bolden 2 0-0 4; Grillo 1 6-6 9; Banks 10 2-2 16; Tate 2 2-2 6; TOTALS 26 14-15 75.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Reese Zemitis 3; Ursuline Academy – Banks 5, Brown 3, Grillo.
About the Author
