Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Slide photo courtesy of Jesse Garber.
NESHAMINY 65, BENSALEM 30
Senior Tiara Porterfield scored 16 points while freshman Allison Harvey added 15 to lead the Redskins to a win in their SOL opener. Harvey also had seven rebounds in an other solid outing for the rookie.
“She’s a hard working kid,” coach Joe Lally said of Harvey. “Basketball is definitely her sport.
“A lot of credit goes to the other kids. Devon Storm, Morgan Goldenbaum and Josafinne McIlvaine – all those kids have basically taken her under their wing, and they’re making both freshmen feel accepted. Allison’s got obvious talent, but when the other kids accept you, it makes it so much easier, and that’s what the kids are doing for her.”
Neshaminy’s second freshman – Brooke Mullin – also had a big game, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds. Goldenbaum added 10 points.
Neshaminy took control of this one early, opening up a 16-8 lead after one quarter and extending that to 30-17 by halftime. They outscored the Owls 35-14 in the second half to earn their first win of the season after three non-league losses to SOL Continental squads.
“It’s nice to get a win and get a league win,” Lally said.
Lyric Lewis led the Owls with 14 points.
Neshaminy (1-3, 1-0 SOL) will host Lawrenceville School in a non-league game Friday.
Bensalem 8-9-8-6 30
Neshaminy 16-14-17-18 65
Bensalem: Samantha Werth 4, Rogers 2, Lyric Lewis 14, Julia Rymarczuk 2, Rivera 2, Jordan 4, Sit 2.
Neshaminy: Emily Alexis 2, Morgan Goldenbaum 10, Allison Harvey 15, Taylor Kelly 4, Fiona McDonald 2, Josafinne McIlvaine 5, Brooke Mullin 8, Tiara Porterfield 16, Thyra Tuttle 3.
ABINGTON 55, PENNSBURY 28
The Ghosts opened SOL play with a convincing win over the visiting Falcons before embarking on a trip to Washington, D.C., this weekend.
Senior Leah Simmons led a balanced attack with 12 points while Lizzie O’Leary and Brittney James both had eight points. Sammy Lochner and Jordyn Allen each scored seven for the Ghosts.
Abington (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will face Incarnate Word in Friday’s game of the She Got Game Classic. Pennsbury (0-3, 0-1) will travel to Emmaus for a non-league game Saturday.
Pennsbury 5-5-6-12 28
Abington 14-14-17-10 55
Pennsbury: Abby Wick 6, Niasia Boone 1, Brady 7, Sydney Buell 16.
Abington: Brittney James 8, Cameron Lexow 3, Sammy Lochner 7, Lizzie O’Leary 8, Miranda Liebtage 2, Jordyn Allen 7, Leah Simmons 12, Sam Brusha 2, Kassondra Brown 6.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 60, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 23
The Patriots had plenty of reasons to cheer in Thursday’s non-league game at LC. Nine players contributed scoring, but perhaps no one drew bigger cheers than Abby Charlton.
The junior forward is returning to action after recuperating from her second torn ACL in as many years. She was cleared to return to the court in early November.
“We love having Abby on the floor because she does things that you can’t teach,” East coach Liz Potash said. “The way she goes hard – you would never know she has two torn ACLs.“We just love how hard she plays and how aggressive she is. We were excited to get her back.”Charlton – despite tearing the ACL in each knee – never considered the possibility of not coming back.“I’ve been playing basketball as long as I can remember,” she said. “I knew as soon as I tore it the second time – I knew it wasn’t bringing me down. I was coming back to play. I just love the game, and nothing was stopping me.”
Charlton finished with five points. Bridget Birkhead led all scorers with 12 points while Bri Talbot and Megan Browne each had 10. Kyra Scaliti added eight points for the Patriots, who sprinted to a 10-0 lead and took a 19-6 advantage into the second quarter. By halftime, they led 30-10, and the outcome had long since been decided.
“Defense is a big key for us,” senior co-captain Megan Lapioli said. “A lot of our offense comes from our defense. That’s been a goal since the very beginning.”
The Patriots had both their defensive and offensive games in gear. They connected on five three-pointers – three in the opening quarter when Birkhead buried a pair and Bailey McManus added a trey. Talbot also had a pair of three-point baskets.
Central Bucks East (3-0) will travel to Pennridge for Friday’s SOL opener.
Central Bucks East 19-11-20-10 60
Lansdale Catholic 6-4-11-2 23
Central Bucks East: Bridget Birkhead 12, Kyra Scaliti 8, Bailey McManus 6, Bri Talbot 10, Grace Stewart 4, Megan Browne 10, Megan Lapioli 2, Abby Charlton 5, Sophia Mancuso 3.
Lansdale Catholic: Emily Smith 7, Abby Ward 7, Laura Vetter 2, Lauren Crim 1, Brady Wassel 2, Kim Talley 4.
GWYNEDD MERCY 55, SOUDERTON 28
The defending District One AAA champions wasted little time before taking control of Thursday’s non-league contest, racing to a 20-5 lead at the end of one quarter and taking a 33-12 lead into halftime.
The Indians had no answer for Erica Candido. The senior captain exploded for 23 points, which included a perfect 7-for-7 effort at the foul line. Krista Schneider and Alana Cardona led the Indians with eight points each.
Souderton (1-2) will host Hatboro-Horsham in Friday’s SOL opener.
Gwynedd Mercy 20-13-10-12 55
Souderton 5-7-8-8 28
Gwynedd Mercy: Mary Claire Casey 2, Carly Heineman 6, Maggie Cameron 3, Lizzy Ferguson 4, Erica DeCandido 23, Brigit Coleman 8, Danielle Senour 4, Megan Dougherty 5.
Souderton: Tori Dowd 6, Krista Schneider 8, Alana Cardona 8, Megan Walbrandt 3, Sami Falencki 3.
HARRY S TRUMAN 47, UPPER MORELAND 24 (Wednesday, Dec. 9)
Coach Collette Munford decided to change up her team’s defensive strategy. The Tigers reaped big dividends in Wednesday’s home opener.
“At practice yesterday, I told the girls we were going to switch up our game plan,” the Tigers’ coach said. “We came out in a press.
“I told them – ‘If you’re aggressive in the press, it will work, and we’ll get easy buckets and get the lead early. Let’s see how it feels, but you have to be aggressive.’
“They did it, and we went up 14-0. Their coach called a timeout, and all I said to the girls was ‘How does it feel?’ They said, ‘Coach, it feels good.’ These girls have worked hard. Tonight they played as a team, and they hustled.
Junior Daeja Moore led the Tigers with 16 points while sophomore Darnella McMillan and Jayda Campbell both scored 10.
Jenna Getz led the Golden Bears with nine points while Noelle Woodman added seven.
Truman (2-1) will host Council Rock South in Friday’s SOL opener while Upper Moreland (1-2) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Upper Moreland 3-9-5-7 24
Truman 21-8-8-10 47
Harry S Truman: Daeja Moore 16, Darnella McMillan 10, Jayda Campbell 10, Maylissa Clarke 4, Alexis McCoy 2, Sabria Lytes 5.
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