Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. PW/Downingtown East photos provided by Larry Small. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Non-league
North Penn 57, Neshaminy 50
The visiting Knights outscored the Redskins 28-15 over the middle two quarters and then withstood a late charge by Neshaminy to earn the non-league win.
“It was a close game,” North Penn coach Jen Carangi said. “It’s Neshaminy – every year Joe (Lally) does such a great job with them. They’re scrappy, they’re going to pressure, and that’s exactly what they did.
“A few times we didn’t make great decisions and turned it over, but once we settled down a little bit, it was good. That’s the positive of playing a schedule like this to start the season – we’re hopefully working out the little kinks now, and if it happens in a few weeks from now, we’ll be much better suited to take care of it.”
The two teams battled to a 16-16 tie after one quarter. Val McGriff led the Knights with nine points, and Kristin Curley matched that total with nine points for the Redskins.
In the second quarter, the Knights limited the Redskins to just five points, and North Penn took a 28-21 lead into halftime. They added to that lead in the third quarter and then iced the win in the fourth quarter by burying 7-of-11 shots at the foul line. Alli Lindsay’s 4-of-6 effort led the way.
“We have most of the same kids back from last year, and in the huddle, they’re bringing so much to the table,” Carangi said. “Instead of just being me coaching and telling them – ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ they’re saying, ‘This is what we’re seeing. How about if we do this?’ They want it so bad.
“Playing at Neshaminy is tough and just knowing the team that you’re going to play against. I said to them, ‘If after our first week we could be 3-1, I’d be super happy.’ We have Souderton on Thursday, and any of our league games are going to be so tough because our coaches are so good and they have their kids ready to play, but the goal is still attainable for us.”
McGriff led all scorers with 16 points, which included a three-pointer.
“She got in foul trouble and actually fouled out in the fourth quarter,” Carangi said of McGriff. “Alaina Mullaly, one of our guards played really well, Alli Lindsay played really well.
“It was one of those games the whole team played well – I know that’s a trite thing to say, but every game it seems like somebody else is stepping up. We’ve just been lucky with that. Carley Adams did a great job on the defensive end. She didn’t score a ton of points tonight, but she was essential to us taking care of the ball and really anchoring our defense. It wasn’t pretty at times, but we’re just really grateful to have the win.”
Lindsay added 12 points – six in the fourth quarter – while Rachel Dunn and Mullaly both had nine.
For the Redskins, Curley led the way with 15 points, and Emily Tantala added 13. Kelli Kowalick had 10 points.
Tuesday’s game was the second of three games in four days for the Knights and came 24 hours after the Knights had battled PCL powerhouse Archbishop Carroll before falling 69-57.
North Penn (2-1) will host Souderton in Thursday’s SOL opener at 6:30 p.m., and Neshaminy (2-1) will be on the road at Bensalem for Friday’s SOL opener at 6 p.m.
North Penn (57) – Ali Johns 0 1-2 1; Abby Plaugher 1 0-0 3; Alli Lindsay 4 4-6 12; Rachel Dunn 3 3-3 9; Alaina Mullaly 3 1-3 9; Kate Early 0 1-2 1; Carley Adams 1 0-0 3; Val McGriff 7 3-4 16; TOTALS 19 13-20 57.
Neshaminy (50) – Sydney Tryon 1 0-0 2; Emily Tantala 5 3-4 13; Kacie Sienko 2 0-0 5; Olivia Scotti 2 0-0 5; Kristin Curley 5 2-4 15; Kelli Kowalick 3 4-4 10; TOTALS 18 9-12 50.
3-point goals – NP – Alaina Mullaly 2, Abby Plaugher, Carley Adams, Val McGriff; Neshaminy – Kristin Curley, Olivia Scotti, Kacie Sienko.
Souderton 56, Abington 49
Mikaela Reese – the lone returning starter from last year’s SOL Continental championship squad – was the difference maker in Tuesday’s non-league game. With Abington on top 17-12 with 36 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Reese was fouled and buried one-of-two. It marked the beginning of a remarkable sequence.
“Abington was called for a foul after the second foul shot, so it’s our ball on the baseline,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “Mikaela scored on an out-of-bounds play with 32 seconds, steals the inbounds pass and scores again with 28 seconds left.
“She scored five points in eight seconds to tie the game (17-17) going into the second quarter. We executed offensively pretty well and just got huge contributions from everybody that played, starting with Mikaela.”
Reese – who had eight points in the opening quarter – led the Indians with 23 points, which included a 7-for-9 effort at the foul line. She also had seven rebounds and four assists.
“She’s just fearless,” Carroll said. “She doesn’t care who it is – she’ll go to the basket against anybody, she’ll go for offensive rebounds and try to block shots. She just plays hard all the time.
“She just played great. This is what we’ve been seeing from her really since the summertime. She’s just playing at a really high level.”
Lost in the shuffle of Reese’s personal five-point tear was the seven-point effort of Jordan Zimmerman in the first quarter. Zimmerman scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half to help propel the Indians to a 29-23 halftime lead.
“Jordan is the kind of kid who’s been waiting her turn,” Carroll said. “She’s had the talent to get varsity minutes before this year, but she was waiting her turn behind other people.
“She stepped up big time – she hit two threes, she was 2-for-2 from the line in the fourth quarter. She played Amanda Jackson the entire game, defended her really well, fought through screens, so Jackson couldn’t get too many looks. Jordan is maybe 5-2, and she led our team with eight rebounds. She’s playing with intelligence and playing really hard.”
Souderton edged the Ghosts 27-26 in the second half and held on for the win.
Khalis Whiting kept the Ghosts in it. The sophomore point guard matched Reese point for point, finishing with 23 points – 15 in the second half.
“It’s early in the season, both teams have young kids, and I think that showed for both teams at different points,” Carroll said. “The two players with experience – Mikaela for us and Khalis (Whiting) for them – looked like they were the two seasoned players.
“Whiting played really, really well for them. Abington is just going to keep getting better all year as they always do, and they’re going to be very good come February.”
Also for Abington, freshmen Cire Worley and Jada Helm both added 10 points.
For the Indians, freshman Erin Bohmueller had seven points while freshman Casey Harter directed the offense at point guard.
“Casey Harter does not look like a freshman point guard,” Carroll said. “The amount of composure that she has – Abington is tough defensively. Even in a half-court set, they are all over you when you have the ball.
“Casey had three turnovers in the first half and none in the second half and just really, really stepped up, especially in the fourth quarter when we needed someone to take control. I honestly could go on and on. We just got such good contributions from everybody that played. We have to keep getting better. There are things that were not great, but this early in the season with the level of experience we have – this is a great win for our confidence, if nothing else, moving forward.”
Souderton junior Haley Fenchel had six rebounds.
Souderton (2-1) will travel to North Penn for Thursday’s SOL opener at 6:30 p.m. Abington (1-2) will be on the road at Upper Dublin for Thursday’s SOL opener at 7 p.m.
Souderton 17-12-14-13 56
Abington 17-6-12-14 49
Souderton (56) – Jordan Zimmerman 6 2-2 16; Erin Bohmueller 2 1-2 7; Olivia Schneider 0 1-2 1; Casey Harter 2 1-5 5; Hayley Fenchel 2 0-0 4; Mikaela Reese 8 7-9 23; TOTALS 20 12-20 56.
Abington (49) – Cire Worley 3 3-9 10; Khalis Whiting 10 3-3 23; Krysten Brown 0 1-2 1; Jada Helm 5 0-0 10; Amanda Jackson 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 20 7-14 49.
3-point goals: Souderton – Jordan Zimmerman, Erin Bohmueller 2, Abington – Worley, Jackson.
William Tennent 41, Springfield Township 25
Erin Hart scored 17 points, which included a 9-for-12 effort at the foul line, and teammate Hannah Reimel added 12 points to lead the Panthers to the convincing win.
“Erin Hart and Hannah Reimel really showed their senior leadership as they carried the load for us offensively,” coach Laura Whitney said. “For the third game in a row, we have taken 20-plus free throws, which shows we are being aggressive. Hopefully, we can keep it going since we know we have a tough test on Friday against Pennridge.”
The Panthers led 9-5 after one quarter and took an 18-11 lead into halftime. They added to their lead in the second half, outscoring the Spartans 23-14.
“It was probably our best all-around game of the season so far,” Whitney said. “Offensively, I thought we executed well. We had several wide open layups and some great looks from the outside.
“Defensively, we put great pressure on the ball all night forcing turnovers and just making it tough on them to get their offense started. Emily Thran, in particular, was so active on the defensive end, getting tips and deflections on so many passes.”
Rileigh Serroni’s 11-point effort led the Spartans.
William Tennent (3-0) will host Pennridge in a non-league game on Friday, and Springfield Township (1-2) will host Abington in its SOL opener on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
William Tennent 9-9-8-15 41
Springfield Twp 5-6-4-10 25
William Tennent (41) – Emily Thran 4, Direidy Serrano 2, Hannah Reimel 12, Chase Dubzak 3, Courtney Bragen 3, Erin Hart 17.
Springfield Twp (25) – Coll 3, Serroni 11, Yoder 2, Smith 7, Guicheteau 2.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 53, Downingtown East 37
The Colonials continued their early season tear, opening up an 18-7 lead after one quarter and upping that to 35-14 by halftime on their way to 
the rout.
“They still have their big post player, (Bella) Smuda,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said of the Cougars’ 6-5 center who is a Liberty University commit. “We tried to bring her out of the paint offensively and pressured their guards full court. We were picking them up full court and trying to get them to dribble to a bad spot and trapping them, and it worked. We caused a lot of turnovers.
“They have most of their team back from last year that was the eighth seed in the district tournament.”
It was easy to forget that several minutes into the game the Colonials found themselves trailing 5-2.
“Our girls really came out mentally confused and made a few silly mistakes to start the game,” Dougherty said. “We called a quick timeout, got them regrouped and then we went on a 13-2 run to end the first quarter.
“Gabby Cooper was outstanding – she hit a couple of threes to stretch the defense. The girls just played a really good game. Kate Flanagan, our point guard, was outstanding, and when we did get a stop, she was able to turn and sprint the ball up the floor, and we were able to attack before Smuda got back defensively.”
Flanagan’s 11 points led the Colonials. Abby Sharpe and Erin Daley both added 10 points. Gabby Cooper had eight, and Anna McTamney contributed seven.
“We had to suffer through some foul trouble tonight too,” Dougherty said. “Both of our starting bigs got four fouls, so we had to throw a freshman in there.
“Deja Evans went in and played a few big minutes for us when Jordyn Thomas and Erin Daley got in foul trouble. This was our first home game, we had a nice little crowd. Even though a lot of the girls have experience, they still get a little nervous for their first home game. It was a good experience for them.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-0) will travel to Wissahickon for Friday’s SOL opener at 7 p.m.
Downingtown East 7-7-8-16 37
Plymouth Whitemarsh 18-17-13-5 53
Plymouth Whitemarsh (53) – Kate Flanagan 4 2-6 11; Abby Sharpe 5 0-0 10; Erin Daley 5 0-1 10; Chloe McGrorty 0 1-2 1; Gabby Cooper 3 0-1 8; Anna McTamney 3 1-2 7; Lily Belle McGrorty 2 0-0 5; Deja Evans 0 1-2 1.
Central Bucks South 45, Downingtown West 24
Taylor Hinkle turned in a glittering 23-point effort to lead the Titans to their first win of the young season.
“Taylor Hinkle just played a fantastic game,” coach Beth Mattern said. “I thought a lot of people did things well, and she was able to capitalize on that, and it was nice to see the effort from everyone.”
Sparked by seven points from Hinkle, the Titans led 8-4 after one quarter and then put some distance between themselves and the visiting Cougars with a 16-5 second quarter burst. Mackenzie Erb had a hot hand in the quarter, scoring seven points. Hinkle also had seven in the quarter.
The Titans went on to outscore the Cougars 21-15 in the second half.
“I was most pleased with the effort from the start to the finish,” Mattern said. “Even when we didn’t have success in things, the effort was there the entire time.”
“I think (the win) was just important for our confidence because they’ve been working so hard in practice. I think this is just a testament to the effort they’ve been making on a daily basis and seeing that work pay off and that they can find success.”
Central Bucks South (1-2) will travel to Quakertown for Friday’s SOL opener at 7 p.m.
Downingtown West 4-5-6-9 24
Central Bucks South 8-16-13-8 45
Downingtown West (24) – A. Stauffer 4 1-3 9; M. Manning 0 2-2 2; J. Harpel 2 0-0 4; S. Johnson 2 4-6 9; J. Willis 0 2-4 2; TOTALS 8 9-15 24.
Central Bucks South (45) – Taylor Hinkle 8 4-5 23; Alyssa D’Orazio 0 1-2 1; Mackenzie Erb 4 0-0 9; Allie Burke 1 0-2 2; Kirsten Schaller 1 0-0 2; Samantha Schhiesser 0 1-2 1; Allison Sauers 1 0-0 2; Samantha Waltrich 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 17 6-11 45.
3-point goals: DW – Johnson, CBS – Taylor Hinkle 3, Mackenzie Erb, Samantha Waltrich.
Council Rock South 48 Lower Moreland 34
Nicole Blaustein scored 20 points to lead the Golden Hawks to the non-league win over the Lions. Rock South actually trailed 10-6 after one quarter but used a 16-10 second quarter to go into halftime with a 22-20 advantage.
“Overall we started out a little slow offensively, missed multiple open looks in the lane, but to the girls credit, they trusted the game plan and the scouting report and really played well from the second quarter until the end of the game,” coach Blair Klumpp said. “Carley Irvin kept us afloat early – from the tip-off she made good decisions with the ball, and when we were struggling to get going on that end, she stepped up and hit some shots.
“We are really sharing the ball well in the open floor and half court, and the girls deserve a lot of credit for that. Nicole and Carley did a great job ball pressuring in the perimeter and that got us going in transition and they were really sound on the open floor. Our ball movement was good in half court and Nicole hit some threes on extra rotation passes.”
The Golden Hawks exchanged baskets with the Lions in the third quarter and blew the game wide open with a 17-5 burst in the fourth quarter.
“We are making a lot of little plays that are earning us extra possessions or limiting the opponents,” Klumpp said. “If we keep doing that, we can be competitive.
“Our defensive focus and intensity in the second half was one of the best efforts since I have been here.”
In addition to scoring 20 points, Blaustein led the defense with seven steals and also had a pair of assists. Hannah Binder added seven points and six rebounds. Jenna Kulp had three assists, six rebounds, two blocked shots and five points. Montanna Chambers added four rebounds. Irvin had three assists.
“Jenna and Hannah did a good job on the backboards and finishing possessions,” Klumpp said. “Montanna was limited with fouls but came up with some rebounds late and converted foul tries – Montanna, Jenna and Kim (Speiser) went 6-6 down the stretch from the foul line.
“We were really locked in defensively after the first quarter. Some of the younger girls gave us really good minutes of the bench and impacted the game positively. Riana Szydlik had a steal and a couple deflections, Kim used her length to be disruptive and paid good attention to the scout and executed it, and Karissa (Smedley) played tough on both ends of the floor. If we keep working together to get better every day, we can build off of this type of effort.”
Council Rock South (2-1) will be on the road at Harry S Truman for Thursday’s SOL opener at 7 p.m.
Lower Moreland 10-10-9-5 34
Council Rock South 6-16-9-17 48
Lower Moreland (34) – Lynch 16, Malone 8, Courduff 6, Finnegan 4.
Council Rock South (48) – Jenna Culp 5, Nicole Blaustein 20, Hannah Binder 7, Montanna Chambers 2, Carley Irvin 8, Karissa Smedley 4, Kim Speiser 2.
Hatboro-Horsham 57, Plumstead Christian 20
Nine players contributed scoring for the Hatters in their rout of Plumstead Christian. They were led by the 17-point effort of Alice Hall. Emily Thomas added 10 points while Cam Ryan and Jess Howard both had eight.
Hatboro-Horsham (1-2) will host Wilson on Wednesday in a non-league game.
Plumstead Christian (20) – Link 2 0-0 4; McNair 0 0-2 0; Zaskoda 1 0-0 2; Taylor 4 2-4 10; Mott 1 2-6 4; TOTALS 8-4-12 20.
Hatboro-Horsham (57) – Emily Thomas 4 0-0 10; Cam Ryan 3 0-0 8; Caroline Shegogue 1 0-0 2; Sydney Kemp 0 1-2 1; Ava McKinney 1 0-0 3; Jess Howard 4 0-2 8; Alice Hall 8 1-1 17; Jada Mills 1 1-4 3; Sam Hollish 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 24 3-9 57.
3-point goals: HH-Emily Thomas 2, Cam Ryan 2, Ava McKinney, Sam Hollish.
Upper Moreland 34, New Hope-Solebury 23
Bean Hughes scored 18 points to lead the Golden Bears to the non-league win. It was Hughes jumpstarting her team with seven points in the opening quarter, propelling the Bears to an 11-5 lead after one quarter. They went on to outscore the visiting Lions in each of the four quarters. MaryFaith Wood scored 10 of her 11 points in the second half to lead the Golden Bears.
“This was a typical Upper Moreland girls’ basketball game – go through shooting droughts from time to time but great team defense,” coach Matt Carroll said. “I love New-Hope’s point guard (Rachel Saxton). She was awesome against Hatboro-Horsham and is their engine. We knew if we wanted to win we had to shut her down.
“Kaiya Herb and Kat Morrow took turns trying to contain her and were great. It all started in practice and film. Kaiya sent me a detailed write-up on New-Hope after watching film on her own. This kind of stuff is contagious and a big reason for our success today. We have a quick turnaround against a really good Jenkintown team tomorrow.”
Upper Moreland (3-0) will travel to Jenkintown for a non-league game Wednesday at 7 p.m.
New Hope-Solebury 5-7-7-4 23
Upper Moreland 11-8-10-5 34
New Hope-Solebury (23) – Vlahovic 0 1-3 1; Chrencik 3 0-2 8; Covino 3 0-0 6; Saxton 1 1-2 3; Dougherty 2 1-1 5; TOTALS 9 3-8 23.
Upper Moreland (34) – Kathryn Morrow 0 2-2 2; EmmyFaith Wood 4 1-2 11; Emma Meakim 0 1-2 1; Bean Hughes 6 2-3 18; Hannah Finn 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 11 6-9 34.
3-point goals: NHS – Chrencik 2, UM – EmmyFaith Wood 2, Bean Hughes 2.
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