Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday.
ABINGTON 62, STONEWALL JACKSON 45
Opponents of Abington might want to think twice before taking the ball to the hole. To say Lizzie O’Leary is protecting the paint for the Ghosts might just be an understatement.
On the heels of a 13-block effort in a remarkable triple double performance on Friday, O’Leary was back at it again on Saturday, picking up her second triple-double in as many games. This time the Ghosts’ junior center finished with 10 blocks to go along with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
“I’m used to getting a couple of blocks a game,” O’Leary said. “I don’t know what happened – it just happened.
“I was trying to keep it safe. I didn’t want to take too many risks. We were playing two really good teams, and I knew my teammates needed me in there. I was just playing how I play, and they kept driving it in. Sometimes the blocks were from my help defense too.”
The Ghosts opened up a 19-15 lead at the end of one quarter but found themselves deadlocked 30-30 at the intermission. They owned the second half, outscoring Stonewall Jackson 15-6 in the third quarter and 32-15 in the half on their way to the convincing win.
O’Leary wasn’t the only player to come up big for the Ghosts in Saturday’s win. Sophomore Jordyn Allen had a team high 14 points while Leah Simmons added 12. Britney James also finished in double figures with 10. Sammy Lochner added eight points and Sam Brusha, six points.
“Sam Lochner picked up three fouls in the first half, so we had to play without our point guard the whole first half,” Marsh said. “We’re relying on these sophomore guards that are our future.
“We struggled a little bit. They have a kid going to Virginia Tech, and she had 17 points in the first half and zero in the second half. We had Britney James deny her the ball all over the court. She wasn’t able to get the looks she was able to get in the first half.”
Only a bank shot at the buzzer in Friday’s game against Incarnate Word prevented the Ghosts from a sweep of their games in the She Got Game Classic in Washington, D.C.
“I think this is going to help us a lot because both of the teams we played gave us a lot of hard pressure in the backcourt and in the halfcourt,” O’Leary said. “I think that will help us going forward when we get further into the season and we’re starting to play better competition when we get into districts.”
Marsh echoed a similar sentiment.
“Incarnate Word is as good as any team in our state, and without the lucky bank shot, we’re 2-0,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “It’s like I told them – I think this team could be really good, and now I know it.
“What they need to do now is figure out how to be consistent and make sure they bring this type of effort every time. We’re about to go into our league schedule, and we know how tough league games can be. We just have to stay consistent with our team effort and our balance the way we were this weekend. I’m excited. We’ll see what happens.”
Abington (2-2, 0-1 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Tuesday.
Abington 19-11-15-17 62
Stonewall Jackson 15-15-6-9 45
Abington: Britney James 10, Sammy Lochner 8, Jordyn Allen 14, Lizzie O’Leary 11, Leah Simmons 12, Sam Brush 6, Kassondra Brown 1.
QUAKERTOWN 63, SAUCON VALLEY 23
Quakertown turned the tables on Saucon Valley, avenging last year’s 60-42 loss at the hands of the Black Panthers with a resounding win in Saturday’s non-league contest.
The Panthers set the tone for this one early – racing to a 20-6 lead after one quarter and taking a 31-8 advantage into halftime on the way to their first win of the season.
“It was a good win,” coach Brittany Remmey said. “It was fun to see their athleticism come out tonight, throwing in some pressing and just making some easy layups or crashing the boards hard and making easy layups under the basket.
“That’s where we were most successful tonight, and it was really cool because everybody scored that we put in the game from freshmen to seniors.”
Twelve people got into the scoring column for the host Panthers. Three players finished the game in double figures. Jill Martin led a balanced attack with 13 while Marina Cooke and Meghan Klee each added 11 points. Brooke Alwine chipped in with six points.
Quakertown (1-3, 0-1 SOL) will host Souderton on Tuesday night.
Saucon Valley6-2-10-5 23
Quakertown 20-11-14-18 63
Saucon Valley: Naiburg 6, Chalkowsky 2, Kramer 3, Warnke 2, Riefensthal 2, Krescholiek 3, Duffy 2, Williams 3.
Quakertown: Brooke Alwine 6, Sam Howard 2, Maggie Garlick 3, Spenser Gray 5, Joelle Simeu 2, Olivia Morano 5, Marina Cooke 11, Meghan Klee 11, Jill Martin 13, Narissa Chase 2, Veronia Best 1, Hannah LaBonge 2.
NORTH PENN 64, NANSEMOND RIVER 49
Bri Hewlett turned in a glittering 16-point, 10-rebound performance to lead the Lady Knights to an impressive win in Saturday’s opening game of the She Got Game Classic in Washington, D.C. Six of Hewlett’s rebounds came on the offensive end where the Lady Knights dominated play, pulling down 21 offensive boards in the contest.
The Lady Knights, who trailed 19-14 after one quarter, seized control with a 20-8 second quarter scoring burst to go into halftime with a 34-21 lead. They added to that lead in the third quarter with a 19-7 tear to go on top 53-28 on their way to the decisive win.
“We started out in a matchup zone, and they hit so many threes,” said coach Maggie deMarteleire. “They had six threes for the game – five of them were in the first half.
“We switched to man-to-man, and our kids really did an awesome job. Every instruction we gave them – the kids just did a great job. Irisa Ye just played awesome defense. She really did set the tone.”
Mikaela Giuliani (13 points) and Jess Huber (11 points) also finished in double figures. Mia Melchior added nine points and Sam Carangi, eight points.
“I was really, really pleased,” deMarteleire said. “The kids were really aggressive.
“Jess Huber was diving all over the floor. We got down early, and they were hitting some shots. We made some adjustments on defense, and the kids did a great job of following instructions. It was our second big win in a row.”
North Penn (4-1, 1-0 SOL) will face St. John’s College on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Nansemond River 19-8-7-15 49
North Penn 14-20-19-11 64
North Penn: Irisa Ye 2, Mikaela Giuliani 13, Jess Huber 11, Bri Hewlett 16, Sam Carangi 8, Jess McKenzie 5, Mia Melchior 9
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 45, MARPLE NEWTOWN
The Colonials picked up their second win in as many days, following Friday’s win over Upper Moreland with a no-doubt-about-it non-league win over Marple Newtown.
“It’s a huge confidence builder with such a young team to get two wins, just to get them feeling good,” coach Daniel Dougherty said. “Our first game (a 43-39 overtime loss to Council Rock South) – to lose the game the way we did was a little rough on our confidence.”
Once again junior Taylor O’Brien led the way, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds and three steals.
“Last night and today, Taylor O’Brien saw some real pressure defense, like a diamond-and-one face guarding, and she was able to handle it,” Dougherty said. “The rest of the team handled it very well, and we got balanced scoring out of it.
“It was a big confidence boost yesterday and today.”
The Colonials raced out of the gate to a 14-2 lead, but they were outscored 10-2 in the second quarter to make it a 16-12 game at halftime.
“Today we came out in a fullcourt press, and we were able to create turnovers, and we were able to convert off those turnovers,” Dougherty said. “In the second quarter, they bounced right back and had a girl hit a couple of in rhythm threes on us.
“Last night and today, we struggled with some foul trouble, which hurt us. In the second quarter, their team got a little hot, and we went cold. We were forcing turnovers, but we weren’t able to convert them.”
O’Brien had plenty of help in Saturday’s win. Ali Diamond had nine points, eight rebounds and two steals. Laurel Suchsland contributed seven points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Sarah Putsch added six points, four rebounds and three steals.
“We’re getting a lot of contributions,” Dougherty said. “Taylor is doing a great job. Ali Diamond has been doing a fabulous job of kind of running the team.
“We’re getting contributions from Laurel Suschsland and Sarah Putsch – everyone. Last night freshman Sydney Kesselman was able to step in when we were in foul trouble and score 11 points. It was very balanced effort from all five starters and two or three kids off the bench.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Merion on Tuesday.
Marple Newtown 2-10-5-8 25
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14-2-16-13 45
Marple Newtown: J. Lynch 2, Robinson 10, Rutecki 2, Ayoub 4, Nikolus 2, Young 5.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Taylor O’Brien 19, Gia Schweitzer 2, Ali Diamond 9, Sarah Putsch 6, Laurel Suchsland 7, Lauren Coscia 2.
CHELTENHAM 73, ACADEMY PARK 41
Ashley Jones and Gabbi Wright proved to be a formidable duo in Saturday’s convincing non-league win.
Jones was once again all but unstoppable – scoring 28 points in the first three quarters while also contributing eight assists and four steals. Wright added 18 points, six rebounds and four steals in an impressive supporting role.
That was more than enough for the visiting Lady Panthers, who led 15-12 at the end of one quarter and then blew the game wide open with a 23-8 second quarter burst. Wright had 11 points in the quarter – which included a pair of three-point plays. Jones added nine points and finished with 16 in the first half.
The Lady Panthers continued their offensive onslaught in the third quarter, outscoring their hosts 27-4 to go on top 65-24. Jones had 11 points while Wright and Joniece Baldwin both added five with both contributing a trey in the frame.
Baldwin finished with eight points, and Danielle Brown added six for the Lady Panthers.
Cheltenham (3-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday for a key SOL American Conference showdown.
Cheltenham 15-23-27-8 73
Academy Park 12-8-4-17 41
Academy Park: Shantalay Hightower 3, Riley Street 1, Elisha Hernandez 5, Raven-Monet Kemper 21, Trea-sure Ketter 11.
Cheltenham: Joniece Baldwin 8, Ashley Jones 28, Savannah Roberts 2, D’ajah Bouchereau 5, Danielle Brown 6, Mia Leonard 2, Dejah China 2, Gabrielle Wright 18, Nashira Brown 2.
NORRISTOWN 50, DOWNINGTOWN WEST 28
Four players finished in double figures to lead a balanced Norristown attack. Beyonce Collins led the way with 13 points while Daijah James had 12. Patti Fortescue added 11 points, and Lauren Fortescue contributed 10.
Norristown opened up a 15-5 lead after one quarter and took a 33-8 lead into halftime on their way to the decisive non-league win.
Norristown (3-2, 0-1 SOL) will travel to Pottsgrove for a non-league game on Monday.
Norristown 15-18-8-9 50
Downingtown West 5-3-12-8 28
MOUNT ST. JOSEPH 50, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 47 (OT)
The Indians hung tough in Saturday’s non-league game against the Mount, extending the defending Catholic Academies champion to overtime before falling by three.
Becca Margolis scored 21 points – which included four three-pointers – in a strong outing to lead all scorers. No other Rock North players had more than five points.
The two teams were deadlocked 9-9 after one quarter, but the Magic used a 14-11 second quarter to go into halftime with a 23-20 lead. The Indians trailed by five heading into the final quarter (36-31) but outscored their visitors 12-7 to send the game into OT.
Council Rock (1-2, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Mount St. Joseph 9-14-13-7-7 50
Council Rock North 9-11-11-12-4 47
Mount St. Joseph: Kaitlyn Cunningham 7, Libby Tacka 19, Sarah Wills 9, Kristen Lucas 3, Ashley Smith 12.
Council Rock North: Becca Margolis 21, Camryn Polinsky 4, Megan Haggerty 3, Kaelin Mealey 2, Dana Bandurick 5, Olivia Boyle 3, Mackenzie Tinner 5, Hannah Weiler 4.
EMMAUS 47, PENNSBURY 34
The Falcons rebounded from a 14-10 deficit after one quarter to outscore their hosts 9-3 in the second quarter. They took a 19-17 lead into halftime but were outscored 13-5 in the third quarter and 30-15 in the second half.
Pennsbury (0-4, 0-1 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 10-9-5-10 34
Emmaus 14-3-13-17 47
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