Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Tennent/Upper Moreland photos courtesy of Gregory Lindsay, and Pennsbury/Truman photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography.
SOL Freedom Division
WILLIAM TENNENT 43, UPPER MORELAND 37
The Panthers won a thriller over the visiting Golden Bears in Thursday’s SOL opener, serving notice that the Freedom Division race could be very interesting this season.
UM – sparked by eight points from Mikel Lancit -held a 13-12 advantage after one quarter and took a 22-21 lead into halftime. The Panthers limited the Bears to just four third-quarter points and took a 28-26 lead into
the final quarter but needed some late heroics to eke out the win.
In the final quarter, junior Avery Kocur buried 5 of 8 shots from the foul line, freshman Carissa Malpezzi and junior Hollie Staub both also had five points in the quarter as the Panthers outscored their visitors 15-11.
For the Golden Bears, Lancit’s 13 points led the way while Hailey Kramer had 12 points and Marie Meyers, nine points.
Play of the Game: With the Panthers trailing by one with 59.5 seconds remaining, Malpezzi buried a 3-pointer. The freshman finished the game with eight points, which included a pair of 3s.
Player of the Game: Staub led all scorers with 17 points and jumpstarted the Panthers with 10 first-quarter points.
William Tennent coach Laura Whitney: “Great team win tonight. I was really pleased with how our girls responded and bounced back after a frustrating loss Tuesday. We knew Upper Moreland was going to come in prepared, and it was everything you’d expect from a division game. It was a back and forth, grind it out, come down to the final possession type of game; and I’m glad we were able to come out on top.”
–The game: “Josh (Adelman) does such a great job with his girls, and they run so many sets where you have to defend 3-4 options. So, they presented
some matchup challenges. We certainly weren’t great at times, and our lack of communication hurt us, and it resulted in us giving up some easy baskets. But when we needed to make some big stops, we got them.
“They made us work on offense and did a nice job of disrupting some of the things we wanted to do. I thought our girls did a great job of keeping their composure and not forcing the issue. They made it hard on Avery (Kocur) to get her shots, but other girls really stepped up and answered the call.”
–Props: “Halie Staub had a breakout game, leading all scorers with 17 points. I was so happy to see her get herself on track after a tough game on Tuesday. Tonight she was back to being herself. She can be such a dangerous player when she’s getting downhill and knocking down 3’s.
“Carissa Malpezzi was huge tonight off the bench. She plays within herself, makes smart decisions, and works so hard. Not only did she bring the energy, but she hit the biggest shot of her young career. With us down one with 59.5 seconds to go, she hit the go ahead 3-pointer. To not even hesitate and shoot it with such confidence as a freshman is big.
“Avery (Kocur) didn’t have the offensive night she usually has, but made two big free throws down the stretch to seal the game.”
Up next: William Tennent (2-2, 1-0 SOL) will host Cheltenham Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (5-2, 0-1) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 13-9-4-11 37
William Tennent 12-9-7-15 43
Upper Moreland (37) – Mikel Lancit 5 1-3 13; Lianna Adames 1 0-0 3; Hailey Kramer 5 2-6 12; Marie Meyers 4 1-2 9; TOTALS 15 4-11 37.
William Tennent (43) – Aubrey Lynch 1 0-0 3; Avery Kocur 2 5-8 9; Carissa Malpezzi 2 2-4 8; Hollie Staub 6 3-6 17; Megan Volz 3 0-2 6; TOTALS 14 10-20 43.
3-point goals: UM – Mikel Lancit 2, Lianna Adames; WT – Aubrey Lynch, Carissa Malpezzi 2, Hollie Staub 2.
SOL Liberty Division
ABINGTON 54, HATBORO-HORSHAM 20
The Ghosts opened SOL play with a convincing win over the visiting Hatters, opening up a 20-8 lead after one quarter and extending that to 36-15 by halftime. They limited the Hatters to just five points in the second half.
In an opening quarter that set the tone, Mikiaya Durham and Aniyah Williams both had eight points to ignite the Ghosts’ offense. Durham was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line in the quarter while Williams buried a pair of 3-pointers.
Williams led all scorers with 24 points to go along with five rebounds. Durham finished with 12 points while Maya Johnson had 10 points and five assists.
Maddy Patel’s eight points led the Hatters.
Player of the Game: Aniyah Williams followed her 24-point effort in Abington’s win over CB West with a 23-point outing that included five 3-pointers in Thursday’s win.
Abington coach Allison Lawson: “The key for us is playing as a unit. There are only two girls who saw significant minutes last year on varsity. The other girls had to get used to playing varsity level basketball.
“We are finally starting to figure out everyone’s roles on the team and they are all buying in.
–Props: “Aniyah is getting confident in her ability to score the basketball which showed tonight. Our bigs Shya (Crafton), Vanessa (Griffin), and Paula (Jarmul) were boxing out and crashing the boards on both ends of the floor.
“Maya is a great floor general, and she was finding the open players as she is attacking the lane all night.”
Hatboro-Horsham assistant coach Nicole Miletto: “Tough one again. We couldn’t find any offense in the second half. We just aren’t taking care of the basketball. Turnovers and missed opportunities are our Achilles heel right now. We have many things to work on but on a positive note they are things we can fix.”
Up next: Abington (2-3, 1-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-4, 0-1) will host Lansdale Catholic in a non-league game Saturday (1 pm).
Hatboro-Horsham 8-7-2-3 20
Abington 20-16-12-6 54
Hatboro-Horsham (20) – Angelica Visceglia 1 2-4 4; Madison Duggan 0 0-4 0; Mia Fisher 0 1-2 1; Mady Patel 3 0-0 8; Gabby Fisher 0 0-2 0; Cora Saxer 1 0-1 2; Madison Siegfried 1 0-0 3; Olivia Grant 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 6 5-15 20.
Abington (54) – Maya Johnson 4 1-1 10; Ayana Miller 0 0-2 0; Mikiaya Durham 2 8-8 12; Shiya Crafton 1 0-0 2; Vanessa Griffin 1 1-2 3; Hailey Hernandez 2 0-0 4; Aniyah Williams 8 2-4 23; TOTALS 18 12-17 54.
3-point goals: Abington – Aniyah Williams 5, Maya Johnson; HH – Maddy Patel 2, Madison Siegfried.
SOL Patriot Division
PENNSBURY 52, HARRY S TRUMAN 9
Twelve players contributed scoring for the Falcons, who opened up a 16-2 lead after one quarter and never looked back.
Freshman Alyssa Thomas scored 11 points to lead a balanced Falcon attack. Keira Socha added eight points.
Pennsbury assistant coach Kaitlin Kelly: “The girls did a nice job tonight playing as a team. It was great to have all 12 players in the scoring column, which included the first varsity points for Caroline Stover and Marley Davis. We did a good job at hitting the offensive glass and had really active hands tonight, which led to a lot of steals. Alyssa Thomas had 11 points which included going 7 for 8 at the free throw line. Adrianna Oberto chipped in with 3 assists and aggressive defense. Overall, good team win, and time to focus on how we can improve and continue to get better.”
Up next: Pennsbury (2-3, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Phoenixville for a non-league game Saturday (12:30 pm). Harry S Truman (0-3, 0-1) will travel to West Chester Rustin for a non-league game Saturday (12:30 pm).
Harry S Truman 2-4-2-1 9
Pennsbury 16-23-8-5 52
Harry S Truman (9) – Niya Lynch 1 0-0 2; Shy McCleave 0 1-2 1; Natane Smith 1 0-0 2; McKennsie Compton 1 0-0 2; Kiera Martinez 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 4 1-2 9.
Pennsbury (52) – Marley Davis 1 0-0 3; Emily Panero 2 1-2 5; Grace Schaufler 2 0-0 4; Bridget McGonigle 0 2-4 2; Maggie Burns 2 1-2 5; Sammie Haws 3 0-2 6; Alyssa Thomas 2 7-8 11; Adrianna Oberto 0 1-2 1; Ava Jordan 1 1-1 3; Caroline Stover 1 0-0 2; Keira Socha 2 4-4 8; TOTALS 17 17-25 52.
3-point goals: P – Marley Davis.
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