Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Pennsbury/CB South photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. CR North/Abington and Souderton/CR South photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for photo galleries.
SOL Challenge
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 39, PENNSBURY 37
Alexa Brodie and her teammates, by the senior captain’s own admission, may have suffered a bit of a letdown after Friday night’s celebration after the senior point guard reached the 1,000-point milestone.
In Saturday morning’s contest against an improved Falcon squad, the Titans found themselves on the short end of a 19-14 halftime score. Brodie had just three points and was an uncharacteristic 1-of-4 at the foul line.
“I think it’s always tough mentally and physically to come back after an exciting night as a team and individually,” Brodie said. “The first half was a little rocky all around. We came out with a little less energy than we would have liked.
“I kind of expected it a little bit, but I knew, especially being one of the senior leaders this year, I can’t hang my head. Last year, I could lean on some of my teammates a lot more, but they need me every second of every game to bring that leadership and keep my confidence up, so their confidence stays up as well.
“I think this showed our resilience with such a young team this year. It wasn’t pretty all the time, but I think we learned a lot fighting through adversity and coming out with a win.”
While Brodie struggled in the first half, she was brilliant in the second half, most notably in a third quarter that saw the all-state guard go on a highlight reel tear. It began innocently enough with Brodie burying a shot just inside the arc to make it a 21-18 game with 5:37 remaining in the quarter. It was capped at the buzzer when the gifted point guard buried a three off the dribble to give the Titans a 31-23 lead. All told, Brodie had three 3-pointers in the quarter, a pair of deuces and she was a perfect 2-for-2 at the foul line.
“We were getting good looks in the first half – we just couldn’t put them in the net,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “I don’t want to make excuses because you have to be ready to play every day, but last night was a big night, and it just took us a little bit to get going today.”
The Titans’ eight-point lead heading into the final quarter turned out to be anything but secure, although they still led by eight (34-26) after freshman Taylor Hinkle connected on one-of-two at the charity stripe.
Kate Mix banked home a three for the Falcons, but Brodie scored on a tough drive at the other end. Cami Wiegand connected on back-to-back 3-pointers in a one-minute span, and just like that, the Falcons had pulled to within one, 36-35. The Falcons’ defense forced a turnover and had a chance for the lead, but South’s Kirsten Schaller came up with a steal. Hinkle connected on both ends of a one-and-one, and Ava Sciolla answered for the Falcons, scoring on a drive with 49.8 seconds remaining to make it a 38-37 game.
A Titan turnover gave the Falcons possession with 18.2 seconds, but the Titans regained possession after forcing a jump ball. Brodie sank one-of-two at the foul line with nine seconds remaining, and the Falcons managed only a desperation shot at the buzzer.
“I think this showed the resilience we have on our team,” Wiegand said. “This is a game we feel we really played together more than we have in the previous games.
“We would have liked to have won, but I think all of our offseason work – we love each other, and I think it showed.”
Brodie led all scorers with 23 points – 20 in a dazzling second half.
“She’s such a volume shooter,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “I think she had 24 shots, and those are just the ones she’s taking, so you have to guard her at all times.
“What makes her so good and what makes her someone for younger kids to emulate – she understands that going slow is better than going fast, so she plays under control, and she never gets sped up. She will pace any pace she wants to play.
“What I was happy about with us – when you fall behind to a girl like that, you could really be in trouble to get back into the game. Fortunately, we were able to get back and have the ball down a point with two opportunities to win the game.”
Wiegand led the Falcons with 15 points while Sciolla finished with 12 points and seven assists. The freshman point guard’s seven points, including two threes, propelled the Falcons to a five-point halftime lead. Mix added eight points and five rebounds.
“We had some tough runs, and you have to give them credit for that,” Sciolla said. “The biggest difference this year is we come into the locker room after these games – we had expected to win. The previous two years we were hoping to keep our heads above water and not get blown out of the gym.
“This was five games in eight days, and as much as you want to say – Cami Wiegand has played and Mary Miller has played, you’re also putting someone out on the floor like Ava (Sciolla) or Nicole (Pompili) who are playing their fifth (varsity) game of basketball. You would love to have more time to be better at executing at the end of the game.
“Are we going to see a better point guard than Brodie this year? I’m not sure. This is a girl who put on the show of a lifetime in the district finals at Temple and is confident when she has the ball. We did a great job on her in the first half. We talked about it, and we said, ‘She’s coming.’ We didn’t know she was coming that hard. She stepped up. In the fourth quarter, we were able to get her back under control, but games like this – now is when you have the conversation and say, ‘Okay, we’re no longer bad, we’ve hit the average point, and now we want to be good.’”
For the Titans, Hinkle finished with 10 points. The box score will show that Allie Burke had just one point. What it won’t show were the 11 rebounds she pulled down or the tenacious defense the junior forward played.
“All the time, we talk about playing to our strengths, not doing something that’s out of our comfort zone,” Brodie said. “If we all exploit our strengths, I think we’re a really good team when we all do what we can.
“That’s exactly what Allie Burke did in this game. She knew she was a defensive presence with her size and her length, and I think she used that amazingly today. She was definitely a presence in the lane and on the boards.”
Pennsbury and South – both young teams – left Saturday’s game with identical 3-2 records.
“We’re a young team, and any win we can get is really important,” Mattern said. “The bench was great, the energy, there were a lot of situations we needed to execute to hold on.
“Pennsbury is a good team. They’re young, they can shoot. They have a future.”
Central Bucks South (3-2, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (3-2, 0-1) will be on the road at Bensalem on Thursday.
Pennsbury 6-13-4-14 37
Central Bucks South 8-6-17-8 39
Pennsbury (37) – Abbi Nassivera 2, Kate Mix 8, Ava Sciolla 12, Cami Wiegand 15.
Central Bucks South (39) – Taylor Hinkle 10, Mackenzie Erb 3, Allie Burke 1, Alexa Brodie 23, Sofia Sonnet 2.
ABINGTON 69, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 64
In a game pitting a pair of SOL powers, it was the Ghosts remaining perfect on the season with the hard-fought win.
“It got interesting at the end,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “They made a late run. We led wire to wire. We got it up to 12 a couple of times, but they buried a couple of threes in the fourth quarter. They actually had a chance to tie it.”
With the Ghosts clinging to a 66-64 lead and under 30 seconds remaining, the Indians had a pair of foul shots with a chance to knot the score but missed both.
Early on, the two teams – who along with Neshaminy shared the SOL National title last year – exchanged baskets, battling to a 17-17 tie after one quarter. Dana Bandurick had the hot hand for the Indians, scoring eight points while Sydney Blum had six. For the Ghosts, Tamia Wessels connected on three shots from beyond the arc for nine early points.
The Ghosts – behind six points from Kassondra Brown – outscored the Indians 17-10 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 34-27 lead. Brown went to work in the third quarter, scoring 10 of her game-high 25 points, but the Indians had an answer. Blum scored eight points and Bandurick added seven, trimming the Ghosts lead to four (51-47) heading into the final frame.
Sparked by six points from both Bandurick and Anna Cairone, the Indians made things interesting in the fourth quarter, but the Ghosts would not be denied. Freshman point guard Khalis Whiting’s seven points led the Ghosts. She buried 3-of-4 from the foul line in the quarter.
“Again, we want to be tested early, and this is one of those situations where we had to hold on, we had to make free throws,” Marsh said. “We made December mistakes, but we were able to fight through it and I think that’s what we take from it.
“They’re good, they’re long, and they’re going to cause problems because they’re not little, so they caused our guards a little problem. Our freshman point guard is so good, but she played like a freshman at times and made a few key mistakes and Council Rock North took advantage. We want her in these situations because we know she’s going to grow from it, and come February, she’s going to be a beast. Fighting through that kind of adversity is what we want in December.”
There were plenty of big performances on both sides. For the Ghosts, Brown finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds while Whiting had 16 points and six assists. Wessels added 12 points and five assists, and Miranda Liebtag had seven.
Bandurick’s 23 points led the Indians. Cairone added 15 – 10 in the second half, and Blum had 12. Olivia Boyle contributed nine points.
Abington connected on 6-of-12 shots from beyond the arc while the Indians were 3-for-17.
Abington (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Tuesday, and Council Rock North (3-1, 1-0) will be on the road at Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
Abington 17-17-17-18 69
Council Rock North 17-10-20-17 64
Abington (69) – Trami Wessels 12, Camryn Lexow 6, Kaeleigh Sierianni 2, Kassondra Brown 25, Miranda Liebtag 7, Khalis Whiting 17.
Council Rock North (64) – Camryn Polinsky 5, Anna Cairone 15, Sydney Blum 12, Olivia Boyle 9, Dana Bandurick 23.
QUAKERTOWN 50, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 35
On the heels of a tough loss to Central Bucks South less than 24 hours earlier, the Panthers picked up that elusive first win on Saturday, and according to their coach, it was essential and the players were deserving.
“ A lot of the girls have been putting time in the offseason as well as this season towards their games,” coach Brittany Bamford said. “This put some wind behind our sails today to keep our heads up and play proudly.
“We have been in close games recently, and we are looking forward to growing together as a team. We are young, so the growing pains are going to be there and Coach Detweiler and I are excited to be on this journey together with them.”
One of those young players – sophomore Fallon Grandinetti – scored 16 points. Included in her standout performance were four 3-pointers.
“Fallon is a one of our outside shooters besides Kimmy Best, so when a team goes zone like Springfield did today, Fallon was able to capitalize off of that,” Bamford said. “We also made a minor switch putting her at the top of our defense that she adjusted well to, allowing the next row of players like Bri Lefkoski, Kayla Horning, and Morgan Sipprell to step in the passing lanes for steals as well has her finishing fast break layups.
“She was also composed on the foul line for us at the end of the game when they started fouling, which is huge and a lot of pressure on a sophomore.”
The difference in the game was a second quarter that saw the Panthers outscore the Spartans 16-5 to go into halftime with a 26-16 lead.
“We were able to rely on our hustle today,” Bamford said. “We have some tremendous athletes on the team as well as some talented underclassmen that showed no fear today.
“In the second quarter, we made some adjustments defensively to add more pressure, but that credit belongs to the girls’ determination. We still have a lot of work to do on our second and third rotations and once we fix these, the girls are going to have a lot of fun playing it.”
There was a lot of credit to go around in Saturday’s win.
“Talking with our two captains (Kimmy Best and Emma Pizzullo) last night after our game, I saw how much they truly care about this program, and we had some sparks out there besides the steal trio (Bri Lefkoski, Kayla Horning, and Morgan Sipprell),” Bamford said. “Abbie Dickson had some great defensive blocks. Alexis Miccuci hustled for the rebounds and as a post has such quick feet. Katie Offner also rebounded really well as well as makes some beautiful passes to her teammates. Laney Mitchell also brings her zany personality to the floor with tipping the ball from behind on the press and getting on the floor for the loose balls. But I must give a lot of credit to Emma (Pizzullo) today. She works so hard defensively for us. She makes our defense flow.”
Quakertown (1-4, 0-1 SOL) will host Pennridge on Tuesday, and Springfield Township (1-3, 0-1) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Springfield Township 11-5-9-10 35
Quakertown 10-16-11-13 50
Springfield Township (35) – Rileigh Serroni 11, Emily Smith 10, Emily Guicheteau 3, Emma Cawley 4, Sydney Hannings 2, Leajah Sistrunk 3, Raya Davis 2.
Quakertown (50) – Bri Lefkoski 9, Laney Mitchell 2, Kayla Horning 8, Morgan Sipprell 4, Emma Pizzullo 2, Fallon Grandinetti 16, Alexis Miccuci 3.
NESHAMINY 55 NORTH PENN 43
The Knights were decided underdogs entering Saturday’s game against the undefeated Redskins. That didn’t keep them from giving the ‘Skins all they could handle until a fourth quarter that saw the visitors erupt for 23 points.
“We give North Penn a ton of credit for playing a great game,” Neshaminy coach Joe Lally said. “Our girls are working hard every day and will continue to improve.”
The Redskins led 11-6 after one quarter, but the Knights – benefitting from three 3-pointers – rallied to knot the score 20-20 at halftime. Cayla Sharley’s seven points led the Knights. Emily Tantala had seven for the Redskins and Brooke Mullin had six.
Alli Lindsay had the hot hand for the Knights in the third quarter, burying three 3-pointers and scoring 10 points as the Knights outscored the Redskins 16-11 to go into the final quarter with a 36-32 lead.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Redskins. Allison Harvey connected on a pair of treys, and point guard Kristin Curley was 7-for-10 from the foul line as the Redskins closed out the game with a 23-7 tear.
“We got up by 10, but we are still figuring out how to play with the lead,” North Penn coach Jen Carangi said. “I was proud of our effort today, though.”
Mullin led a balanced Redskin attack with 19 points, which included two threes and a 6-for-8 effort at the foul line. Harvey added 11 points, including three treys, and Tantala had 10. Kurley finished with nine points.
For the Knights. Lindsay had 13, and Sharkey added 10. Val McGriff chipped in seven points.
Neshaminy (5-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday, and North Penn (1-2, 0-1) will host Central Bucks East on Thursday.
Neshaminy 11-9-12-23 55
North Penn 6-14-16-7 43
Neshaminy (55) – Emily Tantala 10, Kacie Sienko 2, Brooke Mullin 19, Kristin Curley 9, Alexa McCoy 1, Kelli Kowalick 3, Allison Harvey 11.
North Penn (43) – Cayla Sharley 10, Alli Lindsay 13, Rachel Dunne 3, Alaina Mullaly 5, Carley Adams 5, Val McGriff 7.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 57, WILLIAM TENNENT 25
Sydney Kesselman scored a career high 17 points to lead the Colonials to the convincing win. The 6-1 senior forward buried four 3-pointers. Teammates Lainey Allen and Lily Belle McCrorty both added nine points. McGrorty’s points came on three 3-pointers. Kaitlyn Flanagan contributed eight points, including a trey as the Colonials buried eight shots from beyond the arc.
The Colonials took care of business in a hurry, exploding for 16 first-quarter points. By halftime, they had a commanding 41-17 lead.
“It was a tough game for us tonight,” Tennent coach Laura Whitney said. “They came out aggressive and jumped on us early. We played back on our heels and were careless with the ball. It also didn’t help that PW shot the ball extremely well the first half. Six of their eight 3’s for the game came in the first half. To make things worse we got in early foul trouble.”
Both teams scored just four points in the third quarter, and the Colonials outscored their visitors 16-11 in the second half.
“It’s disappointing that we came out flat after a great performance last night,” said Whitney, whose team battled Pennridge tough before falling. “Obviously, the quick turnaround in less then 24 hours didn’t help, especially with the fact that most of the girls played big minutes and it was such an intense game. But the thing I was most proud of tonight was the toughness and character our girls showed. They just kept playing and that’s all I can ask. Once we made some adjustments defensively and finally settled down and showed more poise offensively we actually played them fairly even.”
Chelsea Metzler and Hannah Reimel both scored eight points to lead the Panthers. Haley Crossley had seven.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township on Tuesday, and William Tennent (2-3) will host Bensalem in its league opener Tuesday.
William Tennent 7-7-4-7 25
Plymouth Whitemarsh 26-15-4-12 57
William Tennent (25) – Caitlin Somerville 2, Chelsea Meltzer 8, Hannah Reimel 8, Haley Crossley 7.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (57) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 8, Marcaela Allen 2, Olivia Mattioni 2, Sydney Kesselman 17, Anna McTamney 5, Lainey Allen 9, Jordn Thomas 5, Lily Belle McGrorty 5.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 53, HATBORO-HORSHAM 47
The Patriots – who were without senior center Elyse Shine (injury) – received double-digit scoring efforts from three players in Saturday’s win. Caroline Pla led the balanced attack with 14 points while Emily Chmiel added 11 and Skylar Krause, 10 points. Gabby Wilga had seven points.
East opened up a 15-9 lead after one quarter and took a 30-24 advantage into halftime. They outscored the Hatters 19-15 in the third quarter to go on top 49-39, but Hatters trimmed five points off that lead in the final frame.
The Hatters were led by the 17-point efforts of Emily Thomas and Kylie Halko. Halko scored 11 of her points in the third quarter, which included three 3-pointers. Thomas had 13 points in the opening half.
Central Bucks East (1-3, 0-1) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-3, 0-1) will be on the road at Lower Moreland for a non-league game on Monday.
Central Bucks East 15-15-19-4 53
Hatboro-Horsham 9-14-15-9 47
Central Bucks East (53) – Mia Salvati 6, Sydney Ives 2, Gabby Wilga 7, Caroline Pla 14, Emily Chmiel 11, Skylar Krause 10, Aubrey DeAngelis 1, Emily Barry 2.
Hatboro-Horsham (47) – Emily Thomas 17, Camryn Ryan 2, Sydney Kemp 4, Logan Cummings 2, Kylie Halko 17, Maddie Throne 2, Graceanne Griffis 2.
SOUDERTON 45, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 18
The Indians led from wire to wire in Saturday’s game at Rock South, opening up a 13-5 lead and taking a 22-14 lead into halftime. They went on to outscore the Golden Hawks 24-4.
Mikaela Reese’s 12 points led a balanced attack that saw three Indians finish the game in double figures. Megan Bealer and Curran O’Donnell each added 10 points Olivia Schneider had nine points.
Nicole Blaustein’s nine points led the Golden Hawks..
Souderton (4-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Tuesday, and Council Rock South (3-2, 1-0) will travel to Neshaminy on Tuesday.
Souderton 13-9-15-8 45
Council Rock South 5-9-4-0 18
Souderton (45) – Megan Bealer 10, Olivia Schneider 9, Erica Stephens 2, Curran O’Donnell 10, Megan O’Donnell 2, Mikaela Reese 12.
Council Rock South (18) – Montanna Chambers 3, Carley Irvin 2, Nicole Blaustein 9, Hannah Binder 4.
PENNRIDGE 72, WISSAHICKON 45
The Rams opened up a 24-8 lead after one quarter and never looked back on their way to the big win. Pennridge took a 40-21 lead into halftime and outscored their visitors 32-23 in the second half.
Emilee Cramer led four Rams in double figures with 14, which included a 5-for-7 effort at the foul line. Corinn Mart added 13 points and was 5-of-8 at the charity stripe. Sam Muredda and Julia Kreider each contributed 10 points, and Ashley Gordon, who was 4-for-4 at the foul line, added eight points. All told, the Rams buried 17-of-23 foul shots.
Pennridge (4-1) will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday for its SOL opener, and Wissahickon (1-3 0-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Wissahickon 8-13-12-11 45
Pennridge 24-16-10-22 72
Pennridge (72) – Corinn Mart 13, Sam Muredda 10, Sophie Cweiber 6, Julia Kreider 10, Courtney McGurl 2, Evelyn Loughery 5, Ashley Gordon 8, Emilee Cramer 14, Jillian Coughlin 2, Ryan Hodder 2.
Non-league
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 57, UPPER DUBLIN 34
Saturday’s marquee girls’ basketball matchup at the Diane Mosco Foundation Shootout featured the defending PIAA 6A state champion Flying Cardinals and a powerful Wood squad that was the PIAA 5A runner-up last year. The day belonged to the Vikings.
“I think that we were excited to play, I think we were just happy to be part of the event, and I think that was the mentality,” coach Morgan Funsten said. “I don’t think we realized what we were getting into. I don’t think we realized we had a team on the other end that looked at us – they lost in the state championship last year and we won.
“They were out to prove something, and it almost looked like we were just out to have a good time. There was definitely a sense of urgency on their end, and there certainly was not a sense of urgency on our end.
The Vikings set the tone in the opening quarter, outscoring their visitors 17-7 and adding to that lead with a 17-5 second quarter to go into halftime with a commanding 34-12 lead.
“We prepared hard as we always do,” Funsten said. “It came down to handling pressure, it came down to little things, and it came down to – we are going to need to learn how to match the intensity of every team we play this year.
“There’s a big target on us, for good reason. We’re going to have to find a way to match that energy every game because people are coming for us. We had never played them in my seven years, but you accomplish something like we did last year – that’s what teams are doing. They’re finding ways to get motivated, and they were in the zone from the moment the ball was tipped and we were not.
“The game was not as close as the score indicates. They were every bit of 35 points better than us today. That’s the story of the day there.”
Jackie Vargas led the Flying Cardinals with eight points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
Upper Dublin (4-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday, and on Thursday, the Flying Cardinals will travel to Abington for a conference showdown. Upper Dublin sent the Ghosts home for the season last year with a 36-31 win in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
“We’re looking forward to improving – we have a huge week ahead of us,” Funsten said. “This was a showcase game. We’re not looking past Cheltenham, but we know Abington is on the schedule for Thursday.
“I described Wood today as a hungry team, and I know that Abington is a hungry team, and I know they are not happy with how their season ended last year. Today was a great tune-up, a great wake-up call for what to expect Thursday. If we think Abington is going to watch our tape from today and feel bad for us and not press us – which is where we had a lot of trouble today, they’re not going to hide anything. They’ll tell us to our faces they’re going to press us all night on Thursday. Between now and then, we have to find a way to effectively break a press.”
Upper Dublin 7-5-9-13 34
Archbishop Wood 17-17-11-12 57
BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC 58, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 54
The Bucks struggled to find their offensive stride in the first half of Saturday’s non-league game against the perennial PIAA 4A power, scoring just 15 points and trailing their visitors 23-15 at halftime.
The second half was another story entirely.
The Bucks – behind 14 points from Maddie Burke – outscored Becahi 39-33. Trailing by two, they had the ball with 40 seconds remaining but came up empty.
Burke – who had a pair of 3-pointers – led the Bucks with 17 points. Izzy Treon and Jess Broskey both added 12 points. Diane Nicholson had six – all in the second half.
Freshman Abigail Brown led all scorers with 20 points.
Central Bucks West (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Tuesday.
Bethlehem Catholic 17-8-17-16 58
Central Bucks West 8-7-19-20 54
Bethlehem Catholic (58) – Jaleesa Lanier 8, Briana Barnard 7, Kourtney Wilson 19, Abigail Brown 20, Julia Zambo 4.
Central Bucks West (54) – Diane Nicholson 6, Paige Gilbert 2, Olivia Irons 2, Jess Broskey 12, Maddie Burke 17, Emily Spratt 2, Izzy Treon 12, Tori Abelson 1.
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