Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. (Photos provided courtesy of Diane Waeltz & Michelle Hewish/Hatboro-Horsham basketball)
SOL Patriot
PENNSBURY 28, BENSALEM 23
Sofia Vitucci continued her strong start to the young season, scoring a game-high 16 points, including nine points in the opening quarter to propel the visiting Falcons to a 12-6 lead. The Falcons scored just six points over the next two quarters but took an 18-17 lead into the final quarter when they outscored the Owls 10-6. Daniella MacDonald buried a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the Falcons’ fourth quarter.
“The SOL is so competitive top to bottom,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “Has anyone played a tougher schedule so far than Neshaminy? So, any road win is good, and tonight is an example of that.
“Sofia was great with shot making early on. Layla (Matthias) and Nevaeh (Dash) hit the glass well, and Nevaeh again handled the challenge of guarding Amber Howard. Daniella MacDonald continues to make big shots for us.”
In addition to Vitucci’s 16 points, MacDonald had eight. The rest of the team combined for just four points.
“We played 12 again with 10 in a heavy rotation, and I’m not sure that’s sustainable,” Sciolla said. “So many of our girls are tightly bunched that it can be someone different stepping up every night. My staff does a great job distributing minutes, but we may need to get tighter to get continuity. I liked Presley Foote’s production tonight. She creates havoc on defense, rebounds really well for her size (5’1) and is settling in offense.”
Talia DiMichele’s eight points led the Owls, and Amber Howard added seven.
“Amber Howard has really matured within her game,” Sciolla said. “She’s creating looks for her teammates. Both teams had really good looks tonight. Bensalem from the perimeter and us from the basket area, but as the score indicates, shots were not falling.
“From watching Bensalem’s first three games, we saw that all the scores have been low, and it’s understandable. They are making a concerted effort to keep the ball out of the lane. They really did a great job of that tonight in the last three quarters. We defended as we always do – solidly.”
The Falcons were 5-for-12 at the foul line.
“We are going to have to figure it out on the foul line,” Sciolla said. “It’s six games now, and it’s not a trend – it’s a reality. We are trying everything, but ultimately, it’s going to cost us.
“That said – to be 6-0 at this point, we will take it. It’s always better to learn from a win, and there’s no time to relax with what we have Saturday.”
Pennsbury (6-0, 3-0 SOL) will face Lansdale Catholic in a non-league game on Saturday at the Keystone Classic at Girard College High School. Bensalem (1-3, 1-2) will travel to St. Hubert’s for a non-league game on Monday (6 pm).
Pennsbury 12-4-2-10 28
Bensalem 6-6-5-6 23
Pennsbury (28) – Emily Panaro 1 0-0 2; Layla Matthias 0 1-3 1; Maggie Burns 0 1-2 1; Sofia Vitucci 6 3-4 16; Oliveah Gilchrist 0 0-2 0; Daniella MacDonald 3 0-1 8; TOTALS 10 5-12 28.
Bensalem (23) – Talia DiMichele 3 1-2 8; Devon Bell 1 0-0 3; MacKenzie Kramer 0 2-4 2; Kylie Smith 1 0-0 3; Amber Howard 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 8 3-6 23.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Daniella MacDonald 2, Sofia Vitucci; Bensalem – Talia DiMichele, Devon Bell, Kylie Smith, Amber Howard.
SOL Liberty
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 61, HATBORO-HORSHAM 38
Abby Sharpe buried three 3-pointers and scored 11 points – all in a glittering first-quarter performance to effectively set the tone for another big win for the Colonials. Sharpe finished with a game-high 18 points while Erin Daley added 16.
It’s the kind of performances expected from the duo who excelled for last year’s state championship squad. They had plenty of help in Thursday’s win. Angelina Balcer added 12 points, and freshman AJ Avery had 11.
“Sharpe and Daley had their normal quality game,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “The difference tonight was the emergence of Balcer and Avery. They were both scoring inside and out. The team is getting back to the balanced attack we’re used to.”
The Hatters, who trail 34-12 at halftime, were led by the 12-point effort of Allie Hewish. Leah Harrington added 10 points, and Kitty Randa had eight.
“We started off slow and Abby Sharpe was hitting all her shots in the first half,” HH assistant coach Nicole Miletto said. “We struggled in the second quarter to get any good looks. It was the second game this week we were pressured on everything.
“The girls were able to adapt but then got sloppy as they crossed half court. The 
second quarter really put us in a tough spot. PW is a good team, but we should have had a better showing. The second half we settled and tried to cut into the lead, but all their shots were falling tonight.
“We did a much better job rebounding Tuesday against Abington, and we were hitting our shots Tonight we got a little lazy and shots weren’t falling for us until later in the game. Alli Hewish started getting good looks in the second half, but being short girls didn’t give us much opportunity to sub. We had some young girls getting some minutes and they did well, and we were much better at the foul line. Lots of positives to build on as we look to our games next week.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-1, 2-1 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (3-3, 1-2) will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 20-14-21-6. 61
Hatboro-Horsham 8-4-13-13. 38
Plymouth Whitemarsh (61) – Azzy Crumpton 2 0-0 4; Angelina Balcer 4 2-4 12; AJ Avery 4 1-2 11; Erin Daley 6 4-5 16; Abby Sharpe 6 2-2 18; TOTALS 22 9-13 61.
Hatboro-Horsham (38) – Caroline Shegogue 2 0-0 4; Abby Waeltz 1 0-0 2; Kitty Randa 3 2-2 8; Allie Hewish 5 0-0 12; Leah Harrington 3 2-2 10; Maddy Patel 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 14 6-6 38.
3-point goals: PW – Abby Sharpe 4, Angelina Balcer 2, AJ Avery 2; HH – Allie Hewish 2, Leah Harrington 2.
Non-league
NESHAMINY 52, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 39
On the heels of a big win over Council Rock South on Tuesday, the Redskins picked up another impressive win, defeating the defending PIAA 4A runner-up Crusaders on their home court.
“We played so well at the defensive end,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “We took four charges tonight – two by Taylor (Gurysh) and two by Lola (Ibarrondo), and they were against some of their more significant players. They’re such an emotional lift to the entire team, and it puts Lansdale on their heels maybe just a little bit about attacking the basket. Those four charges were really, really special. I was happy about that.”
Neshaminy’s man-to-man defense was once again effective.
“Our man defense was really good – we started out in man,” Gallagher said. “Down in DC, I had Reese (Zemitis) cover the girl that’s going to Virginia Commonwealth, and she did a great job on her.
“Last year as a sophomore, I wouldn’t give her those assignments for two reasons – I didn’t know if she was ready for it, and I can’t have her in foul trouble. She needs to be on the court. I spoke to her at the beginning of the year and said, ‘Listen, you’re going to be taking some tougher assignments.’”
Zemitis was assigned the task of containing senior Gabby Casey, a first team all-state player who averaged over 20 points a game last year. She held her to 14 points.
“I think Gabby had about 20 defensive rebounds tonight,” Gallagher said. “The first time Gabby had the ball they saw the matchup with Reese covering her, and someone from the stands yelled, ‘Go by her, she can’t cover you.’
“I thought – all right, Reese, I hope you heard that. I asked her later if she heard it, and she said she didn’t. I said, ‘Good, you were focused.’”
Zemitis not only did the job at the defensive end, she also had 18 points.
“A lot of that was getting Gabby Casey in foul trouble” Gallagher said. “She never left the floor, and she fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
“Last year, I think she had 20 points in the fourth quarter against us and finished with 30. I never put Reese on her, and I think it was a good choice still to today. We went with it today, and it really paid off.”
Senior Taylor Gurysh led the Redskins with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a brilliant performance.
“The story was Taylor Gurysh,” Gallagher said. “She had 13 rebounds last game, she had 10 tonight, four assists – all in the first half. She stayed out of foul trouble which kind of nagged her in her junior and sophomore year.
“Her maturity is there. Kutztown’s staff was there, and I was so happy for Taylor playing that well against that kind of competition on the away court, which is a pretty tough place to play. Lansdale has a pretty good reputation up there as far as their record on their home court.”
LC led 13-10 after one quarter, but the Redskins answered with a 19-5 second quarter. Taylor Gurysh ignited Neshaminy with back-to-back 3s and capped her own personal 8-0 tear with a putback that gave the Redskins an 18-13 lead. Then it was Zemitis connecting for a basket and – after Ibarrondo drew a charge – burying 2 of 3 at the foul line to give Neshaminy a 22-13 lead.
Casey broke the Redskins’ 12-0 run with a bucket, but Anna Soska answered with a three for Neshaminy.
“We put Reese and Taylor a little more inside,” said Gallagher, whose team led 29-18 at halftime. “We put Reese inside, and we were going to hit Anna in the same corner that Reese was posting on, and Anna hit a big three.”
Neshaminy still led 34-24 after an Ava Irizarry 3-pointer.
“We only scored five points in the third quarter, but the big shot was Ava Irizarry’s three,” Gallagher said.
The Crusaders refused to go away, pulling to within 34-31.
“Last year, in a similar situation, we were a little bit younger, and we might have taken a lot of water in the boat and maybe sunk,” Gallagher said. “Taylor (Gurysh) had a baseline drive that she finished and got us two more points. Reese hit a three off a fabulous pass from Lola to put us up 41-33.
“I was just really happy with how we composed ourselves and played with more poise than we had in previous years.”
With 1:30 remaining, Iabarrondo – with LC in the 1-and-1 – sank a pair at the foul line. An Ibarrondo steal set up foul shots by Gurysh, who sank a pair to give Neshaminy a 49-39 lead. Iborrondo sank 1 of 2 at the foul line and then came up with a steal.
“The game was decided, but LC used three possessions in a row after we shot foul shots to just roll the ball to half court,” Gallagher said. “Lola took it upon herself after a foul shot – she’s going back down the court, she turned around, dove on the floor and flicked the ball free and then continued crawling on the floor and grabbed it. We got a timeout, and the people there cheering for Neshaminy went crazy. It was just a heads up play by her.”
The Redskins also protected the basketball and had just six turnovers.
“We led start to finish, we never trailed,” Gallagher said. “I think LC is still trying to figure out their personnel. I thought my assistant, Megan Gallagher, just did a great job with subbing and recognizing situations we could take advantage of or they could not take advantage of us on the defensive end, shuffling kids in and out.
“It really is a nice win. I’ve been shying away from playing man, but Alena Cofield just gives us a dead match that I can move other people off. She had (Sanyiah) Littlejohn tonight for the first three quarters and did a real good job on her. Littlejohn had six points in the first three quarters. Alena (Cofield) just gives us better matchups everywhere else because I can use her on a really quick guard and let Lola patrol the passing lanes. She gets a lot of steals that way.”
Ibarrondo finished with six points, five rebounds and three assists.
Littlejohn’s 15 points led the Crusaders. The LC sophomore scored nine of those points in the fourth quarter.
Neshaminy (3-2, 1-1 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Friday.
Neshaminy 10-19-5-18 52
Lansdale Catholic 13-5-10-11. 39
Neshaminy (52) – Lola Iabarrondo 2 2-4 6; Taylor Gurysh 6 5-7 19; Ava Irizarry 1 0-0 3; Anna Soska 1 0-0 3; Reese Zemitis 6 4-5 18; Jess Purdy 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 17 11-16 52.
Lansdale Catholic (39) – Jaida Helm 1 0-0 2; Sanyiah Littlejohn 6 2-4 15; Nadia Yemola 2 0-0 5; Olivia Boccella 1 0-0 3; Gabby Casey 6 2-4 14; TOTAL 16 4-8 39.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Taylor Gurysh 2, Reese Zemitis 2, Ava Irizarry, Anna Soska, Jess Purdy; LC – Sanyiah Littlejohn, Nadia Yemola, Olivia Boccella.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 49, VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 31
Anna Barry pretty much did it all in Thursday’s non-league win. The junior guard not only scored 23 points, which included six 3-pointers in a dazzling display of long-range shooting. She also was stellar on the defensive end as well.
“Anna shot the ball well, like she’s been doing all year,” East coach Liz Potash said. “Villa left her room to take shots, and she took advantage. I’ve never coached a player who has had so many games in her still early career with six 3s.
“Equally impressive is her defense – she held (Riley) Deal to zero points, and she has been scoring for them this season.”
Barry scored early and often, burying a pair of 3s and scoring eight points in the first quarter. Erin LeRay added seven points as the Patriots opened up a 20-11 lead after one quarter. Kendall Gregor scored five points in the second quarter as the Patriots outscored the Jems 11-3 to go into halftime with a commanding 31-14 advantage. The Jems never threatened.
In addition to Barry, LeRay and Gregor both had seven points.
Central Bucks East (4-0, 2-0 SOL) till travel to Pennridge on Friday.
Central Bucks East 20-11-6-12. 49
Villa Joseph Marie 11-3-7-10. 31
Central Bucks East (49) – Erin LeRay 3 0-0 7; Sydney Ralph 1 2-2 4; Natalie Berndt 1 0-0 3; Anna Barry 7 3-8 23; Kendall Gregor 3 0-0 7; Jess Lockwood 0 5-6 5; TOTALS 15 10-16 49.
Villa Joseph Marie (31) – Elizabeth Grunwell 1 0-0 2; Grace Pizzica 2 1-3 5; Kendall Gayton 1 0-0 2; Julia Mack 0 3-4 3; Kalin Vizza 1 0-0 3; Ava Gumienny 4 4-8 16; TOTALS 9 8-15 31.
3-point goals: CBE – Anna Barry 6, Erin LeRay, Natalie Berndt, Kendall Gregor; VJM – Ava Gumienny 4, Kalin Vizza.
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