CB East, CB South, Neshaminy, Upper Dublin, Tennent and Souderton were winners in SOL girls’ basketball action on Saturday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 58, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 52
In a rematch of last year’s district semifinal, it was the Titans – behind an 18-12 fourth quarter – avenging that heartbreaking one-point loss and edging the defending district runner-up Colonials.
“It was a very similar game,” PW coach Daniel Dougherty said. “It was a seesaw game – last year we held on to win, and this year we didn’t hold on to win.
“They made a run to start the fourth and went up 48-42, and then we called a timeout and went on an 8-0 run and went up 50-48. They came back and tied the game 50-50, and they just made more plays down the stretch. They had a girl – number 14 (Lindsay Scott) – she hit a big three that made the game 53-50. They held on and made their free throws in the end.”
Scott was a difference maker in Saturday’s win, scoring eight of her 13 points in the fourth quarter and connecting on a pair of huge three-pointers in the frame. Alexa Brodie added seven points in the final quarter.
The two teams were deadlocked 40-40 after three quarters.
“The key at the end was we executed a couple of times on the defensive end, we pulled down a couple of defensive boards, and we made some foul shots to secure the game,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “Lindsay Scott found herself open a few times, and she knocked down her open shots. If she doesn’t knock down those shots, I don’t know that we’re in a position where we get fouled and get to make foul shots.”
Scott was one of nine players in the scoring column for the Titans. Only four players scored for PW.
“It was kind of a heavyweight fight – they have Alexa Brodie and Haley Meinel and we have Taylor (O’Brien) and Fort (Lauren Fortescue),” Dougherty said. “Both kids really, really stepped up, and their role players really stepped up and made some big plays for them in the fourth quarter.”
O’Brien led all scorers with 28 points – 16 in the second half. The Bucknell-bound senior connected on 12-of-16 at the foul line. Fortescuse added 13. The rest of the Colonials combined for 11.
For the Titans, Brodie led the way with 18 while Meinel had 11. The rest of the Titans scored 29.
Behind six points from O’Brien, the Colonials led 13-12 after one quarter, but the Titans used a 17-15 second quarter to go into halftime with a 29-28 lead. Brodie led a balanced Titan attack with nine points while Meinel had six. O’Brien paced PW with 12 and Fortescue had seven.
The two teams spent the third quarter exchanging baskets and found themselves deadlocked heading into the final quarter that saw the Titans take charge.
“It was a back and forth game,” Mattern said. “It was always close the whole game.
“Basically, I had the feeling whoever had the ball last was going to win. It felt like no team ever really grabbed control of it. It was a game of streaks.
“Obviously, it feels good to win. We’re sitting here at 4-0, and we’ve beaten what I consider to be four competitive teams that we might see again along the way. I thought we had maybe the last couple of games gotten off to a little bit of a slower start. I liked our intensity and our execution on the court a lot better today.”
For PW, Anna McTamney added eight points and 10 rebounds. O’Brien had eight rebounds.
For both teams, it was an important early season test.
“In talking with Beth (Mattern), I really appreciated their willingness to get this game in and not push it back until late in the season,” Dougherty said. “I know both teams probably spent two days of practice getting ready for it, so we might as well play it now.
“We’re trying to play eight kids this year – in the past we only ever played six, so we have rotation players that need to get experience. It was really important to play a team like that early in the season. It was a great experience, it was a really great game, and it was a good atmosphere.
Central Bucks South (4-0) will open SOL play on Tuesday at Souderton while Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-1) will travel to Upper Moreland for Tuesday’s SOL opener.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (52) – Taylor O’Brien 28, Lauren Forescue 13, Gia Schweitzer 3, Anna McTamney 8.
Central Bucks South (58) – Caroine McSorey 2, Lindsay Scott 2, Allie Burke 2, Haley Meinel 11, Natalie DiSandro 2, Alexa Brodie 18, Maddis McShane 3, Mackenie Ehresman 3, Madison Aldinger 4.
UPPER DUBLIN 53, NORTH PENN 36
Jackie Vargas and Dayna Balasa are part of a promising future for Upper Dublin basketball. The talented underclassmen are also key pieces of a present that isn’t too bad either.
On Saturday night, the duo had starring roles in the Flying Cardinals’ first win over North Penn since UD’s 35-34 win over the Knights on Jan. 11, 2014.
“Over the past years, we start believing we can’t beat a certain team,” Vargas said. “Finally beating North Penn gives us the drive to keep pushing as we go into league play.”
Vargas was unstoppable in a first half that saw the Cardinals – who led 14-7 after one quarter – take a 25-21 lead into halftime. The sophomore center had 12 points.
“We were moving the ball around, and they were getting it in to me,” Vargas said. “I could take a shot, and if I wasn’t open, I could pass it back out real quick and they’re open on the three.”
Nobody made bigger threes than Balasa, who buried a pair in the first quarter and then connected on two more in a third quarter. Her putback midway through the third quarter gave the Cardinals a 32-22 advantage.
“We tried to box out, rebound more than them and help on defense a lot,” Balasa said.
Five straight points from Bri Hewlett pulled the Knights to within five, but the Cards answered. Nicole Kaiser scored on an inbounds and Meg Barbera buried 2-of-3 from the foul line.
The play that cut the heart out of the Knights came in the closing seconds of the quarter when Kaiser drove into the paint and kicked the ball out to Balasa, who buried a three that gave the Cardinals a 39-28 lead heading into the final frame.
“Our team is very different this year,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “Each year defense is the number one thing we focus on, but if we think we can get up and down the floor with teams, we’ll do it.
“I think this year’s team can have success by pushing the ball up and down the floor more than we have in the past. We’re going to always adjust to whatever the strengths and weaknesses of our players.
“We’re not even close to finding an identity, but every day is a new day and a chance to compete and get better.
The Cardinals weren’t content to sit on their lead and upped their advantage to 43-29 after back-to-back baskets by Kaiser and Barbera. Kaiser’s baseline three put the Cardinals on top 48-32, and they continued to attack until the final horn sounded.
“We usually don’t keep attacking, but I think a part of it is we lost to North Penn the past couple of years, so I think attacking and getting as big a lead as we can – we’re proving we can do this,” Vargas said.
“We’re really trying to push the ball and never let down even if we’re up by a lot,” Balasa said. “I think we just didn’t let down. We kept playing.”
Funsten – although pleased with his team’s effort – believes the Cardinals have just scratched the surface.
“I said to the girls afterwards – the best part about all of this is we still can be so much better than we were tonight, and that’s what is so exciting about this,” Funsten said. “There are plenty of places we need to improve on.
“I thought our second quarter defensively we let them back in the game. We gave up some threes. We were losing track of girls, and we were making some bad decisions defensively.”
Balasa led the Flying Cardinals with 14 points, which included four 3-pointers. Vargas had 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Kaiser added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Maggie Weglos had four points, seven rebounds and six assists.
“I thought Vargas set the tone in the first half offensively,” Funsten said. “We had good balance. Dayna stepped up and hit four threes, and it’s not a fluke. She’s that good of a shooter. She’s a great shooter, and she shoots with confidence. I’m looking forward to continuing working with the girls and just keep getting better.”
Hewlitt led the Knights with 11 points. Alli Lindsay added eight and Jenny Hulmes, six points.
Upper Dublin (4-1) opens SOL play on Tuesday when it hosts Cheltenham. North Penn (4-1) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
North Penn 7-14-7-8 36
Upper Dublin 14-11-14-14 53
North Penn (36) – Jenny Hulme 6, Cayla Sharkey 1, Alli Lindsay 8, Carley Adams 3, Bri Hewlett 11, Kate Early 7.
Upper Dublin (53) – Meg Barbera 6, Nicole Kaiser 12, Jess Polin 2, Kara Grebe 2, Maggie Weglos, Dayna Balasa 14, Jackie Vargas 13.
WILLIAM TENNENT 31, PENNSBURY 24
The Panthers won for the third time in four outings to improve to 3-1 on the young season.
“We’ve had a great start to the season,” coach Laura Whitney said. “Offensively, we’ve had our droughts and moments where we’ve had trouble scoring, but we’re definitely a more mature team this year.
“It’s starting to come together, and I can really see that what we’re working on is starting to show. I’ve been really pleased with how we’re progressing.”
The visiting Panthers scored just 15 first-half points, but they limited the Falcons to only 10. Kate Mix – who led all scorers with 13 points – accounted for eight of those points for Pennsbury.
The Panthers upped their lead to 27-18 heading into the final quarter. Defense was the name of the game in a fourth quarter that saw the two teams combine for just 10 points.
“In the fourth quarter, I think our defense was really stellar,” Whitney said. “Just watching, they looked out of rhythm and couldn’t really get an easy basket. They just kept running through their offense but weren’t really able to get anything.
“Offensively – not that we were trying to stall, but we were trying to work the ball, look for a good shot and not force anything. We did miss some opportunities early in the fourth quarter. One area of improvement – we haven’t really been in that position too many times where we were trying to seal the game. That’s an area we can do a little bit better in – our poise at the end wasn’t where we need it to be. We also missed some free throws down the stretch. Luckily, we had a decent lead that it didn’t cost us – 3-1 sounds a lot better going into conference play Tuesday than 2-2.”
Kelly Scipione, Emma Stanfield and Haley Crossley each had eight points to lead the Panthers. Jess Rutkowsky added five, but according to Whitney, that stat doesn’t sum up the senior’s contributions.
“Jess Rutkowsky just really understands her role,” Whitney said. “She knows she’s not going to lead us in scoring, but she does all the little things, and she just brings so much energy and toughness.
“I told her today I was just proud of how she played. The way she played is so contagious. She’s one of those players – she never gets rattled. She just handles things and goes about her business and makes smart decisions. I thought her play today was huge.”
Just three players scored for the Falcons with Sydney Buell scoring six and Cami Wiegand adding five.
Wiliam Tennent (3-1) will host Central Bucks West in Tuesday’s SOL opener, and Pennsbury (3-2) will host Bensalem on Tuesday.
William Tennent 5-10-12-4 31
Pennsbury 6-4-8-6 24
William Tennent (31) – Kelly Scipione 8, Emma Stanfield 8, Bryn Evans 2, Jess Rutkowsky 5, Halley Crossley 8.
Pennsbury (24) – Kate Mix 13, Sydney Buell 6, Cami Wiegan 5.
NESHAMINY 48, HARRISBURG 31
The Redskins put on an impressive showing when they took on Harrisburg as part of the Lehigh Valley Spartan Challenge, opening up a double-digit lead after one quarter on their way to the convincing win.
“It was a lot closer than the final score, plus they had a distinct size advantage over us, but I’ll tell you what – we played really well today,” coach Joe Lally said. “We took care of the basketball, we defended well.”
Sparked by six points from Olivia Scotti, the Redskins raced to a 15-5 lead after one quarter. Harrisburg answered with a 16-8 second quarter, pulling to within two at halftime (23-21). Allison Harvey buried a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter and had three in the half.
The Redskins took control of the game with a 17-4 third quarter tear that featured seven points from Scotti, which included a pair of threes. Brooke Mullin added six points, including a three. The Redskins took a 40-25 lead into the fourth quarter on their way to the no-doubt-about it win.
Scotti and Harvey were named players of the game. Scotti led all scorers with 15 points
“Olivia Scotti, as a sophomore, is getting more and more comfortable,” Lally said. “She really stepped up and delivered today.”
Harvey added 10 points.
“She had three threes, but she played some really good defense on a much bigger player,” Lally said. “She blocked a couple of shots, protected the paint. She played a really nice game.”
Mullin also had 10 points while Kristin Hurley, who buried 7-of-8 at the foul line, added nine points.
“Brooke Mullin and Kelli Kowalick did a great job on the boards,” Lally said. “I don’t know exactly what they had, but both of them did a great job controlling the boards.”
Neshaminy (2-1) will open its SOL season on Thursday at Bensalem.
Neshaminy 15-8-17-7 48
Harrisburg 5-16-4-6 31
Neshaminy (48) – Brooke Mullin 10, Allison Harvey 10, Kristin Curley 9, Olivia Scotti 15, Kelli Kowalick 4.
Harrisburg (31) – D.Shepherd 8, B.McCollough 10Collins 2, Cowan 2, Brannon 9.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 57, POPE JOHN PAUL II 45
Elyse Shine and Gino Russo – East’s ‘bigs’ – combined for 22 points to lead the Patriots to the win. Russo owned the paint, finishing with 14 rebounds (seven offensive, seven defensive), two blocks and four assists.
“They were small, so we wanted to be able to take advantage,” coach Liz Potash said. “Elyse (Shine) and Gino (Russo) were able to do that.
“We had 27 offensive rebounds as a team. We didn’t convert a great rate of them, but we were able to take advantage of our size in there because their guards were a little bit smaller.”
The Patriots established their dominance early, opening up an 18-10 lead after one quarter and extending that to 32-17 by halftime on their way the convincing win.
Sophia Mancuso added nine points while Bailey McManus added eight in a win that evened the Patriots’ record at 2-2.
“We’ll take the points,” Potash said. “We didn’t shoot as well as we’d like, and we didn’t defend as well as we would like.
“I thought we played better against Perk Valley the other night. With all that said, we were happy to get a win and get back to .500 because we have a tough week coming up with North Penn, Norristown and Souderton. Obviously, it’s a big week.”
Central Bucks East (2-2) will travel to North Penn for its SOL opener on Tuesday.
Pope John Paul II 10-7-15-13 45
Central Bucks East 18-14-17-8 57
Pope John Paul II (45) – Owens 4, Sylvester 19, Shannon 3, Bustynowicz 5, Mesaros 4, Ciuba 5, Rapchinski 5.
Central Bucks East (57) – Sophia Mancuso 9, Skylar Krause 4, Mia Salvati 2, Gina Russo 10, Caroline Pla 4, Madi Gregor 1, Audrey LaBouliere 3, Bailey McManus 8, Gabby Wilga 4, Elyse Shine 12.
SOUDERTON 56, LOWER MERION 29
Alana Cardona and Megan Walbrandt both torched the Aces for 18 points, leading the Indians to the lopsided win.
The Aces scored 10 points in the first quarter and trailed the Indians by just two (12-10). The second quarter was another story entirely as the Indians outscored their hosts 16-6 to go into halftime with a 28-16 lead. They outscored the Aces 27-8 over the second and third quarters and took a 39-18 lead into the fourth quarter.
Included in Cardona’s 18-point performance was an 8-for-9 effort at the foul line while Walbrandt’s 18 points included a pair of 3-pointers. Tori Dowd and Megan Bealer both added six points, and Curran O’Donnell had five.
Souderton (5-0) will host Central Bucks South in its SOL opener on Tuesday. The teams boast a combined 9-0 record.
Souderton 12-16-11-17 56
Lower Merion 10-6-2-11 29
Souderton (56) – Tori Dowd 6, Megan Bealer 6, Alana Cardona 18, Megan Walbrandt 18, Curran O’Donnell 5, Megan O’Donnell 1, Kate Connolly 1.
Lower Merion (29) – B.Eldridge 6, Forrester 2, Roberts 6, Fitzpatrick 4, Shub 3, Meline 2, J.Eldridge 6.
POTTSTOWN 43, QUAKERTOWN 22
The Panthers hung tough for one quarter, trailing 9-5, but the Trojans outscored their visitors 12-7 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 21-12 lead. They added to that lead in the second half.
Veronica Best led the Panthers with seven points while Abigail Dickson had six.
Quakertown (0-4) will be on the road at Wissahickon for Tuesday’s SOL opener.
Quakertown 5-7-5-5 22
Pottstown 9-12-11-11 43
Quakertown (22) – Abigail Dickson 6, Kimmy Best 3, Maggie Garlick 5, Veronica Best 7, Rachael Taylor 1.
Pottstown (43) – K.Cotton 7, E.Reddick 9, D.Reustor 4, R.Owens 10, G.Epps 6, E.Wolfel 4, J.Jefferson 3.
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