Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action on Tuesday night. To view photos of the Upper Dublin/Norristown game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 54, NORRISTOWN 30
Things looked promising for the Eagles when they jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, but any thoughts of pulling off the upset were put to rest rather quickly.
By the time the first quarter ended, the Flying Cardinals had made it a 10-7 game. They went on to outscore the Eagles 15-8 in the second quarter and never looked back on their way to the big win.
“When we were down 10-2, we called a timeout,” Upper Dublin coach Morgan Funsten said. “Our girls had a little sense of panic, and the message was – all right, there are no 10-point baskets. Let’s just grind it out.
“The next time we talked it was 10-7, and the game was a little more under control. We were still losing, but we felt a lot better about ourselves.”
“I don’t know what it was that made us start out so bad,” senior Regan Gallagher said. “I just felt like we needed to pick it up.
“It wasn’t like we had one perfect moment to get the momentum going. It was just a bunch of little things that got us back in it.”
Gallagher led the Flying Cardinals with a monster 16-point, 17-rebound effort.
“We always set goals before our games, and that was one of our biggest goals - to limit their second shots,” she said.
Kayla McAneney added 13 points, and Julie Cross had 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Flying Cardinals, who took a 22-18 lead into halftime, all but sealed the Eagles’ fate when McAneney buried back-to-back three-pointers to open the third quarter. Suddenly a four-point lead had ballooned to 10 (28-18).
“Kayla has been on fire all year,” Funsten said.
“That completely gave us momentum,” Gallagher added. “From there, we knew we were back in our normal game.
“When Kayla is hitting, it really picks up everyone. Everyone starts hitting after that. Julie had great rebounds, and I also think that was a key part of getting momentum back.”
Adding to the Eagles’ woes was the fact that senior Keifonna Ferguson picked up her fourth foul at the 4:54 mark of the third quarter. Twenty seconds later she was whistled for her fifth foul.
“When we had to take Keifonna out, the girls couldn’t go out there and match up,” Norristown coach Vince Catanzaro said. “We just don’t match up.
“I want to give credit to Devon Morse. This was her first game ever starting. She’s a sophomore, and she did a great job in there, but once we took Keifonna out we don’t match up well height-wise, but Devon did a great job for throwing her in there.”
The Flying Cardinals took a 39-24 lead into a final quarter that included a dominant stretch by Cross, who connected on back-to-back baskets – the second at the end of a fast break. She also had a blocked shot and made several nice bounce passes to set up teammates.
“The second half was great,” Funsten said. “Kayla made some big shots, but it started on the defensive end.
“Regan played out of her mind under the glass. Kayla set the tone offensively in the third quarter, but Julie set the tone defensively in the third quarter. She had about five consecutive defensive rebounds. That really set the tone defensively.”
The Eagles, who were once again without Pattie Fortescue, were led by Essence Milligan-Williams (12 points) and Briana Hedgepath (11 points).
“We came out well, but we didn’t do enough to stay on top,” Catanzaro said. “I thought it was a pretty well-played game until the second half when they hit a couple of threes.
“It didn’t help that we had a couple of kids hurt.”
While the Eagles fell to 2-1 in league play (3-2 overall), the Flying Cardinals are 2-0 in the league (4-0 overall).
“I think a lot of people at the start of the season didn’t think we were going to be any kind of a threat, but we definitely have all stepped up,” Gallagher said. “There are six seniors, and we’ve all been playing together since we were seven.”
Norristown 10 8 6 6-30
Upper Dublin 7 15 17 15-54
UPPER MORELAND 50, UPPER MERION 42
When Upper Moreland defeated Springfield on Jan. 11, 2013, it represented the first win in league play for the Golden Bears in recent memory. It also turned out to be their only win in league play.
Until, that is, Tuesday night when the Golden Bears defeated the Vikings on their home court.
“I think this is big for their confidence,” coach Ed Decker said. “Being young and going into a good program like Upper Merion and playing a good team and pulling this one out hopefully gives us a little more confidence in what we’re doing.
“I think some of the young kids grew up a lot. I think it’s going to benefit us later on.”
The Golden Bears outscored their hosts 30-23 in the second half to turn a 20-19 halftime lead into an eight-point win.
“We just played better defense,” Decker said of the second half. “We really keyed on Regie Robinson because we knew she was a key to winning the game.
“The girls focused on where she was, and they took the lane away from her, and we just rebounded a lot better than we have all year.”
Lindsay Walder led a balanced Upper Moreland offense with 16 points while Karli Lynch added 14. Freshman Madison Pisut gave the Golden Bears a huge lift with 12 points.
“They came out in a box-and-one on Lindsay and then they went triangle-and-two on Karli and Lindsay, but Madison Pisut stepped up having to handle the ball, and she made a lot of key baskets down the stretch,” Decker said. “Hitting 18-of-31 from the foul line helped a lot. We could have been a little better but 18-for-31 was pretty good for us.”
While the Vikings fell to 1-1 in league play (2-4 overall), the Golden Bears are 1-1 in the league (1-4 overall).
“We talked about trying to get (a win) on the board early because the more you lose, the more pressure it puts on you to find that first win,” Decker said. “This is a quality win for our program and for our kids. It was a good bus ride home. It was nice to see everybody smile.
“I think it’s probably the first time in seven years since we beat a good, strong program like Upper Merion. This is a good confidence builder going into Hatboro-Horsham on Friday. Hopefully can bring that momentum and keep getting better.”
Upper Moreland 8 12 14 13-50
Upper Merion 9 10 11 12-42
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 48, CHELTENHAM 44
The Colonials won a thriller against the Lady Panthers.
With 12 seconds remaining, Alynna Williams missed the front end of a one-and-one but turned teammate Cara Sweeney’s tip of the rebound into a basket to give PW a four-point advantage. Amarri Trueheart answered with a basket at the other end, but Williams iced the win by sinking two free throws with four seconds remaining.
“This was big,” PW coach Daniel Dougherty said. “It was our first home game. We had a good crowd there. Even though it was a snowy night, Cheltenham had a good crowd.
“We came out strong, we came out with a lot of emotion. We built up a lead, and then Cheltenham, to their credit, came storming back.”
Williams finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists while also defending Cheltenham junior Amarri Trueheart. Senior Asia Baker, a transfer from Shipley School, led the Colonials with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“She played really well and had her first double-double for us,” Dougherty said.
Sweeney added a personal high eight points.
“Cara Sweeney and Chrissie Mesunas both played great defense and hit clutch baskets late in the third quarter,” Dougherty said.
The Colonials led 16-7 at the end of one quarter only to watch the Lady Panthers rally to make it a 26-22 game by halftime. Cheltenham freshman Ashley Jones scored 11 of her game-high 22 points in the second quarter, including a three-pointer to close out the frame.
“Their freshman is just phenomenal,” Dougherty said. “She went on a tear in the second quarter. We got into a little bit of foul trouble and had to back off defensively, and she just lit it up.
“She’s a phenomenal player.”
Dougherty paid Jones the ultimate compliment, comparing her to former standout Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews, who is now playing basketball at St. Joe’s.
“She’s like CC Andrews with a three-point shot,” Dougherty said. “She’s just like her, but she can step out and take the three.”
The Colonials took a 38-33 lead into the final quarter and held on for the win.
“Our kids are learning to play together,” Dougherty said. “There are a lot of kids getting significant minutes for the first time.
“Probably the biggest one was our junior forward, Cara Sweeney. She had a couple of big putbacks in the third and fourth quarters. She really did well.
“The same thing with Chrissie Mesunas. The points weren’t there for her tonight, but her defensive rebounding was big.”
The Lady Panthers saw their record drop to 1-1 in the league (2-2 overall) while the Colonials improved to 2-0 in the league (3-0 overall).
“Our mantra for the season is just take it one game at a time and not look ahead,” Dougherty said. “Last year we kind of got caught up with that a little bit, trying to look ahead to certain teams.
“We’re taking one game at a time. On Friday we have Wissahickon. We really felt as though this game tonight and our game on Friday night are a good measuring stick for us because we split with Cheltenham last year and we split with Wissahickon. If we want to try and take a step up in the league, these are teams we’re going to have to beat.”
Cheltenham 7 15 11 11-44
Plymouth Whitemarsh 16 10 12 10-48
WISSAHICKON 44, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 39
Wissahickon was led by Bridget Sweeney with 18 points, six from the foul line in the fourth quarter when she connected on four-of-four down the stretch. She also had 14 rebounds. Daria Earland added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"The rest of the team is stepping up with the loss of senior captain Donyea Tate due to an injury," coach Rodney Cline said.
Junior Jewell Ringgold scored 10 points and had a big game on the boards for the Spartans, pulling down 14 rebounds – nine offensive. Molly Dugan led the team offensively with 14 points. Veronica Asman scored most of her seven points at the foul line. Meghan Wheatley led the Spartans under the defensive boards with seven rebounds.
The Trojans are 1-1 in league play (2-2 overall) while the Spartans fell to 0-2 in the league (0-6 overall).
LOWER MORELAND 50, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 33 (Monday, Dec. 16)
Meghan Wheatley scored 11 points to lead the Spartans while Molly Dugan had eight and Veronica Asman had six points.
National Conference
NESHAMINY 68, BENSALEM 25
Megan Schafer spent her high school soccer career rewriting the record books. On Tuesday night, the senior standout had herself a night to remember on the hardwood as well, collecting a rare triple double in just two and a half quarters of action. Schafer finished the game with 19 points, 13 steals and 10 assists.
“We had no idea,” coach Joe Lally said. “We knew she had a pretty good line, and we pulled her out, and we’re like, ‘Wow, she’s got a pretty nice line.’”
Sarah Oliveira added 19 points and 10 rebounds while Maddie Murray had 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Redskins are 2-0 in league play while the Owls fell to 0-2 (0-4 overall).
Bensalem 2 12 3 8-25
Neshaminy 22 22 14 10-68
ABINGTON 39, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 35
Michael Harris owned the paint in Tuesday’s win. The Ghosts’ 6-2 center had 19 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
“They focused on Deja Rawls,” coach Dan Marsh said. “Teams are going to learn eventually that we’re more than just Deja.
“That left Michael isolated a lot on the block. She actually missed some chippies early. If she had made them, she would have 26. She just got her feet under her and started scoring. This is what we’re hoping for from her. I don’t think there’s anybody in our league who can guard her man to man.”
The Ghosts led 12-10 at the end of one quarter and took a 20-18 lead into half.
“It was a good hard-fought win,” Marsh said. “It’s always tough to go there and win. Lou (Palkovics) is such a great coach, and we knew they were going to be prepared.
“It was close the whole game. We were leading the whole game. They tied it up at the end, but we made free throws.”
Harris, Rawls and Gabby Nolan each connected for a pair from the charity stripe down the stretch. For the game, the Ghosts connected on 15-of-17 from the foul line. Rawls finished with eights points.
Madison Attanasio led the Indians with 13 points, and Hailey Burns added eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Michaela Finneyfrock had six points, seven rebounds and two steals.
The Ghosts are 2-0 in league play (3-1 overall) while the Indians fell to 1-1 in the league (1-2 overall).
Abington 12 8 8 11-39
Council Rock North 10 8 7 10-35
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 74, HARRY S TRUMAN 46
The Golden Hawks sprinted to a 15-9 lead at the end of one quarter and extended that lead to 39-18 by halftime on their way to the win.
Taylor Dillon led the Golden Hawks with 24 points to go along with five steals. Emily DeAngelis added 13 points.
The Golden Hawks are 1-1 in league play (1-3 overall) while the Tigers fell to 0-2 in the league (2-2 overall).
Harry S Truman 9 9 17 11-46
Council Rock South 15 24 20 15-74
WILLIAM TENNENT at PENNSBURY
Continental Conference
NORTH PENN 44, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 25
The Lady Knights used a stifling defense to silence the Titans, limiting their visitors to just three points in the first quarter and eight in the first half as they opened up a 20-8 lead. The Titans opened the second half with back-to-back baskets to make it a 20-12 game, but consecutive three-pointers by Sam Carangi and Vicky Tumasz gave the Lady Knights momentum they would not lose.
“We played really good defense,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “There were times on offense we looked great and other times we didn’t.
“We had 16 turnovers, which is just way too many. We haven’t had that many turnovers this year. We’ve done a pretty good job of taking care of the ball, so I was a little disappointed in that.”
Tumasz led a balanced attack with 12 points while Mikaela Giuliani added 10 and Emily Maher, eight points. Irisa Yu added six and Bri Cullen, five points.
Taylor Dunn led the Titans with eight points while Alysha Lofton had seven points and Lauren Mosher, six points.
“I ended up putting Vicky Tumasz on Lofton for a while in the first half, and she did a great job on her,” deMarteleire said. “Bri Cullen played her in the second half and did a good job.”
The Lady Knights are 2-0 in league play (4-0 overall) while the Titans are 1-1 in the league (4-1 overall).
Central Bucks South 3 5 7 10-25
North Penn 11 9 10 14-44
SOUDERTON 55, HATBORO-HORSHAM 23
The Indians’ defense set the tone for Tuesday’s win, shutting out the Hatters in the first quarter and limiting the Hatters to just five points in the first half. Souderton took a 25-5 lead into halftime on their way to the win.
Junior Sarah Derstein led a balanced attack with 10 points while Allison Gallagher had 11 points. Bianca Picard added nine, Hannah Bergey had six points, and Devon Beohm, five points.
Sophomore Jamie Quattro led the Hatters with 10 points, and Rachel Helton added six.
The Indians are 1-1 in league play (2-2 overall). The Hatters are 0-2 in the league (0-3 overall).
Souderton 12 13 13 18-55
Hatboro-Horsham 0 5 10 8-23
QUAKERTOWN at PENNRIDGE (Postponed to Wednesday, Dec. 18)
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