Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday.
Non-league
Cream of the Crop Showcase
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 77, AUDENRIED 50
The Golden Hawks trailed 15-9 after one quarter but erupted for 38 points in the second to go into halftime with a 47-32 lead on their way to the non-league win at Imhotep Charter on Saturday.
Lil Metrick’s stellar 25-point effort – which included a school record seven 3-pointers – led the Golden Hawks.
“This was another game where I was extremely proud of our effort and toughness,” Rock South coach Blair Klumpp said. “Audenried has had some games where they scored a bunch of points, and they turn teams over.
“Sophomore Shayla Smith is averaging something like 23 points and 18 rebounds a game. We held her well under both. It was a really good team defensive effort, but Katie Purpura was tasked with her the majority of the time. After the first three-and-a-half minutes, we did great on her. Fi (Fiona Reckner), Cam (Gregory), LB (Lily Bross) and Miranda (Cantor) also had turns guarding her. When you contain a player of that caliber, it’s a true team effort, and everyone must have eyes on her and be engaged, but those who denied her or turned her towards help really did a great job.”
The Golden Hawks coach had several concerns entering Saturday’s contest.
“Their talent overall, their physicality overall, and the bounce back from the emotion of (Council Rock) North last night,” Klumpp said. “We started out slow – we weren’t crisp, and to their credit, they took full advantage. We used a timeout very early to reiterate our game plan, the importance of knowing their personnel and communicating.
“The last three minutes of the first quarter through the second quarter was as good a stretch of basketball as we played since I’ve been here. The second quarter featured transition baskets, stops, good ball movement, unselfish basketball, and some made jumpers. We had something like 22 assists on 25 field goals for the game. The trust they showed in one another for their teammate to make a play if they could not really stood out.”
Katie Purpura had eight assists while Lily Bross and Kathryn O’Kane had five. Darcy Leight finished with two assists. Purpura also had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
“KP was close to a triple double,” Klumpp said of Purpura. “She had one last year against Bensalem, and I was more impressed with her game today than that one. This game factored in a much tougher defensive assignment – she’s sprinting the floor really, really hard in our transition, which is something we emphasized in film this week, and it was in a back-to-back game. It was really impressive by her.”
While Metrick led the offensive charge, she had plenty of help. O’Kane had 14 points, Purpura added 11 while Jess Mangoni and Gregory each had six points.
“Kat and Lil Metrick were really good at putting pressure on the defense in different ways,” Klumpp said. “Kat started out a little slow but deserves a lot of credit for how she bounced back and her aggressiveness in half-court offense and transition.
“Metrick will get a lot of attention for 25 points with seven made threes, which is a school record, and rightfully so, but her defensive awareness and positioning the last two games has been really fundamentally sound. And she would be the first one to give credit to her teammates for getting her good looks, but she also sprints to the wing and gets herself open.”
Also for the Hawks, Bross finished with five points, five assists and six rebounds. Karissa Smedley’s four steals ignited the defense.
When it was over, there was plenty of credit to go around.
“We have preached to them all offseason and now in season about having to sacrifice at times, and I think a lot of them are really starting to buy into that,” Klumpp said. “We have three seniors who have kind of been doubling down on that message and modeled sacrifice in different ways to the rest of the group, and I think we are seeing some buy into that – the girls deserve credit for that because it’s not easy.
“I thought Darcy (Leight) did so many intangible things today that help you win. She made multiple ‘one more or extra passes’ – passing up a good shot for a great shot. She battled for extra possessions, she had to scramble to closeouts and contests.
“(Karissa Smedley) Smed has not been forcing anything offensively and trusts her teammates and is sacrificing her body every game. She’s taken at least one charge in every game and took THREE today. It was good to have Cam (Gregory) and Jess (Mangoni) get their feet under them and hit a couple 3s today. Jess also got us going in transition with some really good outlet passes. LB (Bross) had a really solid floor game. Her decision making was really good and she’s been consistently providing a defensive spark.
“A lot of girls contributed to the two wins the last two days, and some girls picked up for their teammates. We know that’s the depth and the talent we have within this group. The impressive thing was both these wins required mental and physical toughness, and we exhibited both at a high level, which the girls deserve a lot of praise for. Each of the wins showed we can win different types of game while still having our Identity and style of play be our focus. Again, that is a credit to the girls.”
The Hawks’ coach also acknowledged the contributions of his assistant coach.
“My assistant, Ray Horn, deserves a lot of credit for a quick turnaround scout and prep for this game as well,” Klumpp said. “The girls deserve a lot of credit for taking our talking points in film this week, applying them to both practice and games and trusting in one another. That has not always been the case with past teams and I’m very proud of them for that. We told them the focus and attention to detail will need to continue with the practices this week as we prepare for Pennsbury Tuesday.”
Council Rock South (4-1, 2-1 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Audenried 15-17-9-9. 50
Council Rock South 9-38-19-11. 77
Audenried (50) –Anniyah Cheeseboro 1 0-0 2; Anniyah Howard 5 2-4 12; Zay Neurell 2 1-2 6; Shyann Osborne 3 3-4 10; Airy 3 0-1 6; Shayla Smith 6 2-6 14; TOTALS 20 8-17 50.
Council Rock South (77) – Kathryn O’Kane 5 4-6 14; Sarah Freeman 0 2-2 2; Lil Metrick 8 2-3 25; Maria Freeman 0 1-2 1; Lily Bross 1 2-2 5; Katie Purpura 4 1-2 11; Cam Gregory 2 0-0 6; Fiona Reckner 1 0-0 2; Karissa Smedley 2 1-3 5; Jess Mangoni 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 25 13-20 77.
3-point goals: Audenried – Zay, Shyann; CRS – Lil Metrick 7, Katie Purpura 2, Cam Gregory 2, Jess Mangoni 2, Lily Bross.
Keystone Classic
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 58, PENNSBURY 38
The Crusaders – behind the 27-point effort of senior Gabby Casey – handed the Falcons their first loss of the season, opening up a 15-6 lead after one quarter and never looking back.
“Lansdale Catholic is a very impressive team, and we knew they were going to come out very aggressively today,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “Early on in their season, they have played fragmented at times on offense, but today, they did a really good job early of moving the ball.
“It was certainly the best combination of ball movement and talent we have seen this year. They shot the ball exceptionally well, including three 3-pointers from Jaida Helm, and Gabby Casey played hard from the tip to final buzzer. She’s a gamer.”
By halftime, Casey had 12 points and Helm, seven, and the Crusaders led 34-16.
“At times, there physicality gave us issues, and we are still in the process of learning who we are,” Sciolla said. “At times, we take shots that we feel like we should take rather than shots that we can make, and that’s all about experience.
“Now we are at the point where we need to whittle it down to seven or eight girls that play so we can establish a continuity, and while that may change from game to game depending on the style of opponent, it needs to be consistent.”
Sofia Vitucci led the Falcons with 19 points, including a pair of 3s. Daniella MacDonald added seven points on two 3s and a foul shot, and Layla Matthias had six points.
“We have a big week coming up, and we need to have two really solid practices coming up,” Sciolla said.
In addition to Casey, Helm and Olivia Boccella both had 12 points for LC.
Pennsbury (6-1, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 6-10-15-7 38
Lansdale Catholic 15-19-12-12 58
Pennsbury (38) – Emily Panaro 1 0-0 2; Layla Matthias 2 2-2 6; Sofia Vitucci 7 3-4 19; Oliveah Gilchrist 0 2-2 2; Daniella MacDonald 3 0-1 7; Nevaeh Dash 1 0-0 0; Neve Davis 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 14 7-10 38.
Lansdale Catholic (58) – Jaida Helm 3 3-4 12; Sanyiah Littlejohn 1 1-2 3; Nadia Yemola 2 0-0 4; Olvia Boccella 5 0-0 12; Gabby Casey 9 9-11 27; TOTALS 20 13-17 58.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Sofia Vitucci 2, Daniella MacDonald; LC – Jaida Helm 3, Olivia Boccella 2.
She Got Game Classic
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 48, ABINGTON 44
Less than 24 hours after earning a wild 78-76 win over Albertus Magnus, the Ghosts – according to Dan Marsh – were running on empty.
Abington – behind 13 points from Cire Worley – took a 19-16 lead into halftime. That lead was erased in a third quarter that saw the Patriots outscore the Ghosts 15-10 to go on top 31-29. They edged Abington by two in the fourth quarter to earn the win.
Worley’s 23 points, which included two 3-pointers, led the Ghosts and capped a productive weekend for the UMass Lowell commit. One night earlier, Worley scored 38 points, connecting on 14 of 17 shots (9 of 11 from beyond the arc).
Miikiaya Durham added 10 points for the Ghosts.
Abington (5-1, 2-0 SOL) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Tuesday.
Abington 6-13-10-15 44
Archbishop Carroll 2-14-15-17 48
Abington (44) – Cire Worley 8 5-6 23; Maya Johnson 2 0-0 5; Abril Bowser 0 1-2 1; Mikiaya Durham 3 3-3 10; Jordyn Reynolds 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 15 9-11 44.
Archbishop Carroll (48) – Taylor Wilson 4 5-6 13; Brooke Wilson 4 6-6 14; Meg Sheridan 0 2-2 2; Alexis Eberz 3 2-4 8; Olivia Nardi 3 0-0 9; TOTALS 15 15-18 48.
3-point goals: Abington – Cire Worley 2, Maya Johnson, Mikiaya Durham, Jordyn Reynolds; AC – Olivia Nardi 3.
PHOENIXVILLE 59, CHELTENHAM 57
The Lady Panthers got off to a slow start, falling behind 13-4 after one quarter, but they scored 21 points in the second quarter and trailed by just four at halftime, 29-25. Maya Simmons had six points and Cassie Bugg had five to lead a balanced Cheltenham attack in the half.
Phoenixville added to its lead with a 19-14 third quarter and went into the final frame with a 48-29 advantage. The Lady Panthers rallied but never could make up the ground they lost.
“Another slow start didn’t help us, but we battled all the way back and competed,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “It was a physical game that we had a chance to win but came up just short.
“I need to do better job of helping the girls in end of game situations, but I’m proud of their hard work today. We need to learn from two tough losses this weekend and find ways to win.”
Simmons led the Lady Panthers with 16 points, and Paige Powell added 15 – 12 in the second half. Cassie Bugg added nine points, and Arianna Davis had six points.
Cheltenham (3-3, 1-2 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
Cheltenham 4-21-14-18. 57
Phoenixville 13-16-19-11. 59
Cheltenham (57) – Jiah Price 3 0-2 7; Paige Powell 6 2-5 15; Maya Simmons 5 5-6 16; Arianna Davis 3 0-0 6; Ije Ojukwu 2 0-2 4; Cassie Bugg 4 1-2 9; TOTALS 23 8-17 57.
Phoenixville – Baratta 1 0-0 2; Flick 8 3-5 23; Grias 2 1-2 6; Latimore-Beasley 1 2-6 4; Michaud 3 1-2 7; Sullivan 0 1-2 1; Ford-Bey 6 4-13 16; TOTALS 21 12-30 59.
3-point goals: Cheltenham – Jiah Price, Paige Powell, Maya Simmons; Phoenixville – Flick 4, Grias.
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