Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. To view photos of the Upper Merion/Norristown game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
UPPER MERION 43, NORRISTOWN 42
In another classic battle between the neighboring rivals, it was the Vikings surviving a late-game comeback by the Eagles to earn the hard-fought win in the opening game of a girls/boys doubleheader at Norristown.
“We’re still trying to find ourselves,” said coach Tom Schurtz, whose team was coming off a loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh two days earlier. “Certainly not having Anna (Davis) – I feel like it’s the same old song and dance, but that’s a three-year starter at guard out of your lineup, and it’s tough.”
The Eagles led 11-7 at the end of one quarter, but the Vikings came back to knot the score 18-18 at the intermission. An 18-9 third quarter surge – sparked by 14 points from Regie Robinson – put the Vikings on top 36-27, and they appeared to be in command.
The Eagles – who still trailed by 10 midway through the final frame – had other ideas.
“We had a couple of empty possessions, and they chipped away, chipped away, and the next thing we know we look up, and they’re within three,” Schurtz said. “Tat Dewalt had an and-one and hit the free throw to tie it.
“At that point, there’s 1:40 left, and you’re wondering where your 10-point lead went. We came down and missed a shot, and they took the lead on a Brianna Schools’ made free throw – she made the front end of a one-and-one.
“The thing we talked about – there aren’t a lot of teams that have the character to give a fourth quarter lead up on somebody else’s floor with that many people there and still show the resolve to come down and make a shot and take the lead back.”
The Vikings showed their resiliency when Tatiana Pleasant – isolated on the low post – buried a shot despite being fouled. She misfired on the free throw, but the Vikings had regained the lead.
“We came down and had a (defensive) stop,” Schurtz said. “Regie got the rebound, and they fouled her. We missed both free throws with four seconds left, and they didn’t really get a shot in the last four seconds.
“I think really the key was having the faith in Tat (Pleasant) to go back to her late in the game. That’s not something we would have had the strength to do last year – we would have forced a bad shot, but (instead), we patiently isolated her and got her a good look, and she made it through contact.”
Pleasant posted another double-double, finishing with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Robinson led all scorers with an impressive double-double of her own – 24 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists. The senior guard had three three-pointers in her 14-point third quarter.
“We missed some shots today,” Schurtz said. “We only had four players score, but it was good enough to win a tight game, and we needed to get that win. It was a must win for us.”
Lauren Fortescue and Tatiana Dewalt led a balanced Eagles’ offense with 10 points each. Schools and Pattie Fortescue both had nine points.
Both teams are 1-2 in league play after Thursday’s game.
“I feel like the American Conference gets knocked around because we’re not the big schools, but you go watch an American Conference basketball game – you’re in for a game,” Schurtz said. “It doesn’t really matter.
“I love the old rivalries. The Norristown rivalry is great, and coaching against Vinnie (Vince Catanzaro) we were talking before the game how many close games the two of us have gone at each other in over the years. It’s nice. If you look over the league, it’s a lot of the same faces and a lot of history there.”
Upper Merion 7-11-18-7 43
Norristown 11-7-9-15 42
Upper Merion (43) – Jordan Wilson 3, Regie Robinson 24, Tatiana Pleasant 12, Eryn Brady 4.
Norristown (42) – Lauren Fortescue 10, Tatiana Dewalt 10, Pattie Fortescue 9, Brianna Schools 9, Taijah James 3, Devon Morse 1.
ABINGTON 50, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 30
The Ghosts sprinted out of the gate to a 16-2 lead after one quarter and stretched that to 29-9 by halftime on their way to a win that upped their SOL mark to 3-0.
“We played really good defense,” coach Dan Marsh said. “We knew (coach) Monica (Stolic) is always going to be prepared, and going to their place is difficult.
“Our kids came out really focused, especially defensively, and they had a hard time scoring. We were able to get the ball inside to Lizzie (O’Leary) and Leah (Simmons), and we knew we had a size advantage. They always run a good, smart offense, and the biggest thing was defending them. I think we did a good job.”
Liz O’Leary had a big night for the Ghosts with 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Leah Simmons added 10 points. Senior point guard Deja Rawls had nine points, eight assists and three steals. Sammy Lochner added eight points.
Shannon Taub had a huge night for the Golden Hawks, contributing 22 points – 20 in the second half.
The win upped Abington’s overall record to 5-2 while the Golden Hawks are 3-2 (2-1 SOL).
Abington 16-13-11-10 50
Council Rock South 2-7-13-8 30
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 46, MERION MERCY 40
The Indians survived some early foul trouble and rallied from nine down late in the third quarter to earn the hard fought win.
“I’m really proud of the way my kids didn’t back down,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “We went down nine in the third quarter, and they could have packed it in.
“It was a physical game and just a lot of physical play, and I was happy to see my girls not back down.”
Merion Mercy led 16-15 after one quarter and took a one-point lead into halftime (27-26). The Indians fell behind by nine late in the third quarter but closed out the game with an impressive run to win by six.
“You can’t just point to one person,” Palkovics said of the comeback. “Obviously, Jess (Gerber) kept us in the game – she had four three-pointers and 21 points, but we had girls coming off the bench.
“Hannah Weiler played big and had a couple of blocked shots. Emily Mackin hit four straight free throws in the fourth quarter when we were really needed it, when we were down. That was huge.”
In addition to scoring a game-high 21 points, Gerber also had two rebounds, two steals and three assists. Michaela Finneyfrock had eight points, five rebounds and one assist.
“Obviously, we don’t have Madison Attanasio (injury) right now, so that’s a big loss,” Palkovics said. “But I really like this team, and I’m very very comfortable playing 11 players pretty religiously every game. I’ve been really happy with that the first four games of the season.”
The Indians improved to 4-0 on the young season.
Council Rock North 15-11-8-12 46
Merion Mercy 16-11-8-5 40
Council Rock North (46) – Becca Margolis 7, Jessica Gerber 21, Michaela Finneyfrock 8, Megan Haggerty 3, Emily Mackin 7.
Merion Jercy (40) – Jackson 10, Konieczny 3, Corzel 5, Smith 13. Heinsinger 9.
PENNSBURY 37, BENSALEM 35
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