Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Friday.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover games
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 43, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 33
Aniya McDaniel and Gabby Reichner each scored 11 points to lead the visiting Bucks to the hard-fought win in Friday’s crossover.
“It was a boxing match,” West coach Zach Sibel said. “Jack (Kelly) does a nice job over there, and the girls play really hard.”
The Bucks led 10-3 after one quarter and extended that lead to 17-10 by halftime. Reichner’s six points led West in the half.
The Indians’ offense – behind eight points from Delaney McCaffery – came to life in the third quarter, and Rock North trailed by just five heading into the final quarter, 28-23.
“Delaney McCaffery is a special kid as well as Ruth O’Keeffe and the Wright kid (Skyler Wright),” Sibel said. “They have players, so you have to be keyed into that. We threw the kitchen sink at McCaffery, and I think we did a nice job in the first half. I don’t think we did a poor job on her – I think she just got going. She’s that kind of kid with that type of talent that can get moving.”
West won it with an impressive showing from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, burying 11-of-13. McDaniel had eight points in the fourth quarter and connected on 6-of-6 from the line. Gabi Senior had five points and was 4-for-5 from the foul line.
“Naya McDaniels – when it got close, and we were in the bonus – you’ve seen it a thousand times where teams start to foul, you miss a couple free throws, and then teams start to claw back in,” Sibel said. “But Naya McDaniels got in and knocked down six straight free throws to weather any type of punch that North was going to throw at the end.”
In addition to the double-digit efforts of Reichner and McDaniel, Gabi Senior and Scarlett Baumgardner both had seven points.
“The game was close,” Sibel said. “Gabby Reichner was an absolute animal. She played so physical and was awesome on the glass. She did a nice job covering their forwards.
“(Alexis) Castro did the same thing – she was an animal on the glass, and we really got great play from role players, which has been the story these last two games. Everybody is just playing their role.”
For the Indians, McCaffrey’s 19 points led the way while Ruth O’Keeffe added 11.
The win was the second in as many games for the Bucks after a 1-7 start.
“It’s great,” Sibel said. “That’s what we preached all week – do the things that we’re working on, start to see some execution and ride the wave. Really, we had a great week of practice and two good games.
“We’re feeling better, really good going into the break and looking to make some noise the second half.”
Central Bucks West (3-7, 2-4 SOL) is off until Friday, Jan. 5, when the Bucks will host Council Rock South in a crossover game.
Council Rock North (3-6, 1-5) returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 3, when the Indians will travel to New Hope-Solebury for a non-league game.
Central Bucks West 10-7-9-17 43
Council Rock North 3-7-13-10 33
Central Bucks West (43) – Gabi Senior 2 3-4 7; Erica Madden 1 0-0 2; Aniya McDaniel 2 6-6 11; Alexis Castro 2 1-4 5; Gabby Reichner 5 1-1 11; Scarlett Baumgardner 2 2-2 7; TOTALS 14 13-17 43.
Council Rock North (33) – Amara Arroyo 1 0-2 3; Delaney McCaffery 6 6-7 19; Ruth O’Keeffe 3 5-5 11; TOTALS 10 11-14 33.
3-point goals: CBW – Aniya McDaniel, Scarlette Baumgardner; CRN – Amara Arroyo, Delaney McCaffery.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover games
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 58, HATBORO-HORSHAM 53 (OT)
The Lions won an overtime thriller over the Hatters, capitalizing on their opportunities at the foul line where they buried 7-of-8 shots. They outscored the Hatters 9-4 in OT with seven of those points coming at the foul line.
Both teams showcased standout individual efforts with Izzy Elizondo leading the Lions with 21 points and Maddy Patel leading all scorers with 22 points, which included five 3s.
“It was a really hard-fought back and forth game,” Lions’ coach Steve Polinsky said. “We shot the ball well at the foul line tonight.”
Nina Meizler – who had just two points in regulation – was a perfect 4-for-4 at the line in OT to spark the Lions.
The game was a dogfight from the outset, and the two teams were deadlocked 13-13 after one quarter. The Hatters outscored their visitors 12-8 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 25-21 advantage. Patel was on fire for the Hatters, burying four 3s and scoring 13 of her team’s points. Elizondo led the Lions with 11 points.
“I have challenged Elizondo to be the scorer on this team and be aggressive – if you miss, move on,” Polinsky said. “I thought she was great tonight.”
The third quarter belong to the Lions, who outscored their hosts 18-12 to go into the final quarter with a 39-37 edge. Elizondo was once again a catalyst, scoring eight points. Emily Wilson added a pair of 3s for the Lions.
In the fourth quarter, the Hatters rallied to knot the score, setting the stage for OT.
Three players paced the Lions in scoring with double figures. In addition to Elizondo, sophomore Kayla Fennel had 10 points. Wilson had 12 points – all in second half. Ella Dudick finished with seven and Meixler had six.
“Kayla Fennel stepped it up and played (Kitty) Randa pretty well,” Polinsky said. “Randa is a tough player.”
In addition to Patel, Randa had 14 points, and Madison Duggan added nine with a pair of 3s.
“Eric’s team played smart and hard,” Polinsky said of Hatters’ coach Eric Glemser. “There were a ton of lead changes, and it was well played. The Patel kid did not miss. She played well, and we had to change our box-and-one defense when she started heating up.”
New Hope-Solebury (5-3, 2-3 SOL) will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 3, when the Lions will host Council Rock North in a non-league game.
Hatboro-Horsham (4-5, 2-4) will travel to Wildwood to compete in the Boardwalk Classic. The Hatters will face Padua Academy (Del.) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
New Hope-Solebury 13-8-18-10-9 58
Hatboro-Horsham 13-12-12-12-4 53
New Hope-Solebury (58) – Kayla Fennell 3 4-4 10; Ella Dudick 3 1-2 7; Izzy Elizondo 9 3-4 21; Emily Wilson 5 2-2 14; Nina Meixler 1 4-4 6; TOTALS 21 14-16 58.
Hatboro-Horsham (53) – Angelica Visceglia 1 1-2 3; Mia Fisher 1 0-0 2; Kitty Randa 7 0-0 14; Maddy Patel 6 5-7 22; Madison Duggan 3 1-2 9; Alyssa Tooley 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 19 8-13 53.
3-point goals: NH-S – Emily Wilson 2; HH – Maddy Patel 5, Madison Duggan 2.
WILLIAM TENNENT 46, WISSAHICKON 37
The Panthers led 19-6 after one quarter and looked as though they were on their way to an easy win only to see the visiting Trojans rally to make it a 27-25 game at halftime. The Panthers outscored their visitors 19-12 after the intermission to earn the win.
“It was a good team win tonight and a much-needed win,” said Tennent assistant coach John Stanfield, who was filling in for coach Laura Whitney (illness). “We went up pretty big the first quarter, but Wissahickon didn’t give up. They fought back and flipped the score the second quarter. It was a late 3 by Hallie Staub that gave us the two-point lead at half.”
Staub’s nine points led the Panthers in the first half.
In the third quarter, five players contributed scoring for the Panthers, who held an 11-7 scoring edge and went on top 38-32. They never relinquished their lead.
“The second half we executed on offense and grinded out the win,” Stanfield said. “It was a well-balanced scoring game for us. We had four girls in double figures. Ella Mednick is usually the hardest worker in the gym and a defensive force. There have been games when she hasn’t shot the ball, but tonight she had 10 points. That was huge for us.”
Staub and Morgan Volz led a balanced Tennent attack with 11 points each while Ella Mednick and Avery Kocur both had 10 points.
“We have been starting slow the last few games, so we challenged the girls to come out strong and they did a great job the first quarter,” Stanfield said. “We are pleased with the progress and outcome but there’s always work to do.”
Sophomore Maura Jacob led the Trojans with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. Julia Lettieri added eight points, two rebounds and two steals, and Chloe Acuna had six points and a steal. Lydia Schultz had five rebounds to go along with four points.
William Tennent (3-6, 3-3 SOL) will face Sun Valley in Thursday’s opening round of the Upper Merion Holiday Tournament at 3 p.m.
Wissahickon (1-7, 1-5) will take on Chichester on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Marple Newtown Holiday Tournament.
Wissahickon 6-19-7-5 37
William Tennent 19-8-11-8 46
Wissahickon (37) – Maura Jacob 4 2-3 12; Julia Lettieri 1 6-8 8; Ava Stout 1 0-0 3; Ashley Klein 2 1-2 5; Chloe Acuna 2 0-0 6; Lydia Schultz 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 11 10-15 37.
William Tennent (46) – Ella Mednick 4 1-2 10; Avery Kocur 3 1-2 10; Halie Staub 5 0-0 11; Jess Whisler 2 0-0 4; Morgan Volz 4 2-7 11; TOTALS 18 4-11 46.
3-point goals: WT – Ella Mednick, Avery Kocur 3, Halie Staub, Morgan Volz; Wissahickon – Maura Jacob 2, Ava Stout, Chloe Acuna 2.
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 53, PHOENIXVILLE 37
The Golden Bears got off to a fast start, connecting on three 3-pointers and outscoring the visiting Phantoms 15-9 in the first quarter. They took a seven-point lead into halftime and added to it in the second half on the way to the bounce-back win.
“Holy Gohl scored a game high 17 points, including three 3-pointers, and Mike Lancit scored 15 points to lead us to a nice victory, bouncing back from a tough loss last night,” UM coach Josh Adelman said of the Golden Bears loss to Abington. “The team played four quarters tonight but really turned it on in the second half. Eight different players scored for us.”
Gohl buried a pair of first-quarter 3s and led UM with eight first-half points. Lancit had six points as the Golden Bears took a 22-15 lead into halftime. Gohl added seven points in the third quarter and Lancit had six as the Bears opened up a 36-25 lead into the final quarter.
Also for the Golden Bears, Olivia Meakim scored eight points, which included a pair of 3s.
Upper Moreland (7-3, 3-2 SOL) is off until Friday, Jan. 5, when the Golden Bears will travel to Wissahickon.
Phoenixville 9-6-10-12 37
Upper Moreland 15-7-14-17 53
Phoenixville (37) – Maliyah Warren 4 3-6 11; Emine Ulcay 3 1-2 8; Riley Ford-Bey 1 0-0 2; Kayden Baratta 4 5-8 15; Nevaeh Baltimore-Beasley 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 12 10-17 37.
Upper Moreland (53) – Mikel Lancit 6 2-2 15; Lianna Adames 1 0-0 3; Marie Meyers 1 1-2 4; Lilly Hansen 0 1-2 1; Holly Gohl 7 0-1 17; Olivia Meakim 3 0-0 8; Molly Meakim 0 1-2 1; Mikaila Allen 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 20 5-11 53.
3-point goals: Phoenixville – Kayden Baratta 2, Emine Ulcay; UM – Holly Gohl 3, Olivia Meakim 2, Mikel Lancit, Lianna Adames, Marie Meyers.
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