Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Monday.
Title IX Classic
PENNSBURY 35, OSBOURN PARK 30
The Falcons completed a successful trip to Washington, D.C., with a win over a tough Osbourn Park squad in Monday’s fifth place game.
“It’s been popular over the last few years on social media to say stuff like – ‘Great win over a really well-coached and tough team,’ and sometimes it’s like a pious platitude or maybe it’s overly nice, but this team was really good,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “We wanted to play them, we were hoping we would be able to. They were really skilled. They shot the ball really well.
“They were similar to us. That’s why we wanted it. We’ve already played a lot of really athletic, really physical teams, and we needed to play against a team that was really skilled and would make us try a lot of different things. They were also really physical.”
Behind five points from Nicole Pompili, the Falcons led 10-5 after one quarter but trailed 17-15 at halftime. Ava Sciolla scored all five of the Falcons’ points in the second quarter. Defense was the story of a third quarter that saw the Falcons hold a 4-2 edge to knot the score 19-19 heading into the final quarter.
The Falcons won it at the foul line, connecting on 10-of-12 in the final four minutes after not taking a foul shot the entire game to that point. Miller and Sciolla were both 4-for-4 down the stretch.
“Bella Arcuri made a really big three midway through the fourth quarter, and then they scored, and Ava answered with another big three, and that gave us a little bit of breathing room,” coach Sciolla said.
Sciolla led the Falcons with 12 points and eight rebounds. Miller and Pompili both added seven points. Bella Arcuri had four assists.
“The referees let both sides play on both ends. It was a rock fight between teams that can shoot the ball a little bit,” coach Sciolla said. “They guarded us well, and we guarded them well. We really took out their two biggest scoring options, starting with their point guard, number two (Hailey Kellogg), and number four (Jo Raflo).”
Kellogg did not score a point and Raflo had just four.
“We went with an unconventional switch and started Ava on (Kellogg) and thought maybe her length would disrupt her, and it did,” Sciolla said. “Then we put Mary Miller on (Raflo). She’s a really good on-the-ball defender.
“The team played great defense. The story was excellent team defense. Abbi Nassivera pulled down some really big rebounds to save possessions, and on the final play when we needed to get a stop – sniffed out the play and didn’t let them to get a good look.”
Sciolla also credited the play of junior Lauren ‘Diggy’ Dignan.
“She played heavy minutes on the defensive end,” the Falcons’ coach said. “She’s really athletic, and she was great. They were a hard team because they put five girls out there that could shoot threes at once, and you don’t see that a lot.
“So you had to chase the perimeter, and Diggy also communicated well. Nobody’s holding the ball. I felt like we really contested a lot of their shots, and we were solid.”
The trip included more than just playing basketball. The team visited the Holocaust Museum and the Smithsonian.
“We were happy we were able to get this opportunity,” Sciolla said. “We went to see a George Washington college game.
“For Pennsbury girls’ basketball, these are not tournaments we have traditionally been invited to. It was a tremendous experience to close out the year.”
Pennsbury (6-2, 2-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday.
Pennsbury 10-5-4-16 35
Osbourn Park 5-12-2-11 30
Pennsbury (35) – Ava Sciolla 3 4-4 12; Abbi Nassivera 0 1-2 1; Bella Arcuri 2 0-0 5; Lauren Dignan 0 1-2 1; Mary Miller 1 4-4 7; Mia Spinelli 1 0-0 2; Nicole Pompili 3 0-0 7; Totals 10 10-12 35.
Osbourn Park (30) – Alana Powell 1 1-2 3; Kelsi Dickinson 1 0-0 2; Jo Raflo 1 1-2 4; Katie Leanski 1 0-0 2; Alex Harju 3 0-0 8; Maddie Scarborough 3 5-6 11; Totals 10 7-10 30.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 2, Mary Miller, Bella Aruri, Nicole Pompili, Osbourn Park – Alex Harju 2, Jo Raflo.
Boardwalk Classic (GWITDA Showcase)
CLEARVIEW 51, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 35
The Indians took a 25-23 lead into halftime, playing their best half of the season, but in the second half, the shots stopped falling. They scored just 10 points while Clearview put 28 points on the scoreboard to pull away.
For the game, the Indians connected on 12-of-43 shots – 5-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Freshman Jaden Wan and junior Anna Cairone accounted for 26 of Rock North’s 35 points. Wan, who connected on 6-of-13 shots, led the Indians with 15 points to go along with five rebounds. Cairone added 11 points, including three three-pointers – all in the first half.
Abby Jones had a strong game under the backboards with a game-high nine rebounds. Riley Hamilton added five rebounds.
Council Rock North (3-6, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Friday.
Clearview 15-8-17-11 51
Council Rock North 12-13-3-7 35
Clearview (51) – Sophia Lutz 1 0-0 3; Olivia Marchei 2 0-0 5; Emma Steidle 2 0-0 5; Bella Steidle 5 6-7 18; Kassidy Thompson 5 2-2 12; Aaryn Battle 1 6-10 8; Totals 16 14-19 51.
Council Rock North (35) – Anna Cairone 4 0-0 11; Riley Hamilton 1 0-0 3; Kristen Polinsky 1 1-2 4; Jaden Wan 6 3-7 15; Abby Jones 0 2-6 2; Totals 12 6-15 35.
3-point goals: Clearview – Bella Steidle 2, Sophia Lutz, Olivia Marchei, Emma Steidle; CRN – Anna Cairone 3, Riley Hamilton, Kristen Polinsky.
Non-league
WISSAHICKON 47, WILLIAM TENNENT 28
Freshman Kaitlyn McGeary had a breakout game, scoring 15 points and leading the Trojans to the non-league win.
“She’s a very skilled freshman,” coach Rodney Cline said. “She has the tools, but being a freshman and coming from middle school to varsity, it’s a different physicality and speed.
“I think the first two or three games – the speed was a little much. I think the game is starting to slow down for her. She went out there and did her job. She posted up when she needed to. When we isolated her and they fronted her, she sealed and got the lobs. She just did all the things you would want and more coming from a senior or junior, but she did it as a freshman. It’s good to see that confidence for her, and confidence for the rest of the girls around her that we can feed her inside and trust her with the ball, make the passes and trust that she will finish.”
The Trojans, who led 9-8 after one quarter, took control of the game with a 14-3 second quarter to go on top 23-11. Anna Schools – who added 12 points for the Trojans – scored five points in the quarter. The Trojans outscored their visitors 24-17 in the second half.
Monday’s win was the Trojans’ third in a row after a 0-3 start.
“Each win is a blessing,” Cline said. “We don’t take anything for granted. We don’t worry about other teams. We have to worry about how we play. We have to get better each practice and each game. Success is a process. It’s not a destination. Each game and each practice we want to get better.
“A win is progress, but even if we were to lose a game – as long as we’re playing better, as long as we’re seeing progress, that’s the win. For us to progress and be more poised, each player getting more confidence at the varsity level – that’s a win each game. To be able to actually win the game on the scoreboard, that’s just a plus.”
For the Panthers, Courtney Bragen led the way with 12 points. Hannah Reimel added six.
Wissahickon (3-3, 1-2 SOL) will host Cheltenham on Friday, and William Tennent (3-4, 0-2) will host Pennsbury on Friday.
William Tennent 6-5-7-10 28
Wissahickon 9-14-11-13 47
William Tennent (28) – Emily Thran 3, Hannah Reimel 6, Courtney Bragen 12, Kirsten Scott 3, Erin Hart 2, Kailyn Hansen 2.
Wissahickon (47) – Lily Hyatt 2, Anna Schools 12, Leah Dubin 5, Kylie Freidman 4, Kelly Prestipino 2, Rebecca Selverian 2, Julia Verrier 3, Libby Kunzier 2, Kaitlyn McGeary 15.
SOUDERTON 39, POPE JOHN PAUL II 24
Mikaela Reese filled a stat sheet. The senior captain scored a game-high 19 points and completed her double-double with 10 rebounds. She also had seven assists and three blocks in a contest that saw the Indians assist on 14 of 17 made baskets.
The two teams were deadlocked 7-7 after one quarter, but behind eight points from Reese, the Indians outscored PJP 10-3 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 17-10 lead. They put the game completely out of reach with a 16-6 third quarter tear. Jordan Zimmerman, Erin Bohmueller and Reese each had four points in the frame.
In addition to Reese, Zimmerman and Bohmueller each added six points. Zimmerman also had six rebounds and three assists.
Souderton (5-3, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Friday.
Souderton 7-10-16-6 39
Pope John Paul II 7-3-6-8 24
Souderton (39) – Jordan Zimmerman 3 0-0 6; Erin Bohmueller 3 0-0 6; Olivia Schneider 1 0-2 2; Casey Harter 1 0-1 2; Hannah Alderfer 1 0-0 2; Hayley Fenchel 1 0-0 2; Mikaela Reese 7 5-6 19; Totals 17 5-9 39.
Pope John Paul II (24) – Cabot 2 0-0 4; Crossan 3 1-2 8; Kennedy 4 0-0 9; Ciuba 1 1-2 3; Totals 10 2-4 24.
3-point goals: PJP – Crossan, Kennedy.
STROUDSBURG 75, QUAKERTOWN 28
Stroudsburg opened up a 12-0 lead after one quarter and took a 30-12 lead into halftime on its way to the non-league win.
Kayla Horning’s nine-point effort led the Panthers, who also received seven points from Katie Catalano.
Quakertown (2-4, 0-2 SOL) will host North Penn on Friday.
Quakertown 0-12-7-9 28
Stroudsburg 12-18-21-23 75
Stroudsburg (75) – Columna 3 5-9 12; Strunk 6 3-4 15; Card 2 3-4 7; K. Worsley-Wooten 5 0-0 14; Hock 5 2-4 13;M. Worsley-Wooten 5 1-2 11; Gizzo 1 0-0 3; Totals 27 14-23 75.
Quakertown (28) – Carolyn Sipprell 2 0-2 4; Abigail Dickson 2 0-0 4; Katie Catalano 3 1-1 7; Kayla Horning 2 4-6 9; Katie Offner 1 0-0 2; Abigail McClaskey 0 0-2 0; 11 5-11 28.
3-point goals: Stroudsburg – K.Worsley-Wooten 4, Hock, M.Worsley-Wooten, Columna, Quakertown – Kayla Horning.
SOL American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 69, CHELTENHAM 21
Jackie Vargas scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the opening quarter, propelling the visiting Flying Cardinals to a 21-11 lead. Umayrah Sulayman had the hot hand for the Lady Panthers, scoring seven points in the frame.
The Lady Panthers managed just 10 points the rest of the way.
Vargas also pulled down a team high seven rebounds.
Also for the Cardinals, Sarah Eskew added 14 points, including a pair of threes, and three steals. Dayna Balasa buried three three-pointers – all in a 21-point second quarter – and finished with 12 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Kara Grebe added seven points and four rebounds. Jess Polin had seven assists, four rebounds and three points.
Ten players put their names in the scoring column for the Flying Cardinals.
Sulayman’s 16 points led the Lady Panthers.
“They are a good team and we need to learn to compete on that level,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “Umayrah was the hardest worker on the court for us tonight.”
Upper Dublin (6-2, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Friday, and Cheltenham (3-5 0-3) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Friday.
Upper Dublin 21-21-22-5 69
Cheltenham 11-6-4-0 21
Upper Dublin (69) – Bliss Brenner 1 0-0 2; Rachel Bilger 1 0-0 2; Brianna Felgoise 2 0-2 4; Jess Polin 1 0-0 3; Geena Sarnoski 1 0-0 3; Kara Grebe 2 3-5 7; Jackie Gorman 1 0-0 3; Sarah Eskey 5 2-2 14; Dayna Balasa 4 1-2 12; Jackie Vargas 8 3-5 19; Totals 26 9-14 69.
Cheltenham (21) – Assata Robinson 1 2-2 4; Umayrah Sulayman 6 2-5 16; Taylor Johnson 0 1-2 1; Totals 7 5-9 21.
3-point goals: UD – Dayna Balasa 3, Sarah Eskew 2, Jackie Gorman, Jess Polin, Geena Sarnoski.
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