Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday.
SOL Patriot Division
NESHAMINY 48, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 43 (OT)
Reese Zemitis was in some kind of groove.
The Bucknell-bound senior scored a career high 30 points, which included five 3-pointers. She also shared the team lead with nine rebounds to go along with two blocked shots.
“I had no idea she had 30 points,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “I added the scorebook, and I was like, ‘I have to count that again.’ That’s a phenomenal number.
“She had five open 3s, and when we get ahead, we hope she’s fouled, and she was 6-for-6 in the fourth quarter and overtime.”
The Redskins – it turns out – needed every one of Zemitis’ points to eke out an overtime win over a Golden Hawks squad that entered the game with a 3-0 record and figured to compete for the Patriot Division title the Redskins own.
“Coming into it, we knew it was going to be a good game, and it just comes down to the fact – who wants it more,” Zemitis said. “It came down to energy, hustling, confidence – different things like that.”
The Redskins certainly had a chance to be demoralized when – for the second time in as many games – they saw a lead disappear in the final minute of the game. Two days after watching a six-point lead disappear in the final 40 seconds of their game against Pennsbury before rallying to win in overtime, the Redskins saw a 40-35 lead evaporate.
With 59 seconds remaining, Rock South’s Katie Purpura scored on a jumper to make it a three-point game. The Redskins came up empty on a pair at the foul line, and then Kathryn O’Kane converted a three-point play at the other end to knot the score.
A Redskin turnover gave the Hawks a chance to win it in regulation, but Zemitis came up with a block, and Lola Ibarrondo’s halfcourt shot at the buzzer fell short, setting the stage for OT.
“We’ve been in that spot before,” Zemitis said. “Council Rock South is a great team – you have to give them credit, but it is basically the same story as what happened the other night.
“We just keep ending up in the same spot, but we feel like we have the right pieces to pull out these games, so the fact that we’re able to go into it calm and just play our game – it’s really good for us.”
Zemitis scored on a turnaround jumper to open overtime, and after coming up with a steal, Alena Cofield was fouled and made 1-of-2 to put the ‘Skins on top 43-40. Ibarrondo came up with a rebound on a Rock South miss, and Cofield, who was fouled, sank 1-of-2 to make it a 44-30 game.
After another Golden Hawks’ miss, Zemitis came up with the rebound and connected on 2-of-2 at the foul line to give the Redskins a six-point lead. Rock South’s Sara Freeman, who was fouled shooting a 3, connected on all three shots with nine seconds remaining. Zemitis was fouled on the inbounds and sank both shots for the 48-43 final.
“Overtime, we really showed resilience and were able to come through and pull it out after they came back,” Zemitis said. “I think that shows a lot for us and is really big for our program in general.”
Earlier, the Redskins – behind six points from both Zemitis and Ibarrondo – opened up a 16-12 lead after one quarter but then managed just five points in the second quarter while the Golden Hawks – behind six points from O’Kane – rallied to go on top 22-21.
The Hawks – who led by as many as eight in the third quarter – still led by two heading into the final quarter, 32-30
“They had so much momentum going,” Gallagher said. “They played with a lot of emotion.”
Down but not out, the Redskins rallied. Zemitis accounted for 13 of her team’s points in the second half and added six more in OT. She had three 3-pointers in the third quarter and nine of her team’s 10 points.
“In the first half, I struggled to get my shots to fall, but in the second half, I just had to attack, and I knew one was going to fall in,” Zemitis said. “Once they did, I just kept going. It gets to the point where you know your team needs points in those moments, and you’re going to do whatever you can to get them.”
“We knew we had been scouted,” Gallagher said. “So, we went over a lot of what we call our counters to our plays. We went to our counters in the third quarter, and we got Reese a couple open 3s because of that, so the time we put into that really helped us out.”
Also for the Redskins, Ibarrondo had 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
“I had a personal conversation with Lola after the Pennsbury game and kind of got on her a little bit about her rebounding,” Gallagher said. “She had nine tonight, none bigger than the one at the end of overtime. I was really happy with Lola’s rebounding.”
Cofield had six rebounds and a pair of steals.
“Alena Cofield covered Lil Metrick, and she had an open 3 when Alena wasn’t covering her, and I was real happy with her defense,” Gallagher said. “I was real happy with Ava Irizarry and her defense. She did a good job. Ashly Duffy and Mia Raivich did a good job as freshmen – they did a real good job on the boards, and they were very good defensively.
“It was a much different game than Pennsbury – a lot more up and down. Jesse (Krasna) rolls a lot of kids out there. We went down by eight and we were taking on water – it was bad, and they were good. For us to gather ourselves, I was really happy about that. It showed me something.”
The Redskins head into the weekend with a 2-0 record after arguably their two toughest games in division play.
“It’s been a tough week,” Gallagher said. “We had a tough schedule, and at the same time, we lost one of our starting players to injury – Hayley Kolk, a 6-1 freshman who led us in scoring during the fall.
“It took a lot out of our team. It happened Friday, and we had Pennsbury on Tuesday. We have a lot of stuff we run through Hayley Kolk, and we had to change things around.”
For the Golden Hawks, O’Kane’s 15 points led the way. Pupura added nine points, and Reckner, who fouled out late in regulation, had seven points.
Neshaminy (2-0 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday, and Council Rock South (3-1, 1-1) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 12-10-10-8-3 43
Neshaminy 16-5-9-10-8 48
Council Rock South (43) – Sarah Freeman 0 3-3 3; Liliana Metrick 1 0-0 3; Miranda Cantor 1 0-0 3; Katie Purpura 4 0-0 9; Kathryn O’Kane 5 5-9 15; Cam Gregory 1 0-0 3; Fiona Reckner 2 2-2 7; TOTALS 14 10-14 43.
Neshaminy (48) – Alena Cofield 0 2-8 2; Lola Ibarrondo 3 4-6 12; Ava Irizarry 1 1-2 4; Reese Zemitis 9 7-8 30; TOTALS 13 14-24 48.
3-point goals: CRS – Liliana Metrick, Miranda Cantor, Katie Purpura, Cam Gregory, Fiona Reckner; Neshaminy – Reese Zemitis 5, Lola Ibarrondo 2, Ava Irizarry.
SOL Colonial Division
NORTH PENN 46, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 22
Senior Kelly Donnelly’s 14 points led three Knights in double figures. Caleigh Sperling and Olivia Stone each added 12 in a balanced attack.
“I think our experience and unselfish ball movement really helped us finish with a win tonight,” North Penn coach Bri Cullen said. “West is very well coached and has incredibly high intensity. It’s a challenging place to play, so I am very proud of them for staying composed.”
The Knights stormed out of the gate to a 16-2 lead after one quarter. Donnelly, Sperling and Stone each had four points in a quarter that saw five players contribute scoring. North Penn took a 31-9 lead into halftime and never looked back.
Also for the Knights, Lily Brown had six points.
Senior Aniya McDaniels led the Bucks with 11 points.
North Penn (2-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Souderton on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and Central Bucks West 1-2, 0-2) will travel to State College on Friday to compete in a tipoff tournament.
North Penn 16-15-8-7 46
Central Bucks West 2-7-8-5 22
North Penn (46) – Cameron Crowley 1 0-0 2; Caleigh Sperling 5 2-2 12; Kelly Donnelly 6 0-0 14; Olivia Stone 3 6-7 12; Lily Brown 2 2-2 6; TOTALS 17 10-11 46.
Central Bucks West (22) – Gabi Senior 1 1-2 3; Aniya McDaniels 3 4-4 11; Addy Fay 1 0-0 2; Alexis Castro 2 0-0 4; Gabrielle Reichner 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 8 5-6 22.
3-point goals: NP – Kelly Donnelly 2; CBW – Aniya McDaniels.
SOL Liberty Division
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 47, QUAKERTOWN 19
Sophomore Alyssa Avery scored a career high 26 points in a standout individual effort, leading the visiting Colonials to the decisive win. She also had six rebounds.
The Colonials, who led 12-8 after one quarter, took a 25-12 lead into halftime. Avery accounted for 11 of those points. She added 15 more in the second half and – for the game – buried three 3-pointers.
“Look up ‘winning ugly’ in the dictionary – this was the definition, but we’ll take it,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “Marissa Perez, Bailey Riley and Eliza 
Meersman really worked hard to defend the much bigger Quakertown posts.”
Truly Heft’s seven points led the Panthers. She also had a team-high eight rebounds.
“Truly Heft had a good game tonight as our leading scorer,” Quakertown coach Brittany Bamford said. “All of the other players don’t have any other standout stats because they all were very equal with their efforts tonight – jumping in the passing lanes, hustling for rebounds, and diving for loose balls.
“As a coaching staff and as a team, it was nice to see some things come together for us. We did handle the pressure better than in previous games, but we did not capitalize once we did beat the pressure. Alyssa Avery did an excellent job of attacking the lanes and finding the gaps in our zones. PW was very patient on offense, moving our defense to find the open player.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-1, 1-1 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday, and Quakertown (0-4, 0-2) will travel to Southern Lehigh for a non-league game Saturday at 11 a.m.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 12-13-11-11 47
Quakertown 8-4-4-3 19
Plymouth Whitemarsh (47) – Joslyn Perez 1 1-4 3; Taylor Williams 1 1-2 4; Olivia Patete 1 0-0 2; Alyssa Avery 10 4-7 26; McKenna Winland 2 0-0 5; Eliza Meersman 2 1-2 5; Marissa Perez 0 2-2 2: TOTALS 17 9-17 47.
Quakertown (19) – Paisley Heft 1 0-0 2; Addyson Davis 1 0-0 2; Ava Pistone 2 0-0 4; Carli Maha 1 0-0 2; Truly Heft 3 1-5 7; TOTALS 9 1-7 19.
3-point goals: PW – Alyssa Avery 2, McKenna Winland, Taylor Williams.
SOL Liberty Division
ABINGTON 68, HATBORO-HORSHAM 30
Three players scored in double figures to lead a balanced Ghost attack. Maya Johnson and Jordyn Reynolds both had 14 points while Mikiaya Durham had 13 points off the bench. The trio combined for seven 3-pointers.
Abington – behind eight points from Reynolds – led 14-11 after one quarter and then blew the game open with a 23-point second quarter to go into halftime with a 37-19 advantage.
“We started off slow in the first quarter, but then we started to move the ball and play our game offensively and defensively,” Abington coach Allison Lawson said.
Johnson’s 10 points – including a pair of 3s – led the Ghosts in the second quarter. Durham, who also had a pair of 3s, added eight points in the quarter.
The Ghosts went on to outscore the Hatters 29-11 in the second half.
Also for the Ghosts, Zyn McClain had eight points, and Harper McGinley added seven.
For the Hatters, Maddy Patel’s 13 points led the way while Angelica Visceglia had nine points.
“It’s always a tough game with Abington made even tougher with our young team and only one game under our belts,” Hatters’ assistant coach Nicole Miletto said. “We held our own in the first quarter and played pretty well only down by three after one.
“We were getting good looks, and we weren’t finishing. We’d break the press then turn it over on our end. We were closing out on shooters, but they were just knocking them down. We just made too many mistakes. Turnovers and sloppy play really hurt us in the second quarter and half. Lots of things to work on. We need to put this game behind us and focus on moving forward. There’s a lot of basketball left.”
Abington (3-1, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-1) will travel to Harriton on Saturday for a non-league game at 12:30 p.m.
Hatboro-Horsham 11-8-8-3 30
Abington 14-23-18-13 68
Hatboro-Horsham (30) – Angelica Visceglia 2 5-7 9; Mia Fisher 1 0-0 2; Kitty Randa 1 2-6 4; Maddy Patel 5 2-3 13; Gabby Fisher 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 10 9-16 30.
Abington (68) – Ava Teich 0 0-2 0; Maya Johnson 4 4-4 14; Harper McGinley 1 4-5 7; Mmikiaya Durham 4 2-4 13; Jordyn Reynolds 5 2-2 14; Sarah Oleary 2 0-0 4; Kara Slavin 0 1-2 1; Vanessa Griffin 0 2-2 2; Zyn McClain 3 2-2 8; Kaylia Rice 1 0-2 2; Gabrielle White 0 1-2 1; Amiyah Williams 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 21 18-27 68.
3-point goals: HH – Maddy Patel; Abington – Mikiaya Durham 3, Maya Johnson 2, Jordyn Reynolds 2, Harper Mcginley.
SOL Freedom Division
WILLIAM TENNENT 40, UPPER MORELAND 39
The Panthers needed a bounce back win, and they got it, notching their first win of the season on the heels of a disappointing 53-30 loss to Springfield Twp two days earlier.
“We’re still trying to figure ourselves out,” Tennent coach Laura Whitney said. “This was a much-needed win for us after a poor performance on Tuesday. Credit to Springfield – they came out and they played hard and made plays. I felt like Tuesday we played with no emotion. It seemed like nothing really went right for us on Tuesday.
“We had to get back to the basics at practice yesterday and regroup. I’m just really happy with how our girls responded today. We were playing a tough Upper Moreland team. I know they have a new coach and a new system, but they’re still clicking on all cylinders. They’re just as good as they’ve been, but I thought our girls really bought into the game plan.”
The Panthers led 5-3 after one quarter that saw Halie Staub account for all of her team’s points. They followed that with a 15-4 second quarter to go into halftime with a 20-7 lead. Staub had 10 points while Katherine Balibar added six points on a pair of 3s.
“Defensively, we were really active,” Whitney said. “I thought we did a great job on the boards, limiting them to one shot. Jess Whisler was huge. She had the tough task of guarding Holly (Gohl). That’s a tough assignment, but she made her work and held her to three points in the first half.”
Gohl rebounded with a big second half, scoring 10 points – including a pair of 3s – in a third quarter that saw the Bears outscore the Panthers 17-10 to make it a 30-24 game heading into the final quarter.
“Obviously, we knew she was going to go off – she’s too good of a player, and we knew in the second half they weren’t going to roll over,” Whitney said. “They were going to keep fighting, and she was going to look to be aggressive, which she was.
“I told the girls at halftime, ‘This game is far from over, they’re too good of a team. They have too much experience. Expect them to make adjustments,’ and they did. Halfway through the third quarter, we started to show signs of a little inexperience of being in those closer games and a little bit of panic. We had a few possessions where we rushed a little bit and had a couple of costly turnovers, but our girls really dug in and kept grinding.”
The Bears – behind six points from Gohl and clutch 3s from Mikel Lancit and Lianna Adames – outscored the Panthers 15-10 in the fourth quarter. Avery Kocur kept the Panthers afloat, scoring nine of her team’s points.
“Even though Upper Moreland made a nice run and got the game to within two and then tied it up, our girls didn’t back down,” Whitney said. “When we needed to make plays late in the game, we did. We stepped up.
“Avery Kocur was huge for us. They were double and triple teaming her. She kept her composure, and we were still able to get the ball to her. Obviously, they had to foul, and she was 5 of 6 from the line to seal the game for us.”
Kocur’s 15 points led the Panthers, who also received 11 points from Staub. Balibar and Morgan Volz both had six points.
“It was a total team effort – everyone that played contributed,” Whitney said. “Halie Staub both offensively and defensively – I know it’s early in the season, but it was her best game. She was really active defensively, making some nice rotations, getting some big rebounds in the first half.
“Jess Whisler was huge on Holly. Obviously, we had to rotate some people on her in the second half just because of her being aggressive and demanding the ball. A couple of girls picked up fouls, so we had to rotate people.
“Morgan Volz didn’t score a ton tonight, but her presence defensively and rebounding was huge. She made a big three for us in the third quarter.
“I have to give credit to Ella Mednick – she didn’t score, but she does a lot of the dirty work for us defensively. She got a ton of deflections, a couple of key steals – diving on the floor. Just keeping possessions alive for us.
“Katherine Balibar came off the bench in the first half and really gave us a spark. She hit two 3s just to keep the momentum in our favor. I’m really proud of the effort our girls came out with tonight, and hopefully, we can use this as a building block. It’s a long season, but if we play this way, I think we give ourselves a good chance.”
Gohl led all scorers with 19 points, which included three 3-pointers. Lancit added 10 points.
William Tennent (1-3, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South for a non-league contest on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Upper Moreland (2-1, 1-1) will host West Chester Rustin in a non-league game on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Upper Moreland 3-4-17-15 39
William Tennent 5-15-10-10 40
Upper Moreland (39) – Mikel Lancit 4 1-1 10; Lianna Adames 1 1-2 4; Marie Meyers 0 1-2 1; Lillian Hansen 0 2-4 2; Holly Gohl 7 2-2 19; Makaila Allen 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 13 8-13 39.
William Tennent (40) – Katherine Balibar 2 0-0 6; Avery Kocur 4 7-9 15; Halie Staub 4 1-4 11; Jess Whisler 1 0-2 2; Morgan Volz 2 1-2 6; TOTALS 13 9-17 40.
3-point goals: UM – Holly Gohl 3, Mikel Lancit, Lianna Adames; WT – Katherine Balibar 2, Halie Staub 2, Morgan Volz.
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 44, GREAT VALLEY 34
Delaney McCaffery and Amara Arroyo combined for 29 points – which included five 3-pointers – to lead the Indians to non-league win.
“Tonight was just a total team effort,” Rock North coach John Kelly said. “We are very, very proud of our girls for their tremendous effort and for pushing through some of the adversity we faced.
“Everything for us started at the defensive end of the floor. Ruth O’Keefe demonstrated that you don’t have to score a lot of points to have a profound impact on the game – her defensive effort was absolutely incredible. Amara did a remarkable job of guarding Julia Curran who is an impressive player for them, and then offensively, Amara had the game of her life offensively.”
The Indians opened up a 13-2 lead after one quarter and extended that to 25-8 by halftime. McCaffery had nine points and the first quarter, and Arroyo had a pair of 3s and a layup in the second quarter for eight points.
“Defensively, I was just impressed with how connected we were,” Kelly said. “Megan Reichenbach, Julia Koval and Delaney McCaffery were in all the right spots.
“I know the box score shows the offensive game Delaney had, but she made some really bigtime plays on the defensive end of the floor that were pivotal to our success. And we had great minutes from our bench – Frannie Boyle and Amelia Furman did everything we asked of them defensively, and Skyler Wright hit some big shots when we needed it.”
In the second half, the visiting Patriots trimmed the Indians lead to 32-22 after three quarters, and when Reilly Lackman converted a three-point play, it was a 32-25 game to open the fourth quarter. Julia Koval answered with a 3-pointer for the Indians. The Indians extended their lead when Arroyo came up with a deflection that led to a McCaffery steal. She buried the free throws to all but seal the Patriots’ fate.
McCaffery’s 15-point effort led the Indians while Arroyo had 14. Skyler Wright added six points.
“Like I said, it truly was a team effort,” Kelly said. “A credit to Great Valley and coach (Todd) Frederick – they are a really well-coached team, they made some adjustments and battled right to the end. But we are just proud of the resilience we showed throughout.”
Council Rock North (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Friday.
Great Valley 2-6-14-12 34
Council Rock North 13-12-7-12 44
Great Valley (34) – K.Buzan 0 2-2 2; Kate Weikert 1 0-0 3; Julia Curran 5 1-1 13; Reilly Lackman 3 4-7 10; K.Magee 2 0-0 4; M.Walsh 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 12 7-10 34.
Council Rock North (44) – Skyler Wright 3 0-0 6; Julia Koval 2 0-0 5; Amara Arroyo 4 4-4 14; Delaney McCaffery 4 5-6 15; Ruth O’Keefe 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 14 11-12 44.
3-point goals: GV – Julia Curran 2, Kate Weikert; CRN – Amara Arroyo 2, Delaney McCaffery 2, Julia Koval.
Wednesday, Dec. 6
NORRISTOWN 31, WISSAHICKON 21
The Trojans fell behind 8-3 after one quarter and never could get over the hump.
Lydia Schultz led the Trojans with six points while Ashley Klein added four points and a team-high nine rebounds. Ava Stout added six rebounds.
Wissahickon (0-3, 0-1 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Friday.
Norristown 8-7-7-9 31
Wissahickon 3-5-4-7 21
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