Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Monday.
Non-league
Harry S Truman 39, Quakertown 36
It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win, and the Tigers were more than happy to take it. The two teams combined for 64 foul shots and made just 22.
“We missed (23) foul shots, and then we missed at least 15 easy layups,” Truman coach Collette Munford said. “They gutted it out. That’s all I can say – they gutted it out.”
The two teams battled to a 10-10 tie after one quarter, but the Tigers turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, limiting the visiting Panthers to just two points. Truman took a 24-12 lead into halftime. The Panthers returned the favor in the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers 13-4. Both teams scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Tigers held on for the win.
“It was our defense that kept us in it,” Munford said. “We came out in the third quarter, and instead of keeping it up, we slacked off, that’s when they came back and made their run.
“The last quarter it was just foul, foul, foul, foul. We were missing, but we still fought. I can’t really explain it. If you look at the numbers, it would say we lose, but God was on my side – we won. I told them, ‘You easily could have given this one away, and it looked like you were trying to give it away,’ but they pulled it out at the very end.”
Daisha Campbell led the Tigers with 16 points while Hannah Smith also finished in double figures with 10 points. Nai Nai Keys added nine points and came within a point of a double-double as she added 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.
For the Panthers, Alexis Miccuci led the way with 10 points, and Fallon Grandinetti had seven. Carolyn Sipprell chipped in six points.
“They have height, and they don’t give up,” Munford said of the Panthers. “They shoot well if you leave them open.
“The thing was they couldn’t handle pressure. We played man most of the game. Most of my bigs are inexperienced, so when I had to throw them in – two or three at a time – I had to fall back into a two-three, but for most of the game, we played man.”
Harry S Truman (1-2) will host Council Rock South in Thursday’s SOL opener at 7 p.m., and Quakertown (1-1) will host Central Bucks South on Friday in the SOL opener for both teams.
Quakertown 10-2-13-11 36
Harry S Truman 10-14-4-11 39
Quakertown (36) – Carolyn Sipprell 3 0-3 6, Abigail Dickson 1 0-2 2; Katie Catalano 1 2-3 5; Laney Mitchell 0 1-3 1; Katie Offner 0 3-4 3; Abigail McClaskey 1 0-0 2; Alexis Miccuci 5 0-2 10; Fallon Grandinetti 1 5-11 7; TOTALS 12 11-30 36.
Harry S Truman (39) – Nai Nai Keys 4 1-3 9; Daisha Campbell 5 6-16 17; Hannah Smith 3 3-8 10; Secret McCleve 1 0-2 2; D’Andrea Woods 0 0-2 0; Ameera Smith 0 1-3 1; TOTALS 13 11-34 39.
3-point goals: Quakertown – Katei Catalano, HST – Daisha Campbell, Hannah Smith.
Bensalem 60, Conwell-Egan 36
It looked like it was going to be a classic battle between the neighboring schools as the two teams battled to an 11-11 tie after one quarter. Then came the second quarter that saw the Owls go on a 22-4 tear. They added to their lead in the second half, and defense, according to coach Sheldon Per, was the key.
“Our man-to-man pressure seemed to bother them a little bit, and that broke open the game,” the Owls’ coach said. “They’re a feisty team and they kept fighting.
“They’re better than they were last year. He (coach Chris Brennan) does a good job, but our man-to-man pressure bothered them, and we ran the court pretty well, and we were able to break it open.”
Haley Keenan’s 17 points led the Owls while Chloe Munyon added 14. Emily Wineburg had seven points, and Pooja Singamneni and Mia Parker both had six.
Bensalem (1-1) will host Neshaminy in Friday’s SOL opener at 6 p.m.
Bensalem 11-22-10-17 60
Conwell-Egan 11-4-9-12 36
Bensalem (60) – Averi MCoy 3, Sam Daut 2, Pooja Singamneni 6, Emily Wineburg 7, Mia Parker 6, Haley Keenan 17, Chloe Munyon 14, Delaney Bell 3.
Conwell-Egan (36) – Gia Brennan 7, Kiyann Peterson 3, Alyssa Fagans 6, Kyliyah Carmichael 4, Isabella Foy 2, Katey Brennan 5, Angel Crowell 2, Kylie Maroney 3, Courtney Anderson 4.
Archbishop Carroll 69, North Penn 57
The Knights came up short in Monday’s non-league contest against the defending PCL champions, and the difference in this contest was one quarter and one player.
The Patriots led by just one after the first quarter, 13-12, but then came a second quarter that saw the Patriots go on a 25-15 tear to go into halftime with a 38-27 advantage. Doing most of the damage was senior Erin Sweeney. The Drexel commit buried five three-pointers and scored 17 of her game-high 23 points in the frame.
In the second half, the two teams exchanged baskets, but the Knights couldn’t make up the ground they lost.
Senior Val McGriff led the Knights with 16 points, which included a 6-for-8 effort at the foul line. Alli Lindsay added 14 points, including three three-pointers. Carley Adams had seven points, and Kate Early added six.
Also for the Patriots, Grace O’Neill added 16 points, including a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line in a fourth quarter that featured one trip after another to the foul line. The Patriots buried 11-of-18 from the charity stripe in the frame. They were 13-of-22 for the game.
The Knights connected on 5-of-10 foul shots in the fourth quarter, 14-of-24 for the game.
North Penn (1-1) will travel to Neshaminy for a non-league game Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Archbishop Carroll 13-25-16-15 69
North Penn 12-15-17-13 57
Archbishop Carroll (69) – Maggie Grant 3 1-4 8; Karli Dougherty 3 2-4 8; Erin Sweeney 9 0-0 23; Grace O’Neill 5 5-5 16
Tyalor Wilson 2 2-2 6; Nikki Mostardi 2 3-6 8; TOTALS 24 13-22 69.
North Penn (57) – Laynie Dolan 1 0-0 2; Abby Plaugher 1 0-0 3; Alli Lindsay 4 3-4 14; Rachel Dunn 2 1-3 5; Rachel Strobel 1 2-2 4; Kate Early 2 2-3 6; Carley Adams 3 2-4 7; Val McGriff 5 6-8 16; TOTALS 19 14-24 57.
3-point goals: Carroll – Erin Sweeney 5, Grace O’Neill, Nikki Mostardi, NP – Alli Lindsay 3, Carley Adams, Abby Plaugher.
Germantown Academy 40, Upper Dublin 31
The Flying Cardinals knew they faced a daunting task when they opened their season against the perennial Inter-Ac power, and although they didn’t win, they made life tough for the Patriots and twice trailed by two points early in the second half.
“We came into the game expecting to win,” coach Morgan Funsten said. “I guess the disadvantage we had other than them being so talented – this is their fourth game and this is our first.
“It was good that we were able to get out and see them, but at the same time, there’s no replacement for game action. They definitely had the advantage there.”
The Cardinals struggled to score in the opening half, but their defense was in a midseason form, and they limited the dangerous Patriots to just five points in the first quarter. UD trailed by just a 15-9 score at halftime.
“A credit to our girls – defensively in the first half, we were close to perfect the way our girls were playing,” Funsten said. “Offensively, we had six turnovers in the first quarter, and we shot about 20 percent in the first half.
“I think a lot of it had to do with – Germantown Academy is very good defensively. Offensively, they’re so dangerous. Our number one focus was to stop them defensively, and we did such a good job, but at the same time, we expended so much energy that we had difficulty gathering ourselves on our own shots. I think we sacrificed some offense for defense, which we’ll take any day, but the second half I thought we settled in better offensively. We shot better, we went on some runs, we got it to two (points) two different times, and both times we got it to two they got a three-point play following it.
“After the game, we talked about the need to get stops after scores. Especially against a team like that, you want to be able to gather some momentum, and every time we were about to gather some momentum – credit to them, they made a big play defensively, and they kept us at a good length.”
The two teams exchanged baskets in the third quarter with Dayna Balasa keeping the Cardinals in it with seven points, which included a pair of three-pointers. GA led 27-21 heading into the final frame.
Balasa’s 12 points led the Cardinals. She also had five rebounds. Jackie Vargas filled a stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks. Kara Grebe had five points, and Jess Polin had four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
“We knew we had our hands full scheduling them the first game of the season,” Funsten said. “We know our non-league schedule is kind of outrageous, but I think it’s definitely my most talented team. It doesn’t mean we’re going to be the best team we’ve had but we want to challenge ourselves. We think challenging ourselves now will make us better when it counts most.”
Upper Dublin (0-1) will host Abington in a non-league game Thursday at 7 p.m.
Upper Dublin 4-5-12-10 31
Germantown Academy 5-10-12-15 40
Upper Dublin (31) –Jess Polin 1 2-2 5; Kara Grebe 1 1-2 3; Dayna Balasa 4 1-2 12; Jackie Vargas 4 3-4 11; TOTALS 10 7-10 31.
Germantown Academy (40) – Jess Moore 0 1-2 1; Caitlyn Priore 0 2-2 2; Becca Booth 2 1-1 6; Jaye Haynes 4 4-5 13; Maddie Vizza 2 4-7 10; Elle Stauffer 1 6-6 8; TOTALS 9 18-23 40.
3-point goals: UD – Dayna Balasa 3, Jess Polin, GA-Maddie Vizza 2, Jaye Haynes, Becca Booth.
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