Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Upper Dublin/PW photos provided courtesy of Larry Small, and Bensalem/Pennridge photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f913170668
SOL Patriot Division
PENNSBURY 42, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 33.
Two days after falling to Bensalem, the Falcons – sparked by the 22-point game of Sofia Vitucci – bounced back to notch an impressive road win at Council Rock South.
There was no mistaking the importance of the game to both sides, but Thursday night’s win was bittersweet for Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla, who found himself going against a former player in Rock South coach Jesse Krasna.
“Tonight was obviously a must-win game for both teams in terms of positioning for the playoffs, and it’s not fun playing a former player, particularly one as classy as Jesse,” the Falcons’ coach said. “As a program we did a great deal of talking yesterday before practice both on an individual and team level, and I felt like we had a good practice in terms of getting on the same page.
“We are at our best when we support each other and we love each other. We were extremely connected defensively, and Lil Metrick had some success making shots early on, but later we did a good job finding her. It’s almost impossible to guard Katherine O’Kane because it takes such a level of discipline, but our team bonded together and did that as well. Sofia (Vitucci) got in the foul trouble really early in the first quarter, and it caused us to change how we played offensively, but we were able to navigate that foul trouble and get to halftime. Ava Jordan made some big plays for us to on the offensive end. She has practiced well lately, so you could see it coming. She’s an impressive young woman on and off the court.”
The Falcons – behind 11 points from Vitucci and five from Ava Jordan – took a 23-18 lead into halftime. Metrick had four 3s in the half and accounted for 14 of her team’s points.
The two teams exchanged baskets in the third quarter, and the Falcons sealed the Golden Hawks’ fate with an 11-7 fourth quarter that included nine points from the foul line. Vitucci led the way with a 5-for-6 effort and eight points in the frame while Layla Matthias was 3-for-6 from the line in the quarter.
For the Golden Hawks, Metrick’s 16 points led the way. Kathryn O’Kane scored seven points, and Sarah Freeman had six.
Sciolla recognized the efforts of his players in the win.
“I thought Daniella MacDonald was extremely patient tonight because she’s been thrust into a new role as being on the top of people’s scouting reports, and at a times, that could be frustrating, but she let the game come to her and she was excellent defensively,” the Falcons’ coach said. “We only played 10 tonight, which is unusual, and I felt bad about that, but we got great contributions from everyone and that, of course, includes the leadership up top from Sofia, who was excellent defensively and really strong making free throws down the stretch. Layla Matthias made big free throws for us down the stretch as well, and we got great defensive contributions from Maggie Burns and also Joley Hohman.”
Sciolla, who recently notched his 500th win, took the opportunity to reflect on what he described as an “interesting week.”
“It’s been a really interesting week getting to play two up-and-coming coaches like Steve Johnson and Jesse Krasna,” the Falcons’ coach said. “They are the future, and what I think is interesting is watching them try to instill culture. Culture is something that many in the boomer and Generation X claim to want for their children, but they often don’t embrace it if it doesn’t go their way.
“Culture often means hard lessons. Culture means cultivating a program rather than having a team, and in our modern society of youth sports, we are more about teams than we are programs. If you can get to be a program that has a strong culture, then you have to hold onto it, and it’s fun watching them create that. Because building a program is hard. It always has been, but even more so in a world of instant gratification.”
Culture, according to the veteran coach, means sacrifice.
“It means serving the program rather than just trying to fit the program into your own individual orbit or stack it with other activities as you see fit,” Sciolla said. “Nobody needs to tell me that I’m not that important. I’m thankful to everyone that reached out to congratulate me last week about what ultimately is a meaningless win total.
“I have a confession – it was never discussed one time all season, and it hasn’t been discussed since. It doesn’t even get discussed in my house. I don’t care. nobody cares. If winning was the number one priority, we wouldn’t play 11 kids every game. Wins are not our currency. Our kids and preparing them for the future by showing them we love them and making, at times, difficult leadership decisions is a priority. As coaches, we are here to serve the players, and I am here to serve the program because there have been a couple times in my life where situations have given me cause to say ‘be careful’ …because things could go back to the way they were here forever in just a few months.
“Now I understand culture is organic, and it can take years to build, yet be ripped down in just a few months. But when you can surround yourself with people who support each other, and when you have families that praise the performance of their children’s teammates, volunteer to do things to help the program out of season and accept the fact that they are gaining value from something, then your culture is rock solid. I told our team last week that you learn more from the people that don’t like and comment on your social media posts than you do from the ones that do. There’s nothing more impressive than watching other adults praise the performance of their children’s teammates.”
Sciolla acknowledged the difficult challenges facing young coaches.
“I realize it’s not easy for Steve and Jesse because there are so many teams that you can play on just by getting some money together,” he said. “And this exists at the high school level with teams that people transfer in and out on, and, of course, the club level. I have a special place in my heart for club programs that develop and keep the core of their team together over the years because that is a culture, but the sheer number of teams causes confusion for kids and parents. You can go up and down levels, and you can chase imaginary holy grails of scholarship or, even worse, the poison of make-believe social media clout. When a team can make a national tournament, despite going under .500 in their bracket, it doesn’t mean they handled adversity or learned anything. It means their check cleared.
“So, I have watched with much admiration, people much younger than me, attack the day-to-day challenge of coaching and teaching young athletes in the iPhone and social media era, and I’ve learned a great deal. It’s made me feel better. It’s emboldened me. Their next lesson, of course, will be the hardest lesson of all in building culture, and that’s handling success. Nothing is harder for a person and especially when you’re young. Success can often strangle dreams if players don’t get the job done in the classroom, the hallways and the community.”
Thursday’s win was a big one for the Falcons, who were coming off a loss two days earlier to Johnson’s Bensalem squad.
“Honestly, I was happy with the leadership that we got yesterday at practice from our seniors, and we will lean on them because they understand that they are standing in the shade of a tree that someone planted for them a long time ago,” Sciolla said. “Tuesday night at the boys’ game, it was the 1999 championship team reunion. Unfortunately, I could not be there because of our game, but I loved coaching the team because they did everything for each other. They were the ones that planted those trees that our girls stand under right now. Together we all have a role, and hopefully, we can gather some momentum and build confidence as we head toward playoffs. Our division is excellent. We will be prepared.”
Pennsbury (13-6, 9-5 SOL) – 19th in the latest District 1 6A power rankings – will travel to Souderton for a crossover game on Saturday at 1 p.m., and Council Rock South (11-8, 8-6) will travel to neighboring Villa Joseph Marie for a non-league game Monday at 5:15 p.m. The Golden Hawks are 17th in the latest rankings.
Pennsbury 12-11-8-11 42
Council Rock South 9-9-8-7 33
Pennsbury (42) – Layla Matthias 1 3-6 5; Maggie Burns 1 1-2 3; Sofia Vitucci 7 8-10 22; Daniella MacDonald 2 0-0 5; Joley Hohman 1 0-0 2; Ava Jordan 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 14 12-18 42
Council Rock South (33) – Sarah Freeman 2 0-2 6; Liliana Metrick 6 0-0 16; Lily Bross 0 1-2 1; Kathryn O’Kane 3 0-0 7; Fiona Reckner 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 12 1-4 33.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Daniella MacDonald, Ava Jordan; CRS – Liliana Metrick 4, Sarah Freeman 2, Kathryn O’Kane, Fiona Reckner.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
BENSALEM 43, PENNRIDGE 30
Ella Brown torched the Owls for 24 points, but the rest of her teammates combined for just six. It wasn’t enough to upend a streaking Owls’ squad that
relied on a balanced attack to win its sixth straight game.
“It’s the second game in a row where we had to deal with an absolute scorer,” Bensalem coach Steve Johnson said. “It was the second night in a row Grace McShane had the task of guarding that scorer.
“Ella Brown is a great basketball player. Grace has been working hard for us – diving on the floor, flying in for offensive rebounds, getting 50/50 balls. We’re going to make sure she spends a long time tomorrow with Molz, our athletic trainer.”
The Owls – behind a pair of Talia DiMichele 3s – led 11-6 after one quarter and took a 30-16 lead into halftime. DiMichele led the Owls with 12 points in the half while Devon Bell added eight.
The Rams – who received scoring from just three players – never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
DiMichele’s 14 points led the way while Bell added 11 points, and Peyton Miller had eight for the Owls, who were without Amber Howard.
“I’m proud of the way our team handled adversity today,” Johnson said. “Talia and Devon are seniors in my eyes this time of the season. They both know their roles and execute them really well. Peyton Miller has been absolute aces these last few games.”
Bensalem (14-5, 9-4 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Friday, and Pennridge (10-10, 4-10) will host Central Bucks West Friday.
Pennridge 6-10-6-8 30
Bensalem 11-19-6-7 43
Pennridge (30) – Ella Brown 10 1-1 24; Ava Fantaskey 2 0-1 4; Layla Verbit 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 12 3-4 30.
Bensalem (43) – Grace McShane 1 1-4 3; Talie DiMichele 5 2-6 14; Mikayla Donahue 1 2-2 5; Devon Bell 4 0-0 11; Arianna Jenkins 1 0-0 2; Peyton Miller 4 0-0 8; TOTALS 16 5-12 43.
3-period goals: Pennridge – Ella Brown 3; Bensalem – Devon Bell 3, Talia DiMichele 2, Mikayla Donahue.
SOL Liberty Division
UPPER DUBLIN 65, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 28
Tamia Clark did not miss.
That’s certainly what it must have seemed like to the Colonials, and the UD freshman didn’t miss often – twice, as a matter of fact, on her way to a
dazzling 30-point effort. Clark connected on 13 of 15 shots from the field, and her 10 first-quarter points sparked the visiting Cardinals to a 20-8 lead after one quarter.
It turns out the fab frosh was just getting started, adding 12 points in the second and finishing the half with 22 points as the Cardinals opened up 46-22 lead on their way to the big win.
“Tamia Clark was unbelievable tonight and only missed two shots while scoring 30 points,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “She is on quite a streak after scoring 28 in the previous game.”
Clark also had four rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Megan Ngo added 12 points and 11 assists for a nifty double-double. The sophomore point guard also had a team-high eight steals.
“Megan Ngo was two steals short of a triple-double and finished the game with zero turnovers,” Funsten said. “She was awesome tonight as well.”
Amy Ngo added nine points on three 3s and also had four assists. Bridget DiMartile contributed six points, four rebounds and two blocks.
The Colonials, who were once again without AJ Avery and Joslyn Perez, were led by the 12-point effort of Kenna Winland. Taylor Williams added 10 points, and Liv Patete had six points.
Upper Dublin (19-1, 14-0 SOL) will host Lower Moreland in a crossover game on Monday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-8, 7-7) will travel to Bodine Friday for a non-league game at 3:15 p.m.
Upper Dublin 20-26-15-4 65
Plymouth Whitemarsh 8-14-6-0 28
Upper Dublin (65) – Brighid Brady 2 0-0 4; Bridget DiMartile 1 4-6 6; Megan Ngo 5 0-0 12; Tamia Clark 13 4-5 30; Amy Ngo 3 0-0 9; Amy Ngo 1 0-0 2; Nora Brady 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 25 10-13 65
Plymouth Whitemarsh (65) –Taylor Williams 3 3-4 10; Liv Patete 2 2-2 6; Kenna Winland 3 3-4 12; Eliza Meersman 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 8 10-12 28.
3-point goals: UD – Amy Ngo 3, Megan Ngo 2; PW – Olivia Patete Kenna Winland.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
HATBORO-HORSHAM 43, SPRINGFIELD TWP 32
The Hatters celebrated their two seniors – Kitty Randa and Alyssa Tooley – with a crossover win over the visiting Spartans.
“We had another good team effort tonight,” Hatters’ assistant Nicole Miletto said. “Kitty wasn’t 100 percent, but it was Senior Night, and she wasn’t
going to sit and watch.
“Kitty and Alyssa had a good night. Alyssa once again had the intensity on defense and Kitty had 10 points and hit some big shots and was big on the boards.”
Junior Maddy Patel made sure the Hatters would get off to a good start, burying a pair of 3-pointers and scoring eight first-quarter points. The Hatters led 17-7 after one quarter and took a 23-13 lead into halftime. The Spartans – behind seven points from Alana Decker – outscored the Hatters 15-7 in the third quarter, pulling to within two heading into the final quarter (30-28).
The Hatters closed it out strong, outscoring their visitors 13-4.
Patel led all scorers with 15 points while Randa added 10. Angelica Visceglia contributed eight, and Madison Duggan had seven.
“Maddy Patel with 15 had her second good night in a row and was knocking down some big baskets for us,” Miletto said. “Freshmen Angelica Visceglia and Gabby Fisher are getting better each game. Gabby was strong on defense and on the boards. Ang had eight tonight and was more confident running the offense
“Sophomores Mia Fisher and Madison Duggan don’t show up on the box score much, but they were key defenders and gave us good minutes off the bench.”
For the Spartans, Decker and Jayla Daniels led the way with nine points each. Ava Culler added eight.
Hatboro-Horsham (8-10, 5-7 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Friday, and Springfield Twp (9-10, 4-9) will be on the road at Lower Moreland Friday.
Springfield Twp 7-6-15-4 32
Hatboro-Horsham 17-6-7-13 43
Springfield Twp (32) – Alana Decker 4 0-0 9; Hannah Brandon 1 0-0 2; Jayla Daniels 3 3-5 9; Grace Dailey 2 0-0 4; Ava Culler 3 2-6 8; TOTALS 13 5-11 32.
Hatboro-Horsham (43) – Angelica Visceglia 4 0-0 8; Kitty Randa 3 5-6 10; Maddy Patel 5 1-2 15; Gabby Fisher 0 1-2 1; Madison Duggan 1 4-4 7; Mya Stevens 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 11-14 43.
3-point goals: Springfield Twp – Alana Decker; H-H – Maddy Patel 4.
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 68, QUAKERTOWN 41
Izzy Elizondo jumpstarted the visiting Lions, burying four 3-pointers in the first quarter and propelling NH-S to a 17-6 lead after one quarter. A 24-point second quarter sent the Lions into halftime with a 41-15 lead on their way to the crossover win.
“It was a solid overall effort by the whole team,” NH-S coach Steve Polinsky said. “Izzy Elizondo got us going by hitting four 3s in the first quarter.”
Elizondo’s 16 points led the Lions, and Emily Wilson also finished in double figures with 13. Sam McAndrew added nine points – seven in the fourth quarter, Ella Dudick contributed eight points, and Nina Meixler had six.
“Emily Wilson, Nina Meixler and Ella Dudick all had a good games,” Polinsky said. “Special shoutout to Elena Shire who got the start and did what Ella does, defensive and offensive rebounds and hustling all over the court.”
Ava Pistone’s 16 points led the Panthers, and Carli Maha turned in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Maeve Henry had six points.
“New Hope came ready to play and had a fantastic shooting night,” Quakertown coach Jillian Martin said. “Their girls were able to find the gaps in our defense and executed well. Kudos to them.
“Our offense and defense started to click in the third quarter but was not enough to get it done. We were able to attack inside with Carli Maha finishing underneath, which was great to see.
“Addyson Davis who got into foul trouble and sat most of the first and entire second quarter was still able to finish strong with six rebounds, which is an area the team struggles, and we really rely her grabbing boards.”
New Hope-Solebury (9-9, 6-7 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday, and Quakertown (2-18, 1-13) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
New Hope-Solebury 17-24-8-19 68
Quakertown 6-9-11-15 41
New Hope-Solebury (68) – Elina Shire 1 1-2 3; Emily Wilson 5 0-0 13; Ella Dudick 4 0-0 8; Izzy Elizondo 6 0-0 16; Nina Meixler 2 2-2 6; Bianca Elizondo 1 0-0 2; Naava Richlin 1 0-0 2; Sam McAndrew 4 0-0 9; Kayla Fennel 2 1-2 5; Devon Maguire 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 28 4-8 68.
Quakertown (41) – Talyn Nielson 1 1-1 3; Paisley Heft 1 0-0 2; Addyson Davis 1 2-2 4; Ava Pistone 7 1-4 16; Maeve Henry 2 2-2 6; Carli Maha 4 2-4 10; TOTALS 16 8-13 41.
3-point goals: NH-S – Izzy Elizondo 4, Emily Wilson 3, Sam McAndrew; Quakertown – Ava Pistone.
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