Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Pennsbury/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of D&J Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL TOURNAMENT
#1 Plymouth Whitemarsh 66, #8 Central Bucks West 45
Fast starts have been a trademark of a Colonials’ squad that has not lost a game this season, and true to form, they jumped out the gate in a hurry in Saturday’s SOL Tournament opener.
On PW’s very first possession, Abby Sharpe hit nothing but net on a baseline three. The Bucks battled gamely, and when Emily Spratt buried a 3-pointer two minutes later, West trailed by just a 7-5 score.
On PW’s ensuing trip down the court, Sharpe connected on a three from the top of the circle, igniting a 14-0 PW tear that put the Colonials on top 21-5, and just like that, PW was in complete command.
“We’re up 21-5 in the blink of an eye,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “The first one when Abby Sharpe hits the baseline three, they’re doubling Lainey Allen in the post. Abby’s defender comes off her, and now she’s open for three. That’s the absolute design of the play.
“The second one where she hits the top of the key three – we’re running a play for Jordyn Thomas on the block, so all the help defense is down there, and Abby is sitting at the top of the key for three. All of our kids are averaging two-plus assists per game, and both of those plays – we’ve taught them constantly that if the help defender is on the post, then the 3-point shooter is open. If they’re out there on the 3-point shooter, then the post is open.
“I thought multiple times today Lainey Allen in that same setup made two high level D-1 post moves with a player on her back today. It’s pick your poison. Those two threes are the perfect example of what we’re trying to do. Overall, I thought the whole game all five kids really showcased their abilities.”
The Colonials led 23-11 after one quarter and took a 41-22 lead into halftime. The Bucks didn’t go down quietly and twice trimmed PW’s lead to 12, but each time, the Colonials had an answer.
“I was glad we played CB West today because they don’t give up, they’re such tough kids- they’re coached to just be tough,” Dougherty said. “I was happy to play them honestly. They were really making 3s on us. They had nine 3s today. You shoot the ball like that and you defend the way they do – they’re going to be in playoff games. It was a positive experience out of a really negative setup.
The ‘negative setup’ Dougherty was referring to was finding out late Friday night that his opponent Saturday would not be Upper Dublin but rather Central Bucks West due to a change in the power rankings. Making the opponent switch and resulting time switch even more difficult was the fact that West coach Zach Sibel was unable to attend due to a family commitment.
“I know Zach didn’t want to miss the game,” said Dougherty, acknowledging they tried to come up with a time that would be agreeable to both with no success. “It looks easy on film, but you don’t just roll the balls out and beat CB West. We had to pull our girls in two hours earlier –‘Here’s what they like to do, these are their best players.’ It’s not something you just walk through for 15 minutes.
“It was tough but our girls handled it, I thought the reason we won is because our girls have played – I don’t know – 30 playoff games by now, and CB West, other than Spratt, doesn’t have a ton of playoff experience.
“CB West was a great opponent. Jen Fabian (who filled in for Sibel) did a great job today. I told Zach, ‘You have a lot to be proud of. Your assistant coach – she could be a head coach one day, she’s great. Your girls fought so hard.’ They played with great energy and toughness.”
Four Colonials finished the game in double figures led by Allen with 18 points, Erin Daley with 14, Thomas with 13 and Sharpe with 12. Kaitlyn Flanagan added nine points
For the Bucks, Spratt’s 14 points led the way. Katie Finnan added 11 points, which included three 3s, and Alexis Castro had six.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (23-0, 16-0 SOL) will host Abington in Monday’s semifinal. Central Bucks West (16-7, 11-5) will return to action in the District One 6A Tournament.
Central Bucks West 11-11-15-8 45
Plymouth Whitemarsh 23-18-12-13 66
Central Bucks West (45) – Tai Henkels 1 0-0 3; Katie Finnan 4 0-0 11; Nia Perry 1 0-0 3; Emily Spratt 3 6-8 14; Alexis Castro 2 0-0 6; Ava Longo 1 0-1 2; Gabi Senior 2 0-0 4; Gabrielle Reichner 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 6-9 45.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (66) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 3 3-4 9; Erin Daley 5 2-3 14; Abby Sharpe 5 0-0 12; Lainey Allen 8 2-2 18; Jordyn Thomas 5 2-4 13. Totals 26 9-13 66.
3-point goals: CBW – Katie Finnan 3, Emily Spratt 2, Alexis Castro 2, Tai Henkels, Nia Perry; PW – Abby Sharpe 2, Erin Daley 2, Jordyn Thomas.
#2 Souderton 31, Upper Dublin 18
Morgan Funsten knows a thing or two about defense, and the UD coach is not unfamiliar with low-scoring games. Ten days ago, his Flying Cardinal squad edged Neshaminy 23-22, so when the Indians held his team to a season-low 18 points in Saturday SOL Tournament opener, the UD coach tipped his hat to his opponent.
“I don’t think the score was a surprise to anyone,” Funsten said. “They are so, so good defensively. (Coach Lynn Carroll) does such a good job of keeping them connected offensively and taking advantage of their physical advantage.
“We needed to find an advantage offensively. I’ll take the blame for that. I felt I didn’t put the girls in a good position offensively. I would have liked to have made the game a little bit more comfortable for the girls. A lot of credit goes to Souderton – they make everybody just so uncomfortable with how well coached they are and how well prepared they are. And then you add the athleticism and length factor, and it’s a tough combination to go against. I know people will look at the score and say, ‘That was horrible basketball,’ but you can appreciate a team that plays defense as well as they do.”
Perhaps no one played it better than Souderton point guard Casey Harter, who limited UD’s Amy Ngo to just three points, all from the foul line. Ngo is the Cardinals’ top scorer, averaging around 15 points a game.
“I feel like it’s the same old story with us,” Carroll said. “Casey just does a phenomenal job no matter who she’s guarding. Obviously, her length was very disruptive against Amy. We had a plan that the girls really executed well, and our help defense was so, so good. I think they had a tough time getting into any flow offensively.”
That might be an understatement. The Cardinals managed just three points in each of the first two quarters and had only two field goals in the opening 16 minutes.
“We just found out we were playing them last night,” Harter said. “Coming off the West game, we thought we were going to play West, but we didn’t, so we had a quick turnaround to Upper Dublin
“We knew they have Amy Ngo and a couple shooters who are good and can make shots, so we kind of focused in on their personnel – who we’re all guarding – and focused on help.
“It’s definitely hard for other teams because we’re all long, we all have long arms, we’re tall. It’s hard to play against us because we can just come out and try and block the shots, and if we’re not blocking them then just be there and be aggressive with it, so it’s hard for the other team, but that’s one of our strengths. I think it was really a team effort today.”
“We take so much pride in our defense,” teammate Teya McConnaha added. “We’re not going to win unless we play good defense. We could do good offensively, but if we don’t do good defensively, we’re not going to win that game. I really pride in playing the best defense I can, especially on help defense because that’s where I’m normally at and I love just helping my teammates.”
The Indians weren’t exactly lighting it up against the Cardinals’ stingy defense and led by just a 15-6 score at the intermission. Harter and McConnaha both had five points to lead the Indians.
“One of our keys to the game was using the inside-outside game,” Carroll said. “First, we needed to see how they were going to defend us down there. The more we could get the ball inside didn’t mean the shot needed to go from there, but we thought we would have success getting it in there and either our post players attacked the basket or looked for kicks. I think we were pretty successful doing that.”
The Indians opened up a 19-6 lead after baskets by Mikayla McGillian (from Harter) and McConnaha. A Geena Sarnoski three made it a 21-12 game, but the Indians led 25-12 after a McConnaha score from the low post in the closing minute of the quarter. The Cardinals would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
“Getting a lead in the first quarter helped set the tone for the rest of the game,” Carroll said. “Part of what makes Upper Dublin so good is how Morgan prepares. I don’t think he had much time to prepare, so I think that made a difference.”
Harter and McConnaha both scored nine points to lead the Indians. Harter also had three assists and two blocks while McConnaha turned in a monster performance in the paint, pulling down 12 rebounds and blocking two shots. The 5-10 junior has a simple philosophy when it comes to rebounding.
“I want that ball,” McConnaha said. “The ball is like candy to me. I love candy, and if I see candy, I’m going to get it. Before every game, I usually have a bag of M&M’s so I can have that little bit of chocolate. I love jumping up and just grabbing the ball.”
McGillian added six points while Brooke Fenchel had five points and four assists.
For the Cardinals, Sarnoski’s five points led the way. Bliss Brenner had four rebounds, two assists and three steals. Ngo had four rebounds and three deflections.
“We were really happy that we qualified for the tournament and were able to play a game like today,” Funsten said. “As frustrating as it was at times, it was a game that will 100 percent make us better moving forward.
“Today was a great learning experience for us. If we were feeling extra good about ourselves, it brought us back to reality a little bit, and it exposed some of our weaknesses that we’re hoping to clean up in the next six days.”
Souderton (21-2, 15-1 SOL) will host Pennsbury in Monday’s SOL Tournament semifinal round. The Indians defeated the Falcons 40-34 during the regular season.
“We’re happy to be moving on,” Carroll said. “Monday night is going to be a tough one. They obviously want revenge, but we’re looking forward to it. You’re playing with house money at this point. We’re happy to still be in it.”
“We’re looking forward to playing them again,” Harter said. That was our biggest win of the year. It’s going to be a tough game, but if we play our best basketball, I think it will be good for us.”
Upper Dublin (15-8, 12-4) will return to action in the District One 6A Tournament.
Upper Dublin 3-3-8-4 18
Souderton 8-7-10-6 31
Upper Dublin (18) – Bliss Brenner 1 0-0 2; Aditi Foster 1 2-2 4; Geena Sarnoski 2 0-0 5; Colleen Klammer 1 2-4 4; Amy Ngo 0 3-4 3. Totals 5 7-10 18.
Souderton (31) – Brooke Fenchel 2 1-1 5; Mikayla McGillian 3 0-0 6; Casey Harter 4 0-0 9; Teya McDonough 1 0-2 2; Teya McConnaha 4 1-2 9. Totals 14 2-5 31.
3-point goals: UD – Geena Sarnoski; Souderton – Casey Harter.
#3 Pennsbury 45, #6 Neshaminy 35
Ava Sciolla and Nicole Pompili are the undisputed leaders of a young Falcon squad, and with the season winding down, the two seniors are excelling. On the heels of connecting on four 3-pointers in Pennsbury’s Senior Night win over Council Rock North, Sciolla did one better, burying five and scoring a game-high 22 points. Pompili added three 3s and 14 points to lead the Falcons to the win
over their archrivals.
“The game started off with a terrific tempo and we were really attacking,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “Nicole Pompili knocked down a shot, and Ava caught fire with a variety of shot types, but then she got into foul trouble. This is the first time this year she was in foul trouble in the first half, and we pretty much had to play the last 12 minutes of the half without her. We mixed her in a few times, but we wanted to be careful, and we got some solid bench contributions from Neve Davis and Izzy Ruta.”
Sciolla and Pompili combined for five 3s and all of the Falcons’ points on their way to a 15-7 lead after one quarter. With Sciolla saddled with fouls, the Falcons struggled, and the Redskins – behind a pair of Maya Lewis 3s – rallied to knot the score 19-19 at halftime.
“Just as they did in our last game, Neshaminy got a real boost from players outside of their big three,” Sciolla said. “Maya Lewis hit two three-pointers, and Lola, who is so tough getting downhill to her left hand, was also effective.
“We were fortunate to get to halftime with the score tied, but in the third quarter, we wanted to get the tempo up again. Nicole Pompili had a big three, Izzy Ruta had a fantastic putback basket, and then Nevaeh Dash broke through and banged a three from the corner and allowed us to call a timeout and change our defense.
“We came out in full court pressure for the rest of the way, and we were able to create some turnovers and speed the game up. At the same time, Ava just took over the game. It was old-school Ava. She was sealing from block to block and catching at the foul line and attacking. On the days when she decides she wants to shoot it’s highly entertaining.”
Behind seven points from Pompili, the Falcons outscored the ‘Skins 14-8 in the third quarter to go into the final frame with a 33-27 lead. Sciolla’s seven fourth quarter points sealed the Redskins’ fate.
“Playing Neshaminy is always fun,” Sciolla said. “They’ve been the class of our division the past decade. Joe Lally completely changed the perception of girls’ basketball at that school and now John (Gallagher) has come in and given his spin. It’s fun coaching against people like that because their love of the game and love of teaching it to kids is so obvious.
“That being said … it looks like a nice bus trip on Valentine’s Day to Souderton. I hope they at least have some Whitman’s Samplers for us.”
Reese Zemitis had three 3-pointers, and her 13 points led the Redskins. Lola Ibarrondo added 11 points while Maya Lewis had six.
Pennsbury (21-2, 14-2 SOL) will travel to Souderton for Monday’s semifinal contest. Neshaminy (16-7, 13-3) will return to action in the District One 6A Tournament.
Neshaminy 7-12-8-8 35
Pennsbury 15-4-14-12 45
Neshaminy (35) – Skylar Lall 1 0-0 2; Maya Lewis 2 0-0 6; Jess Purdy 1 0-0 3; Lola Ibarrondo 4 2-5 11; Reese Zemitis 4 2-4 13. Totals 12 4-9 35.
Pennsbury (45) – Ava Sciolla 6 5-6 22; Layla Matthias 1 0-2 2; Sofia Vitucci 1 0-0 2; Nicole Pompili 5 1-2 14; Nevaeh Dash 1 0-0 3; Izzy Ruta 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 6-10 45.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Reese Zemitis 3, Maya Lewis 2, Jess Purdy, Mimi Smith; Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 5, Nicole Pompili 3, Nevaeh Dash.
#5 Abington 50, #4 Upper Moreland 40
The Ghosts led by double digits at the end of one quarter and extended that to 28-9 by halftime on their way to the opening round win.
“We jumped out on them early,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “It was 16- or 17-2 and then we kind of coasted. They made a little run in the second half. Both teams used a lot of players. That was our game plan going in. Playing back-to-back, we’re a little banged up, so we used a lot of players, and so did Matt (Carroll).”
The Ghosts – who were with Cire Worley and Abril Bowser – led 12-2 after one quarter and added to that lead in the second. Freshman Dani Brush scored all nine of her points – which included two 3s – in the opening half.
“I think the key was to not let them run their offense and to keep the ball out of (EmmyFaith Wood’s) hands,” Marsh said. “Number 24 (Holly Gohl) got hot for a little bit. She started banging some 3s and kept them in it.”
The Golden Bears were led by Gohl’s 18 points – 16 of those, including four 3s, came in the second half. Kiera Coyle added eight points- all in the second half.
Jaida Helm’s 17 points led the Ghosts. Brusha added nine while Piper McGinley and Jordyn Reynolds both had eight. Krysten Brown chipped in six points.
“Our kids play hard,” Marsh said. “We expended a lot of energy last night. We had to utilize a lot of our reserves today. Fortunately, this is one of those years where we’re actually deep, so it’s not bad. We have confident basketball players.
“Maura Day played great today. She’s such a defensive presence. She really helps us defensively. We’re going to have to go in to PW on Monday and really play some good, solid defense. Our style is probably going to be a bit different, but we’ll see what happens.”
Abington (19-4, 13-3 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for Monday’s semifinal contest. The Ghosts, according to Marsh, will still be shorthanded.
“Worley is definitely not playing,” he said. “She tweaked her knee a little bit in the Quakertown game. We’re not going to risk it. Even with Worley, we would be underdogs. Now we get to go in and see what happens.”
Upper Moreland (17-6, 13-3) will return to action in the District One 5A Tournament.
Abington 12-16-11-11 50
Upper Moreland 2-7-13-18 40
Abington (50) – Maura Day 1 0-5 2; Jaida Helm 5 5-6 17; Piper McGinley 3 1-2 8; Dani Brusha 3 1-3 9; Jordyn Reynolds 3 0-1 8; Krysten Brown 2 2-2 6. Totals 17 9-20 50.
Upper Moreland (40) – Brooke Lobban 2 0-0 4; EmmyFaith Wood 2 1-2 5; Kiera Coyle 3 1-2 8; Holly Gohl 6 2-2 18; Emma Hurley 1 1-2 3; Mikel Lancit 1 0-2 2. Totals 15 5-11 40.
3-point goals: Abington – Jaida Helm 2, Dani Brusha 2, Jordyn Reynolds 2, Piper McGinley; UM – Holly Gohl 4, Kiera Coyle.
Non-league
Bensalem 51, New Hope-Solebury 44
Endings are never easy, but this one was especially hard for Bensalem coach Steve Johnson, who loses seniors Delaney Bell, Erin Devlin and Maddie MacDougall.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Johnson said. “I feel like I let the seniors down by not making the playoffs. Delaney, Maddie, and Erin 110 percent deserve it, but now the next best thing would be a win for their last game, and we did just that.”
All three seniors played key roles in the win.
“Delaney went out exactly how I would picture Delaney going out – million percent effort and resiliency,” Johnson said. “We were down by four in the first quarter, Delaney hit a three to cut it to one. We called a timeout, and as she was walking back to the huddle, she said to her teammates, ‘We are not losing this game.’ That’s the leadership she brings to the table.
“Maddie Ice had two big threes, one in the third and one in the fourth when we really needed them. She also had a huge charge call that helped us build momentum. Erin Devlin played gritty defense as always and helped really well when Reagan (Chrencik) would drive to the basket.”
Sparked by 10 points from Bell, the Owls led 13-11 after one quarter. The Lions came roaring back, outscoring the Owls 11-5 to go into halftime with a 22-18 lead. Freshman Izzy Elozondo’s 10 points led the Lions. Chrencik had seven.
The Owls came to life in the third quarter and sparked by six points from MacDougall and five from Bell, they outscored the Lions 15-9 to go on top 33-31. They went on to outscore the Lions 18-13 in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Amber Howard led the charge with seven points while MacDougall had six.
“We were winning beginning of the fourth, and I thought we had a two-minute meltdown,” Polinsky said. “Too many turnovers and bad shots, and Coach Johnson’s team capitalized. Credit to them they locked us down in the fourth. I do think it’s a lesson learned for our younger players that will be helpful down the line.”
Bell led all scorers with 22 points while MacDougall and sophomore Amber Howard each had 11 points. Averi McCoy added seven points.
“I’m so unbelievably proud of this group,” Johnson said. “They helped build this program’s standard that is without a doubt going to trickle down to our underclassmen.”
NHS coach Steve Polinsky credited his counterpart.
“Coach Johnson has done an incredible job building the Bensalem program,” the Lions’ coach said. “The program is in good hands with Coach Johnson leading them.
“I have watched Delaney Bell for the last four years and she is a great player. She is so underrated in this area. She plays the game the right way and can really shoot the ball. I wish she didn’t shoot great today, but she had an exceptional game. We had a hard time containing her and she was using her screens really well.”
Chrencik led the Lions with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Elizondo added 12 points – 10 in the first half. Madi Fasti added nine.
Bensalem closed out it season with a 12-10 record (6-10 SOL). New Hope-Solebury (11-10, 10-6) will return to action in the District One 4ATournament. The Lions are the fourth seed in what will be a four-team tournament.
Bensalem 13-5-15-18 51
New Hope-Solebury 11-11-9-13 44
Bensalem (51) – Delaney Bell 8 3-4 22; Maddie MacDougall 3 3-3 11; Averi McCoy 3 0-0 7; Amber Howard 4 2-2 11. Totals 18 8-9 51.
New Hope-Solebury (44) – Emily Wilson 6 0-0 12; Izzy Elizondo 6 0-0 12; Reagan Chrencik 5 5-6 16; Emma Ives 1 0-0 2; Madi Fasti 3 0-0 9. Totals 17 5-6 44.
3-point goals: Bensalem – Delaney Bell 3, Maddie MacDougall 2, Averi McCoy, Amber Howard; NHS – Madi Fasti 3, Reagan Chrencik, Emily Wilson.
WILLIAM TENNENT 52, NEW FOUNDATIONS CHARTER 37
Wins have been hard to come by for the Panthers in the final weeks of the season, and Saturday’s win in the team’s finale – – sparked by big offensive performances by Courtney Bragen and Alyssa Lewicki – was welcome indeed.
“It was a great team win, obviously a much-needed win and just a great way to finish the season on a high note,” Tennent coach Laura Whitney said. “I just was really impressed with the way we matched their toughness. I thought New Foundations from the start was just playing aggressive. I thought our girls did a great job of matching that intensity.”
The Panthers, who led 9-6 after one quarter, took a 19-15 lead into halftime. Bragen and Chase Dubzak led the Panthers with six points each in the half.
“In the first half, we were pretty solid,” Whitney said. “We didn’t have the lead we wanted to at halftime, but I thought we played solid the first half. In the second half, the way that we moved the ball against their zone – we just had great looks from the outside, we were hitting shots.”
The Panthers outscored their visitors 33-22 in the second half. Lewicki’s 14 points – which included four 3s – led the Panthers’ offensive charge. Bragen added 13 points.
Bragen led the Panthers with 19 points while Lewicki had 16. Dubzak finished with eight points, and Morgan Volz had six.
“Courtney was Courtney just the way she was attacking the basket and some of her finishes – I don’t know how she makes them,” Whitney said. “It’s just her toughness, she just plays through the contact. For her last game, I was really proud to see her play as well as she did.
“Chase Dubzak was big for us. Offensively, she got going early and hit a couple of big 3s in the first half. The second half she wasn’t being as assertive looking for her shots, but I thought she stepped up her defense, and she did a great job of just anticipating some passes and ended up getting four steals in the second half.
“Probably the biggest thing – it wasn’t a surprise, but Alyssa Lewicki had a breakout game for us today. She had 16 points, four 3s. Three of them were consecutive possessions. She’s been up and down throughout the season, and her shot hasn’t been as consistent as she would like, but especially with her coming back next year, hopefully, she can build off this because we’re definitely going to be relying on her.”
William Tennent closed out it season with a 4-17 record (3-13 SOL).
New Foundations Charter 6-9-13-9 37
William Tennent 9-10-15-18 52
New Foundations Charter (37) – Angel Morris 4 5-6 13; Laney Ferraro 0 1-2 1; Heaven Gramm 3 0-0 9; Deshel Little 1 3-4 6; Kenyah Moady 2 0-3 6; Kayla Blassingale 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 9-15 37.
William Tennent (52) – Ella Mednick 0 1-4 1; Savannah Zeaman 0 2-2 2; Chase Dubzak 2 2-3 8; Courtney Bragen 8 3-10 19; Alyssa Lewicki 6 0-0 16; Morgan Volz 3 0-0 6. Totals 19 8-19 52.
3-point goals: New Foundations – Heaven Gramm 3, Kenyah Moady 2, Deshel Little; WT – Alyssa Lewicki 4, Chase Dubzak 2.
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