Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday.
SOL Patriot Division
BENSALEM 47, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 35
The Owls had just earned their first win since Jan. 18, bringing a welcome end to an eight-game losing streak, but before coach Steve Johnson talked about his team’s big win, he had a message for a player who was not on the court, CR North ‘s Jaden Wan. The sophomore standout went down with an injury in last week’s game against Neshaminy and has been sidelined ever since.
“I would definitely like to give my thoughts and prayers from our program to North’s,” Johnson said. “Jaden is a heck of a player, and having an injury like that –some of the girls and our coaches went over to her and wanted to make sure she keeps her spirits up.”
Despite the absence of Wan, the Indians took a 27-25 lead into the fourth quarter when the Owls closed out the game with a 22-point quarter.
Delaney Bell was the offensive catalyst for the Owls, leading all scorers with 23 points in a glittering performance.
“Delaney is just staying confident,” Johnson said. “The last two practices she stayed after practice for about 35-40 minutes and got shots up and shot foul shots. She shot with one of the boys’ coaches and just staying confident.
“We are always preaching to her, ‘If you’re 0-for-5, the sixth one is going in. If’ you’re 0-for-7, the eighth one is going in.’ She also got to the foul line.”
Bell reaped the dividends for that extra practice. She was 13-for-16 at the foul line and 11-for-12 in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.
“We got the ball to her every time,” Johnson said.
The Owls were coming off a 35-30 loss to a Neshaminy squad that shares the top spot in the conference with Pennsbury, a game that underscored the Owls’ refusal to quit.
“All of our girls just have a fighter mentality from our starting five to the last girls off the bench,” Johnson said. “They stick together.
“It’s tough when you’re 1-10 to go to practice every day and practice hard, dive on the floor and talk to each other, so I really have got to give all the credit to the girls and the team. They just do a great job of sticking together.
“I’m really happy with the last two games. It started at Neshaminy – just the communication on defense. That was a big emphasis all year, and we’re finally talking to each other, yelling screens out, and we’re playing as a family, which is what you need.”
The Owls trailed 6-5 after one quarter but closed out the half with an 11-6 second quarter that featured seven points from Bell and sent the Owls into halftime with a 16-12 lead.
The Indians – sparked by three 3-pointers by Kristen Polinsky – outscored the Owls 15-9 in the third quarter to take a 27-25 lead into the fourth quarter when the Owls closed it out with a 22-point burst.
Highlighting the frame was the 11-for-12 effort at the line by Bell, who also buried a big 3-pointer. Amber Howard also had a three.
“I’m just so, so, so proud of the girls – the way they’re staying positive and really the way they’re talking to each other,” Johnson said. “The subs are coming into the game – they’re talking on defense. It was the first time we’ve looked like a family out there.
“They were excited – it was long awaited, and they deserve all the credit. They stuck together, they talked to each other and they kept each other’s spirits up.”
Also for the Owls, Howard added eight points. The Owls coach lauded the defensive efforts of Erin Devlin and Sam Daut.
“They played great defensively,” Johnson said. “Erin only had three points, and Sam only had two points. Sam is our hardest working defensive player. She knows her offensive game is not her strong suit, and she goes out and plays defense as hard as possible. She’s really holding it together with our lineup by guarding the best player. She guarded Polinsky today and did a good job on her.”
Polinsky’s 13 points led the Indians. Delaney McCafffery added 10 points, which included a 6-for-6 effort at the foul line.
Bensalem (2-10, 1-8) is scheduled to travel to Harry S Truman on Monday, and Council Rock North (3-5) will host Central Bucks West in a non-league game Tuesday.
Council Rock North 6-6-15-8 35
Bensalem 5-11-9-22 47
Council Rock North (35) – Kiera Katz 1 0-0 2; Sofia Shields 2 0-0 5; Delaney McCaffery 2 6-6 10; Riley Hamilton 1 0-0 3; Kristen Polinsky 4 2-2 13 Ruth O’Keefe 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 11 8-8 35.
Bensalem (47) – Sam Daut 1 0-0 2; Maddie MacDougall 2 0-0 4 Erin Devlin 1 1-3 3; Delaney Bell 4 13-16 23; Mackenzie Kramer 2 3-4 7; Amber Howard 3 0-3 7; Gianna Pagliccetti 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 13 18-28 47.
3-point goals: CRN – Kristen Polinsksy 3, Sofia Shields, Riley Hamiltons, Bensalem - Delaney Bell 2, Amber Howard.
SOL Liberty Division
UPPER DUBLIN 53, QUAKERTOWN 16
Dayna Balasa scored 20 points in three quarters to lead the Flying Cardinals, who were coming off a loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh 24 hours earlier. The senior sharpshooter – who had two 3-pointers - was one of three Cardinals to finish the game in double figures. She also led the team under the backboards with six rebounds to go along with two assists, three deflections and a steal.
Freshman Amy Ngo added 15, including a pair of 3s, and Sarah Eskew had 10. Rachel Bilger added five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Jess Polin had three rebounds, three deflections, seven assists and six steals. Bliss Brenner had four rebounds and a pair of steals while Colleen Klammer also had four rebounds and two steals. Geena Sarnoski had three rebounds and three assists while Ngo had four rebounds and five steals.
The Flying Cardinals led 16-3 after one quarter and never looked back.
UD took 65 shots in the contest, connecting on 22.
Upper Dublin (10-2, 6-2 SOL) will host Abington Tuesday, and Quakertown (3-8, 2-7) will travel to Upper Moreland for a non-league game Tuesday.
Quakertown 3-2-9-2 16
Upper Dublin 16-13-19-5 53
Quakertown (16) – Carolyn Sipprell 1 2-2 5; Katie Catalano 1 0-0 3; Katie Hagerty 0 2-2 2; Leah Mestayer 1 0-0 2; Abigail McClaskey 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 4 6-6 16.
Upper Dublin (53) – Rachel Bilger 1 0-0 2; Geena Sarnoski 1 0-0 2; Jess Polin 1 0-0 2; Amy Ngo 6 1-2 15; Sarah Eskew 4 1-1 10; Kylie Elliott 0 2-4 2; Dayna Balasa 9 0-2 20; TOTALS 22 4-9 53.
3-point goals: Quakertown – Carolyn Sipprell, Katie Catalano, UD – Amy Ngo 2, Dayna Balasa 2, Sarah Eskew.
SOL Freedom Division
UPPER MORELAND 48, LOWER MORELAND 9
The Golden Bears were coming off a disappointing offensive showing in a 39-21 loss to New Hope-Solebury. In the loss – their first of the season in division play, the Golden Bears took only six shots in the second half and struggled all night to find their shooter’s touch.
Lower Moreland coach Rich Becker had a feeling his team might pay the price for the Golden Bears’ sub-par outing when the neighboring schools met Saturday..
“I think the only one more upset at their loss versus New Hope was me,” the Lions’ coach said. “I knew UM would be ready to play, and unfortunately, we were right.
“Midway through the first quarter out of timeout, we told the girls to keep competing that they'll eventually cool off. We said the same thing at the end of the first quarter but it never happened. I really don't think they missed a three until the third quarter.”
The Golden Bears put 20 points on the board in the opening quarter. The Lions managed just two. In the quarter, UM received 3-pointers from Kat Morrow, EmmyFaith Wood, Kiera Coyle and Holly Guhl. Wood had five points, Emma Hurley had four, and Kaiya Herb had a basket as six players contributed to the scoring.
UM added three more 3-pointers in the second quarter, outscoring the Lions 13-4 to go into halftime with a 33-6 lead.
“It's rare when you are down by 25 at the half and you can't be upset with your team, but this was one of those times,” Becker said. “Upper Moreland was just that good today. They hit eight 3's in the first half, including two by their freshman center.
“When you play against a team coached as well as they are that shoots that well, the only thing you can do is to put it behind you and move on to the next game.”
For his part, UM coach Matt Carroll was not surprised by his team’s response after a disappointing outing.
“After a tough loss Thursday, I had no doubt we would respond the way we did today,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “We had a great first quarter that set the tone for the rest of the game.
“Lower Moreland has been playing well recently and Coach Becker has his kids playing hard, so we know we couldn’t take them lightly and thankfully our girls were ready. We had 10 first-half assists and Kaiya Herb had four of them. I’m really proud of how we bounced back after some adversity but it’s no surprise. That’s just the type of character our kids have.”
Wood led a balanced UM attack with 13 and Guhl added 11. Coyle finished with eight and Hurley had six.
Upper Moreland (9-2, 7-1 SOL) will travel to Quakertown for a non-league game Tuesday, and Lower Moreland (4-3) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 20-13-10-5 48
Lower Moreland 2-4-3-0 9
Upper Moreland (48) – Reva Naik 1 0-0 3; Kat Morrow 1 0-0 3; EmmyFaith Wood 5 0-0 13; Kylie Gaul 1 0-0 2; Kiera Coyle 3 0-0 8; Holly Guhl 4 0-0 11; Emma Hurley 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 19 0-0 48.
Lower Moreland (8) - Tori Finnegan 2 0-0 4; Ofek Gur 0 1-2 1; Jess Shein 0 0-2 0; Liz Neeld 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 4 1-4 9.
3-point goals: UM – EmmyFaith Wood 3, Holly Guhl 3, Kiera Coyle 2, Kat Morrow, Reva Naik.
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