Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Wednesday. Pennsbury/Truman photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. New Hope-Solebury/Quakertown photos courtesy of Karla Donohoe. Check back for galleries of both games. CB East/Pennridge photos courtesy of Diane Barry/CB East basketball. All SOS photo galleries for GIRLS’ BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Patriot Division
PENNSBURY 52, HARRY S TRUMAN 15
The Falcons – 24 hours after their first loss in division play – started off slow but turned a 5-2 lead after one quarter into a 26-9 halftime lead on their way to the decisive win.
“Playing the second game of back-to-back games, our energy level was solid in the first quarter, but our execution was not tremendous,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “Credit for that goes to Truman who is still really competing for Ashida (Cooper) and having Hannah Smith back in the lineup really helps them.
“We made a couple adjustments tonight from last night, and we were really good on the offensive backboard and the credit goes to the kids. We were solid overall defensively and limited them to one shot.”
Ava Sciolla’s 12 points ignited the Falcons in their 21-point second quarter. Sofia Vitucci added six points for the Falcons, who led wire to wire.
“Tonight we saw the return to the court of Danielle Sherman,” Sciolla said. “She hadn’t played since Dec. 20, and it was nice to see her get some minutes. She gives an element with perimeter shooting at her size that makes her a weapon. Hopefully she can get more comfortable as we move forward.”
Sciolla led the Falcons with 22 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists. Vitucci also finished in double figures with 10 points, and Neve Davis had eight points. Nevaeh Dash had seven rebounds.
“Neve Davis gave us a real boost off the bench,” Sciolla said. “Tonight before the game I asked her what she’s going to do to make us more effective tonight. I wanted her to have something tangible in her head, and while it was nice that she knocked down shots, it’s even better that she was really clean with the ball and solid defensively. She’s a fantastic kid to coach on every level.”
For the Tigers, Patricia Monroe (seven points) and Dahlia Gumaa (six points) led the way.
Pennsbury (16-2, 11-2 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Friday, and Harry S Truman (0-16, 0-13) will host Neshaminy on Friday.
Harry S Truman 2-7-4-2 15
Pennsbury 5-21-16-10 52
Harry S Truman (15) – Mayah Alford 1 0-0 2; Patricia Monroe 3 1-2 7; Dahlia Gumaa 3 0-0 6. TOTALS 7 1-2 15.
Pennsbury (52) – Ava Sciolla 8 4-5 22; Sofia Vitucci 4 2-2 10; Nicole Pompili 0 2-2 2; Nevaeh Dash 2 0-2 4; Neve Davis 3 0-0 8; Izzy Ruta 1 1-2 3; Maggie Burns 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 19 9-12 52.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 2, Neve Davis 2, Maggie Burns.
SOL Colonial Division
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 49, PENNRIDGE 41
The Patriots avenged an early season loss to the Rams, rallying from an early deficit to earn the come-from-behind win. In the early season matchup, the Patriots had a lead late in the game but wound up losing by six.
“To go the second time through and to be able to get a team that got you the first time, to me, just shows the progress we have been able to make,” East coach Liz Potash said. “Even when we got down to keep battling and fighting, I give the girls all the credit. They just keep battling.
“We’ve lost some really tough games, but the kids keep showing up and they battle, they fight and they give you everything they have, so we’re super proud of them.”
The game certainly didn’t start off on a promising note for the Patriots, who found themselves staring at a 19-11 score after one quarter.
“Their starting lineup was different than what I expected, and I did not have a matchup for Anna Croyle,” Potash said. “I tried to shift a couple things around because I had to have my starters in.
“Croyle has five points in the first 45 seconds – I couldn’t even make a quick enough sub. We get someone in, and she had 13 points in the first quarter. I said, ‘Girls, I’ll take the blame for the first 45 seconds, but I don’t know what to tell you after that.’”
Things changed considerably in a second quarter that saw the Rams score only five points, and the Rams led by just a 24-19 score at the intermission with Croyle accounting for 16 of those points.
The Patriots came out of halftime and outscored the Rams 14-5 in the third quarter to go on top 33-29 heading into the final frame.
“We were able to run our stuff and get some looks, and we were finally finishing because we had gotten some good looks around the basket, and we were settling for outside shots,” Potash said. “We finally started finishing in the third.”
The Rams came back to take a four-point lead in the fourth quarter (41-37), but again, the Patriots answered, helping their own cause with a 7-for-8 effort at the foul line in the final frame.
“Anna Barry banked in a three from the top of the key, and that was really big,” Potash said.
Barry also came up huge at the foul line down the stretch, connecting on a pair with 39 seconds remaining to give the Patriots a 45-41 lead. For good measure, she hit two more with 23 seconds left in regulation, putting the Patriots on top 47-41 and sealing the Rams fate.
Potash lauded the defensive effort of Elise Duffy, who limited Katie Yoder to just three points in the first half.
“Croyle had 16 points in the first half, and at halftime, we said, ‘Elise Duffy, now you need to go to Croyle, and everyone else better play Yoder,’ and she held her to seven the rest of the game,” the Patriots’ coach said. “Elise can defend. It’s unbelievable. On the night, when she was on Yoder and Croyle, she gave up 10 of the 34 points they had combined.
“Her defense is unbelievable. We challenged them at halftime and said, ‘We only have one Elise. We’ve got to play some team defense,’ and we did.”
Barry led the Patriots with 16 points – seven huge points in the fourth quarter.
“Anna knows what she needs to do to be able to score,” Potash said. “She’s smart in that way. She’s very poised as a sophomore.”
Duffy added 13 points – nine in the second half, and Kendall Gregor also finished in double figures with 11 points. She had four points in the fourth quarter, including a 2-for-2 effort at the foul line.
Croyle led all scorers with 23 points, and Yoder added 11. Both connected on three 3-pointers. The duo accounted for 34 of the Rams 41 points.
The Patriots were coming off a 44-33 loss to a Souderton squad that is atop the division standings.
“We played so hard last night,” Potash said of the loss to the Indians. “We really played them tough, and we were so proud of them after the game because they battled so much. We really don’t believe in moral victories, but we made them work.
“We compete with everyone, and I give the kids all the credit because it’s tough to be competitive and go in the locker room and say, ‘You’re so close,’ so it was really nice tonight, especially after that rocky first quarter to come out and just be able to keep building.”
Central Bucks East (8-9, 6-7 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South on Friday, and Pennridge (11-9, 6-7) will host Central Bucks West on Friday.
Pennridge 19-5-5-12 41
Central Bucks East 11-8-14-16 49
Pennridge (41) – Ella Brown 0 1-2 1; Grace Rosica 1 0-0 2; Anna Croyle 9 2-3 23; Katie Yoder 4 0-0 11; Ava Unzicker 0 0-2 0; Emma Pyne 1 0-0 3; Ryan Hodder 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 15 4-9 41.
Central Bucks East (49) – Erin LeRay 2 1-2 5; Shane LeRay 0 1-2 1; Anna Barry 5 4-4 16; Elise Duffy 6 1-2 13; Sydney Ralph 1 0-0 3; Kendall Gregor 3 5-8 11. TOTALS 17 12-18 49.
3-point goals: Pennridge – Anna Croyle 3, Katie Yoder 3, Emma Pyne; CBE – Anna Barry 2, Sydney Ralph.
SOL Freedom/Liberty crossover
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 55, QUAKERTOWN 52
The Lions celebrated Senior Night by earning a hard earned win over the Panthers. The team’s two seniors – Madi Fasti and Emma Ives – made major contributions to the win, combining for 23
points. Fasti ignited the Lions’ offense with five 3-pointers.
“This was a very challenging game for us,” NHS coach Steve Polinsky said. “Back-to-back games and playing a well-coached Quakertown team. It was a very good game.”
The Lions led 19-16 after a high-scoring first quarter. Emily Wilson buried a pair of 3s and had eight points to lead the Lions. Fellow freshman Izzy Elizondo added six points. For the Panthers, Carolyn Sipprell had nine points and Katie Catalano had six.
Fasti went to work in the second quarter, burying three 3-pointers, and the Lions edged the Panthers 13-11 in the frame to go into halftime with a 32-27 lead. Sipprell’s 14 points led the Panthers in the half while Catalano, who had a pair of 3s, added 10. Fasti and Wilson both had 12 points to lead the Lions.
The two teams exchanged baskets in the second half, and although the Panthers hung tough, they could not get over the hump.
“Coach (Brittany) Bamford did a nice job limiting Reagan Chrencik’s shots, but what I loved was Reagan setting her teammates up,” Polinsky said. “Madi Fasti had a great first half, hitting four 3s, and our freshmen did a nice job scoring the basketball.”
Fasti’s 17 points led the Lions while Wilson added 14 and Elizondo, 11 points. Ives had six points.
For the Panthers, Sipprell had a game high 21 points, which included an 8-for-10 effort at the foul line. She also had 11 rebounds to complete an impressive double-double. Catalano also had a big night, burying four 3-pointers and scoring 18.
“Both Carolyn Sipprell and Katie Catalano had nice games,” Polinsky said. “Coach Bamford switched her defenses a lot and kept us off balance.
“Our senior leadership of Emma Ives and Madi Fasti did a nice job getting us in the right offensive set.”
Also for the Panthers, Katie Hagerty added seven points to go along with eight rebounds, and Laney Mitchell had six for the Panthers.
“Fasti and Emily (Thomas) did a great job by hitting some important 3’s that changed the momentum of the game towards them,” Bamford said. “We were focused on Chrencik in our game plan as she can drive and shoot the three.
“I thought Carolyn (Sipprell) did a great job on her tonight as well as attacking the basket. Defensively, we made some great stops, and we also got several good looks to tie the game up at the end. I’m very proud of the way the girls played tonight.”
New Hope-Solebury (9-8, 8-5 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Friday, and Quakertown (8-11, 4-9) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Friday.
Quakertown 16-11-12-13 52
New Hope-Solebury 19-13-12-11 55
Quakertown (52) – Carolyn Sipprell 6 9-10 21; Katie Hagerty 2 3-7 7; Katie Catalano 6 2-2 18; Laney Mitchell 3 0-1 6. TOTALS 17 14-20 55.
New Hope-Solebury (55) – Emily Wilson 4 4-4 14; Izzy Elizondo 5 1-1 11; Reagan Chrencik 2 0-2 5; Emma Ives 3 0-0 6; Madi Fasti 5 2-5 17; Ella Dudick 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 20 7-12 55.
3-point goals: Quakertown – Katie Catalano 4; NHS – Madi Fasti 5, Emily Wilson 2, Reagan Chrencik.
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