Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday.
SOL Liberty Division
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 28, UPPER DUBLIN 26
With time winding down and the score deadlocked 26-26, Abby Sharpe – dribbling the ball just beyond midcourt – waited for just the right moment and then made her move, driving to the basket and – despite being fouled – scoring on a short pull-up with 10.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
“We were trying to get them to do it earlier in the game – you have to pump fake that kid, you have to pump fake her up in the air and then go up through contact,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said.
Sharpe came up short on the foul shot, and the Cardinals had possession with 9.9 seconds remaining, but the Colonials pressured full court, and the Cardinals’ desperation shot at the buzzer fell short.
“Morgan had them ready to play,” Dougherty said of UD coach Morgan Funsten. “The Brady kid (Nora Brady) did an excellent job on Abby, but Angelina Balcer did an excellent job on Megan Ngo, held her scoreless. Erin Daley held (Colleen) Besachio to two points.”
The Colonials – who twice led by nine – trailed by two after Nora Brady buried a three midway through the fourth quarter. PW misfired at the other end, but Sharpe – who had been held to two points through three quarters – came up with a steal and converted it into a layup at the other end.
The Cardinals shot for the lead was blocked by Erin Daley, and with 2:49 remaining, the Colonials gained possession and held for the final shot.
“Those two huge plays – Erin Daley stops Beschio and gets the block,” Dougherty said. “Abby Sharpe gets the steal and breakaway. Then Abby Sharpe makes a play.
“I thought our girls handled those last three minutes very well. Last week we beat Abington Abington’s way, and tonight we beat Upper Dublin Upper Dublin’s way. That’s why Tuesday night (against Wissahickon) we’re going to have a chance to win our fourth straight league championship. We have a chance to win the title outright – we lost one game to Abington by two points, and we had a shot at the buzzer to win that game.”
In the opening quarter, UD took a 3-0 lead on a Nora Brady three only to watch the Colonials – behind six points from Daley – reel off 12 straight points. The Cardinals came roaring back, answering with a 7-0 run of their own that was capped by an Amy Ngo three to make it a 12-10 game. Sharpe scored on a drive to send the Colonials into halftime with a 14-10 lead.
PW upped its lead to 19-10, but the Cardinals refused to go away, and after Besachio turned an Amy Ngo pass into a basket, the Cardinals trailed 24-21 after three quarters. Five straight points by Brady – a drive and the clutch three – gave UD a 26-24 lead, and the stage was set for the dramatic finish.
“I thought our role players made critical plays,” Dougherty said. “In the first quarter, Kenna Winland gets fouled and makes both foul shots. Balcer scored two points off the press.
“To start the third quarter, AJ Avery had a big steal. Our role players made big plays just like (Nora) Brady made big plays for them.
“We lost Amy Ngo twice, and she made us pay. She had three 3s in the third quarter, and that’s what made us stop pressing. On two of them, we got mismatched on our press and lost her. We had to pick a poison. The press got us a couple of cheap points, but we were losing Amy Ngo. She made us pay.”
Daley’s 11 points led the Colonials while Sharpe was held to just six points on a night that belonged to the respective defenses.
“We joke all the time – if in the first half you’re playing offense down there (in front of UD’s bench) – if I call a play and you don’t know what to do, just ask Morgan because he’ll be able to tell you,” Dougherty said. “Our number one key to the game tonight was – okay, you stop their set, now what? Now you’ve got to play defense. rebound the ball and make plays.
“You didn’t see either team score off a quick hitter tonight, not one. We’re both calling out 20 quick hitters, and both teams are completely prepared to stop it every single time. It’s a superstar game, and when it came down to crunch time, Erin Daley and Abby Sharpe made huge plays to win us the game.”
The win not only gave the Colonials their fourth straight division title but their sixth in seven years. In the last four years, they have lost just two league games.
“This was a great win,” Dougherty said. “When you play in a league with Abington and Upper Dublin and win four straight, that’s impressive.
“If you had told me before the season started that we had a chance to win the league outright in our last game – I would have been like, ‘Who got hurt? What team forfeited?’ I wouldn’t have believed that in a minute.
“Tonight it was win at all cost. We want this league championship. We did not want to share it with Abington. We wanted this game incredibly bad. Upper Dublin made us earn it, and I feel like our kids did.”
UD was led by the 14-point effort of Amy Ngo while Brady added 10. Besachio led the Cardinals under the boards with 10 rebounds. She also had four blocked shots. Megan Ngo had three assists.
“We knew this week we would find out a lot about ourselves, and I think we’ve definitely improved as a team,” Funsten said. “Basketball-wise, I think we’re right there. I think there’s a couple mental hurdles we need to get over. We are really close to clicking as a team.
“There’s a lot of positives to take out of this week – having leads in the fourth quarter against two of the top teams around is definitely encouraging. Sometimes the mental side of the game is really difficult to conquer, and sometimes it’s not possible to conquer. That’s where we think the next step needs to be taken.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (18-2, 14-1 SOL) will host Dobbins Tech in a non-league game Friday at 3:15 p.m. and then close out its regular season at home against Wissahickon Tuesday. Upper Dublin (13-7, 10-5) will wrap up a challenging week with a non-league game at Springfield-Delco Saturday (1 p.m.).
Plymouth Whitemarsh 12-2-10-4 28
Upper Dublin 3-7-11-5 26
Plymouth Whitemarsh (28) – Angelina Balcer 2 0-0 4; AJ Avery 1 1-4 3; Kenna Windland 1 2-2 4; Erin Daley 2 7-8 11; Abbey Sharpe 3 0-1 6; TOTALS 9 10-15 28.
Upper Dublin (26) – Amy Ngo 5 0-0 14; Colleen Besachio 1 0-0 2; Nora Brady 4 0-0 10; TOTALS 10 0-0 26.
3-point goals – UD – Amy Ngo 4, Nora Brady 2.
Non-league
LOWER MORELAND 46, JENKINTOWN 30
The Lions celebrated their squad’s two seniors – Liz Neeld and Jess Shein – with a non-league win over the Drakes. Shein’s 17 points in three quarters led the Lions, who raced out of the gate to a 16-6 lead after one quarter
“Jenkintown had some unfortunate injuries that allowed us to get out to a fast start,” LM coach Rich Becker said. “We got up 16-2 and went into the second quarter up 16-6.
“To Jenkintown’s credit, they battled, and we just went cold. It was a five-point game with two minutes left in the half then Amelia Brown hit a three, and Bri McFerran scored to make it 26-15 at the half.”
McFerren’s eight points led the Lions while Brown and Shein both had seven points in the half.
“To start the third quarter, we made a few adjustments at the half that the girls were able to execute. Jess Shein scored 10 points in the third quarter on her way to her career high of 17 points. All of the girls were so happy for her. She works so hard, and a lot of what she contributes doesn’t always show up in the scorebook, so it was nice for her to have a night like this on her senior night. Her big third quarter gave the coaches the opportunity to play all 11 of our players tonight.
“Unfortunately, our other senior Liz got into early foul trouble and ended up fouling out. It’s not how she wanted her senior night to go, but she was probably the happiest of all the girls for Jess. That is just one example of the great character she has that I’ve been fortunate to see over the past four years.”
In addition to Shein’s 17, McFerren had 14 points while Brown had seven and Maddy Rossiter, six points.
“Liz and Jess are going to be missed,” Becker said. “They’re both great kids, Jess carries herself with a quiet confidence you don’t typically see in teenagers, and Liz is a natural leader. I’ve been lucky to be able to get to know them as players and young adults over the past four years.”
Lower Moreland (6-14, 3-11 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township Friday.
Jenkintown 6-9-3-12 30
Lower Moreland 16-10-14-6 46
Jenkintown (30) – Caze Shakoor 3 3-4 9; Nina Costandino 0 1-4 1; Charlie Haldeman 1 0-2 2; Riley White 2 8-12 12; Morgan Bolds 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 9 12-22 30.
Lower Moreland (46) – Brianna McFerran 7 0-0 14; Maddy Rossiter 3 0-2 6; Amelia Brown 2 2-2 7; Jess Shein 7 3-7 17; Keira Huber 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 20 5-11 46.
3-point goals: LM – Amelia Brown.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 60, BRISTOL 32
The Spartans, who led 20-11 after one quarter, took a 37-18 lead into halftime and never looked back on their way to the no-doubt-about-it non-league win.
Ashley Jenkins led a balanced attack with 13 points while Delaney Lake also finished in double figures with 10 – eight in the 20-point first quarter. Grace Daily had nine points – seven in the second quarter. Jayla Daniels also had nine – seven in the third quarter. Alana Decker, who had a pair of 3s, scored all eight of her points in the opening quarter.
Springfield Township (5-14, 0-14 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Friday.
Bristol 11-7-8-6 32
Springfield Twp 20-17-15-8 60
Springfield Twp (60) – Alana Decker 3 0-0 8; Hannah Brandon 1 0-0 2; Jayla Daniels 4 1-1 9; Grace Daily 3 2-2 9; Paige Robinson 2 0-1 5; Delaney Lake 5 0-0 10; Devan Nolan 0 0-1 0; Ashley Jenkins 5 3-4 13; Ava Culler 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 25 6-9 60.
3-point goals: Springfield Twp – Alana Decker 2, Grace Daily, Paige Robinson.
GREAT VALLEY 51, HATBORO-HORSHAM 27
The Patriots took early control of Thursday’s non-league contest, racing out of the starting gate to a 22-4 lead after one quarter and extending that to 37-12 by halftime on their way to the win over the visiting Hatters.
“We came out sluggish to start,” HH assistant coach Niciole Miletto said. “We looked tired. We got down early and could never really spark a comeback.
“Foul trouble in the first half really hurt us. We were slow to the loose balls and weren’t closing out on shooters and let up too many second and third chance points.”
Alli Hewish buried a pair of 3-pointers and led the Hatters with 10 points. Kitty Randa added six.
“Alli Hewish played well again tonight as she has all year,” Miletto said. “We just didn’t have it tonight. I hope we find it since we have a big game tomorrow against Quakertown.”
For the Patriots Gia Sioutis led the way with 19 points – 17 in the first half. She connected on 11-of-14 at the foul line. Laura Lum added 11 points, including three 3s.
Hatboro-Horsham (7-13, 5-9 SOL) will host Quakertown on Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 4-8-6-9 27
Great Valley 22-15-12-2 51
Hatboro-Horsham (27) – Abby Waeltz 1 0-0 2; Kitty Randa 2 2-4 6; Allie Hewish 4 0-0 10; Leah Harrington 0 1-2 1; Alyssa Tooley 1 0-0 3; Maddy Patel 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 10 3-6 27.
Great Valley (51) – Gia Sioutis 4 11-14 19; Laura Lum 4 0-0 11; Julia Curran 3 0-0 6; Reilly Lackman 2 2-2 6; Lauren Frederick 1 1-2 3, Charlotte Powell 2 2-4 6; TOTALS 16 16-22 51.
3-point goals: HH – Allie Hewish 2, Alyssa Tooley, Maddy Patel; GV – Laura Lum 3.
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