Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Friday. CR North/Bensalem photos courtesy of Jon Sklut. Pennsbury/CR South photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for galleries of both games. CB West/Pennridge photos provided courtesy of Marge Bullock (http://www.margebullock.com)
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 42, BENSALEM 28
Jaden Wan scored 14 of her game high 21 points in the opening half, and the Indians threw some serious defense at the Owls, opening up a 24-5 halftime lead on their way to the win.
“We had another five-point half – that’s what I want us to be as a defensive team, and I think the girls are buying in, so that’s really good to see,” Rock North coach James Roynan said. “Our first half was really well played on our part offensively and defensively. We were switching up our defenses tonight. We put in a couple of different looks this week, and the girls picked it up really well.
“We were able to switch back and forth on our defenses, and the girls did a great job trying to implement what we wanted to do defensively.”
Wan wasn’t the only player to come up big in the first half. Riley Hamilton scored eight points in the first two quarters.
“Offensively, we got a huge lift from Riley Hamilton tonight,” Roynan said. “We lean on Jaden so much, but when she gets help from her teammates – like Riley tonight and Kristen (Polinsky) against Pennsbury, we’re that much tougher offensively.
“Riley gave us a huge lift in the first half and Jaden is just Jaden. She does what she does. I don’t know how many rebounds she had, but she was just everywhere. Nothing deters her. She just goes about her business.”
In the third quarter, the Owls got defensive and edged the Indians 6-4.
“I watched a lot of film on Bensalem – they get their hands on so many balls,
Roynan said. “We had a really rough third quarter – we struggled with their defensive pressure. They got a lot of deflections, they got a lot of hands on dribble penetration, they got a lot of tipped balls. They’re one of the most active hands defenses I’ve seen in our league.
“They gave us a scare in the third quarter. They amped up their defense, and we struggled with it for most of that quarter. We finally got our composure back in the fourth quarter. We slowed down a little bit, we went back to playing at our pace, and it helped that we made some free throws down the stretch to keep them at arm’s length.”
The Owls outscored the Indians 17-14 in the fourth quarter but never seriously threatened. Rock North’s Delaney McCaffery buried four-of-four at the foul line and scored six of her eight points in the final quarter.
“Steve (Johnson) has a good squad, and he’s doing a great job,” Roynan said. “I really commend him for the way his girls are playing. You watch tape, and there’s no way that team should have only one win. They’re playing really well. They’re going to get on top of somebody very soon. I hope it’s not us next Saturday. They’re going to put it together soon.”
For the Owls, Delaney Bell scored 10 points, and Erin Devlin had eight. Amber Howard scored six points.
Council Rock North (3-2 SOL) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Tuesday, and Bensalem (1-8, 0-6) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday.
Council Rock North 15-9-4-14 42
Bensalem 3-2-6-17 28
Council Rock North (42) – Kiera Katz 1 0-6 2; Ella Cairone 0 1-2 1; Delaney McCaffery 2 4-5 8; Riley Hamilton 3 1-3 8; Kristen Polinsky 1 0-0 2; Jaden Wan 8 4-4 21 TOTALS 15 10-20 42.
Bensalem (28) – Sam Daut 0 0-2 0; Erin Devlin 1 6-8 8; Delaney Bell 3 3-6 10; Mackenzie Kramer 2 0-6 4; Amber Howard 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 9 9-20 28.
3-point goals: CRN – Riley Hamilton, Jaden White, Bensalem – Delaney Bell.
PENNSBURY 60, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 45
The Falcons led by just two after one quarter but took control of Friday’s game with a 20-10 second quarter.
Ava Sciolla led the Falcons with 20 points – including five 3-pointers – to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. To steal a phrase from coach Frank Sciolla, the junior standout was “doing Ava type things.”
Kiley Haws also came up huge for the Falcons, collecting her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. She also had four assists.
“More importantly, she was really solid on defense, and on the night when we needed her to step up, she really did,” coach Sciolla said. “We’ve really been sticking with her and pumping her up.
“She’s by nature quiet and we want her to know how much we believe in her, but sometimes it’s hard to see how she reacts to that. She was big tonight.”
Sophomore Neveah Dash returned to action and provided a big spark, finishing with 12 points and four rebounds.”
Abbi Nassivera added six points, and a highlight for the Falcons was the brief return to the lineup of point guard Bella Arcuri.
“We are able to move the ball pretty well and we had 15 assists, which is a really good sign,” Sciolla said. “We got production up and down the lineup, and Bella Arcuri returned and played about four minutes and now we can use the next week getting her ready.
“If we can keep getting people back we will have a chance to be dangerous.”
Nicole Blaustein kept the Golden Hawks in the game, finishing with 19 points, which included a pair of threes. Karissa Smedley added eight points.
Pennsbury (6-4, 6-1 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North on Thursday, and Council Rock South (5-4, 3-4) will be on the road at Bensalem on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 9-10-17-9 45
Pennsbury 11-20-17-12 60
Council Rock South (45) – Montanna Chambers 1 0-0 3; Camryn Gregory 2 0-0 5; Nicole Blaustein 9 1-1 22; Carley Irvin 1 0-0 3; Mia Stock 1 0-0 2; Karissa Smedly 3 1-2 8; Jess Mangoni 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 18 2-3 45.
Pennsbury (60) – Sofia Vitucci 1 2-3 4 Ava Sciolla 7 1-2 20; Abbi Nassivera 2 2-3 6; Kiley Haws 4 0-0 11; Lauren Dignan 0 2-2 2; Neve Davis 0 0-1 0; Mia Spinelli 0 3-4 3 Dani Sherman 1 0-0 2; Neveah Dash 5 1-2 12; TOTALS 20 11-17 60.
3-point goals: CRS – Nicole Blaustein 3, Montanna Chambers, Camryn Gregory, Carley Irvin, Karissa Smedley, Pennsbury – Ava Sciolla 5, Kiley Haws 3, Neveah Dashh.
SOL Colonial Division
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 40, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 30
The Patriots moved one step closer to a Colonial Division title, notching their seventh win without a loss in division play. Standing tall for the Patriots in the win were seniors Emily Chmiel and Mia Salvati, who combined for 31 of East’s 40 points.
“They obviously led us offensively tonight, and they’re a huge piece of what we do,” East coach Liz Potash said. “It’s a really good combination, and they have a good thing going.
“The kids have been playing together forever, they find each other well. It reminds me of when I had Caroline White and Courtney Webster. You don’t get that often. When you have a point guard and you have a center, you’ve got a lot, and we have nice pieces around them.”
The Patriots – behind five points from Salvati and four from Chmiel – led 11-1 after one quarter and took a 22-14 lead into halftime. Chmiel accounted for 10 of East’s points and Salvati, eight. For the Titans, Taylor Hinkle and Yoyo Samayoa both had five points.
The two teams exchanged baskets in the second half.
“In the fourth quarter, we were up maybe eight, and we went into a delay,” Potash said. “They had a ton of fouls to give. I don’t think the ball left Mia’s hands for 45 seconds in the delay with multiple kids running at her. She just kept doing her thing, keeping the ball away from them. It’s what she does.”
Samayoa, a freshman, led the Titans with 13 points – including three 3-pointers – while Hinkle had nine.
Central Bucks East (8-0, 7-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Tuesday. If they win, the Patriots will clinch a share of the division crown. Central Bucks South (3-5, 3-4) will host North Penn on Tuesday.
Central Bucks South 1-13-9-7 30
Central Bucks East 11-11-11-7 40
Central Bucks South (30) – Maddy White 0 1-2 1; Taylor Hinkle 4 0-0 9; Alyssa D’Orazio 1 0-0 2; Maddie Tantum 0 1-2 1; Allison Sauers 2 0-3 4; Yoyo Samayoa 4 2-2 13; TOTALS 11 4-9 30.
Central Bucks East (40) – Devon Burns 1 0-0 2; Anna Barry 1 0-0 3; Mia Salvati 6 1-2 15; Elise Duffy 1 0-0 2; Emily Chmiel 6 4-5 16; TOTALS 16 5-7 40.
3-point goals: CBS – Yoyo Samayoa 3, Taylor Hinkle, CBE – Mia Salvati 2, Anna Barry.
SOUDERTON 39, NORTH PENN 32
The Indians rebounded from a two-point first quarter to outscore the visiting Knights 10-4 in the second to go into halftime with a 12-7 lead. They fought off their visitors the rest of the way.
“We played pretty well defensively for the most part for the whole game, and we thought if we did that, we would be okay,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “We struggled to score at times because the defense North Penn is doing now they weren’t doing the first game of the season which is when we played last.
“It took us a little time to settle in, so I was a little concerned that we would go stretches struggling to score. One of our keys to the game was that we really, really defend well. That way we can afford to take some time to really feel out their defense.”
The Indians’ shooting woes are underscored by their 5-for-23 effort from the floor in the first half. In the second half, they were 11-for-19.
“In the second quarter, shots started to fall for us,” Carroll said. “Part of it was we were trying things offensively that were really starting to work in the second half. The defense they play really does muck things up.
“It’s not man, it’s sort of a match-up zone, but sometimes zone stuff doesn’t work that great against it. It was about trying to figure it out. They do a nice job where they force the other team to overthink it a bit.”
Three Souderton players – Jordan Zimmerman, Olivia Schneider and Casey Harter – shared team scoring honors with eight points each. Harter also had five rebounds, three blocks and a steal. Teya McConnaha led the Indians under the backboards with eight rebounds. Hayley Fenchel had six rebounds.
“Hayley Fenchel came off the bench for us, and she’s really been giving us a spark lately,” Carroll said. “She had six rebounds and just plays tough and plays hard. She had four points in the fourth quarter, and one of them was an and-one on a layup. What we got out of her tonight – we really needed it.
“Jordan Zimmerman hit two 3s – the one in the second quarter felt like, ‘Oh, finally.’ She hit another big one in the fourth quarter because North Penn would not go away. We kept trying to extend our lead, and they would force a turnover and score, so we needed to continue to make plays right down to the end. They were pressing us a little bit. Once we settled in, we were getting good looks out of it.”
Freshman Olivia Stone led the Knights with 12 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers and 10 points in the second half.
Souderton (5-3, 5-2 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Tuesday, and North Penn (0-6) will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Tuesday.
North Penn 3-4-12-13 32
Souderton 2-10-17-10 39
North Penn (32) – Laynie Doran 0 3-4 3; Ali Johns 0 2-2 2; Abby Plaugher 1 0-0 3; Alli Lindsay 1 0-0 2; Imani Plaza 2 0-0 5; Rachel Strobel 0 1-2 1 Caleigh Sperling 2 0-0 4; Olivia Stone 4 2-3 12; TOTALS 10-8-11 32.
Souderton (39) – Jordan Zimmerman 3 0-0 8; Erin Bohmueller 1 1-2 4 Olivia Schneider 3 2-2 8; Casey Harter 4 0-0 8; Teya McConnaha 2 0-0 4; Mikayla McGillian 1 0-1 2; Hayley Fenchel 2 1-3 5; TOTALS 16 4-8 39.
3-point goals: NP – Olivia Stone 2, Abby Plaugher, Imani Plaza, Souderton – Jordan Zimmerman 2, Erin Bohmueller.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 45, PENNRIDGE 29
The Bucks honored their three seniors – Anna Blue, Maggie McCusker and Paige Gilbert – with a win over the visiting Rams.
The Bucks opened up a 14-7 lead after one quarter and took a 24-10 advantage into halftime. Junior Emily Spratt ignited the Bucks, scoring 12 points – eight in the second quarter. Tai Henkels and Katie Finnan each connected on a 3-pointer.
“Pennridge is a team that’s playing really well right now and is a totally different team than the start of the year,” West coach Zach Sibel said. “We got things rolling early with some stops and finding our footing on offense.
“Emily got us going with attacks to the basket, finishing on a number of tough shots. Finnan did a great job getting to the rim and getting fouled. Maggie (McCusker) had five blocks and was solid all around. Tai Henkels played huge minutes off the bench and did it on both ends. We needed her energy on the defensive end.”
Spratt led all scorers with 19 points, which included a 7-for-9 effort at the foul line. Finnan had nine points and connected on 6-8 at the foul line. Paige Gilbert had eight points.
For the Rams, freshman Anna Croyle – who had a pair of 3s – had nine points, Katie Yoder added eight and Emma Pyne had six points.
Central Bucks West (5-3, 4-2 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for a non-league game Saturday (2:30 p.m.). Pennridge (2-6, 1-6) will host Souderton on Tuesday.
Pennridge 7-5-11-6 29
Central Bucks West 14-10-8-15 45
Pennridge (29) – Katie Yoder 3 2-2 8; Grace Rosica 0 0-4 0; Ava Unzicker 2 0-0 4; Emma Pyne 2 1-2 6; Ryan Hodder 1 0-0 2; Anna Croyle 3 1-2 9; TOTALS 11 4-10 29.
Central Bucks West (45) – Tai Henkels 1 0-0 3; Katie Finnan 1 6-8 9; Anna Blue 0 1-2 1; Emily Spratt 6 7-9 19; Nia Perry 1 0-0 2; Ava Longo 1 0-0 2; Maggie McCusker 0 1-2 1; Paige Gilbert 4 0-0 8; TOTALS 14 15-21 45.
3-point goals: Pennridge – Anna Croyle 2, Emma Pyne, CBW – Tai Henkels, Katie Finnan.
SOL Liberty Division
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 46, UPPER DUBLIN 31
Ava McTamney and her PW teammates don’t need a fiery pre-game speech to prepare them for their annual showdowns against Upper Dublin in what has become one of the SOL’s fiercest rivalries in girls’ basketball.
“Upper Dublin is our biggest rivalry,” McTamney said. “It is always so important to beat them. Last year we played them four times and only won two of the four.
“Ever since my freshman year, it’s always been our biggest goal to beat them, so it’s really important for the team to come out strong and not get too overwhelmed before we play, so our main focus is just to come out strong and not overthink anything.
“We didn’t have much time to prepare due to the snowstorm earlier in the week and our game on Wednesday, so we really only had yesterday to practice and earlier today before we came here, so we were just locked in and have to focus every second of practice, walk-through and film so we could get this win tonight.”
Sarah Eskew turned a Jess Polin pass into a fast-break layup and a 2-0 UD lead, the Cardinals’ first and only lead of the night. Seconds later, Kaitlyn Flanagan hit nothing but net on a 3-pointer, and after Polin found Eskew for a three that knotted the score, the Colonials responded with a 10-0 run.
It began with a tough putback by McTamney and then – after a UD miss – the University of the Sciences-bound senior buried a baseline three.
“She’s hungry, Anna’s hungry, and the kids feed off of it,” PW coach Daniel Dougherty said. “We all had to let last season go, but boy, we thought we had a chance to win states last year, and we know that doesn’t come along every year.
“This year it’s going to be even harder to do. We want to win the division first, and we know how hard it’s going to be to beat Upper Dublin and Abington to do that.”
The Colonials haven’t forgotten last year’s abrupt end to the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic immediately after the Colonials had earned a spot in the PIAA 6A state quarterfinals, and in Friday’s win, they looked like a team on a mission, opening up a 15-5 lead in the final minute of the opening quarter after Flanagan buried her second trey.
UD freshman Amy Ngo answered with a three off the bench. The points didn’t come as easily for the Colonials after that, and they led 22-12 at halftime.
“I actually thought we played really well in the first half, and I said to the girls afterwards – in the first half, we made them beat us in ways they don’t always beat teams,” UD coach Morgan Funsten said. “But in the second half, it was the opposite, and that’s what we’re a little disappointed in.
“I know down 10 at halftime – you would think we played a poor first half. We were actually very happy with how we played in the first half. We got great shots, but we shot 20 percent in the first half (4-for-20).”
The Colonials opened up a 28-12 lead after Erin Daley scored her second of three baskets in the third quarter on a tough drive, and it was a 33-19 game after three quarters. A pair of Daley foul shots gave the Colonials their largest lead, 37-19, but the Cardinals battled back to trim that lead to 41-30 after a Jess Polin three. They would get no closer.
“The keys to the game were handling their pressure, which I thought we did a great job of in the first half and then defensive rebounding,” Funsten said. “We had in our stats that they had one offensive rebound in the first half.
“We kind of got away from some things (in the second half). They have such great team size, and our help-side defense in the second half was not what it needed to be.”
Eskew led the Cardinals with 12 points and a team best three steals. Ngo added seven points and also had six deflections. Polin had six points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Bliss Brenner had four rebounds.
The Cardinals connected on 10 of 35 shots from the field (28.6 percent). They made 5-of-18 two-point shots and 5-of-17 3-pointers.
“The first half – it’s certainly not a winning strategy to let Upper Dublin get so many open threes,” Dougherty said. “You give Morgan that much time to prepare for our press, he’s going to have a design to get open threes against it, and I thought we were living very dangerously with it.
“That being said, I watched Upper Dublin during warm-ups, and I don’t think they missed at all. They missed a little bit in the first half, and we made some shots.”
McTamney’s 15 points – seven in the first quarter and 11 in the opening half – led the Colonials. Flanagan finished with 11 points while Daley had eight, all in the second half. Jordyn Thomas added seven points.
The Colonials made 50 percent of their shots, connecting on 16-of-32 and scoring 22 of their points in the paint while the Cardinals had just 10 points in the paint. They outrebounded the Cardinals 21-13.
“You look at our team, and we’re huge,” Dougherty said. “This is the biggest team I’ve ever seen. There’s one lineup we tinker with where it’s 5-10, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 and 6-2. It’s a huge team, but we’re athletic. It’s fun to coach.
“We didn’t go as deep as we normally do, but we’re able to go eight and nine deep a lot of times and wear teams out because there is no drop-off in that top seven.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-0, 4-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks West in a non-league game Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Upper Dublin (8-1, 4-1) will travel to Quakertown on Saturday for a 7 p.m. game. The Cardinals won’t have to wait long for a rematch. The two teams meet again next Friday at PW.
“We’re excited to have them again next Friday,” Funsten said. “It’s a quick turnaround. We’re hoping to make some adjustments and compete a little better than we did.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 15-7-11-13 46
Upper Dublin 8-4-7-12 31
Plymouth Whitemarsh (46) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 4 1-2 11; Erin Daley 3 2-2 8; Gabby Cooper 0 2-2 2; Anna McTamney 6 2-2 15; Lainey Allen 1 1-2 3; Jordyn Thomas 2 3-4 7; TOTALS 16 11-14 46.
Upper Dublin (31) – Bliss Brenner 0 2-4 2; Jess Polin 2 0-0 6; Amy Ngo 3 0-0 7; Sarah Eskew 4 3-4 12; Dayna Balasa 1 1-2 4; TOTALS 10 6-10 31.
3-point goals: PW – Kaitlyn Flanagan 2, Anna McTamney, UD – Jess Polin 2, Amy Ngo, Sarah Eskew, Dayna Balasa.
ABINGTON 71, HATBORO-HORSHAM 53
Coach Dan Marsh makes no secret about the fact that he prefers an up-tempo game, and for the fourth time in as many games, the Ghosts scored more than 70 points. For a good part of the first half, the Hatters stayed with the high-flying Ghosts.
Abington led 21-18 after one quarter with five different players contributing threes. The Ghosts went into halftime with a 40-29 advantage on their way to the win.
“We did well to stay within striking distance in the first quarter, and then we had a nice little run to take the lead at 25-24,” HH coach Dennis Steinly said. “Abington went on a big run to close the half.”
In the opening half, Cire Worley’s 10 points led the Ghosts, and Jaida Helm had nine. Worley finished with 19 points to lead the Ghosts, who put 10 players in the scoring column. Helm and Abril Browser both had 10 points. Khalis Whiting added eight points and Jordyn Reynolds had seven.
“Browser hit a couple of big shots for them in the first half,” Steinly said. “I thought we did well defensively for the first 12 minutes of the half, but they forced some turnovers and got some run-outs that put us in a hole at the half. Worley is such a tough match up – I guess we still have a couple of years to figure her out.”
For the Hatters, Alice Hall scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the opening half.
“I was extremely proud of her effort tonight,” Steinly said. “She was getting banged around but kept her composure and battled the entire game.”
Also for the Hatters, Emily Thomas added 15 points while Ava McKinney and Caroline Shegogue both had six.
“Emily Thomas had a solid all-around game – she scored, handled the ball a little more and distributed the ball better tonight,” Steinly said. “She came up with quite a few rebounds too.
“We really struggled against PW on Wednesday so we talked about that at practice yesterday, and I was happy with the way we competed tonight. We’re 3-5 – halfway through our schedule, and we have two losses to Upper Dublin, two to Abington and one to PW, so we’ve faced some of the toughest teams in District 1. Our goal is to take the lessons we’ve learned from these early losses to get better in the second half of our season.”
Abington (7-1, 5-1 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (3-5, 1-5) will host Quakertown on Monday.
Abington 21-19-21-10 71
Hatboro-Horsham 18-11-12-12 53
Abington (71) – Cire Worley 8 2-5 19; Jaida Helm 4 1-4 10; Amanda Jackson 2 0-0 5; Khalis Whiting 1 5-6 8; Allison Holden 2 0-0 5; Jordyn Reynolds 3 0-0 7; Maura Day 1 0-0 3; Abril Browser 4 0-0 10; Piper McGinley 1 0-0 2; Ashley Reilly 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 27 8-15 71
Hatboro-Horsham (53) – Caroline Shegogue 3 0-2 6; Ava McKinney 2 1-6 6; Alice Hall 9 4-4 22; Paige Cole 0 1-2 1; Alli Hewish 1 0-0 2; Emily Thomas 6 0-0 15; Sam Hollish 0 1-2 1 TOTALS 21 7-16 53
3-point goals: Abington – Abril Browser 2, Cire Worley, Jaida Helm, Amanda Jackson, Khalis Whiting, Allison Holden, Jordyn Reynolds, Maura Day, HH – Emily Thomas 3, Ava McKinney.
SOL Freedom Division
LOWER MORELAND 56, CHELTENHAM 33
The visiting Lions put three players in double figures and all five of their starters scored at least eight points to notch their second win of the season.
“For the first time all season, we had a balanced offensive attack,” coach Rich Becker said. “It’s nice to see things start to click for some of our girls who have had very little varsity experience.
“Offensively, we are starting to see the floor better and are making smarter decisions.”
Tori Finnegan’s 16 points led the Lions while Jess Dugo added 11 and Liz Neeld had 10. Jess Shein had nine points and Ofek Gur added eight.
“For the second game in a row, Tori Finnegan was in double digits,” Becker said. “She’s working hard in practice so it’s nice to see things come together for her.”
The Lady Panthers – sparked by nine points from Umayrah Sulayman – led 11-10 after one quarter, but the Lions found their stride in the second, outscoring their hosts 19-6 to go into halftime with a 29-17 advantage. Finnegan accounted for 10 points in the half while Dugo had nine. A 14-5 LM burst in the third quarter put the game out of reach.
“We were down a player, but the girls competed best they could,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said.
Sulayman kept the Lady Panthers afloat with a game-high 23 points.
“I give Cheltenham a lot of credit, they only have seven girls in their program this year and tonight they only had six and were missing possibly their best defender, so you give them and their coaches credit,” Becker said. “I expect that when we see them again in two weeks it will be a much tighter game.”
Lower Moreland (2-2 SOL) will host Springfield Township Tuesday, and Cheltenham (0-5, 0-4) will travel to New Hope-Solebury on Tuesday.
Lower Moreland 10-19-14-13 56
Cheltenham 11-6-5-11 33
Lower Moreland (56) – Tori Finnegan 7 2-2 16; Ofek Gur 4 0-0 8; Jess Shein 4 0-0 9; Liz Neeld 5 0-3 10; Jess Dugo 5 0-0 11; Zoe Alden 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 26 2-5 56.
Cheltenham (33) – Janiya Townes-Wakefield 0 0-6 0; Umayrah Sulayman 9 4-6 23 Mikahila Leighton 2 1-5 5; Crae Wise 1 3-4 5; TOTALS 12 8-21 33.
3-point goals: Jess Shein, Jess Dugo, Cheltenham – Umayrah Sulayman.
WISSAHICKON 45, QUAKERTOWN 40
On the heels of a 23-point effort in the Trojan’s win over Cheltenham 24 hours earlier, Kaitlyn McGeary delivered another big offensive performance, scoring a game-high 21 points to lead the Trojans.
“We’re down to six girls,” said Wissahickon coach Rodney Cline, who lost a player to concussion protocol and another who is moving out of the district. “We have one coming back, so we’re down to six or seven girls at the varsity level.
“Our conference is so difficult with Upper Dublin, Abington and PW. You play these teams, and you just get better because they’re that good and they’re well coached. We talk about core values – to be mentally tough, to contribute and compete, and these girls go out there and they did it.
“Some of our girls played 32 minutes, the whole entire game, and to stay focused and locked in the entire time when you’re tired and the game is on the line and to finish the game – four or five of the losses we’ve had were five points or less. To come and do it this evening, it was great to watch.”
The Trojans opened up an 18-11 lead after one quarter but led by just a 25-23 score at halftime. They used a 9-4 third quarter to go on top 34-27 and held the Panthers off the rest of the way.
According to Cline, the Trojans stuck to the game plan.
“Understanding who we had to stop and just working together,” Cline said. “On offense, we’re feeding our big girl (McGeary), our primary scorer, and when we do that, it just makes the inside-outside game, and they’re just executing.
“The last time we played them they killed us on the offensive glass. They got so many second chance opportunities, and this time we didn’t allow that. It was just a great team effort.”
In addition to McGeary’s 21-point effort, Julia Verrier added 11 points, and Lily Hyatt added six. They weren’t the only players to contribute.
“My point guard, Leah Dubin, has been struggling, and she came in and played with poise,” Cline said. “She definitely drove the car tonight. She kept the team at a good pace, pushed it when we needed to. I’m proud of her resiliency and her mental toughness – from two or three games ago being down on herself to being confident.
“Our big girl’s (McGeary’s) maturity from last year to this year – I have no words. I’m so proud of her. Our two guard right now, Kylie Friedman – her main sport is soccer, but she’s an athlete. She sees the floor so naturally. The passes she makes – you don’t expect them. It’s just enjoyable how these girls are starting to play together.
“We have a leader in Julia Verrier. She keeps everybody together, she’s my coach out there. She lets the girls know what we’re running. They make each other accountable. When you start making each other accountable, that’s when you know you’re locked in together and moving forward. We want to be the best we can be. I’m just proud of all of them.”
Friday’s win avenged a 41-36 loss to Quakertown earlier this season.
“The ball movement, the communication, the chemistry they’re starting to build – it was really fun as a coach,” Cline said. “You don’t have to coach as much when they start doing all the stuff you talk about in practice and all the preparation you go through. They’re starting to put it together. I’m happy for them, I’m proud of them. It’s like a father watching your kids out there play, and it’s just enjoyable.”
For the Panthers, sophomore Carolyn Sipprell was the lone player in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Abigail McCaskey added eight points while Kennedi Pellegrini and Katie Offner both had six.
The Panthers converted 4-of-5 foul shots while the Trojans took 21 trips to the foul line but managed just nine points. Neither team connected on a 3-pointer.
Wissahickon (3-7, 1-5 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Tuesday, and Quakertown (2-5, 1-4) will host Upper Dublin in a non-league game Saturday at 7 p.m.
Wissahickon 18-7-9-11 45
Quakertown 11-12-4-13 40
Wissahickon (45) – Lily Hyatt 2 2-3 6; Leah Dubin 1 1-4 3; Kylie Friedman 1 2-3 4; Julia Verrier 5 1-2 11; Kaitlyn McGeary 9 3-9 21; TOTALS 18 9-21 45.
Quakertown (40) – Carolyn Sipprell 4 3-3 11; Katie Catalano 1 0-0 2; Laney Mitchell 1 0-0 2 Kayla Horning 2 1-2 5; Kennedi Pellegrini 3 0-0 6; Abigail 4 0-0 8; Katie Offner 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 18 4-5 40.
3-point goals: None
UPPER MORELAND 53, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 17
EmmyFaith Wood was in some kind of offensive groove, burying six 3-pointers and scoring a game high 20 points. The sophomore sharpshooter gave a preview of things to come with four treys in a first quarter that saw the Golden Bears open up a 19-5 lead.
Freshman Holly Gohl also finished in double figures with 12 points, and Emma Hurley added seven.
Annie Coll’s five points led the Spartans.
Upper Moreland (7-1, 5-0 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Tuesday, and Springfield Township (1-8, 1-6) will be on the road at Lower Moreland Tuesday.
Springfield Twp 5-6-2-4 17
Upper Moreland 19-14-11-9 53
Springfield Twp (17) – Annie Coll 2 1-2 5; Raya Davis 1 0-0 3; Jayla Daniels 1 0-0 2; Maddie Yoder 1 2-5 4; Parsons 0 1-2 1; Paige Robinson 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 6 4-9 17.
Upper Moreland (53) – Reva Naik 1 0-0 3, Kat Morrow 1 0-1 2; Kaiya Herb 2 0-0 4; Kaitie Opferman 1 0-0 3; EmmyFaith Wood 7 0-0 20; Kylie Gaul 1 0-0 2; Holly Gohl 6 0-2 12 Alli LaRocco 2 3-3 7; TOTALS 21 3-6 53.
3-point goals: Springfield – Raya Davis, UM – EmmyFaith Wood 6, Reva Naik, Kaitie Opferman.
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 68, WILLIAM TENNENT 18
Rachel Saxton, Kate Dougherty and J Covino were honored at a special Senior Night celebration, and the Lions put an exclamation point on the special night with a decisive win over the visiting Panthers.
Saxton’s 15 points led the Lions while Dougherty and Covino each had 14 as the three seniors combined for 43 points. Sophomore Reagan Chrencik added 13 points.
The Lions led 12-6 after one quarter and then put the game out of reach with a 16-0 second quarter. In a half that belonged to the seniors, Saxton’s 10 points led the Lions while Covino and Dougherty both had eight.
New Hope-Solebury (7-2, 5-1 SOL) will host Cheltenham Tuesday, and William Tennent (3-5, 3-3) will host Upper Moreland Tuesday.
William Tennent 6-0-6-6 18
New Hope-Solebury 12-16-23-17 68
William Tennent (18) – Kailyn Hansen 2 2-2 6; Olivia Kaczmarek 1 0-0 2; Chase Dubzak 1 0-0 2; Ella Mednick 1 0-0 2; Morgan Volz 1 0-0 2; Savannah Zeaman 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 8 2-2 18.
New Hope-Solebury (68) – Reagan Chrencik 5 0-0 13; J Covinio 7 0-0 14; Kate Dougherty 6 1-2 14; Rachel Saxton 7 0-0 15; Emily Primavera 1 0-0 2; Emma Ives 3 0-0 6; Anna Leasure 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 31 1-2 68
3-point goals: NHS – Reagan Chrencik 3, Kate Dougherty, Rachel Saxton.
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