Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Monday.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
UPPER DUBLIN 64, LOWER MORELAND 25
Morgan Funsten admits he may have taken division titles for granted in the past. It’s what happens when you win four in a row in your first four years at the helm.
“We won outright league titles, and to me, at that point, I didn’t realize how spoiled I was,” the Upper Dublin coach said. “We haven’t had an upright league title since 2016. We shared it with Abington in 2019.”
As a result, clinching sole possession of the SOL Liberty Division crown with a big win over Lower Moreland on Monday was especially significant for Funsten and his players.
“Sometimes you need to have a little lack of success to appreciate what it means to win a league title,” Funsten said. “I’m so proud and happy for these girls for just the type of people they are. Up and down the roster from one to 11, they’re all great people and great teammates. I’m so proud of them.”
The Cardinals owned this one from the outset, and behind 10 points from freshman Tamia Clark – who has been on a torrid offensive tear, the Cardinals opened up a 20-7 lead after one quarter and extended that to 39-13 by halftime on their way to yet another convincing win.
“I’m in awe of the players on my team in their approach to the game,” Funsten said. “Despite us being the favorite in a lot of games we’ve played this year, they play like an underdog, they play fearless, they play together, they play the game the right way, and it just speaks to the type of character they have as people. They’re very talented in basketball too.
“I think we take the lead from our three seniors – and I almost group Megan Ngo in with the seniors, but fortunately, she’s only a sophomore. Just their mature approach to the game, I think they do a great job of modeling what to do when things go wrong – they all work harder.
“All the time the Bradys and the Ngos have put into their game in the offseason is really showing this year. You add several other pieces in with Tamia Clark and Bridget DiMartile and the other bench players – I feel like I’ve overused the word special with this group, but they really are special in their approach to the game and type of teammates they are, and the success they’re having – it’s fun to be around. They’re a great group. I’m looking forward to this second season with them in the playoffs.”
Clark’s 25 points in just over three quarters led the Cardinals. She also had eight rebounds. Point guard Megan Ngo added 15 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals. Amy Ngo had nine points on three 3-pointers and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with six assists. Brighid Brady added six points.
For the Lions, Dani Brusha’s seven points led the way.
Lower Moreland coach Rich Becker tipped his hat to the Cardinals.
“Upper Dublin is 20-1 for a reason,” the Lions’ coach said. “They’re well coached, talented and tenacious on defense. This was one of the games earlier in the year I was looking forward to playing. Whenever you get the opportunity to play a team like Upper Dublin, it’s a good chance to see where you are as a team and as a program.
“Before Friday’s game against Springfield, where we lost Sydney Santora to injury, I was eager to see how we would play them. Unfortunately, Syd got injured, and with us needing to win (Tuesday) against William Tennent to get at least a share of the league title, we made the decision to go deeper into our bench earlier than we would and to try and save something for tomorrow’s game.
“With that being said, I was still hoping we would be competitive, but Upper Dublin, as they have done all year, knocked down what I think was five of their first six shots. We were able to stay within 12 with a few minutes to go in the first half when they went on a run and took a 20+ point lead into halftime. That team is so good that you need to be at your best both offensively and defensively and that was not us tonight.”
Upper Dublin (20-1, 15-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday, and Lower Moreland (11-4, 14-6) will close out it league season with a home game against William Tennent on Tuesday.
Lower Moreland 7-6-6-6 25
Upper Dublin 20-19-17-8 64
Lower Moreland (25) – Briana McFerran 1 1-2 3; Dani Brusha 2 2-4 7; Amelia Brown 1 2-2 5; Mollie Martin 1 1-2 3; Emma DiJoseph 2 0-0 4; Nikki Sahl 0 1-2 1; Maddy Rossiter 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 8 7-12 25.
Upper Dublin (64) – Brighid Brady 2 0-0 6; Bridget DiMartile 2 0-0 4; Megan Ngo 6 2-2 15; Tamia Clark 11 3-5 25; Amy Ngo 3 0-0 9; Jordan Siegle 1 0-0 3; Nora Brady 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 26 5-7 64.
3-point goals: LM – Dani Brusha, Amelia Brown; UD – Amy Ngo 3, Brighid 2, Megan Ngo, Jordan Siegel.
ABINGTON 67, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 56
Piper McGinley led three Abington players in double figures in Monday’s crossover win, finishing with 18 points.
“It was an all-around team game,” said Abington coach Allison Lawson, whose team rallied from an early deficit to earn the win.
The Lions led 19-14 after one quarter – Izzy Elizondo’s seven points led the way while Emily Wilson had six on a pair of 3s. Sparked by five points from McGinley, the Ghosts outscored their hosts in the second quarter and took a 30-27 lead into halftime.
In an 18-point third quarter, Mikiaya Durham’s five points led the Ghosts, and Abington took a 48-41 lead into the final quarter on its way to the win.
In addition to scoring 18 points, McGinley had six rebounds and three assists. Durham finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Maya Johnson added 11 points, five assists and three rebounds, and Sarah Oleary had seven points and seven rebounds. Zyn McClain added six points.
“Zyn McClain came off the bench and gave us some great minutes, grabbing 12 rebounds and scoring six points,” Lawson said. “Piper had a great game, and Maya had a solid game and started attacking the rim in the second half.”
New Hope-Solebury coach Steve Polinsky lauded the play of the Ghosts.
“Abington can flat out fly out there,” the Lions’ coach said. “They are well coached and very talented and play extremely hard.
“Piper McGinley had a very good game tonight. Johnson is so tough to defend and creates good shots for her teammates.”
Elizondo and Wilson both had huge games for the Lions, finishing with 21 and 20 points respectively. Nina Meixler added nine points.
“I thought we played really well tonight against a tough Abington team,” Polinsky said. “We want to play a certain way and at a certain level win or lose, and I liked how we played this evening.
“Emily Wilson and Izzy Elizondo both were outstanding. Emily was great at the point guard position and Izzy shot the ball extremely well. Both are having outstanding seasons.”
Abington (16-5, 13-2 SOL) will close out its regular season with a home game against Quakertown Tuesday, and New Hope-Solebury (10-10, 7-8) will host Upper Moreland in its regular season finale Tuesday.
Abington 14-16-18-19 67
New Hope-Solebury 19-8-14-15 56
Abington (67) – Ava Teich 1 0-0 3; Maya Johnson 3 5-7 11; Harper McGinley 1 0-0 2; Mikiaya Durham 3 4-4 12; Jordyn Reynolds 3 0-0 6; Piper McGinley 7 2-2 18; Sarah Oleary 3 1-2 7; Zyn McClain 3 0-0 6; Kaylia Rice 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 25 12-15 67
New Hope-Solebury (56) – Kayla Fennel 1 0-0 2; Emily Wilson 8 0-0 20; Ella Dudickk 2 0-0 4; Izzy Elizondo 8 2-3 21; Nina Meixler 4 0-0 9; TOTALS 23 2-3 56.
3-point goals: Abington – Piper McGinley 2, Mikiaya Durham 2, Ava Teich; NHS – Emily Wilson 4, Izzy Elizondo 3, Nina Meixler.
CHELTENHAM 61, HATBORO-HORSHAM 27
Jiah Price scored 19 points and teammate Paige Powell added 17 to lead the Panthers to the decisive win over the visiting Hatters in crossover play.
“It was a great all-around team effort to close out our home schedule,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “Jiah and Paige led us in scoring, while Maya filled up the stat sheet with eight points, nine boards and 10 assists.
“We look to close out the season on top against Springfield tomorrow.”
Price set the tone for the big win, scoring six points in an opening quarter that saw the Panthers open up a 17-4 lead. By halftime, Price had 14 points and the Lady Panthers led 31-11.
Also for the Panthers, Ije Ojukwu added eight points.
The Hatters were led by the eight-point effort of Maddy Patel. Kitty Randa added seven points.
Cheltenham (10-11, 6-9 SOL) will travel to Springfield Twp to close out its season on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham 9-11, 6-8) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 4-7-13-3 27
Cheltenham 17-14-18-12 61
Hatboro-Horsham (27) – Angelica Visceglia 2 0-0 4; Mia Fisher 1 0-0 2; Kitty Randa 2 3-5 7; Maddy Patel 2 3-4 8; Gabby Fisher 0 2-2 2; Madison Duggan 0 2-2 2; Madison Siegfried 1 0-0 2; Mya Stevens 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 8 10-15 27.
Cheltenham (61) – Jiah Price 9 0-0 19; Paige Powell 6 1-3 15; Maya Simmons 4 0-0 8; Amelia Kopp 1 0-0 3; Ije Ojukwu 5 0-0 10; Cassie Bugg 2 0-0 4; Tori Simmons 1 0-2 2; TOTALS 28 1-5 61.
3-point goals: HH – Maddy Patel; Cheltenham – Paige Powell 2, Jiah Price, Amelia Kopp.
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 39, VILLA JOSEPH MARIE 25
Sparked by the hot hand of Liliana Metrick – who had three first-quarter 3s, the visiting Golden Hawks opened up a 16-11 lead after one quarter and never looked back, outscoring their neighboring rival in all four quarters.
“We brought good energy from the start of this one,” Rock South coach Jesse Krasna said. “The girls moved the ball well, got good looks and were able to knock shots in the first half.
“Lil Metrick got off to a blistering start, and I thought we did a good job finding her early on. Lil was also great pressuring ball handlers 94ft and she set the tone for our defense tonight.”
Metrick’s 13 points led the Golden Hawks. Sarah Freeman added nine, and Katie Purpura had six.
“We attacked the offensive glass which was awesome to see,” Krasna said. “The backboard is a major emphasis for our team, and we love watching our girls play big.
“Sarah Freeman, Fiona Reckner and Katie Purpura really stepped up in that area. Sarah pulled down five rebounds, Fi had seven and Katie was an absolute force, ripping down 17.”
Council Rock South (12-8, 8-6 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 16-10-9-4 39
Villa Joseph Marie 11-6-6-2 25
Council Rock South (39) – Sarah Freeman 3 1-2 9; Liliana Metrick 5 0-0 13; Haley Thompson 1 0-0 2; Miranda Cantor 1 0-0 3; Katie Purpura 3 0-0 6; Kathryn O’Kane 1 1-2 3; Fiona Reckner 0 3-4 3; TOTALS 14 5-8 39.
Villa Joseph Marie (25) – Lizzie Grunwell 2 0-0 4; Riley Deal 1 4-4 6; Grace Pizzica 3 0-0 6; Julia Mack 2 0-0 4; Ava Gumienny 1 2-2 5; TOTALS 9 6-6 25.
3-point goals: CRS – Liliana Metrick 3, Sarah Freeman 2, Haley Thompson; VJM – Ava Gumienny.
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