Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Pennsbury/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Upper Moreland/Cheltenham photos courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography, and Tennent/Truman photo provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for photo galleries.
National Conference
PENNSBURY 42, NESHAMINY 32
(Check back for a follow-up story of Kristin Curley reaching the 1,000-point milestone.)
Mary Miller’s shots weren’t falling, and on a night when the respective defenses made life difficult on both sides, the Pennsbury senior wasn’t alone.
In the early minutes of the fourth quarter with the Falcons clinging to a one-point lead, Miller – after the Falcons came up with a loose ball rebound under the basket – found herself wide open beyond the arc with the ball in her hands. She sent the Falcon fans who packed the Nest into a frenzy when she buried a three that gave Pennsbury a 28-24 lead.
“You just have to be confident in shooting, you have to see the ball go in,” Miller said. “Honestly, I felt very confident. My adrenalin was pumping, it 
went in and got everyone fired up.”
The Falcons had momentum they would not lose, allowing the Redskins to get no closer than four the rest of the way. Pennsbury went on to earn a win that gave the program a share of its first title since 2006.
“It’s insane – I never thought this would happen,” Miller said. “It’s amazing that it did, and it’s all because Coach (Frank Sciolla) made it possible.
“It’s been seven years since we beat Neshaminy. Working hard for four years straight has paid off. An SOL title is amazing.”
“I don’t ever cry, and I haven’t stopped crying,” sophomore Ava Sciolla said. “Just to see the faces of all the people that came to support us, the travel girls that came to support us, the CYO girls – everyone’s faces when the final buzzer sounded, it’s just unreal.”
With strains of Queen’s “We are the Champions” blasting over the public address system, the Falcons cut down the net.
“It’s crazy because growing up – it was always the boys when it was packed, and when I was younger, I got the boys to sign my paper,” Miller said. “I didn’t have the girls because there was no girls’ team like this.”
Times have changed, and on Thursday night, Miller and her teammates were kept busy after the game signing autographs for the eager youngsters.
“This was my dream.” Miller said. “It’s crazy. We started from nothing, and we kept building and adding people. The community is so involved – they make everything possible.”
If the Falcons needed insurance after Miller’s big bucket, Bella Arcuri and Sciolla gave it to them. Arcuri – whose basket early in the fourth gave the Falcons a lead they would not lose – scored nine points in the quarter, including 5-of-6 at the foul line when the Falcons were within striking distance.
“Bella Arcuri was so important tonight,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “She sped up their guards, and forced them into turnovers that we don’t normally see.
“She handled their pressure magnificently and delivered the ball where it needed to be every single time down in the biggest game of her life. I’ve watched those two (Arcuri and Sciolla) play together in the backcourt since they were nine or 10 years old, and it’s incredible to see them step up like they did.”
Sciolla added seven points in the final quarter, and her brilliant third quarter included a 7-0 tear to open the frame that erased a four-point halftime deficit and put the Falcons on top 20-17.
The Redskins, meanwhile, saw the fouls that hampered them in the first half continue to mount. Kristin Curley took a seat on the bench when she was whistled for her fourth foul with 1:47 remaining in the third quarter and the Falcons leading 23-19. She re-entered the game when the Redskins had an inbound play under their own basket with 1.7 seconds remaining. Curley turned the pass in traffic into a three-point play at the buzzer. Her contested basket set off a celebration for it vaulted her to the 1,000-point plateau.
“Neshaminy is just a tremendous team,” coach Sciolla said. “You have all that senior experience.
“Congratulations to Kristin (Curley) who has proven to have one of the best careers in our league – four years, goes over a thousand, competes really hard. We felt if we could put Ava (Sciolla) on her – and we did at times – it might keep her from shooting jump shots. The game plan was to force her more towards the rim. For the most part, we were able to do that when we had that length we could use.”
Curley’s bucket pulled the Redskins to within one heading into the fourth quarter, and they took their final lead of the game when Taylor Gurysh buried a pair at the foul line. Arcuri answered for the Falcons, setting the stage for Miller’s bucket and 19-8 Falcon run to close out the game.
“Mary Miller had a big three when we were up one,” coach Sciolla said. “She was really frustrated. She couldn’t get a shot to go down. Ava gets the rebound, we get the kick out, she steps into it and we go up four.
“It was like the olden days in here, and I said it would be. There were people in the gym I haven’t seen for a long time. It was a who’s who of Bucks County basketball from the guys’ and the girls’ world. I did as good a job as I could of insulating myself the past couple of days. There were so many good luck e-mails and texts, many that came from people I haven’t heard from in a while that were incredibly supportive. You see what girls’ basketball means to our community. I think we have a situation here unlike most people do.”
Sciolla led all scorers with 22 points – 16 in the pivotal second half. She also had six rebounds and a pair of steals.
“I don’t have the stats in front of me, but it seemed like she took the game over in a variety of ways – inside, outside, handling the ball,” coach Sciolla said. “That was the performance she had given us at Neshaminy (in a 44-42 loss).
“I thought she spoke so well about how she handled that disappointment, and she had to sit on it for a month. She came out tonight, she missed her first couple – they were pretty physical with her. She kept her composure, and she showed why she’s having one of the better years in the state, especially at that position.”
The game didn’t start out on a promising note for the Falcons, who trailed 17-6 when Curley scored midway through the second quarter. Curley accounted for seven of those points and Kelli Kowalick and Tantala both had four. The Redskins did not score again until Curley converted a drive with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter, bringing an end to a scoring drought of more than eight minutes.
“We sat down and told ourselves – shots aren’t falling, and that’s going to happen. That’s happened throughout the season, but what we fall back on is our defense,” Ava Sciolla said. “We know if we get it together on the defensive end, then anything can happen that we want on the offensive end.
“Once we got out in transition, things started to pick up. Once our team gets momentum, it’s unstoppable.”
Arcuri also finished in double figures for the Falcons with 11 points to go along with two steals. Miller and Abbi Nassivera each had four rebounds and two steals. Nicole Pompili also had a pair of steals as everyone contributed to the historic win.
“It’s been many years since we won a league title,” coach Sciolla said. “I know there were some doubts. When Cami (Wiegand) stopped playing – and it was certainly a great reason for her faith, we sat the girls down two days later and tried to sell them – we can still do this, we can still have this experience, all our goals are still right in front of us.
“I’m not sure how many people believed us at the time. I think some of them were a little bit doubtful, but our leaders did a great job. All year long we defended. I said before the game – ‘We have to keep them under 35. It’s going to be a rock fight, and if we keep them under 35, we can win this game. They know what we do, we know what they do. We just have to stay in it.’ I felt like we would eventually get the matchups we wanted, and a couple of times in the second half we were able to get matchups we wanted.”
Curley’s 14-point effort led Neshaminy. Tantala added eight points for the Redskins, suffered their first league loss and were forced to share the title with the Falcons.
“If you’re going to share a league title, share it with them,” coach Sciolla said. “(Coach) Joe Lally – has anyone done a consistently better job in the last seven or eight years in Lower Bucks? He’s been tremendous. I love how his teams play, I love how he challenges his girls. I have taken things from him. It’s great to compete with them and to share it with them because I think both of us have a chance to be successful in the playoffs.”
For the Sciolla father-daughter duo, the night held special significance.
“Since I was little and I watched my dad cut down nets, I promised him that we would get one together, and the fact that it’s here now is just unbelievable,” Ava Sciolla said.
Pennsbury (19-1, 11-1 SOL) – fourth in the District One 6A power rankings – will face SOL Continental Conference champion Central Bucks West in the SOL Tournament Saturday at Bensalem at noon. Neshaminy (14-8, 11-1) – the 15th seeded in the latest power rankings – is off until the District One 6A Tournament begins on Feb. 15.
Neshaminy 12-5-5-10 32
Pennsbury 6-7-10-19 42
Neshaminy (32) – Emily Tantala 2 3-5 8; Kacie Sienko 2 0-0 4; Kristin Curley 5 3-3 14; Kelli Kowalick 2 0-0 4; Taylor Gurysh 0 2-2 2; Totals 11 8-10 32.
Pennsbury (42) – Ava Sciolla 7 8-10 22; Kiley Haws 1 1-1 3; Bella Arcuri 3 5-10 11; Mary Miller 1 1-2 4; Mia Spinelli 0 0-2 0; Nicole Pompili 0 2-3 2; Totals 12 17-28 42.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Emily Tantala, Kristin Curley, Pennsbury – Mary Miller.
Council Rock North 48, Council Rock South 38
As the team’s only returning starter from last year’s highly successful squad, Abby Jones didn’t get to experience the ideal senior season in terms of wins and losses. But on Council Rock North’s Senior Night and season finale against archrival Council Rock South, her teammates made sure that Jones got to go out as a winner. The Indians played a stellar fourth-quarter to break open a one-point game and secured a 48-38 victory in Jones’ final game on the hardwood for North.
“Abby probably had her best game of the year,” North coach Jim Roynan said. “She was really engaged. It’s her last game as a basketball player at Council Rock North, and all the girls wanted to win for her.
“We got contributions from everybody, and that was really was nice to see. A lot of people did things that didn’t show up in the scorebook, and that’s why we won. Blair (Klumpp) does a nice job with (South), and those girls play hard. There’s a little familiarity with the girls on both teams. You’re not really surprising each other. You’re just going out and playing. We were lucky enough to play a little bit better than they did.”
South led 9-6 after one quarter, but North responded with an 11-1 second quarter to take a 7-point lead into halftime. The Golden Hawks trimmed that to 1 point heading into the fourth quarter, where North exploded for 21 points to pull away. North freshman Jaden Wan scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the final period, including 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line.
“Jaden was big down the stretch — she made a couple of tough shots under the basket, and-ones,” Roynan said. “We made some really good hustle plays. Emma Benson made a great play in the middle of the fourth quarter – she got a loose ball, passed it ahead, and we got a layup out of it. The younger girls — Riley (Hamilton), Kiera (Katz) and Kristen (Polinsky) — played really well on defense.
“These girls are seeing a lot of things for the first time. We’re in the 22nd game of the season, and we’re seeing for the first time how we’re going to play in a tight game down the stretch where every possession is important. It was really encouraging to see everyone make contributions.”
North regrouped and withstood the Hawks’ third-quarter surge, which was sparked by Nicole Blaustein. Blaustein scored 8 of her team-leading 16 points in the third quarter and added 6 more in the fourth. Jenna Culp scored 7 of her 9 points in the second half.
Lizzie Lustig also came up clutch in the fourth quarter, shooting 4-for-4 from the foul line to account for all of her points on the night. Anna Cairone netted half of her 8 points in the fourth as well.
“It’s CR South — we’re already hyped up, both teams are hyped up,” Roynan said. “We needed a win, and the thing we’ve been challenging them to do for the past couple of weeks is to play 32 minutes. We haven’t played 32 minutes of basketball all year. We’ve played 20, 23, 25, but we’ve never gone a whole 32 and played at a high level.
“The other thing that we’ve been challenging them to do is to not let things steamroll. When we make a mistake here and make another mistake, we don’t want it to steamroll into five or six. That’s been another part of our problem this year — one mistake turns into five mistakes, and you’re down by 12.”
Council Rock North finishes the season at 4-8 SOL National, 5-17 overall. Council Rock South – the 22nd seed in the District One 6A power rankings – drops to 6-6, 10-12.
Council Rock South 9-1-16-12 38
Council Rock North 6-11-10-21 48
Council Rock South (38)—Montanna Chambers 1 0-0 3; Jenna Culp 3 2-2 9; Nicole Blaustein 6 4-9 16; Carley Irvin 1 1-2 3; Karissa Smedley 1 1-3 3; Hannah Binder 1 2-2 4. Totals 13 10-18 38.
Council Rock North (48)—Lizzie Lustig 0 4-4 4; Anna Cairone 3 1-3 8; Riley Hamilton 2 0-0 4; Kristen Polinsky 2 0-0 5; Emma Benson 2 0-0 4; Jaden Wan 6 9-10 21; Abby Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 14-17 48.
William Tennent 51, Harry S Truman 24
It hasn’t been the easiest of seasons for William Tennent girls’ basketball. Having lost players to more than just graduation left Tennent young and inexperienced. And as a result, the Panthers took their share of lumps this season.
But the squad celebrated Senior Night in style, giving seniors Hannah Reimel, Erin Hart, and Direidy Serrano (who last played her freshman year but decided to return for her senior campaign) a fond sendoff and a big victory with a 51-24 win over Harry S Truman in Thursday’s National 
Conference finale.
“It was a great team win tonight to end the season,” said Tennent coach Laura Whitney. “There was some obvious emotion before and after the game with it being Senior Night, but I was so happy for our three seniors.
“The three of them were instrumental in our success this year. Not only did we improve our wins from last year, but we were probably two wins away from districts.”
In a team effort that saw eight different players contribute to the scoring, Tennent built a 4-point lead after one quarter, then extended it to 11 at the half. A dominating 18-3 Tennent advantage in the third helped put the game out of Truman’s reach.
Reimel led all scorers with 18 points, including 10 in the second half. Hart finished with 11 points (7 in the second half), and Courtney Bragen joined the senior duo in double digits with 10 points.
Hannah Smith led Truman with 10 points (6 in the fourth quarter). Dahlia Gumaa added 8 for the Tigers (0-12 SOL National, 4-18 overall).
With the victory, Tennent finishes the season at 3-9 SOL National, 8-13 overall.
“This is my first senior class that I was able to coach all the way through,” Whitney said. “I feel like we will always share a special connection since we started this journey together. We’ve certainly had our ups and downs, but like they say, you must first struggle before you succeed. We have grown together and our program is heading in the right direction.
“I’m so proud of the resiliency our girls showed all year, but especially after our heartbreaking loss on Tuesday (a 40-39 loss to Council Rock South). This season has been a bit of a roller coaster, but the way we came together as a team the last 3 weeks has been incredible. It’s unfortunate that our season is over because we have been playing really well lately and you’d love to keep it going.”
Harry S Truman 3-7-3-11 24
William Tennent 7-11-18-15 51
Harry S Truman (24)—Hannah Smith 3 3-7 10; Secret McCleve 1 0-4 2; Dahlia Gumma 4 0-2 8; Ava Kalor 0 1-2 1; Saniya Blount 0 1-2 1; Valentina Munoz 1 0-0 2. Totals 8 5-17 24.
William Tennent (51)—Olivia Kaczmarek 0 1-3 1; Alyssa Lewicki 0 2-2 2; Direidy Serrano 0 2-2 2; Hannah Reimel 7 2-3 18; Chase Dubzak 2 0-0 6; Courtney Bragen 5 0-2 10; Kirsten Scott 0 1-2 1; Erin Hart 3 5-9 11; Kailyn Hansen 0 0-1 0. Totals 17 11-24 57.
Continental Conference
North Penn 59, Pennridge 44
North Penn struggled out of the gate following the emotion of Senior Night festivities. The Knights trailed by 8 after one quarter in Thursday’s game against SOL Continental Conference opponent Pennridge. But the Knights found their footing in the second quarter, posting 23 points to roar back to take a 30-26 halftime lead. North Penn then doubled up the Rams 20-10 in the third quarter to pull away to an eventual 59-44 victory.
“We were out of sorts. Senior Night can be a distraction, so I kind of laid into them a bit at the end of the first quarter,” said North Penn coach Jen Carangi. “To their credit, the second quarter and third quarter we took control. In the second quarter, we played great. We came out and got defensive stops, rebounded the ball and were scoring on the offensive end.
“Someone was talking to me at the end of the game and asked how our team changed from the beginning of the year until now. Early in the season, even though we have an older team, a more experienced team, I don’t know if we would have been able to climb back from that. Pennridge is just so solid. When they are making shots, any one of them can step up and knock down 2s, 3s and they drive. They’re tough. I kept thinking, ‘If they’re making shots, we could be in for a really long night here,’ and to the girls’ credit, they really stepped up and played well.”
Despite giving up her starting role to help honor the seniors, Alli Lindsay still finished with a game-high 18 points for North Penn, including 11 points in the third quarter. Val McGriff finished with 15 – 10 to ignite the Knights in the second quarter.
“To Alli’s credit, she didn’t start tonight because we have five seniors, and our one senior who doesn’t get a whole lot of time — Meg Cleary — got to start tonight and did a solid job when she was in there,” Carangi said. “Alli didn’t get in until the end of the first quarter, so it took her a little time to get things going.
“In the second quarter, Val — everybody was looking for her, and she was just catching the ball, going to the basket. She played really, really well.
“In the third quarter, Alli was not only scoring but just knowing when to push, when to pull back, constantly looking for people down the floor. The third quarter the confidence really started coming, and Alli played really, really well in that quarter.”
Katie Yoder led Pennridge with 14 points, including 8 in the first quarter to help stake the Rams out to a 15-7 lead after one quarter. Julia Kreider added 9 for Pennridge, which finishes the season at 4-8 in the Continental Conference but finishes with a winning record overall at 11-10. The Rams are 19th in the District One 6A power rankings.
North Penn – 10th in the power rankings – finishes at 8-4 SOL Continental, tied with Central Bucks East in second place, and 15-6 overall.
Pennridge 15-11-10-8 44
North Penn 7-23-20-9 59
Pennridge (44)—Grace Rosica 1 0-4 3, Sophie Cweiber 1 0-0 3, Katie Yoder 5 0-0 14, Julia Kreider 4 0-1 9, Emma Pyne 1 0-0 3, Evelyn Loughery 3 0-1 6, Ryan Hodder 3 0-0 6. Totals 18 0-6 44.
North Penn (59)—Laynie Doran 1 0-0 2; Abby Plaugher 1 1-2 3; Alli Lindsay 7 2-2 18; Rachel Dunn 1 0-2 2; Imani Plaza 1 0-0 2; Alaina Mullaly 1 0-2 2; Kate Early 2 2-2 6; Carley Adams 3 1-2 9; Val McGriff 7 1-2 15. Totals 24 7-12 59.
Souderton 44, Quakertown 16
Mikaela Reese was part of back-to-back conference championships her sophomore and junior years, not to mention the league and district title and state semifinal appearance during her sophomore year.
On Thursday night, Souderton’s lone senior and only returning starter was honored with an outpouring of love and appreciation before the Indians’ game against Quakertown. And once the opening tipoff came, Reese showed exactly what makes her so special.
The senior captain scored 8 points and added 5 steals, 4 assists, and 2 blocked shots as Souderton downed Quakertown 44-16. With the win, a Souderton squad loaded with inexperienced underclassmen completed a remarkable 16-6 regular season (7-5 SOL Continental) and exceeded all expectations.
“It all starts with Mikaela,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “Obviously, what she does for us on the court — she’s involved in almost every made basket. She’s either scoring it or assisting one of her teammates. As a post player who leads the team in assists, steals, rebounds and points, what she does on the court is huge.
“The fact that our leading scorer also leads the team in assists means we don’t care who’s scoring the baskets. Everybody follows her lead, and that is not even close to who we were in the summertime, in the fall, or even December. We were nowhere near where we are now, and it all starts with Mikaela and her mindset of, ‘I want to help this team become as good as they possibly can be this year and beyond.’ And she’s done that all season. Everybody just follows her lead.”
Among the 10 different players who contributed to the scoring, freshman Casey Harter netted a game-high 11 points. Jordan Zimmerman chipped in 6.
Souderton led 12-0 after one quarter and increased the advantage to 21 points at the half.
Carolyn Sipprell led Quakertown (0-12, 4-17) with 8 points. Abigail Dickson added 4. The Panthers finish their season at 6:45 p.m. Friday at Pen Argyl Area High School for a nonleague game.
Quakertown 0-4-8-4 16
Souderton 12-13-13-6 44
Quakertown (16)—Carolyn Sipprell 2 4-4 8; Abigail Dickson 1 2-2 4; Katie Hagerty 1 0-0 2; Abigail McClaskey 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 6-6 16.
Souderton (44)—Jordan Zimmerman 3 0-0 6; Erin Bohmueller 0 0-0 0; Olivia Schneider 2 0-1 4; Casey Harter 5 1-2 11; Hannah Alderfer 1 1-2 3; Hayley Fenchel 2 1-2 5; Mikaela Reese 4 0-0 8; Rachel Schewe 0 1-2 1; Nikki Hamilton 0 1-2 1; Abby Tuttle 1 1-1 3; Teya McConnaha 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 6-12 44.
Central Bucks West 59, Central Bucks South 33
Central Bucks South kept it close with league-leading Central Bucks West for the first half of Thursday’s Continental Conference matchup. The Titans trailed the powerhouse Bucks by 10 heading into the break.
Then West’s Maddie Burke started raining down three-pointers in the third quarter. Burke sank 3 treys among her 11 third-quarter points (14 for the game) as the Bucks pulled away and completed an undefeated league season by downing the Titans.
Olivia Irons scored 12 for the Bucks (including 3 three-pointers), while Emily Spratt added 10.
With the victory, Central Bucks West completes a perfect 12-0 season as Continental Conference champions. The Bucks stand at 18-4 overall, and are ranked third in the district. They will square off against SOL National Conference co-champion Pennsbury at noon on Saturday at Bensalem High School in the semifinals of the Suburban One Championship Tournament. As the higher seed, the Bucks will be the home team for the semifinal.
Mary Kate McShane and Samantha Waltrich led Central Bucks South with 6 points each. Alyssa D’Orazio added 4 in an offensive performance that saw 10 different players contribute to the scoring.
The Titans close out the season at 3-9 SOL Continental, 9-13 overall.
Central Bucks South 11-6-6-10 33
Central Bucks West 18-9-20-12 59
Central Bucks South (33)—Maddie White 1 0-0 3; Mary Kate McShane 2 2-2 6; Taylor Hinkle 1 0-0 2; Alyssa D’Orazio 2 0-0 4; Mackenzie Erb 1 0-0 3; Allie Burke 1 1-2 3; Kirsten Schaller 1 0-0 2; Allison Sauers 1 0-0 2; Samantha Waltrich 2 0-0 6; Caroline McSorley 1 0-2 2. Totals 13 3-4 33.
Central Bucks West (59)—Paige Gilbert 3 0-0 7; Olivia Irons 4 1-1 12; Emily Spratt 5 0-0 10; Maggie McCusker 1 0-0 2; Jess Broskey 3 2-2 8; Maddie Burke 5 0-0 14; Maddy McGarry 1 0-0 2; Lilly Evans 1 0-0 2; Abby Lineman 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 3-3 59.
American Conference
Plymouth Whitemarsh 65, Hatboro-Horsham 36
For a young team with no seniors, Plymouth Whitemarsh’s girls’ basketball team set some pretty lofty goals for itself this season. One of the most 
important was to win the Suburban One League American Conference title.
After rolling through much the league season undefeated and with the prize within reach, the Colonials were upended on Feb. 1 with a loss to second-place Upper Dublin.
The Colonials faced the final two games of the season knowing they had to win both in order to claim the title outright. After defeating Upper Moreland on Tuesday, PW entered Thursday’s season finale knowing that a win would give the team the title.
The Colonials left no doubt, jumping out to a 19-8 lead after one quarter and extending their advantage to 20 points at halftime as the Colonials rolled past Hatboro-Horsham to secure sole possession of the SOL American Conference crown.
“We are so proud of our girls — this is our third league championship in four years, and for this group, it’s special to them because this one is theirs,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “A few of them were on the team a few years ago, but this one is special to them.
“We jumped out to a lead in the first quarter and separated in the second and third quarters. The girls played with a lot of great energy. They really had a sense of urgency to wanting to win the league outright and not have a co-championship. At the beginning of the season, we set a goal to try and win the league championship, and these girls achieved it.”
In a true team effort, 11 different players contributed to the scoring for PW, with Gabby Cooper and Anna McTamney each scoring 10 to lead the Colonials.
“Gabby Cooper was really good tonight,” Dougherty said. “She and Anna both had several steals and transition points as well. Gabby Cooper’s defense tonight was really outstanding. She caused a lot of live ball turnovers, which was able to get us into our transition offense.
“It was another great balanced night. It was a great team win and kind of the epitome of the way this team has played all year.”
Kaitlyn Flanagan added 9 points for PW, while Fiona Gooneratne chipped in with 8.
Cam Ryan led the Hatters with a game-high 12 points. Emily Thomas added 6. The Hatters – 20th in the District One 6A power rankings – finish the season 7-7 SOL American, 11-11 overall.
The Colonials, meanwhile, hold the top seed in the District One Power Rankings, and enter the SOL League Championship Tournament as the top seed. They will square off in a semifinal game at Bensalem High School at 6 p.m. Saturday in the rubber match between themselves and conference rival Upper Dublin, which carries the eighth seed in the District and makes the tournament as the highest-ranked non-conference champion. The teams split their two meetings this season — PW won 47-25 on Jan. 8, then the Cardinals handed the Colonials their only league loss with a 39-26 victory on Feb. 1.
“It is what it is — at least I’m not chasing film on a team I’ve never seen before,” Dougherty said. “We know what we have to prepare for. It’s just a matter of executing and finding a way.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 19-16-10-20 65
Hatboro-Horsham 8-5-9-14 36
Plymouth Whitemarsh (65)—Kaitlyn Flanagan 3 3-3 9; Fiona Gooneratne 3 0-0 8; Abby Sharpe 1 0-0 3; Erin Daley 1 0-0 2; Chloe McGrorty 2 0-0 5; Gabrielle Cooper 5 0-0 10; Anna McTamney 5 0-0 10; Jordyn Thomas 3 1-2 7; Lily Belle McGrorty 1 0-0 2; Deja Evans 3 0-2 6; Friday 1 0-0 3.
Hatboro-Horsham (36)—Emily Thomas 2 2-2 6; Camryn Ryan 4 1-2 12; Sydney Kemp 1 0-0 2; Jessica Howard 1 2-6 4; Graceanne Griffis 2 0-0 6; Alice Hall 2 0-0 4; Paige Cole 1 0-0 2.
Upper Dublin 61, Springfield Twp 18
Jackie Vargas scored 12 of her game-high 15 points in the first half as one of three players to register double-doubles.
Vargas registered 10 rebounds in addition to her 15 points (she also added 5 blocked shots). Kara Grebe scored 14 and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Anajae Smith added 12 (all in the first half) points and grabbed a whopping 17 boards for the Flying Cardinals, including 11 on the offensive end. While the offense was firing on all cylinders, the Cardinal defense held the visitors to just four first-half points as the Cards led 43-4 at the break.
Upper Dublin coach Morgan Funsten had plenty of praise for his seniors.
“Tonight was our Senior Night, and a great chance to celebrate six girls who have accomplished some really great things over their four years,” Funsten said. “I was talking to them before the game about how I have known most of them since they were in fifth and sixth grade coming to our summer camps and how much I have seen them grow.
“This is the biggest senior class in the past eight years and they have put in a ton of time and effort to this program and I am very proud and grateful for them. Tess Harper has been a four-year member of our program who unfortunately had a knee injury during her past AAU season but made major improvements to her game over the years. Brianna Felgoise has a special talent for putting the ball in the basket and has a great attitude. Jackie Gorman is a very good basketball player but is such a great teammate and person. She loves to compete and constantly brings energy to the team during practices and games. Anajae Smith is a player who has always put her individual needs behind the team needs and it is not a coincidence that we have played our best of the season since she has returned.”
Funsten continued, “Kara Grebe is the only two-year captain I have ever had, and the expectations we put on our captains can be overburdening but she has been a great teammate and leader. She does a ton of things on the court that do not always show up in the box score that help make is successful. I am very proud that Kara is playing basketball at Gettysburg next year. And we knew Jackie Vargas was a special talent the moment we saw her back in sixth grade, but what she has been able to accomplish individually and what she has helped our team accomplish has been remarkable. She can still continue to get better and I am excited about what will happen to her game as she continues to play at Lehigh.”
Emily Smith led Springfield with 6 points. Maddie Yoder added 4. The Spartans finish the season at 1-13 SOL American, 4-17 overall.
Upper Dublin closes out the regular season at 12-2 SOL American (16-6 overall) for second place in the conference. The senior class and the rest of the Cards will now focus on League Championship Tournament. Upper Dublin is seeded eighth in the district power rankings and will advance to the postseason tournament as the highest-seeded non-conference championship squad. The Cards will face a familiar opponent in Saturday’s semifinal, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Bensalem High School. They will take on top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh in the rubber match between the two teams. PW topped Upper Dublin 47-25 on Jan. 8, and the Cardinals handed the Colonials their only league loss with a 39-26 victory on Feb. 1.
“We are ready to try and make some noise in the postseason,” Funsten said.
Springfield Twp 2-2-9-5 18
Upper Dublin 21-22-9-9 61
Springfield Twp (18)—Annie Coll 0 2-2 2; Rileigh Serroni 0 1-4 1; Maddie Yoder 1 2-6 4; Emily Smith 3 0-2 6; Emily Guicheteau 1 0-0 3; Allison Briggs 1 0-0 2. Totals 6 5-14 18.
Upper Dublin (61)—Anajae Smith 6 0-1 12; Brianna Felgoise 1 3-4 6; Jess Polin 0 2-2 2; Kara Grebe 6 0-0 14; Jackie Gorman 2 2-4 7; Dayna Balasa 1 2-2 5; Jackie Vargas 6 3-4 15. Totals 22 12-15 61.
Abington 65, Cheltenham 40
Cheltenham kept the game within reach for as long as it could, but a solid third-quarter defensive effort let visiting Abington extend a 12-point lead to 19 as the Ghosts pulled away for a victory over their neighboring rivals.
“This was our last game and the girls played their heart out,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “We had a lot of growth this season and we’re excited for what the future holds.”
Though the Panthers hung tough, they could not contain freshman Cire Worley, who finished with a game-high 21 points. Jaida Helm scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half for Abington, which finishes the season in third place in the American Conference at 9-5 (12-10 overall).
The Panthers received a 15-point effort from Umayrah Sulayman, who shot 5-for-6 from the foul line in the second half. Assata Robinson scored all 7 of her points in the first half, while Nailah Johnson sank a three-pointer in each half to account for her 6 points.
Cheltenham ends its season at 2-12 SOL American, 6-16 overall.
Abington 18-20-9-18 65
Cheltenham 13-12-2-13 40
Abington (65)—Cire Worley 21, Krysten Brown 3, Abril Bowser 7, Hope Brouwer-Ancher 4, Allison Holden 3, Isabella Kronfeld 3, Jaida Helm 13, Amanda Jackson 5, Khalis Whiting 6.
Cheltenham (40)—Maycie Cedeno 2, Assata Robinson 7, Umayrah Sulayman 15, Tyrina Ragsdale 4, Nailah Johnson 6, Keara Clay 2, Kyla Ogden 4.
Upper Moreland 61, Wissahickon 41
Bean Hughes capped off a stellar senior season with five three-pointers among her game-high 29 points as Upper Moreland secured a winning record overall in a 61-41 victory over American Conference foe Wissahickon on Thursday.
It added up to a memorable Senior Night for the Golden Bears.
“Senior nights are always special to us,” coach Matt Carroll said. “We’ve always enjoyed all of our senior classes, but this was is extra special to our coaches. They were our first group of freshmen on a team that really struggled. They stuck with us over the years and we’ve come such a long way since their first year and today was the perfect celebration for four amazing seniors.
“Our non-seniors were awesome setting up for a great night. Going into the game, we weren’t sure if Bean was going to play. She sprained her ankle early in the PW game and we didn’t know until about three o’clock if she was playing tonight.”
Hughes spread out her scoring, netting 14 in the first half and 15 after the break. The Golden Bears – thanks to an 18-4 second quarter – erased an early deficit and took a 29-17 lead into halftime.
“The plan was to go zone and to Wissahickon’s credit they did a great job against it,” Carroll said. “They made extra passes, offensive rebounded well, and made shots. We had no choice but to go man. They still gave us some issues, especially (Anna) Schools, but overall playing man kind of fueled us.
“Bean was awesome tonight offensively. At times, they went big and she shot from the outside. When they went smaller we fed her inside. She makes my job easier because we just take advantage of the advantage and let her go to work. It was so much more than just Bean though. Every girl who got in the game contributed. I’m so happy for the girls and our seniors to finish the game on a high note. Now it’s time for a couple of days off and then get ready to win our first playoff game in a long time.”
EmmyFaith Wood added 12 for the Golden Bears, including 8 points in the second quarter on the strength of one trey plus 5-for-6 shooting from the foul line.
Wissahickon led 13-11 after the first quarter, but a dominant second-quarter effort by the Bears put the game out of reach.
Anna Schools led the Trojans with 16 points, including 8 in the fourth quarter. Kylie Friedman added 7.
With the victory, Upper Moreland – 10th in the District One 5A power rankings – ends the regular season at 8-6 in the SOL American Conference, 12-10 overall. Wissahickon ends the season at 4-10 SOL American, 8-14 overall.
Wissahickon 13-4-8-16 41
Upper Moreland 11-18-12-20 61
Wissahickon (41)—Lily Hyatt 1 0-0 3; Anna Schools 6 1-2 16; Leah Dubin 1 2-3 5; Kylie Friedman 3 0-0 7; Rebecca Selverian 0 1-2 1; Julia Verrier 0 1-2 1; Libby Kunzier 1 0-2 2; Kaitlyn McGeary 0 3-4 3; Lauren Fadel 1 1-3 3. Totals 13 9-18 41.
Upper Moreland (61)—Kathryn Morrow 0 2-2 2; Kaiya Herb 1 0-0 2; EmmyFaith Wood 2 6-9 12; Kaitie Opferman 1 1-2 4; Emma Meakim 1 0-0 3; AbbyEllen Wood 2 0-0 4; Bean Hughes 11 2-4 29; Hannah Finn 1 0-0 3; Kiera Coyle 1 0-2 2. Totals 18 11-19 61.
Nonleague
Bensalem 63, Executive Education Academy Charter HS 16
Bensalem celebrated Senior Night with a dominating performance over Allentown’s Executive Education Academy Charter High School in Thursday’s nonleague matchup.
Sam Daut led the Owls with a career-best 12-point game despite giving up her starting spot for Senior Night.
“On a day filled with a lot of emotion we got out to a hot start and didn’t look back,” said Bensalem coach Sheldon Per. “Sam Daut, who is usually a starter, came off the bench because of our Senior Night activities. Sam didn’t waste any time putting up her career high in points off the bench.”
Bensalem also received 10-point efforts from Haley Keenan and Pooja Singameni.
“Pooja was a huge spark off the bench as well, especially on the defensive side of things,” Per said.
Bensalem – the 21st seed in the District One 6A rankings – improves to 12-9 overall (7-5, third place SOL National) and will close out the regular season at 4 p.m. Wednesday by hosting New Hope-Solebury.
“We’re looking to bring the same intensity in our season finale against New Hope,” Per said.
EEAC 5-3-3-5 16
Bensalem 22-17-15-9 63
EEAC (16)—Ferra 7, Johnson 6, Diaz 3.
Bensalem (63)—Averi McCoy 4, Sam Daut 12, Pooja Singameni 10, Emily Wineburg 2, Mia Parker 5, Haley Keenan 10, Chloe Munyon 4, Taylor Hood 5, Kylie Smith 2, Erin Devlin 6, Maddie McDougall 3.
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