Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action. To view photos of the Souderton/Quakertown game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 45, UPPER MERION 29
The Flying Cardinals have had plenty of reasons to fold this season, but they never have. Three days after falling to Plymouth Whitemarsh by one point, they showed their resiliency and character with a no-doubt-about-it win over a Viking squad that handed the Cardinals their first league loss on Jan. 14.
Friday’s win clinched sole possession of a second consecutive SOL American Conference title for the Flying Cardinals.
“I have never seen my girls more excited to play a game than they were tonight because of what happened last time,” coach Morgan Funsten said of his team’s 49-47 loss to the Vikings. “The combination of that and with us losing to PW on Tuesday and the possibility of sharing the conference title – our girls were very motivated to win tonight.”
The Cardinals trailed 7-4 early, but a Jackie Lillo trey knotted the score. By the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals led 11-7. They took a 20-10 lead into halftime, allowing just three points in the second quarter.
“We had a really, really good second quarter defensively,” Funsten said. “We gave up a three-point shot, and that was it.
“The only reason it was a 10-point game is that we missed some shots we normally make. I was very pleased at halftime with how we were playing.
The Cardinals used a 16-11 third quarter to go on top 36-21. Larissa Leyes provided a spark for the Cardinals, scoring eight points in a one-minute span when she connected on a pair of treys and a two.
“Upper Merion was answering at the time, so it was very important for her to be doing what she was doing,” Funsten said. “She kept us at the distance we wanted to keep Upper Merion at because Regie (Robinson) is such a dynamic player, and she was making plays in the third quarter that only she can make.
“I have watched Upper Merion about five times this year, and they come out ready to play. They’re not afraid of being down. They can play in any situation.”
Allison Chernow, who finished with 10 points, nailed some clutch foul shots down the stretch to help seal the win. Leyes finished with 10 points, and Regan Gallagher had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“One of our goals was to win every quarter, and we won every quarter,” Funsten said. “Overall, the girls played a great game defensively.
“I was very proud of our girls. It was Senior Night, and they got to go out with an outright conference championship. If we didn’t take care of business tonight, we would have been sharing it.”
The Cardinals closed out league play with a 12-2 record (18-3 overall).
“The most impressive part about everything that has happened so far is that we stuck together,” Funsten said. “Between last year and this year, we have not lost a lot of games.
“What happened last year when we lost a game – our reaction was not the best. This year has been different. I would call us a more mentally tough team than we were last year, and tonight was a great example of it.
“I thought my girls had the proper mindset going into the PW game on Tuesday. We were not overconfident. We did not lose that game because we thought the league was ours or anything like that. PW played a really good game, we didn’t play our best, and they deserved to win.
“Tonight our mindset was not – hey, Upper Merion beat us the first time, and they got lucky. Our mindset was – this is a tough team, they’re very physical, and we need to match their physicality and we need to match their toughness, and we did a good job of that tonight.”
Regie Robinson scored 18 of Upper Merion’s 29 points. The Vikings closed out league play with an 8-6 record (12-9 overall).
Upper Merion 7 3 11 8-29
Upper Dublin 11 9 16 9-45
WISSAHICKON 45, UPPER MORELAND 27
Bridget Sweeney had a big night for the Trojans, burying three three-pointers and finishing with a game-high 15 points. Teammates Daria Earland and Jessica Steitz both added nine points.
The two teams were deadlocked 7-7 after one quarter, but the Trojans outscored the Golden Bears 9-2 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 16-9 lead. They added to that lead with a 13-6 third quarter that included five points from both Sweeney and Earland.
The Golden Bears were led by the 11-point performance of Lindsay Walder while teammate Karli Lynch added eight points.
The Trojans closed out league play with a 3-11 record while the Golden Bears were 2-12 in the league (4-17 overall).
Upper Moreland 7 2 6 12-27
Wissahickon 7 9 13 16-45
NORRISTOWN at CHELTENHAM (Postponed)
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH at SPRINGFIELD (Postponed to Monday, Feb. 10)
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS 44, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 33
It was a good night for a Titan team coming off back-to-back losses, not so good for a Patriot squad looking to close out its season strong.
“(This) was really important coming off our games against West and Souderton where we didn’t finish the way we wanted to,” South senior Lauren Mosher said. “To kind of turn it around here, especially for me being a senior and my last regular season game, this felt really good, especially against one of our rivals.”
Mosher scored just four points but had a big game under the backboards with nine rebounds. More importantly, she and Alysha Lofton teamed up defensively to limit high-scoring senior center Courtney Webster to just two first quarter points.
“At practice earlier today, our coach said I would have to guard Webster, knowing that she’s obviously 20 inches taller than me,” Lofton said. “I realized with the help of my teammates I could easily do that.”
The Titans also had a sensational night at the foul line, connecting on 19-of-20 for the game, which included a perfect 10-for-10 effort in the fourth quarter.
“It’s our last regular season game,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “We talked about how we wanted to end our regular season. We wanted to play the way we think represents what our team is. Tonight it was getting to the foul line, and we made the most of it.
“It’s all you can ask for – to end playing your best and go into the next part of the season the best you can.”
The Titans – sparked by treys from Emma Gardy and Taylor Dunn – led 10-7 at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 24-19 at halftime. Dunn led the Titans with eight points while sophomore point guard Chloe Entenberg added seven.
East scored the first point of the second half when Katelyn Miller, who had a game-high 11 points, connected on one-of-two from the foul line. The Titans answered eight straight points – including back-to-back buckets by Lofton – to go on top 32-20. The Patriots made it a 32-23 game when Kyra Scaliti sank one-of-two from the foul line early in the fourth quarter, but the Titans spent the remainder of the quarter burying their foul shots as they rolled to the double-digit win.
“In the second half, they were just really denying the ball inside, which is a credit to them,” East coach Liz Potash said. “That’s what has been working well for us.
“We weren’t able to make the adjustments we needed to do. There wasn’t a lot of energy tonight from the start.
While Miller led all scorers with 11 points, teammate Karoline White added seven. No other East player had more than four.
The Titans, meanwhile, received balanced scoring. Lofton led the way with 10, Entenberg had nine and Dunn and Kaley Smith had eight each.
While the Patriots closed out league play with an 8-6 record (13-7 overall), the Titans locked up a tie for a share of second place with a 10-4 league mark (17-5 overall).
“This just means that we’re ready for the playoffs,” Lofton said. “It doesn’t mean that we were stronger or weaker. It just means we’re prepared for what’s coming up.”
Central Bucks South 10 14 8 12-44
Central Bucks East 7 12 3 11-33
SOUDERTON 73, QUAKERTOWN 29
The Indians celebrated Senior Night with a big win that ensured them a share of second place in the SOL Continental Conference standings. Senior Bianca Picard led all scorers with 26 points to go along with six assists and six rebounds while senior Allison Gallagher added 15 points and senior Katie O’Connor, eight points. Junior Sarah Derstein also had eight points to go along with seven rebounds.
Quakertown was led by the 14-point effort of Ashlee Ruzicka.
The Indians led 18-12 after one quarter and then blew the game wide open with a 24-6 second quarter.
Souderton closed out its regular season with a 10-4 record in league play (16-6 overall) while the Panthers are 0-14 in the league (1-20 overall).
Quakertown 12 6 4 7-29
Souderton 18 24 15 16-73
NORTH PENN 77, PENNRIDGE 36 (Thursday, Feb. 6)
Two nights after clinching sole possession of the SOL Continental Conference title, the Lady Knights celebrated Senior Night with a no-doubt-about-it win over the Lady Rams. The Lady Knights – whose fans added to the festivities with a ‘Silent Night’ - sprinted to a 25-10 lead at the end of one quarter and extended that to 46-17 by halftime on their way to the big win.
“I was happy that we didn’t let down after such an emotional and good win on Tuesday night, and we played better defensively against them than we did the first time we played them,” North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire said.
Senior Vicky Tumasz led all scorers with 24 points. Freshman Sam Carangi added 14 while senior Erin Maher turned in another standout effort, contributing nine points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots.
Ashley George led the Lady Rams with 11 points, which included a pair of three-pointers. Alex Villella added six points. Jess Tennett led the Lady Rams on the boards with seven rebounds while Shelby Schoonover and Lydia Konstanzer both had six rebounds.
North Penn closed out its regular season with a 12-2 mark in league play (19-3 overall) while Pennridge sees its season come to an end with a 4-10 league record (8-14 overall).
North Penn 25 21 23 8-77
Pennridge 10 7 11 8-36
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST at HATBORO-HORSHAM (Postponed to Monday, Feb. 10)
National Conference
NESHAMINY 59, PENNSBURY 21
The Redskins raced to a 20-2 lead after one quarter and took a 42-7 lead into halftime on their way to a convincing win that clinched at least a share of the SOL National Conference crown.
“The press was great right away,” coach Joe Lally said. “We had balanced scoring – the kids shared the ball.
“They started fast, and I know they wanted to stay fast. The girls really knew that we had to keep the pedal to the metal to get it done.”
Sophomore Morgan Goldenbaum scored all 14 of her points in the first half. McKenna Mullin had 12 points in the opening half and finished with a game-high 15 points.
“A lot of those were from the press,” Lally said. “We really started to beat them up and down the floor. The game was uptempo, the way we like to play. There wasn’t a lot of halfcourt.”
Another key to the win was the ‘Skins ability to contain Falcon standout Sajanna Bethea, who scored 11 points.
“I have to give Sarah Oliveira a ton of credit – she did a great job on Sajanna tonight,” Lally said.
Oliveira also had 12 points and eight rebounds. Senior point guard Megan Schafer contributed 11 assists and seven steals. As a team, the Redskins had 21 steals. Stephanie Donohue had five steals.
“It was a big win against our rivals,” Lally said. “It was nice for the kids.”
Only a win over Bensalem on Saturday separates the Redskins (16-3, 12-1 SOL) from sole possession of the conference crown. The Falcons closed out the regular season 7-7 in league play (9-12 overall).
Pennsbury 2 5 5 9-21
Nesahminy 20 22 13 4-59
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 39, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 22
The Indians put on a defensive clinic, limiting the Golden Hawks to just 22 points.
“I give the girls all the credit,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “You go in there as a coach with a game plan, but when I saw how intense my girls were in my man-to-man defense, it was – okay, coaching plans are out the window. We’re not going to switch defenses, we’re not going to throw in presses, we’re not going to throw in our halfcourt traps. We’re playing man because their intensity was just so great.
“I said to them, ‘The last time I saw this kind of intensity in our halfcourt man was the last time we played South in the fourth quarter and came back from 10 down (for a 58-57 win). I’m throwing everything out the window.’ I just give the girls all the credit. They had 19 points going into their last possession before they scored a three at the buzzer. I just think they really wanted it. I’m happy for them.”
The Indians – who evened their overall record at 10-10 (8-5 SOL) – are on the bubble in terms of earning a district berth.
“I thought we played well in spurts against Neshaminy, and obviously, South is coming off a big win against Neshaminy,” Palkovics said. “For the first time in my pregame talk – I’m not only doing my pregame, I’m telling my girls it’s time for a sense of urgency because we need these games.
“I don’t know what the (district) seeds are, but Monica (Stolic) called me a couple of days ago and said that it looks like we’re the 34th seed”
The 34th seed is not good enough for the district playoffs, and this would be the first time in Palkovics’ tenure at the helm that the Indians would not receive an invitation to districts.
“I thought we let Conestoga slip away, I thought we let Haverford slip away, and I just appealed to them – I know I only have one senior (Katie Budny), but I was kind of pushing that to them,” the Indians’ coach said. “I said, ‘Between now and playing Abington on Saturday, we might not play with her again.’”
Jessica Gerber had a big game for the Indians, leading all scorers with 20 points to go along with two rebounds, two assists and one steal. Madison Attanasio added eight points, three rebounds, two steals, one charge taken and three assists. She also was assigned the task of defending Taylor Dillon and limited the high-scoring point guard to just five points.
“Maddie just shut her down,” Palkovics said.
Emily Mackin added six points and seven rebounds for the Indians.
The Golden Hawks led 9-8 at the end of one quarter, but they managed just two points in a second quarter that saw the Indians go on top 17-11 by halftime. The score was 31-19 after three quarters.
For Palkovics, playing against South is tough for reasons that go beyond the natural rivalry between the two schools.
“What makes it so tough is Monica and I are probably the closest coaching friends,” he said. “We talk all the time about all the teams.
“It’s funny because the week before we play South – we don’t talk for three or four days before the game.”
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Golden Hawks, who are 7-6 in league play (9-12 overall).
Council Rock South 9 2 8 3-22
Council Rock North 8 9 14 8-39
ABINGTON 67, BENSALEM 25
The Ghosts led 15-10 after one quarter and then outscored the Owls 44-12 over the next two on their way to the big win. Michael Harris led the Ghosts with 15 points while Sammy Lochner added 13 and Deja Rawls, 12 points. Samantha Wirth led the Owls with nine points.
The Ghosts are 11-2 in league play (15-6 overall) while the Owls fell to 1-11 in the league (2-18 overall).
Bensalem 10 5 7 3-25
Abington 15 23 21 8-67
WILLIAM TENNENT 58, HARRY S TRUMAN 39
Khristaijah Jackson scored 20 points to surpass the historical 1,000-point plateau, but the Panthers came out on top on the scoreboard. Senior Nikki Alden scored a game-high 22 points while Angie Pomponio added 15 and Kyla Gibson, nine points.
The Tigers led 10-8 after one quarter, but the Panthers seized control of the game with an 18-6 second quarter to go into halftime with a 26-16 lead.
The Panthers are 6-8 in league play (12-9 overall) while the Tigers fell to 1-13 (4-16 overall).
William Tennent 8 18 17 15-58
Harry S Truman 10 6 9 14-39
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