Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Monday.
SOL Liberty Division
Wissahickon 52, Quakertown 51
Kylie Friedman scored the game-winner at the buzzer, propelling the Trojans to the dramatic Senior Night win. The ending had more than a few anxious moments for both sides.
“We were up by three, and there was a foul,” Wissahickon coach Rodney Cline said. “It’s a one-and-one, and their girl hits two. We come down, and we lose the ball bringing the ball up the court. It’s a scramble for the ball – we get it back, then they’d get it back, then we’d get it back. The refs let us play.
“Quakertown gets the ball, and Carolyn Sipprell scores with about 12 seconds left. We get the ball in, coach (Brittany Bamford) is trying to call a timeout. The ref had already given us the ball, so they couldn’t call a timeout. We got the ball in, and we had no timeouts left. Kaitlyn (McGeary) passed it in to (Eva) Schools, and Schools passed it to Friedman.
“Friedman came up the right side of the court. She’s getting double teamed. A girl meets her at the short corner, she throws up a runner – nothing but net, the buzzer goes off, we win the game. The kids were jumping and screaming.”
Early on, the Trojans erupted for 27 points in the first quarter, opening up a 27-14 lead.
“In the first quarter, it was like an ocean out there – anything we put up, it was going in,” Cline said. “We just played with a nice flow. Girls were seeing each other, penetrating, kicking, catch and shoot. Everything you wish your team would do, it was just executed, and I’m proud of them that way.
“Basketball is a game of runs. I don’t think we scored 27 points collectively in the last three quarters. Give them credit – they played good defense. We just need to play a little more disciplined basketball – that’s what we continue to preach.”
The Trojans still led 38-29 at the intermission but saw the Panthers trim their lead to 44-38 heading into the final frame. The outcome came down to the wire.
McGeary and Friedman led the Trojans with 15 points each. Julia Verrier added 11.
“The girls made plays to win the game,” Cline said. “Kaitlyn McGeary took three charges. We had to faceguard Sipprell – she was a tough guard for us. Kenya Williams faceguarded her in the second half, and Kylie made a big shot. I’m happy for them. Senior Night was good – it was a good way to send the seniors off. It was a collective team effort.”
For the Panthers, Sipprell (15 points) and Katie Catalano (15 points) led the way. Laney Mitchell chipped in six points.
Wissahickon (8-12, 5-9 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Tuesday, and Quakertown (8-12, 4-10) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Quakertown 14-15-9-13 51
Wissahickon 27-11-6-8 52
Quakertown (51) – Carolyn Sipprell 7 4-4 19, Katie Catalano 5 1-2 15; Katie Hagerty 2 0-0 4; Laney Mitchell 3 0-0 6; Maureen Healy 1 0-0 2; Addyson Davis 0 3-4 3; Leah Mestayer 0 2-2 2. TOTALS 18 10-12 51.
Wissahickon (52) – Evan Schools 2 0-0 5; Kylie Friedman 7 0-0 15; Julia Verrier 4 1-2 12; Emlyn Ebert 1 0-1 3; Kenya Williams 0 0-2 0; Kaitlyn McGeary 7 1-4 15; Chase Dubin 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 22 2-9 52.
3-point goals: Q – Sipprell, Catalano 4; W – Schools, Friedman, Verrier 3, Ebert.
SOL Freedom Division
Cheltenham 38, Springfield Twp 22
Cassie Bugg and Amelia Yevoli played starring roles on both ends of the court as Cheltenham shook off a tough first half and used a 10-0 third quarter to pull away from Springfield Twp and roll to a 38-22 victory in Monday’s Liberty Division contest.
Bugg scored 9 points for the Lady Panthers, and Yevoli added 6. They were responsible for the only two 3-pointers of the game, but their efforts under the boards made a huge difference on this night.
“Cassie Bugg and Amelia Yevoli did an amazing job on the boards and hit some big shots in the second half,” said Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman. “Cassie had 13 rebounds and Amelia had 16. Amelia even had 5 blocks.”
Mikahila Leighton led all scorers, picking up 8 of her 10 points in the second half. Annie Coll led Springfield with 5 points.
“The first half was rough. We missed a ton of shots and picked up a lot of silly fouls,” Bowman said. “The second half we came out with more energy and stepped up our defense. We got physical and started to get better looks on offense. We limited their second chance points and kept them out the paint. Now I’m hoping we can carry this energy into tomorrow’s tough contest against New Hope.”
The Lady Panthers improve to 2-12 in the Freedom Division, 5-15 overall, and host New Hope-Solebury at 7 pm Tuesday before closing out the regular season hosting Springfield at 7 pm Thursday. The Spartans fall to 0-14, 3-15, and will celebrate Senior Night at 7 pm Tuesday against Lower Moreland, before seeing the Lady Panthers again on Thursday.
Cheltenham 9-6-10-13 38
Springfield Twp 5-9-0-6 22
Cheltenham (38) – Mikahila Leighton 5 0-0 10; Janiya Townes-Wakefield 1 0-0 2; Arianna Davis 2 0-0 4; Tyrina Ragsdale 3 0-0 6; Cassie Bugg 4 1-2 9; Amelia Yevoli 2 1-3 6. TOTALS 17 2-5 38.
Springfield Twp (22) – Annie Coll 1 3-3 5; Amma Yoder 0 1-2 1; Samiyyah Thompson 1 1-6 3; Jayla Daniels 1 0-2 2; Delaney Lake 0 1-2 1; Kayla Parson 0 2-2 2; Alana Decker 1 0-0 2; Ashley Jenkins 1 0-2 2; Paige Robinson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 6 8-19 22.
3-point goals: C – Bugg, Yevoli.
Nonleague
Lower Moreland 49, Jenkintown 34
The Lions celebrated Senior Night prior to Monday’s nonleague matchup against neighborhood rival Jenkintown, then junior Liz Neeld put together a stellar effort to help power the hosts to a 49-34 victory.
“I think Liz Neeld had her best game of the year,” said LM coach Richard Becker. “She had 17 points and a ton of steals and deflections. She has such good instincts and is such a good competitor that when she’s that aggressive on both ends of the floor, the other girls feed off of that.”
Neeld—who scored 11 of her game-high 17 in the second half—had plenty of help from several teammates.
“Jess Dugo was more assertive and Amelia Brown played a smart game,” Becker said. “It also helps that Briana McFerran scored 10 points in the second half.”
The Lions held a one-point lead after the opening frame, but a 14-5 second quarter gave Lower Moreland a lead it would never relinquish. While the lead remained comfortable, Jenkintown kept pushing the Lions to the end.
“I think that in the second quarter we started to find our rhythm and were able to take a 10-point lead into the half,” Becker said. “In the second half it was back and forth, every time we would try to pull away it seemed like Katie McGrath would make a steal and either her or Julia Walsh would make a shot. To our girls’ credit, every time they would get the lead down to single digits, someone would make a play on our end.”
McFerran netted three field goals in the final quarter among her 10 points to help ice the game and send off the Lions’ elder stateswomen out on a positive note. As part of Senior Night festivities, several senior players got their share of the spotlight in this win.
“Tonight was our Senior Night and we had a good-sized crowd, I was happy that our girls played well in front of the family and friends,” Becker said. “Unfortunately, there are only five spots on the court and we’ve had some seniors get limited time, so I was happy that Kayla Romanick was able to score our first basket of the game and Grace Curran and Sam Moshinski also got their first varsity starts and played well. I think that set the tone for the rest of the girls once we got back into our regular rotations.
“We have two games left, so hopefully this carries over.”
Lower Moreland (6-8 Freedom Division, 8-10 overall) is right back in action Tuesday at 7 pm against division foe Springfield Twp.
Jenkintown 6-5-11-12 34
Lower Moreland 7-14-16-12 49
Jenkintown (34) – Sarah Cummings 0 1-2 1; Lily O’Brien 3 2-2 8; Katie McGrath 2 7-10 13; Julia Walsh 4 0-2 12. TOTALS 9 10-16 34
Lower Moreland (49) – Tori Finnegan 3 0-0 6; Jess Shein 1 0-0 2; Liz Neeld 7 2-3 17; Jess Dugo 4 2-2 12; Kayla Romanick 1 0-0 2; Brianna McFerran 5 0-0 10. TOTALS 21 4-5 49.
3-point goals: J – McGrath 2, Walsh 4; LM – Neeld; Dugo 2.
Hatboro-Horsham 56, West Chester East 35
The Hatters were strong out of the gate, opening up a 19-14 lead after one quarter and extending that to 34-19 by halftime.
“We played unselfishly tonight,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Eric Glemser said. “We played hard, and the girls were pushing the ball in transition.”
Alice Hall had 10 first-half points, Leah Harrington added seven, and Caroline Shegogue had six points.
Hall led the Hatters with 14 points while Harrington had 11.
“Leah Harrington attacked the basket strong,” Glemser said. “Caroline Shegogue had eight points. She’s been struggling offensively, and she hit some big shots.”
Hatboro-Horsham (10-7, 7-6 SOL) will host Quakertown Tuesday and will be on the road at Upper Dublin Thursday and then will travel to Abington on Friday.
West Chester East 14-5-8-8 35
Hatboro-Horsham 19-15-13-9 56
West Chester East (35) – Annalise Kubasko 6 0-0 13; Annie Kerns 7 2-7 17; Sofia Keith 1 0-0 2; Lyla Flowers 1 1-1 3; Alexa Rogers 0 0-4 0. TOTALS 15 3-12 35.
Hatboro-Horsham (56) – Caroline Shegogue 3 2-3 8; Alice Hall 6 2-2 14; Abby Waeltz 1 0-0 2; Paige Cole 2 0-0 4; Kitty Randa 0 0-2 0; Leah Harrington 5 0-0 11; Emily Nelson 0 1-4 1; Alyssa Tooley 2 0-0 4; Alli Hewish 2 0-0 5; Emily Thomas 2 0-0 4; Sam Hollish 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 24 5-11 56.
3-point goals: WCE – Annalise Kubasko, Annie Kerns; HH Leah Harrington, Alli Hewish, Sam Hollish.
Methacton 59, Neshaminy 50
The visiting Redskins found themselves in an early hole and never could find their way out of it, hanging tough but falling to a highly regarded Warrior squad.
“We fell behind early, they blitzed us early,” Neshaminy coach John Gallagher said. “We were down 15-3 to start the first quarter.
“They ran their offense extremely well. They set up their screens, they screen hard and clean, and they time it off the screens also. They have more than one or two kids that can score, so we weren’t able to focus on Timko as much as we’d like. If you look at the scorebook, she had 29, so we didn’t focus too much on her. In the playoffs, every team has a player like that, so we have to do a little bit better job of recognizing where she is.”
The Redskins, who trailed 18-7 after one quarter, outscored the Warriors 19-13 in the second quarter to make it a 38-31 game at the intermission. Lola Ibarrondo’s 10 points led the Redskins in the half. Reese Zemitis added six points.
For the game, Ibarrono led the Redskins with 20 points to go along with six rebounds. Zemitis added 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists, and Taylor Gurysh had seven points and five rebounds. Anna Soska had four rebounds and two steals. Jess Purdy also had two steals and two assists.
“Lola had a big game scoring-wise,” Gallagher said. “She helps herself by getting offensive rebounds.
“I was concerned about being able to score against them watching them on video. They’re really physical on defense, and it’s great. I wish I could get our team to play with that level of physicality, but for us to be able to score 50 on them – I was pretty satisfied with that. We didn’t turn the ball over much, we got open shots. It wasn’t our greatest shooting day, but they’re a really strong team. Their coach does a great job.
“Every time we closed it – I think we closed it to 36-32 at one time, and they would just open it back up again. They shot extremely well at their gym. It was fun. We’ll be better because we played them. We got some really good non-league games to hopefully have a decent run in the SOL and the district.”
Neshaminy (14-6, 11-3 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North on Tuesday and will be home on Thursday against Bensalem.
Neshaminy 7-19-12-12 50
Methacton 18-13-16-12 59
Neshaminy (50) – Taylor Gurysh 2 2-2 7; Emma Candy 0 1-2 1; Anna Soska 1 2-2 4; Jess Purdy 2 2-2 7; Lola Ibarrondo 6 7-11 20; Reese Zemitis 5 0-0 12. TOTALS 15 15-21 50.
Methacton (59) – Ashley Fisher 0 1-2 1; Cassidy Kropp 2 3-4 7; Reana Torres 1 2-4 5; Nicole Timko 9 8-9 29; tori Bockrath 2 0-0 5; Mairi Smith 5 0-0 10. TOTALS 20 14-19 59.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Reese Zemitis 2, Lola Ibarrondo, Jess Purdy, Taylor Gurysh; Methacton – Nicole Timko 3, Reana Torres, Tori Bockrath.
Villa Joseph Marie 58, Council Rock North 48
Council Rock North kept it close for more than three quarters, and with two minutes to go in the third, the two teams were tied, but Villa Joseph Marie pulled away down the stretch to top the Indians 58-48 in a hard-fought nonleague battle on Monday.
Delaney McCaffry scored 7 points in both the third and fourth quarters among her game-high 23 points. Lizzie Lustig scored all 10 of her points—including 4-for-4 shooting from the foul line—in the second half. Kristen Polinsky finished with 9 points on three 3-pointers, all in the first half.
The Indians trailed by 5 at halftime and narrowed the Villa Jo lead to 39-35 heading into the final frame, but sparked by 7 points from Carly Austin, Villa Jo pulled away for the 10-point lead. Tori Nigro’s 18 points led the Jems.
Council Rock North (2-12 Patriot Division, 3-15 overall) returns to action at 7:15 pm Tuesday, hosting Neshaminy.
Council Rock North 12-10-13-13 48
Villa Joseph Marie 15-12-12-19 58
Council Rock North (48) – Lizzie Lustig 3 4-4 10; Delaney McCaffry 10 0-0 23; Riley Hamilton 1 0-0 2; Kristen Polinsky 3 0-0 9; Ruth O’Keeffe 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 19 4-4 48.
Villa Joseph Marie (58) – T Nigro 6 3-4 18; Haley Magilton 1 2-3 4; Emma Hagan 2 0-0 4; Carly Austin 5 5-5 17; Marie Gordon 1 0-0 3; S Fiduccia 0 0-1 0; Sammy White 3 0-0 6; M Joniec 2 1-2 6; G White 0 0-2 0. TOTALS 20 11-17 58.
3-point goals: CRN – McCaffry 3, Polinsky 3; VJM – Nigro 3, Austin 2, M Gordon, Joniec.
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