Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Wednesday. Pennsbury/George School photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Visit the photo gallery: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f913170668
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 49, BENSALEM 40
The Bucks saved their best for last, closing out the season with back-to-back wins and – in Wednesday’s season finale – upending a Bensalem team heading for the SOL Tournament.
“This was huge,” West coach Zach Sibel said. “Tonight was an amazing night. Bensalem has really evolved as a program under Steve Johnson’s leadership, and I think he and his program deserved a ton of credit.
“For us, it was a chance for our seniors to leave their mark and underclassman to show what they want to build on. I loved coaching this group and although adversity showed itself in a number of ways, I wouldn’t change this season for anything. Our seniors showed us what commitment and resilience look like— building a foundation to culture that underclass both embraced and can build off of. Tonight was a night where players stepped up and proved so many things.”
No one stepped up more than Emily Ladley. It was the junior guard setting the tone for the game with a pair of first quarter 3s. The Bucks led 10-5 after one quarter, and Ladley added two more 3s in the second. Her 12 points propelled the Bucks to a 24-12 halftime lead on their way to the win.
“Emily Ladley was fearless, leading us with 15 points, and with every shot she made, our bench cheered louder. That’s a team,” Sibel said. “Gabi Senior played her best game of the year, and with every steal, deflection, and point, the bench cheered louder. That’s a team. Gabby Reichner and Alexis Castro had the tall task of covering one of the best players in the league in Amber Howard, and when they got a stop or a rebound, the bench cheered louder. That’s a team.
“Tonight was a team effort in a game that could have meant nothing to others. Each player contributed in a huge way, and for that, I’ll be forever proud. This is something we can build off and something that I know will inspire Bucks for years to come.”
In addition to Ladley, Gabi Senior had nine points, and Aniya Daniel finished with eight.
For the Owls, senior Amber Howard’s 21 points – 17 in the second half – led the way. Devon Bell added 10 points, which included a pair of 3s, and Talia DiMichele added nine on three 3-pointers in a contest that saw only three Owls score.
“Credit to Coach Sibel, his staff and players,” Bensalem coach Steve Johnson said. “They came out of the gate with toughness and energy. They got out to a lead and never looked back. It’s a good learning experience for us.”
West closed out its season with a 7-15 record overall, 5-11 in the SOL, but this season was about a whole lot more than wins and losses. Sibel reflected on the season just completed.
“As an English teacher and someone that’s looked at narrative, I think stories go a long way, and when you look at the story of our season, there’s so much to say about it,” Sibel said. “Playing a high school sport is difficult, and it’s something I talk to our girls about. It’s something everyone says they want to do, but when they look at the commitment and the adversity and all the hardship that comes with it in order to really get a true value out of sports, it can be something that deters a lot of people, so I give my girls a ton of credit – from our senior class for really setting a foundation as to what it takes to really take the nectar out of what high school sports are to our underclassmen for stepping up to support that and to build off of that foundation.
“I think high school sports are in a really interesting territory with club sports and everything else, and the value can sometimes get lost. What this team proved to me is that there’s still value in high school sports. That resilience and the ability to take punches and keep moving forward is something that will forever be embedded into what the life of high school sports really is, so when you think about the story of our season – if you look at just the numbers in the win-loss column, I think you lose a little bit of the fact of the growth these kids showed.
“From an Aniya McDaniel who played JV last year and has really given us so much at the point guard position, I think you lose the fact that she never complained and she just got better. She was motivated, and that’s something that needs to be valued.
“You take a Gabi Senior who was injured in all of her seasons and worked through that to continue to move this program forward. If you don’t know that, you lose part of it, and Alexis Castro playing multiple sports and still giving everything with bruised bones and hitting the floor more than my remote when I drop it while watching TV, you lose the impact sports have.
“Then there’s a Gabby Reichner, who went from struggling to find a role to building a role to being a starter, and what she did tonight against Amber Howard who – hats off – is one of the best players in this league, a very talented league – showing her best stuff tonight shows that growth matters and that high school sports matter. These are lessons you don’t get other places.
“This was a really special season, and in talking with our staff who dedicated their time, effort, energy and emotion to helping kids – being a coach is a really special position. There are very few other roles where you get to impact the lives of young adults the way you do as a coach, and from a growth mindset position, you get to learn so much from young people. If there’s anything I can say about this season and really my time at West, it’s that there are so many lessons for these kids to teach us while we think we’re only teaching them lessons. I think that’s something so incredibly unique to coaching that I wish other people got to experience because I think it would open them up to so many things and so many beauties within the world.”
Bensalem (15-7, 10-6) will travel to Upper Dublin for an opening round game of the SOL Tournament Friday 7pm.
Bensalem 5-7-16-12 40
Central Bucks West 10-14-11-14 49
Bensalem (40) – Talia DiMichele 3 0-0 9; Devon Bell 4 0-0 10; Amber Howard 8 4-4-11 21; TOTALS 15 4-11 40.
Central Bucks West (49) – Gabi Senior 4 1-3 9; Peyton Cramer 1 2-2 4; Anya McDaniel 2 4-4 8; Alexis Castro 0 1-6 1; Emily Ladley 5 0-0 15; Gabby Reichner 0 3-4 3; Scarlett Baumgardner 2 0-0 5; Janelle Blokker 1 1-2 4; TOTALS 15 12-21 49
3-point goals: Bensalem – Talia DiMichele 3, Devon Bell 2, Amber Howard; CBW – Emily Ladley 5, Scarlett Baumgardner, Janelle Blokker.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
SPRINGFIELD TWP 62, WISSAHICKON 31
The Spartans bounced back from a disappointing 60-56 loss to Cheltenham 24 hours earlier to notch a no-doubt-about-it win in Wednesday’s crossover game.
“Our girls – I think the entire team was certainly a little disappointed with how well they played last night, and it didn’t work out, and they were just completely focused defensively and executed,” Springfield coach Dave Giordano said. “We had one team foul in the whole first quarter. That’s not our MO. We unfortunately are a little – active, and that sometimes has caused us some problems, but they couldn’t have played a better first half. They executed, and everyone contributed. It was a complete team effort.”
Alana Decker and Jayla Daniels each scored six points, and Ava Culler had five in a first quarter that saw the Spartans open up a 19-7 lead. By halftime, Culler had 13 points, Daniels had 12, and the Spartans had a commanding 38-16 lead on their way to the win.
Daniels led the Spartans with 18 points while Culler finished with 17. Decker had nine points on three 3-pointers.
Springfield Twp (10-12, 5-11 SOL) will return to action in the District 1 4A Tournament. Wissahickon closed out its season with a 2-20 record overall.
Springfield Twp 19-19-15-9 62
Wissahickon 7-9-8-7 31
Springfield Twp (62) – C.Kaczor 1 0-0 2; Alana Decker 3 0-0 9; Hannah Brandon 1 2-2 4; Caitlin Lewis 1 0-0 2; Jayla Daniels 8 2-2 18; Grace Dailey 0 1-2 1; Keira Brandon 2 0-0 4; Devan Nolan 1 0-0 2; G Guicheteau 1 0-0 3; Ava Culler 6 5-5 17; TOTALS 24 10-17 62.
Wissahickon (31) – Maura Jacob 1 0-0 3; Julia Lettieri 2 2-4 6; Kristen DiGiovanni 2 0-0 5; Chloe Acuna 3 0-0 7; Lydia Schultz 1 1-2 3; Ava Stout 2 0-0 4; Ashley Klein 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 12 4-7 31.
3-point goals: Springfield Twp – Alana Decker 3, G. Guicheteau; Wissahickon – K.DiGiovanni, Chloe Acuna, Maura Jacob.
Non-league
PENNSBURY 69, GEORGE SCHOOL 49
Sofia Vitucci’s 25-point performance highlighted a Falcons’ attack that saw 12 players put their names in the scoring column, but also finding the spotlight was one of the
team’s unsung heroes – senior Layla Matthias, who reached an individual milestone when she pulled down the 500th rebound of her career.
“It was a nice way to close out the regular season tonight against George School, who has a different type of team than we have played lately,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “With 6‘5“center Gigi Johnson, a Delaware commit, manning the middle, they give you a different look. They also have nice athleticism on the outside.”
Vitucci jumpstarted the Falcons with eight points in a first quarter that saw Pennsbury open up a 20-6 lead. At halftime, they led 35-20 and added to that lead in the second half.
In addition to Vitucci, Danielle Sherman – who had a pair of 3s – and Daniella Mac Donald both had 10 points. Joley Hohman added seven points to the balanced attack.
“We were able to get off to a really good start offensively with shots falling,” Sciolla said. “Again, we got tremendous contributions from Emily Panero, who we started tonight because she could match up size-wise, and we brought Joley Hohman off the bench, and she played really well as she continues to get better finding people for open shots.
“Danielle Sherman has increasingly been flashing. Her skill set that we know is there with a combination of drives to the basket and perimeter jumpers. Her ability to score is an X factor for us. Daniella MacDonald got loose defensively and knocked down a couple threes, and Sofia had a casual 25 and was extremely efficient with her shots much as she was last night.”
Meanwhile, Matthias dominated the backboards, pulling down 13 rebounds.
“The big story of the night as it’s so often has been the last several years, was the incredible effort and determination of Layla Matthias, who always plays bigger than she is and wins almost every 50-50 ball,” Sciolla said. “The 13 rebounds she pulled tonight in limited minutes included her 500th rebound and half of them are on the offensive side. She is likely the best offensive rebounder I’ve ever coached, and I’ve coached some really good rebounders.
“I have always deeply valued people like Layla. Going back to the first team I ever coached with Jon Love as an example, I’ve always believed that the bedrock of your program are players who help control the backboard, get in the passing lanes for deflections and play with maximum effort and intelligence. Those players are highly lauded in
our program, and I realize that they are not always the players that are showcased in slow motion, black-and-white, 45-second highlight videos that we see on social media, but they are normally the players to take your team to heights that you never imagined.
“How lucky we have been to watch her effort and sacrifice for four straight years. She is a model for any young player that wants to be a competitor, and she is a reminder to any parent or fan who thinks that scoring is the only part of the game.”
Pennsbury (16-6, 11-5 SOL) will travel to North Penn for an opening round game in the SOL Tournament on Friday (7 pm).
George School 6-14-12-17 49
Pennsbury 20-15-20-14 69
Pennsbury (69) – Emily Panaro 1 0-0 2; Presley Foote 1 0-0 2; Layla Matthias 0 2-2 2; Danielle Sherman 3 2-2 10; Maggie Burns 1 0-0 2; Sofia Vitucci 11 2-4 25; Oliveah Gilchrist 1 0-0 2; Daniella MacDonald 3 3-4 10; Joley Hohman 3 1-2 7; Ava Jordan 0 1-2 1; Shea Quenzer 0 0-2 0; Susan McKeever 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 27 11-18 69.
George School (49) – Angie Dawson 2 0-0 6; Sylvie Harrington 3 2-2 9; Sophia Martinez 1 0-0 2; Zamiya Lowe 3 0-4 7; Gianna Johnson 5 0-3 10; Basha Harrington 1 2-2 5; Maya Ravindranathan 4 1-2 10; TOTALS 19 5-13 49.
3-point goals: George School – Angie Dawson 2, Sylvie Harrington, Zamiya Lowe, Bosha Harrington, Maya Ravindranathan; Pennsbury – Danielle Sherman 2, Sofia Vitucci, Daniella MacDonald.
Tuesday, Feb. 6
CHELTENHAM 60, SPRINGFIELD TWP 56
Paige Powell turned in a glittering 28-point effort to lead the visiting Lady Panthers to the hard-fought win over a pesky Spartan squad Tuesday.
“This was a wild, emotional game,” Cheltenham coach Ben Bowman said. “Both teams left it all on the floor and we found a way to win. We wanted to finish the season strong, and we accomplished that.”
The Lady Panthers opened up a 15-9 lead after one quarter and took a 32-23 lead into halftime. Powell’s 16 first-half points led the visitors.
The Spartans – behind eight points from Ava Culler and seven from Jayla Daniels – came out of halftime and outscored the Lady Panthers 26-14 in the third quarter to go into the fourth quarter with a 49-46 advantage. The Panthers came roaring back, outscoring their hosts 14-7 in the final quarter to earn the win. Powell was in the middle of the action with seven fourth quarter points.
In addition to Powell, Jiah Price and Maya Simmons both added 11 points for Cheltenham.
For the Spartans, Daniels (12 points) and Alana Decker (10 points) both finished in double figures. Hannah Brandon added eight points.
Although the loss put a damper on the Spartans’ Senior Night celebration, Springfield coach Dave Giordano had nothing but good things to say about his team’s effort.
“It was a great exciting atmosphere,” the Spartans’ coach said. “We have seven seniors, including our manager, so we had a big crowd, so that was a great thing. The crowd was awesome.
“We started out slow – I think we had Senior Night jitters, which happens. At one point in the first half, we may have been down 15 or 16. At halftime, we cut it down to nine. In the third quarter and start of the fourth, we went up by five, and then we ran out of gas emotionally and had some interesting turnovers, but it was a great game.”
The Spartans’ coach gave props to several of his players.
Jayla Daniels had a dozen and probably had about 10 assists,” Giordano said. “Ava Culler had 22. We had a lot of girls, not just seniors, but everyone who played contributed something. We had good balance. It was just a situation where we need to understand time of possession – you have to take care of the basketball.
“The effort was incredible, the atmosphere was awesome. You couldn’t have asked for a better Senior Night other than the score, so we’re going to brush it off, we’re going to get back up, and we’re going to go to Wissahickon tomorrow and see if we can do something positive.”
Cheltenham closed out its season with an 11-11 record.
Cheltenham 15-17-14-14 60
Springfield Twp 9-14-26-7 56
Cheltenham (60) – Jiah Price 4 1-2 11; Paige Powell 10 5-8 28; Maya Simmons 3 3-6 11; Ije Ojukwu 2 1-2 5; Cassie Bugg 2 1-4 5; TOTALS 21 11-22 60
Springfield Twp (56) – Alana Decker 3 1-2 10; Hannah Brandon 3 1-2 8; Jayla Daniels 3 5-8 12; Keira Brandon 1 2-4 4; Ava Culler 8 6-10 22; TOTALS 18 15-26
3-point goals: Cheltenham – Paige Powell 3, Jiah Price 2, Maya Simmons 2; Springfield Twp – Alana Decker 3, Hannah Brandon, Jayla Daniels.
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