To view action shots of the Neshaminy/William Tennent and CB South/CB West games, visit the photo gallery and click on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
It was the story of two halves in Tuesday’s National Conference battle between Neshaminy and William Tennent.The Redskins scored nine points in the first half and 33 in the second. The result – a 42-39 come-from-behind win over the visiting Panthers.
“Nine points for us is just horrendous,” coach Joanne McVey said. “They (the Panthers) did a decent job of packing it in, but we got some good looks at the basket, but the shots didn’t go down.
“We decided we had to change the tempo, and that’s pretty much what we did, and it was more favorable to what we wanted to do. Things opened up for us a little bit, and we started knocking down some shots.”
Jen Slivka kept the Redskins afloat in the first half, scoring seven of her team’s nine points as the Panthers made a concerted effort to keep the ball out of Kelsey Ryan’s hands. Ryan is the Redskins’ leading scorer.
“They tried to take away the inside, so we needed other players to knock down some shots,” McVey said. “That’s what they did in the second half.
“In the second half, a number of players stepped up. Amanda Lally had two big shots. Jenny Rongione had a big shot. Players whose names you wouldn’t ordinarily hear stepped up and knocked down some shots. That opened the inside.”
Ryan, who didn’t score in the first half, scored eight of her team-high 10 points in a fourth quarter that saw the Redskins outscore the Panthers 16-11. Slivka finished the game with nine points while Lally had eight and Rongione, seven.“It was a nice team win,” McVey said. “It wasn’t one or two players who had phenomenal games. We had a lot of role players step up.
“Victorio Mazzeo had some offensive boards in the second half. A number of kids did what our team needs them to do in order to win because we don’t have a marquee player. They really played as a team.”
Emily O’Donnell led the Panthers with a game-high 16 points.
Both Neshaminy and Tennent are 2-3 in league play.
Maidens roll to big win – The North Penn Maidens got themselves a dose of confidence in Tuesday night’s 76-52 win over Quakertown.
“In the beginning of the year, our confidence was down,” sophomore Steph Knauer said. “Once we started playing together – our shots are falling, and our defense is working, our confidence is up there, and we’re doing really good.”
The win was the third in a row for the suddenly red hot Maidens, whose December woes appear to be a thing of the past, but it wasn’t just that the Maidens won but rather how they won. They jumped out to a 16-5 lead and took a 33-21 lead into halftime.
Knauer scored 21 points in a strong effort in the paint while Dara Nelson added 16 and Mary Ward 15. The Maidens connected on four treys – three in the second half when the Panthers trimmed their lead to nine. Nelson led the way with a pair.
“I was really pleased with the way we had good balance,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “The last couple of games we have been relying on our inside game.
“They cut it to nine, and Lauren Crisler hit a three, and Dara hit two threes. We were very unselfish. They don’t care who scores the points, just as long as we win.”
The win overshadowed the outstanding personal achievement of Quakertown senior Daniella Ciccarone, who became the school’s all-time leading female scorer. The gifted senior – who led all scorers with 25 points - needed just 10 points to eclipse the 80-year old mark of 1,144 points set by Miram Afflerback in 1930. Ciccarone scored the historic basket on a trey from NBA range at the buzzer ending the first quarter.
Colonials win thriller – Becky Duffy didn’t have much of a voice left after Plymouth Whitemarsh’s 43-42 win over Norristown on Tuesday night.
It was easy to understand why.
The Colonials watched a double-digit lead disappear in the fourth quarter, thanks to three India Grady treys in the fourth quarter.
“It was a little crazy down the stretch,” the Colonials’ first-year coach said. “We literally had the game, and out of nowhere this girl hits two three’s from the corner – the hardest place to hit a three, and she swishes both of them.”
The Colonials went on to open up a 43-39 lead after Alyssa Butcher sank one-of-two from the foul line, but Grady had one last trey left, sinking a three-pointer at the buzzer for the 43-42 final.
“If there was one more second left, we would have been done,” Duffy said. “It was just the way it was going.
“It was a lot of fun though, a lot of fun. It was a great game.”
The Colonials sank 6-of-10 from the foul line, which included a clutch 2-of-2 from Katie Wacker. Butcher connected on 2-of-4. Caitlyn Mundy and Simone Jacques both were 1-of-2 from the stripe.
Butcher led the Eagles with 16 points. Kelly Hackenbrack had eight points and Gabby Schumacher, six points.
Grady - who buried four treys - scored 16 points in what was her varsity debut after playing jayvee in the season's early weeks. Coach Ashlee Harrison started the junior guard in an attempt to shake things up, and she liked what she saw.
"She was not afraid to shoot," Harrison said. "The truth be told, my other guards wouldn't have stepped up the way she did, and that's why she's going to play.
"Believe me, she will be playing from now on."
The win upped the Colonials record to 2-3 in league play (2-6 overall). It was their second win in three games in January.
“This is huge,” Duffy said. “Confidence-wise it’s unbelievable to come out and win two out of three in the New Year. I’ve really been preaching about teamwork and unity and believing in yourself, and believe me, it’s so much easier to preach that when you win.
“When you see results, it becomes that much easier, and the results come because they’ve worked hard. They’ve stuck to what we believe in, they’ve stuck to what they’ve been practicing. They did some really nice things.”
The Eagles fell to 2-3 in league play (2-6 overall).
Rams get defensive in win – Pennridge went into halftime with a 25-20 lead over Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday night, but coach Brooke Martin was not especially thrilled after watching sophomore Cailin Schmeer torch the Rams’ defense for 11 points.
“We adjusted our defense to focus primarily on Schmeer,” Martin said. “She only scored four points in the second half.
“We turned the ball over a lot in the first half – unforced turnovers, and we did a better job in the second half.”
Jordan Dominic led the Rams with 15 points, which included three three’s. Sam Simononis added 10 and Alyssa Marchunsky, eight points. Katie Franchois chipped in with five points.
“We had more scorers than we typically do,” Martin said. “Carly Henry came off the bench and scored four points, and Alyssa Marchunsky had eight points off the bench.
“We have a lot of inexperienced players, and gaining the confidence with our young players is important.”
Schmeer led the Hatters with 15 points while Kate Romano added 11.
The Rams improved to 2-3 in league play (5-6 overall) while the Hatters remain winless in the league (0-5).
Spartans upend Vikings – Annie Crudele scored 18 points while teammate Elise DiFilippo added 14 to lead Springfield to a 53-44 win over Upper Merion on Tuesday night, but it was Molly Wheatley – who scored 12 points – leading the charge.
“Molly Wheatley really and truly led our team tonight,” coach Sarah Constable said. “Both offensively and defensively, she did a lot of great things. Her defense was just unbelievable the whole game.”
The Spartans opened up a 17-10 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 27-15 lead into the intermission. They never looked back.
“It was really our defense,” Constable said. “Everything kind of came from that. We just did a great job defensively.”
While the Vikings fell to 3-2 in league play, the Spartans improved to 2-3 (7-4 overall).
“This is huge,” Constable said. “It’s such a momentum builder.”
Alex Galdi led the Vikings with 15 points while Briana Alvarez added 10.
Panthers stay perfect – Cheltenham wasted little time taking control of Tuesday night’s battle of unbeaten American Conference squads, opening up a 34-8 halftime lead and then coasting to a 61-33 win over Wissahickon.
“We played nice defense, put a lot of pressure on them, and they were having trouble scoring,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “The kids were real sharp today, and our subs came in and did a pretty nice job.”
Senior Shayla Felder (12 points) and sophomore Ciara Andrews (10 points) led a balanced Lady Panther attack. Kira Ogden added nine points, and Liz Taliaferro, seven. The team’s ‘next Shayla’ – sophomore Shayla Peoples – contributed five points off the bench.
Colleen Hinde led the Trojans with 19 points, including six of her team’s eight first-half points.
With the win, the Lady Panthers improved to 5-0 in league play (12-0 overall).
“It wasn’t necessarily guaranteed we were going to be 5-0, so I have to be happy with 12-0,” Schaefer said. “The kids are still working. They made enough mistakes tonight that I can still scream tomorrow.”
Titans down Bucks – Central Bucks South delighted a packed house with its 63-31 win over Central Bucks West in a special Coaches v. Cancer* boys/girls double header on Tuesday night.
Coach Beth Mattern acknowledged that the neighborhood rivalry added to the event.
“That’s what made it great,” the Titans’ coach said. “There were so many kids from the student bodies between South and West.
“It was a good cross-town rivalry, and I think everyone just had a great time at the game.”
Gab Vass led the Titans with 13 points while Brittany Kaewell and Maura Kane both had nine points. Nicole Mummert and Tyler Vitelli each added seven points.
Once again, the Titans had their long-range game operating on all cylinders. Kaewell had all nine of her points in the first quarter, connecting on three three’s. Kaycee Schaefer had a pair of three-point baskets in the opening quarter. All told, the Titans had seven three-pointers in the first half as they opened up a 39-22 lead.
Jen Sabian led the Bucks with 11 points.
*Check back for photos and an article on the Coaches v. Cancer event that packed the house on Tuesday night.
Around the league – The stage has been set for Friday night’s National Conference showdown pitting Abington and Council Rock North. Both teams held up their share of the bargain as Rock North – behind the 14-point, 13-rebound effort of Sarah Kiely – defeated Bensalem 69-29. Abington downed Harry S. Truman 53-20. Both teams boast identical 5-0 league marks going into Friday night’s game.
Central Bucks East jumped out to a 17-11 lead at the end of one quarter and never looked back on its way to a 53-39 win over Souderton. The Patriots were led by twins Liz and Sarah Martin. Liz paced the Patriots with 18 points while Sarah added 13. Courtney McManus contributed 10 points. Souderton was led by the 10-point efforts of Brittany Sandone and Emily Price.
Council Rock South defeated Pennsbury 61-30. Upper Dublin – led by the 19-point effort of Kristen Fuery – defeated Upper Moreland 55-37.
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