It would be easy for Central Bucks West’s 57-42 win over Hatboro-Horsham to get lost in the shuffle on a night that saw some of the SOL’s top squads doing battle.
It shouldn’t.
For the Bucks, who led by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter, the win brought to a halt an SOL losing streak dating back to the 2007-08 season.
“It’s huge,” first-year coach Terry Rakowsky said of the league win. “Our kids have worked hard, and I know every coach would say that, but our practices – we work so hard in practice that if we played the games the way we practice, we would probably be in the playoffs.”
The Bucks were coming off a strong showing that saw them hold their own before falling to Central Bucks East last Friday, and it was only a matter of time before that improvement translated into a win.
“We mixed up our rotation,” said Rakowsky, who is starting three sophomores and two juniors. “I think the chemistry right now is really good.
“The other kids that were starters are coming off the bench, and they’re contributing to our success. The chemistry is a lot better.”
The win, according to Rakowsky, was an all-around team effort.
“We’re moving the ball really well,” he said. “We’re making the extra pass to the open kid, and we’re being very unselfish offensively.
“Defensively, we have really been working hard the last two weeks on shoring up some of the inadequacies that we have on defense. We’re really focusing on five kids playing defense and five kids playing offense. They’re starting to get it, and the chemistry is starting to come together.”
Jen Fabian led the Bucks with 13 points and seven rebounds.
“She has been having a phenomenal season,” Rakowsky said.
Sam Colloi had nine points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bucks. The Hatters (0-7) were led by Alicia Hayes (16 points) and Kate Romano (11 points).
Redskins roll to big win – Neshaminy picked up its third win in four games on Tuesday when the Redskins downed neighboring Pennsbury 57-35. Senior Kelsey Ryan (21 points) and freshman Lori Paulits (18 points) had huge games for the Redskins, but this was hardly a two-woman show.
“Both of those kids had real nice games, but I do feel it was way more balanced than the boxscore indicates,” coach Joanne McVey said. “Taking nothing from those kids – they both had outstanding games, but I was pleased with the effort of a number of kids.
“Jen Slivka had two points, but we always put her on the opponent’s best offensive player, and she had a great game. Amanda Lally had eight points and was solid.
“Bri Weiler is coming back from an injury, and she’s giving us real solid minutes off the bench. We’re hoping she’s going to get better each week.”
The win upped the Redskins’ record to 4-3 in league play (9-5 overall) while the Falcons fell to 2-5 in the league.
Freshman Jae Jackson led the Falcons with eight points while Lacey Balascsak had seven.
Spartans roll to big win – Springfield received big performances from Annie Crudele (17 points) and Elise DiFilippo (13 points) in Tuesday night’s convincing 46-27 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh.
The Spartans opened up a 10-1 lead at the end of one quarter and upped that lead to 19-7 at halftime. Through three quarters, they allowed just 12 points.
“I was pleased with the way we came out defensively – that set the tone,” coach Sarah Constable said. “We really played strong, tenacious defense and made them work for every single thing they got.
“It really was a team effort. Everyone who played did really well. Everyone who got in the game did a really nice job.”
While the Colonials fell to 2-5 in league play, the Spartans upped their record to 3-4 in the league (9-4 overall).
“We’re really happy with the way that they’ve been playing, and we’re excited for the second round of league play,” Constable said. “Hopefully, we can keep getting better and better every game.”
Alyssa Butcher led the Colonials with 10 points. Simone Jacques added eight.
Knauer leads Maidens to big win – Sophomore Steph Knauer had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead North Penn to an impressive 56-34 win over Pennridge, and on a night the Maidens were without center Taylour Alston, Shannon Knauer, according to coach Maggie deMarteleire, also came up big in the paint.
“Shannon only had five points, but she did a real good job getting offensive rebounds and really did a nice job offensively,” deMarteleire said. “I told them - when we’re playing teams that are smaller than us – which most teams are, we really need to be tougher inside and start finishing and use that to our advantage.
“We did a nice job being tough inside and being physical. Steph Knauer kind of likes to finesse a little more, and we’d like her to be more physical, and she is starting to do that.”
The Maidens sprinted to a 17-7 lead at the end of one quarter and upped that lead to 29-10 by the half.
“Mary Ward did a really good job of harassing their point guard, and Dara Nelson did a really good job of just making good decisions,” deMarteleire said. “They were very unselfish.
“We played very good defense in the first half.”
Ward finished the game with nine steals while Ward had seven points for the Maidens, who also received eight points from Lauren Crisler.
Sam Simononis led the Rams with 18 points.
While the Rams fell to 2-5 in the league (6-8 overall), the Maidens improved to 4-3 in league play (7-6 overall). They will face conference leader Central Bucks East on Friday.
“We have a big game on Friday, and we need to come ready to play right from the start,” deMarteleire said.
Around the league – Colleen Hinde scored 11 points while Jessica Keller added nine and Alex Schaefer, eight, to lead Wissahickon to a 45-30 win over Upper Moreland on Tuesday night. Christie Graf had nine points and Katie Costello added eight to lead the Golden Bears. The Trojans led 12-9 at the end of one quarter and extended that lead to 28-16 by halftime. While the Trojans improved to 6-1 in league play (8-4 overall), the Golden Bears are 0-7 (1-9 overall).
Senior Daniella Ciccarone torched Souderton for a game-high 28 points to lead Quakertown to a 59-50 win. Lauren Starzecky added 17 points while Kristine Jackiewicz contributed 13 points for the Panthers, who improved to 4-3 in the league (8-5 overall). The Indians (4-3, 7-5) were led by the 13-point efforts of Liz Mower and Emily Price while Carley Kendall added 10 points. Souderton jumped out of the gate to a 19-10 lead at the end of one quarter and still led 28-22 at the intermission, but the Panthers went on a 21-7 third-quarter tear to take a lead they would not lose.
Cheltenham (7-0, 14-0) remained perfect with a 63-39 win over Norristown. Liz Taliaferro and Shayla Felder led the Lady Panthers with 20 points each while Kira Ogden added 10. The Panthers, who led 27-22 at the half, blew the game open with a 21-10 third-quarter surge.
Upper Dublin (5-2, 6-3) edged Upper Merion (3-4, 6-6) 45-40 while a pair of SOL teams rolled to big wins. Tennent (3-4, 6-5) downed Truman 74-38, and Abington (6-1, 11-1) cruised to a 66-33 win over Bensalem.
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