Upper Merion picked up a big win in a battle of neighboring rivals. Check out all of Friday’s SOL action.
American Conference
UPPER MERION 62, NORRISTOWN 54
The Vikings took a one-point lead into a fourth quarter of end-to-end action that saw the Vikings outscore the Eagles 27-20.
“We had a lot of fun tonight,” Upper Merion coach Tom Schurtz said. “It was a crosstown rivalry at its absolute best. Both teams showed up and played as hard as they could for the 32 minutes.”
Junior Kristina O’Sullivan connected on 11-of-15 from the foul line en route to a game-high 17 points to lead the Vikings. She was 7-of-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, and she also had three baskets, scoring 13 of her team’s 27 points.
“She was outstanding,” Schurtz said. “They did a tremendous job guarding Cassidy Koenig for three quarters. In the fourth quarter, she shook loose and made two big three’s in the first two minutes. That gave us the lead we never relinquished.
“After that, we just played good, solid defense. It was a four-point game with 3:30 to go. They had to foul, and we made our free throws down the stretch.
The Eagles led 9-8 at the end of one quarter, but the Vikings held a 17-16 edge in the second quarter to knot the score 25-25 at the intermission.
“A lot of teams in our conference are very good,” Schurtz said. “There’s a lot of depth in the American Conference right now.
“Tonight was an example of two good teams playing each other. Norristown came out played p
hysical defense all night long. Their guard play tonight was outstanding.”
The Eagles’ backcourt contributed 34 points with Brianna Hedgepeth leading the way with 21 points while Stephanie DiNolfi had 13 points.
“It was a guard-dominated game,” Schurtz said. “Their post players got into a little foul trouble, and they ended up having five players foul out. Some of it was fouling down the stretch, but their two big post players spent most of the game in a little bit of foul trouble, so it just became a guard-dominated game.”
Senior forward Jackie VanLoan came up big for the Vikings, contributing 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“You watch the whole game, and you don’t really notice her, and then you look at the stat line,” Schurtz said. “And she covered the six-foot girl on the other team.”
Koenig added 11 points for the Vikings while Katherine Bailey added eight. Essence Milligan-Williams added eight points for the Eagles.
With the win, the Vikings improved to 5-2 in the league (10-4 overall).
“This was a big win for us,” Schurtz said. “We haven’t lost since Jan. 3 at Cheltenham, and we’re 10-4. There are a lot of other teams in the Suburban One that have the pedigree and have been around a long time, and they win a lot of games.
“This is a scrappy group of girls led by two seniors that are playing outstanding basketball. We have a big week coming up.”
The Vikings will face a lineup next week that includes Girls High on Monday, Upper Dublin on Tuesday and Cheltenham on Friday. The three teams boast a combined 37-7 record.
The Eagles fell to 3-4 in league play (5-8 overall).
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 46, WISSAHICKON 38
The Colonials sprinted out of the gate to a 23-9 halftime lead and then withstood a second half comeback attempt by the Trojans to earn a win that snapped a six-game losing streak.
“It’s been a rough road,” coach Becky Duffy said. “We’ve been right there every single game, but we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
The Colonials were coming off an overtime loss to Norristown on Tuesday that saw them connect on just 8-of-22 from the foul line.
“It’s like we’ve been trapped in a nightmare,” Duffy said. “I give the kids credit – they get it. They feel it too. They know we’re bound at some point to break out, but it’s been a tough stretch.
“There was a lot of frustration initially, but we’ve regrouped. We’ve talked about the ups and downs, and we said, ‘Look, you have to have valleys in order to have peaks.’”
In Friday’s win, the Colonials led 9-4 at the end of one quarter and took a 14-point lead into halftime.
“The first half of tonight’s game we played unbelievable, and it was everyone – every single kid on the floor who played and everyone on the bench,” Duffy said. “I reminded them – this is what a team is about.”
The Trojans outscored the Colonials 17-9 in the third quarter to make it a 32-26 game heading into the final quarter.
“I give a lot of credit to Rodney (Cline) and Wissahickon because they made a nice comeback,” Duffy said. “We were in control in the first half, and they came out and had a blow-up third quarter. They were relentless and got to within two.
“I was proud of our girls too. We called timeout and said, ‘We told you they would make a run. It’s your decision how you’re going to handle it.’ They responded, and I’m proud of them. It would have been very easy to fall into, ‘Oh, this always happens to us.’”
The Colonials were led by the eight-point efforts of Erin Martin, Simone Jacques and Gabby Schumacher.
“We played a lot of kids tonight,” Duffy said. “We’re trying all kinds of stuff to try and energize the team.
“Simone Jacques had a great first half. She hit some key shots early on.”
Freshman Alynna Williams just returned to action last weekend after breaking her ankle in the second game of the season at the Methacton Tournament.
“Tonight was a breakout game for her,” Duffy said. “She played really great defense, she hustled, and she scored two huge baskets for us to give us some energy.”
With three seconds remaining, Williams was taken down by a moving screen.
“We can’t catch a break,” Duffy said. “She played awesome. We had good energy off the bench.”
Duffy also credited Maya Thomas for her solid ballhandling in Friday’s win.
“When you look at our boxscore, it’s pretty even,” the PW coach said. “That’s been the name of the game pretty much all season. We haven’t had too many people with breakout games. Everybody is contributing, but it hasn’t been quite enough. That’s been the challenge this season.”
Making PW’s recent losing streak particularly frustrating is the fact that last year the Colonials rolled to an 8-4 league mark (15-8 overall).
“One of the things we talked about was last year we had a great season, and teams are licking their chops because they want to come out and they want to beat us, so they’re getting up for games that we’re just showing up for,” Duffy said.
With Friday’s win, the Colonials upped their league record to 3-4 (5-8 overall).
“We have a lot of talent on our team, but it’s a lot about chemistry, confidence and people stepping up at different times,” Duffy said. “We don’t like to lose, but I’m trying to have them focus on the positives. My coaching style has always been – I’m a teacher first. I want them to understand this is just a microcosm of life, and you’re going to go through these times.
“You have to know who you are and what your priorities are. You stick with one another, you stick with your team, you don’t turn on one another, and that’s what is going to get you through the tough times. They’ve done that, and I’m proud of them. I’m praying this is a turnaround for them.”
The Trojans, who fell to 1-6 in league play (3-10 overall), were led by the 15 point effort of Rachel Stone. Dominique Earland added eight points.
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 52, PENNRIDGE 24
The Titans jumped out to a 19-8 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 28-15 lead into halftime on their way to the win. Madi Vitelli led a balanced attack with nine points while Alysha Lofton added eight. Kate McMenamin, Lauren Mosher and Tori Steinberg each scored six points. Nici Bonacci scored nine points to lead the Rams, who fell to 2-6 in league play (3-10 overall). The Titans upped their lead record to 6-2 (11-4 overall).
National Conference
PENNSBURY 45, BENSALEM 38
The Falcons bolted to an 18-7 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 26-16 lead into halftime before the Owls rallied to make things interesting. The Falcons held on win their third straight game, their fourth in the last five.
“We came out strong at the beginning,” coach Donna Nicholson said. “We were just executing very well.
“Bensalem battled back. We had a 10-point lead at the half, but we came out in the second half, and our shots weren’t falling.”
The Owls cut the Falcons lead to four in the second half but would get no closer. The Falcons iced the win with some clutch foul shooting. Junior Jae Jackson had yet another big fourth quarter, this time scoring 11 of her team-high 13 points in the frame. She was a near-perfect 9-of-10 from the foul line with the game on the line in the fourth quarter.
“She also played real good on Ashida Cooper,” Nicholson said. “Ashida hurt us the last game by penetrating and finding the big girl (Tyra Roberts). With her foot speed and long arms, Jae was able to keep her in check.”
While Jackson – who also had 10 rebounds - was burying her foul shots, the Owls misfired on eight foul shots in the second half.
Bensalem center Tyra Roberts scored 15 points to share game scoring honors.
“What a player she is,” Nicholson said. “We tried to front her and sandwich her between two players, but she’s strong inside.”
Also coming up huge for the Owls was Ashley Schneider, who buried five three-pointers to share team scoring honors with 15 points.
“She got them back in it,” Nicholson said. “She’s the one who kept them in the game.”
Sajanna Bethea contributed another double-double for the Falcons, scoring 12 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.
“She battled Roberts really tough inside, especially in the second half,” Nicholson said.
Kaitlin Kelly added 13 points for the Falcons, which included three three-pointers in the first quarter.
The win avenged a 49-41 loss to the Owls on Dec. 16. The difference, according to Nicholson, is defense.
“They’ve upped the defensive pressure,” the Falcons’ coach said. “We’re doing a real good job of matching up and we’re starting to do the little things – being in the right position to make a stop or get the rebound or contest the shot.
“That’s been the difference. The difference is our defensive intensity and just taking it up a notch. Bensalem played tough. It was a battle. It was very competitive. We were just able to pull it out at the end and finish.”
With the win, the Falcons evened their league mark at 4-4 and improved to 8-7 overall while the Owls fell to 2-6 in league play (4-7 overall).
“We are just in a streak where we cannot get over the hump,” Bensalem coach Don Bogan said. “The good thing is this was the first game since the holidays that our players are well and not injured.”
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 40, WILLIAM TENNENT 30
On the heels of a career high 28-point effort three nights earlier, Emily Grundman had another big night for the Indians, scoring a game-high 22 points.
“She’s playing great,” coach Liz Potash said. “She had 21 points in the first half at Neshaminy the other night. I had no idea. We had 27 points, and she had 21 of them.”
Also coming up big for the Indians was freshman point guard Jessica Gerber, who scored 10 points.
“She had a great game,” Potash said. “We start four seniors and a freshman, and we’ve always had confidence in Jess. I think sometimes she lacked confidence in herself, but I was really happy she had a great game tonight. She really stepped up.
“The points weren’t really even the difference. She hit a couple of shots, which is nice and brought her confidence up, but I loved the way she handled the ball and handled the pressure. She did a good job leading today.”
The Indians opened up a 14-7 lead at the end of one quarter and extended that lead to 25-15 by halftime.
“Tennent hung around – they don’t give up, they don’t stop playing,” Potash said. “They cut it to three with about three minutes to go in the third, and we went on a 12-0 run to end the quarter. We really stepped it up on defense. Our pressure looked good tonight.”
Helena Gemmell led the Indians defensively with five steals.
Emily O’Donnell led the Panthers with 14 points.
While the Panthers fell to 2-6 in league play (6-6 overall), the Indians improved to 6-2 in the league (9-5 overall).
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