Check out all of Tuesday night’s SOL winners in girls’ basketball.
National Conference
ABINGTON 43, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 40
With Aiyannah Peal – who has been under the weather – at less than full strength, the Ghosts could ill afford to lose anyone else, but midway through the first half of Tuesday’s showdown, sophomore Michael Harris, the team’s top defensive rebounder, was lost for the remainder of the game when she suffered an injury diving for a loose ball.
With the Ghosts in dire need of someone to step up, freshman point guard Deja Rawls answered the call. She contributed nine points, six assists and three steals and, most importantly, provided steady floor leadership to fend off a tenacious Indians’ comeback attempt.
“Deja had to do a lot in the second half,” coach Dan Marsh said. “We didn’t have Michael. We had Aiyannah, but she wasn’t Aiyannah, so Deja was doing a lot of driving and kicking, controlling the ball and trying to hold onto the lead.”
The score was knotted 10-10 at the end of one quarter, but the Ghosts, despite the loss of Harris, owned the second quarter, outscoring the Indians 19-7 to go into halftime with a 29-17 lead.
The game was far from over. The Indians trimmed the Ghosts’ lead to 35-29 at the end of three quarters, but the Ghosts held on for the win.
“They played well,” Marsh said of the Indians. “They didn’t quit. They were struggling, but something lit their fire, and they stormed back and had some opportunities at the end but didn’t make them.”
“They came storming back – 22 and 21 (Helena Gemmell and Emily Grundman) started getting hot. Basically, we ran out of energy, but we were able to hold on down the stretch with Deja carrying us.
“Gabby Nolan stepped up and played well – she had five points, but they present a little bit of a matchup problem for us because they play four guards and one post type player.”
Grundman led all scorers with 19 points while Gemmell added 10 for the Indians. Peal led the Ghosts with 12 points, and Sarah Listenbee added 10.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 65, WILLIAM TENNENT 29
Teams concerned only about stopping Alex Wheatley when they take on Council Rock South might want to sit up and take notice that the Golden Hawks are getting contributions from up and down the lineup these day.
Three players finished Tuesday’s game in double figures with junior point guard Alexis Hofstaedter leading the way with 16 points while Wheatley added 14 and Courtney Brown, 13 points, which included three three-point baskets.
Brown misfired on a long-range shot on the Indians’ first possession but developed the hot hand in the third quarter, connecting for eight points in the final four minutes.
“I love it,” Brown said. “My coach just says if I’m open you’ve got to take it because it’s opportunities, and you can’t miss them because you’ll help your team out. If you miss it, there’s someone there to get the rebound.
“Once they’re falling, it just gets the team motivated.”
Just about everything was falling for the Golden Hawks in Tuesday’s win. Hofstaedter was unstoppable in a first half that saw the junior point guard score 14 points while also collecting five rebounds. In a sequence that effectively summed up the first half, Hofstaedter pulled down an offensive board and then scored on a nifty reverse layup in the closing seconds of the second quarter to send the Golden Hawks into halftime with a 36-17 lead.
The Golden Hawks - who trailed 2-0 after Allison Chatburn buried a pair from the foul line – opened the game with a 24-4 run, effectively taking the Panthers out of the game early.
“We have to pick our poison,” Tennent coach Paul Veltre said. “Last time we opened up in a zone, and they drained six three’s. Today we started with man, and they hit everything in the lane. We pack it in, and they go outside again.
“You have to defend so much because they have every piece of the puzzle. They’re fantastic.”
Brown acknowledged that taking an early lead makes everything easier for everyone.
“You feel relaxed, and you’re having fun,” she said. “You’re not worried about making a mistake, you’re not worried about missing. You just give everything you have and play the way you know how to play.”
The Golden Hawks set the tone for Tuesday’s game with their pressure defense, forcing turnovers that resulted in easy points.
“Taylor Dillon is awesome at ball pressuring – she’s quick, and defense leads to offense,” Brown said. “Our coaches tell us - if you’re going to have a bad offensive night, just play good defense because you’ll get offense off your defense.”
Chatburn led the Indians with 12 points – 10 in the first half.
“I go in playing with everything I have,” the Panthers’ junior guard said. “Not winning is disappointing.”
While the Panthers fell to 2-7 in league play (8-7 overall), the Golden Hawks upped their record to 9-0 in league play and 17-0 overall.
“Everyone is on the same page,” Brown said. “We’re all motivated and focused in. We have Abington, Council Rock North, Neshaminy and Pennsbury coming up, and they’re all big games. We have to take each game one by one and get ready for the playoffs.”
PENNSBURY 39, NESHAMINY 36
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, according to Pennsbury coach Donna Nicholson, but it was a win, and the Falcons - winners of five in a row and six of their last seven – were more than happy to take it.
“We escaped with a win,” Nicholson said. “Neshaminy played really, really hard. They were aggressive. It wasn’t a pretty game, but it was a good win.”
The Falcons led 12-11 at the end of one quarter and took a 24-20 lead into halftime. They still led by three heading into the fourth quarter and refused to relinquish their lead.
“Neither team shot the ball very well,” Nicholson said. “It wasn’t a very clean game.”
Pennsbury sophomore Sajanna Bethea led all scorers with 17 points while Kaitlin Kelly added 14 points, which included four three-pointers.
“She scored nine in the first half,” Nicholson said of Kelly. “She was getting good looks, catching the ball and shooting in rhythm and knocking them down.
“It was good to see. She shot the ball really well.”
Sophomore Megan Schafer led the Redskins with 10 points.
“Schafer played real good for them,” Nicholson said. “She handles the ball, she dishes, and she penetrates real well. They’re tough inside. It was a battle out there.”
While the Redskins fell to 3-6 in the league (6-10 overall), the Falcons improved to 5-4 in the league (10-7 overall).
“These games are big,” Nicholson said. “We need to win as many as we can down the stretch. We want to do what we need to do in order to give us a good shot to get in the playoffs.
“We’ll take this win. We needed it, and we need to continue to play well.”
BENSALEM 65, HARRY S TRUMAN 52
Tyra Roberts turned in a monster 25-point performance to lead the Owls to a win that snapped a six-game losing streak. Ashida Cooper added 14 points while Ashley Schneider and Ashleigh Spence both added 12 points. For the Tigers, sophomore Khristaijah Jackson scored 20 points while Taylor Gaspari added 12 and Neiyana Brooks had 10 points.
The Owls sprinted to a 22-11 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 41-28 lead into halftime. The Tigers outscored the Owls 15-9 in the third quarter, but the Owls returned the favor in the fourth, outscoring the Tigers by an identical 15-9 margin.
While the Tigers fell to 0-9 in SOL play (2-12 overall), the Owls upped their record to 3-6 in the league (5-7 overall).
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 44, SOUDERTON 37
It was a battle of two teams in dire need of a win when the Titans and Indians did battle. The Titans, after a 9-2 start, had lost three of five games heading into Tuesday’s game while the Indians, who were 7-2 two short weeks ago, had lost four straight.
“That’s what made me so nervous about tonight,” South coach Beth Mattern said. “We both really needed a 
win.”
The Titans, who led by as many as 10, didn’t make things easy for themselves, connecting on just 1-of-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
“I thought both teams played hard and played pretty well,” Mattern said. “The team that was controlling the boards was controlling the game at that moment.”
Mattern credited Alysha Lofton (nine rebounds) and Rachel Falkowski (seven rebounds) for coming up with big boards down the stretch. Lofton also led the Titans in scoring with 18 points. It was Lofton delivering back-to-back baskets after offensive rebounds to give the Titans some breathing room after the Indians trimmed the Titans’ lead to two.
“Tonight Alysha was finishing and driving, and her jump shot was right on,” Mattern said. “Offensively, it all came together tonight, and we needed it.”
The Titans held a 29-25 edge in rebounds.
“It was a close rebounding battle, and in the end, pulling those few defensive boards is what sealed it for us,” Mattern said.
Point guard Madi Vitelli added 10 points for the Titans while Tori Steinberg added eight, including a pair of three-pointers.
The Indians were led by the 14-point effort of Libby Wetzler. Senior Liz Mower added seven.
While the Indians fell to 4-4 in the league (7-7 overall), the Titans upped their league record to 7-2 (12-5 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 77, QUAKERTOWN 20
Jen Fabian scored a game-high 18 points and teammate Kat Bahner added 14 and Maggie Gratz, seven points. The Panthers were led by the seven-point effort of Katie Kelsall while Brittny Buonanno-Taylor and Ashlee Ruzicka each added six points.
The Bucks sprinted out of the gate to a 28-6 lead at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 52-10 by halftime. As a result of the win, the Bucks improve to 6-3 in the league (12-5 overall) while the Panthers fell to 0-9 in league play (1-14 overall).
NORTH PENN 58, PENNRIDGE 31
The Maidens opened up a 15-4 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 28-11 lead into halftime before blowing the game wide open with a 20-2 third quarter explosion. The Rams outscored the Maidens 18-10 in the final quarter.
“We played really good defense for three quarters,” Maiden coach Maggie deMarteleire said.
Steph Knauer led the Maidens with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Lauren Crisler added 14 points and Vicky Tumasz, eight points. Brenda McDermott had five assists.
The Maidens upped their record to 7-2 in league play (12-4 overall) while the Rams fell to 2-7 in the league (3-11 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 66, HATBORO-HORSHAM 22
Lindsey Kelly had herself a career night, scoring a game-high 29 points in three quarters of action to lead the Patriots to the big win. The senior center scored 16 points in a first quarter that saw the Patriots open up a 24-11 lead. By halftime, she had 21 points, and the Patriots led 31-14. The Patriots put an exclamation point on the win with a 22-2 third-quarter explosion.
Margaret Anne Hubbel added 10 points for the Patriots while Lexi Scrivano and Courtney Webster both had nine points. Emily Marvin led the Hatters with five points.
While the Hatters fell to 2-7 in the league (4-11 overall), the Patriots improved to 7-1 in the league (11-5 overall).
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 45, UPPER MERION 35
Taylor Bryant exploded for 14 second-half points en route to a 21-point effort to lead the Flying Cardinals. Although the Vikings hung tough, they never could get over the hump in a classic American Conference battle.
“We cut it to three with two seconds to go in the third quarter, and Taylor Bryant hit a layup at the buzzer,” Upper Merion coach Tom Schurtz said. “She was huge for them tonight. She really kept us at arm’s length.”
The Vikings kept it close for the better part of the fourth quarter before Bryant hit a pair of shots to put the Flying Cardinals up by seven. Jen Myers connected on a pair of free throws to ice the win.
“It was a back and forth affair,” Schurtz said. “It was an excellent game.”
“We know it’s going to be a battle,” Upper Dublin coach Vince Catanzaro said. “His kids played very, very tough. They didn’t back down. Tom’s team is playing pretty good right now.
“We changed our defense three times. We went from a matchup to a three-two and eventually went to a man-to-man. I had to keep countering everything he was doing, and in the long run, it was just a good battle. We came out on top.”
The Flying Cardinals led 8-3 at the end of one quarter and took a 20-13 lead into halftime. Both teams were hampered by early foul trouble – Upper Dublin point guard Curtrena Goff sat for part of the first and all of the second quarter after picking up her second foul. Upper Merion’s Kristina O’Sullivan also took a seat on the bench with foul troubles.
“We came out of halftime and immediately cut it to two,” Schurtz said. “We never took the lead, but it was one of those games where we kept getting close and getting close, but then Taylor would make a big shot or they’d hit two free throws.
“It was a real exciting game. They’re a mentally tough team. There’s a reason they’ve been in the state tournament. They understand how to win a game like that. While I think we’ve improved, we haven’t quite taken that next step that they’ve learned how to do yet.”
Cassidy Koenig led the Vikings with nine points while freshman Reggie Robinson had eight points – six straight during a fourth-quarter stretch. MJ Valeri also had eight points for the Vikings.
“When you have a kid like Cassidy who’s a good shooter – even if she’s open for a little bit, she has such a good shot,” Catanzaro said. “We were lucky to hold her to three three’s.
“(Kristina) O’Sullivan is just a pure athlete and one of the fastest kids out there.”
In addition to Bryant’s 21 points, Myers and Brianna Spector each scored eight points.
“(Goff) only had four points, but she’s the one that makes the backdoor pass that no one can make at that level because she sees it so good,” Catanzaro said of his junior point guard. “Taylor either made the layup or got to the foul line.”
A change in strategy paid dividends for Catanzaro, who moved Spector out of the middle and put her on the wing and moved Myers back in the middle.
“Brianna made two three’s,” Catanzaro said. “Tom wasn’t expecting it, and it changed things a little.
“I just made that change before the game. I was trying to get Brianna to feel more relaxed about her shooting. She made a couple, and that helped. It was big, and Jen Myers played much better inside. It helped her get more offensive rebounds, and it made a big difference.”
The Flying Cardinals improved to 6-2 in league play (13-4 overall) while the Vikings, who saw their six-game winning streak end, fell to 11-5.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 50, UPPER MORELAND 33
The Golden Bears hung tough for the first half of Tuesday’s game, trailing by just a 17-15 score at the intermission, but the Colonials outscored the Golden Bears 19-12 in the third quarter and 33-18 in the second half to earn the win.
Erin Martin led a balanced PW attack with 12 points while Egypt Thompson added 10 and Gabby Schumacher, eight points. Lyndsey Walder led the Golden Bears with 13 points while Meghan Penecale had eight and Karli Lynch, seven points.
While the Colonials improved to 4-4 in league play (6-8 overall), the Golden Bears fell to 0-7 in the league (3-13 overall).
NORRISTOWN 42, WISSAHICKON 34
The Eagles found themselves staring at a 14-8 deficit at the end of one quarter and still trailed 22-18 at the intermission, but they outscored the Trojans 12-6 in both the third and fourth quarters en route to the win.
Brianna Hedgepeth led the Eagles with 12 points while Stephanie DiNolfi had 10. Wissahickon’s Dominique Earland led all scorers with 15 points.
While the Trojans fell to 1-6 in league play (3-10 overall), the Eagles upped their league mark to 3-4 (5-9 overall).
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