Souderton, Upper Merion and William Tennent will be playing in championship games on Wednesday. Check out all of Tuesday’s SOL action. To view action photos of the Quakertown/Palisades and William Tennent/Upper Perk games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
CHELTENHAM 49, DOWNINGTOWN WEST 36
Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews was all but unstoppable in Tuesday’s showdown at the Spring-Ford Holiday Classic, scoring a game-high 28 points to lead the Lady Panthers to the big win. The St. Joe’s-bound senior gave early indications that she was on her way to another big night when she scored 11 points in the first quarter. Teammate Christina Coleman added four, and the Lady Panthers – who led 15-8 at the end of the quarter – were off and running.
Cheltenham took a 23-18 lead into halftime and led by a 34-30 score heading into the final quarter. That’s when Andrews once again stepped to the fore, scoring nine points as the Lady Panthers outscored the Whippets 15-6. The gifted senior was 4-for-5 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, 8-for-9 for the game.
As a team, the Lady Panthers were 7-for-9 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
“Downingtown West played very hard and kept it within four to eight points most of the game,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “In the fourth quarter, we made a few stops, got a few baskets, and before you knew it, we were in ‘CC’ time.
“They have a nice-sized team, and they’re a very deliberate team, which actually gave us some trouble. CC had 28 points, but it was a team effort.”
Coleman added eight points while Jiana Clark had seven for the Lady Panthers, who were led on the backboards by the 14-rebound effort of Ming Seawright.
“It wasn’t a well-played game,” Schaefer said. “It was pretty sloppy and physical, but we held them to 36 points.
“We’re not a very good shooting team, but our defense hung in there. Ming really cleaned the boards, and the rest of the kids – Clark, Coleman and Peoples – played pretty nicely. Peoples did a good job controlling the ball and put a lot of pressure on their point guard.”
The Lady Panthers return to action on Thursday at Spring-Ford when they will face Hempfield in a 4:30 p.m. game.
WILLIAM TENNENT 44, UPPER PERKIOMEN 29
Senior center Emily O’Donnell won her personal dual with Upper Perk’s Stacey Auckland, finishing the game with 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Panthers into Wednesday’s title game. Auckland scored 10 points and was hampered by foul woes all night long.
Nikki Alden also finished in double figures for the Panthers with 10 points while Allison Chatburn added eight points and Ally Fenner, six points. Chatburn, Alden and Angie Pomponio each contributed a trey for the Panthers, who jumped out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back.
At the end of one quarter, Tennent led 15-4, and the Panthers took a 24-16 lead into halftime. O’Donnell scored 10 second-half points and dominated the paint as the Panthers outscored the Indians 20-13.
Tennent will face Palisades in Wednesday’s title game at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates defeated Quakertown 49-26.
PALISADES 49, QUAKERTOWN 26
Quakertown found itself on the short end of a 12-6 score at the end of one quarter but trimmed the Pirates’ lead to 20-19 after senior Brittny Buonanno Taylor connected on a pair of foul shots with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter. The Pirates took a 21-19 lead into halftime but then took control of the game with an 11-2 third quarter. The Panthers managed just one field goal in a second half that saw the Pirates outscore the hosts 28-7.
Buonanno Taylor led the Panthers with seven points while Katie Kelsall added five.
Quakertown will face Upper Perk in Thursday’s consolation game at 6 p.m.
UPPER MERION 56, SHERWOOD 51
Cassidy Koenig was lights-out from beyond the arc in Tuesday’s opening round game of the Sherwood Holiday Tournament. In a remarkable long-range shooting display, the senior guard buried 7-of-11 shots from three-point land and finished with a game-high 26 points.
“It’s ridiculous,” coach Tom Schurtz said with a laugh. “What do you do? She’s great. She’s the best shooter I have ever coached and one of the best shooters I have ever seen.”
Koenig gave a preview of things to come with three three-pointers in a first quarter that saw the Vikings sprint to a 19-10 lead. Actually, it was MJ Valeri that got the ball rolling for Upper Merion when she buried her team’s first trey. Koenig followed by hitting her next three shots - all from beyond the arc.
“We started the game 4-for-4 from three-point land,” Schurtz said. “That really gets you going in a hurry.
“Playing down in Maryland – and this is why I love going down there, the 30-second shot clock changes everything because you’re getting more shots and more possessions over the course of the game.”
While Koenig stole the spotlight with her deadly shooting from the outside, teammate Jackie VanLoan was controlling play in the paint, finishing the game with a career-high 16 points to go along 13 rebounds.
“As loud as Koenig’s 26 were, Jackie VanLoan’s 16 points and 13 rebounds were just a great effort from our center,” Schurtz said. “Jackie is a nice, solid player for us. She’s worked hard, and she did a great job on the offensive glass. She had eight offensive rebounds and a couple of putbacks.
“At Upper Merion, we don’t have particularly big post players, so I’m always impressed that our centers are able to go out and play such good defense given how undersized they are. Jackie is 5-8 playing center against a 6-1 kid. She played phenomenal defense and really kept us going.”
The Vikings took a 30-23 lead into halftime and led 45-33 heading into the final quarter.
“We led by as many as 14, but with six minutes left, we said, ‘This game isn’t over,’” Schurtz said. “We made some clutch free throws down the stretch to make sure they would never really get over that hump. We kept it at a two-possession game the entire fourth quarter.
“Sherwood is a huge team. They start three girls over six foot, and we are not huge.”
The Vikings were without Kristina O’Sullivan, who is playing in a soccer showcase in Texas.
“I give the girls a lot of credit,” Schurtz said. “I was really happy. Sherwood was 4-2 going into the game. They’re a very competitive team. They went to their district tournament last year, so it’s a nice win for us.”
Upper Merion will play the Century High School White Knights (6-1) in Wednesday’s title game at 6 p.m.
URSULINE ACADEMY 35, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 27
Adrianna Hahn – Ursuline’s star freshman – has been torching teams for 20-plus points a game. The Indians limited the high-scoring point guard to 11 points in Wednesday’s contest. Hahn had only four points in the first, second and fourth quarters combined, but she scored seven points in a third quarter that saw Ursuline – the top-ranked team in Delaware - outscore Rock North 14-6, turning a 17-16 halftime lead into a 31-22 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Senior Emily Grundman led all scorers with 13 points while teammates Alyssa Dumont and Dominique Pinto each added six points for the Indians. Rock North was doomed by its 23 turnovers as well as an ice cold shooting night – the Indians connected on just 11-of-39 shots from the field (29 percent).
BOYERTOWN 51, PENNRIDGE 41
The Rams hung tough against the host Bears in Tuesday’s opening round game of the Boyertown Holiday Tournament. They trailed Boyertown 13-11 at the end of one quarter, and it was still a two-point game at halftime (23-21). The two teams battled to a 9-9 draw in the third quarter before the Bears closed out the game with a 19-11 fourth-quarter surge.
Alyssa Marchunsky had a big game for the Rams, scoring 16 points and pulling down five rebounds, while Kaeli White added six points, five rebounds and four steals. Jessie Tennett, Jen Cooley and Brianne McGrath each scored five points for the Rams.
Pennridge will face Downingtown East in Wednesday’s consolation game at 3 p.m. The Cougars fell to Bangor 49-42 in an opening round game.
SOUDERTON 51, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 34
Thanks in no small part to the dazzling 23-point effort of Bianca Picard, the Indians snapped LC’s four-game winning streak with Tuesday’s no-doubt-about it win. The Indians’ sophomore point guard buried four three-pointers and basically took over the game in the middle two quarters.
The Indians held a modest 9-7 lead at the end of one quarter, but behind seven points from Picard, they outscored the Crusaders 15-10 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 24-17 lead. Allison Gallaher and Liz Mower also contributed treys in a first half that saw the Indians bury four three-pointers.
Souderton put the game out of reach with a 14-6 third quarter scoring burst that included eight points from Picard, who connected on a pair of three’s. Picard iced the win by burying five-of-six from the foul line in the fourth quarter while Carley Kendall added four points., Mower added seven points and Kendall, six points for the Indians.
Souderton will face Gwynedd-Mercy in Wednesday’s title game at 4 p.m.
To read Rick Woelfel’s complete game story posted on PhillyBurbs.com, please click on the following link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/basketball/souderton-gwyneed-mercy-reach-finals/article_3617e5ff-9b58-5c6d-be95-b4f65c88878c.html
GWYNEDD-MERCY 40, WISSAHICKON 37
The Monarchs led 11-6 at the end of one quarter and still held a tenuous 18-17 lead at the intermission. The Trojans outscored Gwynedd 9-7 in the third quarter to take a 26-25 lead into the final frame. The Monarchs, behind six points from Maura McKenna, outscored the Trojans 15-11 in the fourth quarter to earn the come-from-behind win.
Meredith Bryne led the Trojans with 14 points while teammate Rachel Stone added eight, including a pair of three-pointers.
The Trojans will face Lansdale Catholic in Wednesday’s consolation game at noon.
JENKINTOWN 32, UPPER MORELAND 30
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