Seven of nine SOL girls basketball teams were winners in Friday’s PIAA 6A state opening round games. NP/Cedar Crest photos provided by Donna Longacre Photography. CB South/Parkland and CB West/Central York photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Abington/Central Dauphin East provided by John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of the CB South and CB West games…CLICK HERE.
District One was the big winner in Friday’s opening round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament with nine of 11 teams from the district advancing to the second round of 16. Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that seven of the nine SOL teams earned wins with several of those wins falling under the category of major upsets.
Souderton pulled off the big stunner, ignoring its 11 seed and sending District 3 champion Central Dauphin home for the season. Central Bucks East, the 15th seed entering the District One Tournament, advanced to states as the 10th seed and then promptly disposed of District 11 champion Easton with a come-from-behind win. Council Rock North sent District 11’s second place team, Nazareth, packing as well.
Adding to District One’s dominance were sixth-seeded Boyertown, which defeated defending state champion Cumberland Valley, and eighth-seeded Garnet Valley. The Jaguars came off three straight district losses to roll to a win over District 2 champion Scranton.
North Penn’s upset of Cedar Crest might not qualify as a big upset since the Falcons were the third seed out of District 3 while the Knights occupied District One’s fifth seed, but the Falcons – who brought a 27-1 record into the game – had the luxury of playing something close to a home game at Lebanon High School. That didn’t matter a whole lot to the Knights, who blew the game wide open in the second half.
Central York, the fourth place team out of District 3, pulled off the lone upset of a District One team with its win over third-seeded Central Bucks West.
#1-1 ABINGTON 60, CENTRAL DAUPHIN EAST 58 (OT)
In the night’s only overtime game, it was the district champion Ghosts prevailing, and according to coach Dan Marsh, the Panthers posed a much tougher challenge than their seventh seed suggested.
“I actually was afraid of this team a little bit because I think they underachieved,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Their coach left at the end of the season last year, and they brought in a new coach, and I think they’ve struggled to find their identity a little bit.
“But I’ll tell you what – they were a lot better than a seven seed, there’s no doubt. They were athletic, they were long, they played tremendous defense. They did to us what we do to teams.
“I said to my team, ‘All these teams that we’re making uncomfortable with our pressure and making them make quick decisions – that’s what they did to us.’ Our youth showed tonight. I think people forget that we start two sophomores and two juniors. It showed a little bit tonight because we got sped up, and we made bad decisions.”
Lizzie Oleary turned in a 21-point performance that suggested she wasn’t ready to see her final high school season come to an end. After scoring four points in the first half, the senior center exploded for 17 points after the intermission – 10 in the fourth quarter and four in overtime.
“Lizzie had a monster game,” Marsh said. “She had two monster blocks down the stretch when they could have tied the score.”
The two teams were deadlocked 11-11 after one quarter and 22-22 at the half, so it was hardly surprising to see the score knotted 51-51 at the end of regulation.
“There were a couple of times we could have put them away,” Marsh said. “We were up nine at one point and had the ball, and then we turned it over four times in a row.
“They were very good defenders. They gave us problems, but we were able to persevere, and at this point, we’re just happy to survive and advance. I have to give them a lot of credit. They played their butts off. They’re a senior team that we knew was dangerous, but we should have put them away. Fortunately, we were able to survive.”
The Ghosts overcame some serious foul trouble to earn the win. They lost sophomore Kassondra Brown – who finished with 13 points – in the fourth quarter, and Oleary was playing with four fouls.
“She was playing with four fouls, but here she is blocking shots at the end of the game to win the game for us,” Marsh said. “It was probably not the prettiest game because there were a lot of turnovers on both sides, but it was definitely a fun game. That’s what state playoffs are all about.”
Sam Brusha also finished the game in double figures with 10 points, and point guard Britney James had seven points.
Abington (23-5, 10-2 SOL) will face Northampton, District 11’s third place team, in a second round game on Tuesday.
Central Dauphin East 11-11-10-19-7 58
Abington 11-11-17-12-9 60
Central Dauphin East (58) – Marissa Butts 2 0-0 4; Jerra Sokes 4 2-2 11; Ayse Rawls 1 0-0 2; Gabbrielle Patterson 1 1-2 3; Tiara Little 6 0-0 12; Justyn Roberts 5 1-2 11; Aunbrielle Green 2 0-0 4; Sydney Davis 0 0-1; Ariel Peterson 1 2-4 4; Totals 25 7-14 58.
Abington (60) – Britney James 2 2-2 7; Camryn Lexow 2 0-0 4; Lizzie Oleary 9 3-5 21; Kassondra Brown 5 3-4 13; Sam Brusha 3 4-7 10; Tamia Wessels 2 0-0 5; Totals 23 12-18 60.
#1-2 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 62, #3-5 J.P. McCASKEY 41
Lauren Fortescue buried three three-pointers in the first quarter, and the Colonials’ guard was just getting started, scoring 17 points in the first half and propelling PW to a commanding 38-21 halftime lead en route to their first state win in recent memory.
“She really was tremendous,” coach Daniel Dougherty said. “I don’t even know the last time the program won a state playoff game, so it means a lot.”
Fortescue finished the game with 21 points, which included four three-pointers. All told, the Colonials buried 10 three-pointers with Taylor O’Brien connecting on three, Laurel Suchsland, two, and Ali Diamond, one.
“Going into the game, we knew they were primarily a zone defense team,” Dougherty said. “We were really able to work the ball around and then we were able to find some lanes to drive to the basket and kick to open shooters.”
O’Brien scored a game-high 26, burying 13-of-17 from the foul line in what is becoming a routinely outstanding performance. Diamond added eight points while Suchsland had seven. The Colonials also received some important contributions from their bench with senior center Lauren Coscia battling foul trouble.
“Victoria Betterly and Gia Schweitzer were able to come in and really spell some minutes and gave us quality minutes off the bench,” Dougherty said.
Making PW’s performance especially impressive was the fact that it came on the heels of a heartbreaking loss to Abington in the district title game that saw the Ghosts rally from an 11-point halftime deficit to earn the win.
“We had a good week of practice, but I wasn’t really sure,” Dougherty said. “When we sat down and watched the film from the district championship game, we really felt like we let one get away from us there, a chance we may never get again.
“So I wasn’t really sure how the kids would come back, but I think it helps playing in a familiar gym at Cheltenham. It felt really awkward to be sitting on the home bench in that gym, but it really helped our shooting – maybe I should ask them if we can switch sides.”
In Tuesday’s second round, Plymouth Whitemarsh (26-2, 14-0 SOL) will face a Council Rock North team it defeated in the District One Tournament with a come-from-behind win.
“The one thing we took away from the district tournament – if we were good enough to be right there after three quarters in the district championship game, then they have to have the confidence that they can compete for a state championship, and I really felt they played that way tonight,” Dougherty said.
JP McCaskey 12-9-11-9 41
Plymouth Whitemarsh 22-16-15-9 62
JP McCaskey (41) – Jaileen Short 4 0-0 11 Ahnera Parker 7 6-7 20; Anyzha Gibson 1 0-0 2; Briana Perry 2 0-0 4; Jaziah Richardson 1 0-0 2; Paris Todd 1 0-0 2; Totals 16 6-7 41.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (62) – Taylor O’Brien 5 13-17 26; Lauren Fortescue 8 1-1 21; Ali Diamond 1 5-6 8; Laurel Suchsland 2 1-2 7; Totals 16 20-26 62.
#1-4 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 45, #11-4 PARKLAND 27
The Titans took care of business early in Friday’s state opener, putting to rest in a hurry any thoughts that the Trojans would be able to play with them.
Haley Meinel and Alexa Brodie turned the first quarter into their own offensive clinic, combining for 21 points as the Titans raced out of the gate to a 24-8 lead. Brodie accounted for 11 of those points with three baskets – including a three – and a 4-for-4 showing at the foul line. Meinel had four baskets and two foul shots for 10 points.
“We stressed a couple of things at practice during the week,” Mattern said. “My assistants and I had talked about a couple of things we’d noticed on film – ways we felt we could take advantage of them.
“Those two (Meinel and Brodie) specifically executed it quite well. When Haley and Alexa combine to score 21 points in the first quarter, you hope that’s setting the tone, and I think they really did.”
The Titans, who took a 34-17 lead into halftime, outscored the Trojans 11-10 in the second half despite scoring no points in a fourth quarter that saw the Titans try to take time off the clock.
Meinel led all scorers with 18 points – 16 in the first half. Brodie added 15 – 13 in the opening half.
Mattern lauded the defensive efforts of Melissa Veal and Maddie McShane on the Trojans’ post players, who combined for just six points.
“We knew their post (Kassidy Stout) was their leading scorer, and she posts aggressive and she posts hard on every possession,” the Titans’ coach said. “Melissa Veal had her work cut out for her, and Maddie McShane on their second post (Devyn Anderson).
“Those two, I thought, did a really nice job battling inside and getting position, and the guards put pressure on the basketball because they do have players that can knock down shots. I really thought our post defense inspired the rest of the team to dig deep.”
Central Bucks South (20-7, 7-5 SOL) will face a familiar foe in Tuesday’s second round when the Titans will face Souderton for the third time this season. The two teams split their regular season meetings.
Parkland 8-9-5-5 27
Central Bucks South 24-10-11-0 45
Parkland (27) – Emily Piston 2 0-0 5; Rachel Medlar 3 0-0 7; Julia Buchman 2 0-0 4; Mia Coval 1 0-0 3; Claire Courter 1 0-0 3; Kassidy Stout 2 1-2 5; Devyn Anerson 0 1-2 1; Totals 11 2-4 27.
Central Bucks South (45) – Lindsay Smith 1 0-0 2; Haley Meinel 8 2-5 18; Alexa Brodie 5 4-4 15; Maddie McShane 2 0-0 4; Lexi Edwards 1 0-1 3; Totals 18 6-10 45.
#1-5 NORTH PENN 53, #3-3 CEDAR CREST 34
The Knights found themselves in a hostile environment in Friday’s state opener. With Cedar Crest just a stone’s throw down the road from Lebanon High School, the Falcons were playing in front of a decided partisan crown that packed the stands.
It could have been intimidating for the Knights. It wasn’t.
“We were loving every second of it,” senior captain Sam Carangi said. “Honestly, we were out warming up before they were, and when they came out, the whole gym erupted, and me and Jess (Huber) looked at each other and smiled.”
“We just thrive on that,” Huber said. “We looked at each other right away, and we knew it was going to be fun. We like being the enemy, but at the same time, we like having a crowd.”
“We had a nice student section,” said Carangi, giving a shout-out to the boys’ lacrosse team.
While their fans were outnumbered, the Knights gave those who made the trek to Lebanon plenty to cheer about. No one had a bigger game than senior Irisa Ye, whose 21 points led all scorers.
“She was hitting threes, pull-up jumpers, running the floor, getting to the basket, looking to post up when she could,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “She really had an outstanding game and everyone followed suit.”
The two teams were knotted 10-10 after one quarter, thanks to Bri Hewlett’s putback at the buzzer. The Knights opened up a 19-12 lead after Ye scored on a fast break, but the Falcons rallied to make it a 22-20 game by halftime.
While Huber, Ye and Hewlett each had seven points for the Knights, Cedar Crest’s Ariel Jones and Rachel Witherite led all scorers with nine points each.
Witherite – who had three three-pointers in the half – was on the receiving end of Jones’ passes after the senior point guard penetrated.
“I think Jones killed us in the first half,” said Carangi. “She was attacking the basket, and we weren’t coming over to help and we weren’t forcing her left.
“In the second half, we buckled down and were forcing her left, and our help was also there, and that caught them off-guard and helped us get going on offense.”
If there was a defining sequence, it came on the Knights’ opening possession of the second half. They misfired on their first four shots but tracked down the rebound of each miss with Ye capping the possession by burying a corner three that jumpstarted the Knights. Huber scored on a drive to put the Knights on top by seven, and after Jones buried a pair at the foul line, Ye sank her second three of the quarter. Carangi came up with a steal and found Ye for a textbook fastbreak basket and a 32-22 North Penn lead midway through the quarter.
Jones answered with a bucket for the Falcons, but Jess McKenzie got that back with a basket after a drive. Two more foul shots from Jones made it a 34-26 game, but Caranagi’s three from NBA range put the Knights on top 37-26. Ye – who had 12 points in the frame – turned a steal into a layup. A fastbreak bucket by Huber capped a 7-0 run that was interrupted by a Raven Morgan basket, but seconds later, Ye hit nothing but net on a foul line jumper, and the Knights led 43-28.
Cedar Crest never threatened the rest of the way.
“We had worked on what we wanted to do defensively,” deMarteleire said. “Three times in the 
first half we made mistakes on what we were supposed to do defensively. We came over and helped from ball side, and they knocked down threes.
“I think we did a great job in the second half. Everybody did their part. Jess McKenzie and Bri Hewlett got rebounds. Everybody did what they needed to do. It was definitely a team win.”
While Ye turned in a glittering offensive performance, her defense on Jones was also impressive.
"I think the defense was key for us," said Ye, who had three steals. "Number two (Jones) was fast, and I wasn't expecting her to be that fast.
"She caught me off guard a little, but I figured out what I had to do. I had to predict where she was going to go and contain her shot and drive. Her drive opened up a lot of offense for them – she could kick it out. Once we shut her down, they were in a bit of disarray."
In addition to her seven steals, Carangi had eight points, six rebounds and seven assists. Huber added 13 points and eight rebounds while Hewlett had seven points and seven boards.
North Penn (24-4, 10-2 SOL) will take on conference rival Central Bucks East in Tuesday’s second round.
North Penn 10-12-21-10 53
Cedar Crest 10-10-8-6 34
North Penn (53) – Irisa Ye 9 1-2 21; Jess Huber 5 2-3 13; Sam Carangi 2 3-4 8; Jess McKenzie 2 0-1 4; Bri Hewlett 3 0-0 7; Totals 21 6-10 53.
Cedar Crest (34) – Ariel Jones 5 4-5 15; Molly Bucher 1 0-0 3; Rachel Witherite 3 0-0 9; Raven Morgan 2 0-0 4; Alyssa Austin 2 0-0 4; Totals 13 4-5 34.
#1-7 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 45, #1-2 NAZARETH 38
Becca Margolis was the catalyst in Friday’s win. The junior point guard not only scored a game-high 23 points, which included a near-perfect 9-for-10 effort at the foul line, she also had five rebounds, six steals and four assists.
“Becca played out of her mind,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “Whenever we needed a big shot, she was able to step back and hit a three.
“Emily Mackin played great too. She had some finishes that were just unbelievable.”
Mackin finished with eight points, and Megan Haggerty had six for the Indians, who opened up a 12-4 lead and took a 12-6 lead into the second quarter. They led 22-16 at halftime. Margolis had 10 points at the intermission, including two of her game-high four three-pointers.
“Our team defense was really good,” Palkovics said. “We knew we wanted to shut down (Tessa) Brugler and (Jessica) Durnin – they’re scoring 75 percent of their points.
“We thought if we could keep them together right around 15-20 points that we would be okay. Dana (Bandurick) was playing great help defense. We put her on Juliann Duigman and thought we could get some help from Dana, and she came over and had some big blocks. Everything Bruler and Durnin got they really worked for. They rarely scored off their first shot. They had to really go after second shots if they were going to get anything.”
Brugler, a Bucknell commit, finished with 15 – but only four through the first three quarters. Durnin added eight to lead Nazareth, which pulled to within one late (39-38).
“When it was 39-38, Megan Haggerty hit a three, and that was huge,” Palkovics said.
The Indians were a season-best 11-for-14 at the foul line. Margolis was 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
Mackin and Kaelin Mely each added three steals. Bandurick had six rebounds and two blocked shots, and Hannah Weiler had a team-high seven rebounds.
For the Indians, the win was the first in state tournament play since 2011.
“I told the girls the other day that the last time we were in a state championship game we had 11 losses,” Palkovics said. “We know we had a tough schedule. I wish we would have been better at closing out some of those close games, but we just hope that bodes well for hopefully a long run in states.”
Council Rock North (19-9, 11-1 SOL) will face Plymouth Whitemarsh in a rematch of a district quarterfinal contest that saw the Colonials rally for a 56-48 win.
“PW is a great team, but I think the girls are eager for a rematch,” Palkovics said.
Council Rock North 12-10-9-14 45
Nazareth 6-10-9-13 38
Council Rock North (45) – Becca Margolis 5 9-10 23; Megan Haggerty 2 0-0 6; Emily Mackin 4 0-0 8; Dana Bandurick 0 2-4 2; Kaelin Mealy 1 0-0 2; Hannah Weiler 2 0-0 4; Totals 14 11-14 45.
Nazareth (38) – Zoe Deangelo 1 0-0 2; Tessa Brugler 6 2-3 15; Jaime Youngkin 1 0-0 2; Jessica Durnin 2 5-8 9; Madison Amy 3 0-0 7 Morgan Amy 1 1-3 3; Totals 14 8-14 38.
#1-10 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 57, #11-1 EASTON 51
There were undoubtedly many who didn’t give the Patriots much of a chance against the District 11 champion Red Rovers. Liz Potash was not in that number.
“I was confident going in,” the Patriots’ coach said. “I looked at their schedule, and they didn’t play the teams we played.
“Yesterday at practice, a couple of the girls were talking about practice next week, and I said to (my assistants), ‘That’s got to be a good sign.’ I do think having seven seniors on the team – they just don’t want it to end. They will do anything they can to keep extending the season, and that’s what they’ve been showing since that 1-4 start and all the way through districts.”
The Patriots trailed 13-9 after one quarter and 27-20 at the intermission, but they began to crawl back in the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Red Rovers 17-14 to go into the final quarter down by just four. Grace Stewart ignited the Patriots with 10 points in the third quarter, which included a pair of threes.
“She had three threes in the second half,” Potash said. “(In the first half), we just weren’t making shots. We were getting good looks, and Grace said, ‘My girl’s not playing me.’ We said, ‘Then shoot the ball. You’re a good shooter.’ Her threes were huge.”
It was a three-pointer by Stewart that gave the Patriots a lead they would not lose in a fourth quarter that saw East close it out with a 20-10 tear. Bri Talbot also came up big, burying 9-of-10 from the foul line in the final quarter. Sophia Mancuso had five points in the quarter, including a clutch three.
A defensive switch against an Easton squad that had buried a school record 144 three-pointers this season also played a role in the Patriots’ second half comeback.
“They shoot a bunch from the outside, but we picked up our defense and actually went into a zone, and that got us back in it,” Potash said. “When we were watching film, we weren’t that impressed with their zone offense, and they started really struggling.
“The biggest thing we were concerned with – they run a pretty spread out offense, and we struggle with that, so we thought we could mix in some zone.”
Talbot led all scorers with 20 points, which included a 12-for-14 effort at the charity stripe. Stewart added 15 points and a team-high five steals. Bridget Birkhead had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. Stewart and Megan Browne both added four rebounds.
“A huge key for us had to be boxing them out and pushing them off the boards because they got some big bodies, and they really hurt us in the first half,” Potash said. “In the second half, I thought we did a better job with that.”
Kutztown commit Gabby Bloshuk, who led the Red Rovers with 16 points, reached the 1,000-point milestone in the closing seconds when she buried a foul shot.
Central Bucks East (17-10, 6-6 SOL) will face SOL Continental rival North Penn in Tuesday’s second round.
Central Bucks East 9-11-12-20 57
Easton 13-14-14-10 51
Central Bucks East (57) – Sophia Mancuso 1 2-2 5 Bridget Birkhead 3 1-2 9; Megan Browne 2 1-3 5; Bailey McManus 1 0-3 3; Bri Talbot 4 12-14 20; Grace Stewart 6 0-0 15; Totals 17 16-24 57.
Easton (51) – Jahnel Oliver 1 0-0 3; Olivia George 1 0-0 2; Gabby Bloshuk 5 4-4 16; Leanna Deegan 1 2-3 4; Mackenzie Miers 4 0-0 8; Totals 19 8-11 51.
#1-11 SOUDERTON 50, #3-1 CENTRAL DAUPHIN 29
Kate Connolly.
Those were the only two words Lynn Carroll needed to say when asked the key to her team’s upset of the top-seeded Rams.
The junior transfer quite literally filled a stat sheet with a monster performance, finishing with a career high 30 points to go along with 15 rebounds, four steals, two blocks and two assists. She missed just two shots all night, burying 10-of-12 shots in a brilliant performance.
“She played out of her mind,” Carroll said. “You name it, she scored that way – reverse layups, offensive rebounds, threes, coast-to-coast, a steal for a layup. It was incredible.”
In a preview of things to come, Connolly scored six straight points to open the game and had eight of the Indians’ 10 first-quarter points. Connolly had a modest five points in a second quarter that saw the upstart Indians outscore the Rams 16-11 to go into halftime with a 26-17 lead. The Indians were a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line in the second quarter with Megan Bealer, Alana Cardona and Megan Walbrandt all converting 2-of-2. Bealer also had her first of two three-pointers for the Indians.
“We finished the first half with (point guard) Tori Dowd and Kate (Connolly) both on the bench and still maintained a nine-point lead at halftime,” Carroll said. “We don’t play too many possessions without Tori and Kate, and for us to be able to continue to execute at both ends under those circumstances was great.”
If the Rams entertained any thoughts of getting back in the game, those thoughts were put to rest in a third quarter that saw the Indians go on a 17-4 tear to open up a 43-21 advantage. Connolly accounted for 11 of those points while Bealer and Walbrandt each had a three-pointer. Connolly scored all seven of the Indians’ fourth quarter points.
“Kate was determined on offense, and this is the best individual offensive performance of any player that I’ve ever coached,” Carroll said. “The whole first half and most of the third quarter they played a two-three zone, which – if you saw one of our last few games – that’s what you should have done.
“Kate was looking for opportunities as opposed to catching it with the ball over her head and looking for someone else that’s open. She had a couple of offensive rebounds early and scored on those. They were playing a zone where if Kate was in the middle they were really, really paying attention to her, but otherwise, it was just a zone defense they weren’t stretching too much. She was looking to attack.
“We were up 15 or 17, and they finally went man. Right away we call a play for her, she attacks the basket and makes a layup. At one point, she scored and I just shook my head. It was unbelievable. She was just out of her mind. We’ve all known she was capable of this.”
The Indians, according to Carroll, had nothing to lose.
“You’re playing the district champ, there’s no pressure on us,” the Indians’ coach said. “This is the best we’ve played in over a month, for sure.
“We played well against Abington for three quarters, and we’ve really struggled since then. A lot of it was we were struggling mentally. We were feeling a lot of pressure, we had a lot of nerves. We showed none of that tonight. We can no longer say we’re an inexperienced postseason team at this point.”
While Connolly was dazzling on offense, the Indians’ defense – according to Carroll – was equally impressive.
“Our defense was incredible,” the Indians’ coach said. “Tori Dowd was just – they have a sophomore point guard who is very, very good. Their sets include so many screens for her to shoot threes, and I think she took one, but Tori just gave her no room, fighting through screens, fighting over screens. That’s what Tori does, and she really did it tonight.
“They have a kid going to Kutztown next year (Alexis Smith), and Megan Walbrandt played her for most of the games. She had six points – she had two field goals early in the game and had two foul shots the rest of the game. For 32 minutes, they struggled to score against our man-to-man. Defensively, Tori and Megan played great, and offensively, Kate was playing like a madwoman out of her mind. We got contributions from everybody.”
Bealer came up big in a supporting role, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Souderton (20-7, 8-4 SOL) will face Central Bucks South in Tuesday’s second round.
Souderton 10-16-17-7 50
Central Dauphin 6-11-4-8 29
Souderton (50) – Tori Dowd 1 0-0 2; Megan Bealer 2 2-2 8; Alana Cardona 1 3-6 5; Megan Walbrandt 1 3-6 5; Kate Connolly 10 8-13 30; Totals 15 15-24 50.
Central Dauphin (29) – Alexis Smith 2 2-2 6; Carol Weber 1 0-2 2; Tarae Daniels 1 0-0 2; Jamie Brann 3 4-5 10; Sam Gress 2 0-0 5; Nadia Romanchock 1 0-2 4; Faith St. Clair 1 0-0 2; Totals 11 6-11 29.
#3-4 CENTRAL YORK 42, #1-3 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 41
The Panthers took advantage of a shorthanded West squad to open up a 17-9 lead after one quarter. The 
Bucks were without back-up point guard Abbey Spratt (injury), and Maggie Rakowsky did not enter the game until the second quarter. They spent the rest of the game playing catch-up, and although they rallied to go on top 41-39 with three minutes remaining, they did not score the rest of the way and saw their season come to a disappointing end.
Sophomore Diane Nicholson and freshman Maddie Burke led the way with 10 points each. Tori Abelson added nine and Rakowsky, seven points.
The Panthers – who connected on just 10-of-21 foul shots – were led by the 12-point effort of Teirra Preston.
Central Bucks West closed out its season with a 22-6 record (9-3 SOL).
Central York 17-7-9-5 42
Central Bucks West 9-8-13-11 41
Central York (42) – Nikson Valencik 3 3-6 10 Allison Wagner 1 0-0 3; Emma Saxton 4 3-6 12; Sarah Sepic 2 0-0 5; Teirra Preston 4 4-9 12; Totals 14 10-21 42.
Central Bucks West (41) – Diane Nicholson 3 4-4 10; Bailey Tracy 1 0-0 3; Maddie Burke 4 0-0 10; Kaili Carey 0 2-2 2; Tori Abelson 4 1-2 9; Maggie Rakowsky 2 2-3 7; Totals 14 9-11 41.
#12-1 CARDINAL O’HARA 53, #1-9 UPPER DUBLIN 25
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