Neshaminy & Abington were winners in Saturday’s SOL Tournament. Game action photos provided courtesy of Geanine Jamison. (Neshaminy/Souderton photo courtesy of Jesse Garber) CLICK HERE for galleries of both games.
NESHAMINY 51, SOUDERTON 47
The Redskins had a score to settle when they faced Souderton in Saturday’s SOL Tournament semifinal as they looked to avenge a regular season loss to the Indians.
They got what they were looking for, and one fact is clear – these two teams give fans their money’s worth. In the regular season meeting between the two squads, the Indians rallied from eight down with just over two minutes to play to earn the win.
In Saturday’s rematch, the Redskins returned the favor, rallying from five down in the final quarter to eke out the win.
“We all felt horrible after that last game, and we needed redemption just to show them we can play and we’re in this for the long run,” senior Brooke Mullin said. “(These games) are exciting, and it gets us ready for bigger games that are going to come soon.”
The Redskins’ will to win was underscored in the game’s final 43.8 seconds when – while clinging to a one-point lead – they blocked three shots, one each by Mullin, Allison Harvey and Alexis McCoy.
“I couldn’t tell you how proud I am of them because they have really put the work in to be a better defensive team,” Neshaminy coach Joe Lally said. “I said it before and I’ll say it a million times – all the credit goes to them.
“We talk about defense being an attitude and hard work. They’ve developed the attitude that we’re going to work hard, and it shows.”
Mullin played a starring role in the Redskins’ win, scoring 17 of her game-high 22 points in the second half. She was equally effective on the defensive end, and after coming up with a steal on a Souderton inbounds near midcourt, the senior standout – who was fouled going to the hole – buried a pair at the line to give the Redskins a 48-47 lead.
“I was just trying to read her eyes and follow the ball and just steal it after she threw it,” Mullin said of a steal that led to the game-winning points.
Armed with a one-point lead, the Redskins’ defense refused to give an inch. Allison Harvey sealed the Indians’ fate when she sank a pair at the foul line with 2.3 seconds.
“I really feel like they’re so well coached, they’re so fundamental, and they stick with their game plan,” Lally said of Souderton. “They have to be the best out-of-timeout team. They seem to get what they want when they call a timeout, so it was trying to take those little things away.
“I feel like if you’re playing the game and you’re going up and down and you’re back and forth that we can compete with them, but they kind of get the edge of you on special team plays, so to speak – out-of-bounds plays. They’re very strong on those types of situations. The final 41 seconds – you have to give the girls a ton of credit. I think Lynn (Carroll) emptied out the playbook. The girls did a great job.”
In the opening quarter, Mullin and Allision Harvey both scored five points, and a Mullin three sent the Redskins into the second quarter with a 13-12 lead. A putback by Harvey upped that advantage to three, but a Mikaela Reese bucket after an offensive rebound sparked a 13-2 Souderton run. Megan Walbrandt scored six points, Curran O’Donnell had a three, and Megan Bealer – after coming up with a steal – sank a pair at the line to put the Indians on top 25-17. Sophomore Kacie Sienko hit nothing but net on a huge three off the bench to pull the Redskins to within five at halftime.
“I went in to basically try and play good defense,” Sienko said. “When the ball got kicked to me, I just shot it. I knew it was going in.”
Mullin went to work in the third quarter, scoring 11 points. The Redskins led 34-31 after a Mullin basket, but Megan O’Donnell scored on a drive, and after Curran O’Donnell came up with a steal, Megan O’Donnell found Erica Stephens for a basket that put the Indians on top 35-34. Mullin scored off the dribble, and after a Souderton miss, she buried a pair at the foul line to send the Redskins into the final quarter with a 38-35 advantage.
Curran O’Donnell’s three to open the fourth quarter knotted the score, and a basket by Reese was followed by a three-point play by Megan O’Donnell, giving the Indians a 43-38 lead. The Redskins came roaring back with Mullin delivering a three-point play of her own and – after a Souderton turnover – Harvey connected on a three to put the Redskins on top 44-43. The Indians led by one (47-46) after Reese connected on an in-bounds play with 1:42 remaining only to see Mullin and company deliver all the big plays in the closing minute.
“We’re all competitive personalities – we wanted to win this, and obviously, we don’t like losing,” Walbrandt said. “But we’re still together as a team. This didn’t bring us down. We’re still positive. It would have been nice to win, but it’s not a heartbreaking loss.
“This is what all the games are going to be like from now on. We’re not going to have any easy ones left, so I think this is good.”
Although her team will not have a chance to defend an SOL title they own, coach Lynn Carroll had no complaints about her team’s performance.
“Honestly, I feel like both teams – it was just kids stepping up and hitting big shots, and they just happened to make the last one,” the Indians’ coach said. “I thought we executed our last few plays really well, and they made nice plays defensively. They blocked three of our last shots.
“This is similar to when we played Abington earlier this week. It’s a really good game right now. Obviously, we would have preferred to win and get a chance to win this thing again on Monday. There’s a couple of things we want to look at that we didn’t do well, but ultimately now we’re just ready to start preparing for districts. Neshaminy played well. They had kids step up on both ends of the court.”
Harvey also finished in double figures for the Redskins with 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
For the Indians, Walbrandt and Reese led the way with 11 points. Bealer added nine, Megan O'Donnell had eight, and Curran O'Donnell, six points.
Neshaminy (21-2, 12-0 SOL) will face Abington in Monday’s title game at Bensalem (6 p.m.). Souderton (20-3, 11-1) will return to action in the District One 6A Tournament.
Souderton 12-13-10-12 47
Neshaminy 13-7-18-13 51
Souderton (47) – Megan Bealer 9, Megan Walbrandt 11, Erica Stephens 2, Curran O’Donnell 6, Megan O’Donnell 8, Mikaela Reese 11.
Neshaminy (51) – Emily Tantala 2, Kacie Sienko 3, Brooke Mullin 22, Kristin Curley 5, Alexis McCoy 4, Kelly Kowalick 1, Allison Harvey 14.
ABINGTON 56, UPPER DUBLIN 44
There were no surprises when the SOL American Conference co-champions squared off in Saturday’s SOL Tournament semifinal. The two teams had met twice during the regular season. Upper Dublin won the first, using a heroic fourth quarter comeback to rally from 23 down to win in overtime. Abington won the second in a tightly contested game.
Saturday’s third meeting was anyone’s game heading into the fourth quarter. The Flying Cardinals – thanks to a basket by Jackie Vargas in the closing seconds of the third quarter – trailed by just two points, 41-39. That, however, turned out to be UD’s final field goal until Jess Polin’s basket with 19 seconds remaining. By that time, the Ghosts had a double-digit lead.
“This is the third time we played them – you could make an argument that we didn’t deserve to win the first game,” coach Morgan Funsten said. “They totally outplayed us for three quarters. The last game I thought we outplayed them.
“I thought today we were going to see who the better team was, and after watching that game and coaching that game, I think they’re better than us right now, and that’s something we have to strive to in the future, understand that we’re not a finished product. Our goal should be to get better than them by the end of the year, and I think we can, but today I thought they were the better team.”
In the end, it came down to defense – Abington’s ability to slow down UD’s long-range snipers. The Flying Cardinals had nine three-pointers through three quarters. They connected on just 1-of-11 shots in the final quarter, none from beyond the arc.
“I just feel we had our defensive discipline today,” coach Dan Marsh said. “We stayed out of foul trouble. We were able to do what we wanted to do defensively.
“They’re going to hit shots, so we just have to be able to persevere. Even when they hit them, I still felt we were in control. We just couldn’t let them get a huge momentum swing, and I think we were able to do that.”
Dayna Balasa, whose 17 points led the Cardinals, had five three-pointers, and Jess Polin had four. The Cardinals connected on just 1-of-11 shots in the final quarter. Marsh credited senior Miranda Liebtag for slowing down Balasa, who kept the Cardinals in it with three three-pointers in the third quarter.
“I switched Miranda off of 32 (Balasa) for a few minutes, and she hit those two threes, and that was huge because she fights through screens better than anybody,” the Ghosts’ coach said.
“She’s definitely their shooter,” Liebtag said of Balasa. “So I just have to stay on her but also keep my composure in case she decides to pump fake and drive.”
In the opening quarter, the Ghosts connected on three treys of their own – two from Liebtag and one from Cam Lexow – to go on top 17-10.
“We have never been here before, so just wanting to win as a team and as a whole unit and everybody putting in their input really helped us out,” Liebtag said. “Today we came in and we felt ready to win.”
The Cardinals rallied in the second as Polin had a pair of threes and Balasa had one. Abington still led by three (26-23) after a Kassondra Brown putback, but Balasa buried a pair of foul shots with 1.9 seconds remaining to make it a 26-25 game at the intermission.
In the third quarter, Brown – who led all scorers with 21 points – dominated play in the paint, scoring eight points, but the Cardinals were still very much in it. Until a fourth quarter when their shots stopped falling.
“They wanted it more,” Funsten said. “We gave up too many offensive rebounds, second chances, loose balls. I thought that was the name of the game. We try to focus on things we have control over. We have control over defense. You don’t always have control over whether you make shots. I thought we gave them too many chances.
“As long as we let ourselves learn from it – sometimes that’s the hard part. To understand you’re not the finished product, and you have room for improvement.”
For the Ghosts, this is their first trip to the SOL title game.
“These kids had four goals at the beginning of the (season) – conference championship, SOL championship, district championship and the state championship,” Marsh said. “They have an opportunity to go for number two (Monday) against a very good Neshaminy team that’s playing well. They know Neshaminy, so they’re fired up for it.
“I think it means a lot, especially to our seniors. They want to end the season the way they want to.”
“It means a lot to us,” Liebtag said. “We set goals each and every game and we go one step at a time for each goal.”
Also for the Ghosts, freshman point guard Khalis Whiting had 13 points – nine in the fourth quarter when she buried 5-of-6 at the foul line. Lexow added 11 points, and Liebtag had nine.
Balasa led the Cardinals, who also received 14 points from Polin and 11 from Vargas.
Abington (20-3, 13-1 SOL) will face Neshaminy in Monday’s title game at Neshaminy (6 p.m.). Upper Dublin (19-4, 13-1) will have an opening round bye in the District One 6A Tournament and will not be in action until Wednesday, Feb. 20.
Upper Dublin 10-15-14-5 44
Abington 17-9-15-15 56
Upper Dublin (44) – Jess Polin 14, Sarah Eskew 2, Dayna Balasa 17, Jackie Vargas 11.
Abington (56) – Tamia Wessels 2, Cam Lexow 11, Kassondra Brown 21, Miranda Liebtag 9, Khalis Whiting 13.
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