Hatboro-Horsham coach Eric Glemser isn’t interested in picking up any more moral victories.
“I’m sick and tired of everybody saying, ‘Oh, you played hard,’” the Hatters’ coach said after Friday night’s heartbreaking 54-46 overtime loss to Souderton. “That’s (nonsense). I want to win.”It was easy to understand Glemser’s frustration after watching his team let a win slip away in a game it led for the better part of four quarters – the Hatters still led by eight (42-34) with two minutes remaining in regulation.
The Hatters’ demise could be directly attributed to their woes at the foul line. They not only misfired on the front end of two one-and-ones, they connected on just one-of-six from the foul line in the final minute when the Indians were in the penalty.
“That’s been our Achilles Heel all year,” Glemser said.
All told, the Haters were six-of-18 from the charity stripe.
“That’s unacceptable for high school basketball,” said Glemser, whose team was shooting in the neighborhood of 47 percent from the line coming into the game. “We work on it all the time. We spend a lot of time shooting free throws.
“I have to figure out how to get my team to make their free throws.”
Take away the disastrous ending, and the Hatters turned in quite a performance against a team that had demolished them earlier in the season. Souderton won the initial meeting 54-21 after sprinting to a 32-6 halftime lead.
“They’ve improved more than any other team I’ve seen in a while,” said Souderton junior Brittany Sandone, who kept the Indians in the game with a gutsy 21-point performance.
So what has changed?
“Everything,” senior co-captain Biz Meschio said. “All of the seniors – Lauren Anderson and me – our leadership has changed, and we’ve gained such a chemistry as a team.
“Right now everybody is like, ‘Oh, we’re going to beat Hatboro-Horsham by 20 points,’ but we want to show them they’re going to have crawl over us, fighting tooth and nail just to win because that’s how we’re going to play for the rest of the season.”
The Hatters – sparked by three treys – led 13-4 at the end of one quarter, and they upped that lead to 16-4 early in the second quarter.
Hatboro still led by seven at the half and took a 35-29 lead into the final quarter. They extended that lead to 40-31, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Indians.
“We have been playing well,” Glemser said. “I was proud.
“Souderton kicked our (butts) at the beginning of the year. The girls have made a turnaround since the beginning of the year.”
Alicia Hayes scored a team-high 12 points for the Hatters, including three three-pointers
They’re back – Abington is getting close to full strength with the return of Emily Leer to its lineup. The gifted junior played the last four minutes of each quarter in the Ghosts’ wins over Neshaminy (50-37) and William Tennent (51-37). Leer made the most of those minutes, contributing 13 in her debut against the Redskins and 12 in the win over Tennent.
Leer’s minutes were increased to five minutes each quarter in Abington’s game against Harry S. Truman on Wednesday.
“We hope by next Tuesday against Council Rock South she’ll play the full game,” coach Dan Marsh said.
The absence of Leer forced the other players to up their games.
In Tuesday’s win over Tennent, senior Ajanae Boone had a team-high 13 points while Leer and freshman Ajannah Peal had 12 each. Peal had 11 in the win over Neshaminy.
“I think we were able to have that kind of balance because of the adversity we went through,” Marsh said. “Peal has really grown up and has really come into her own, and she’s had to.
“We’re hoping we can play well at the end of the season and do well in districts. That’s our goal right now – to finish the season strong. People have kind of forgotten about us, and we like that. Maybe we can play well enough to remind them.”
Kelsey Ryan (12 points) and Brianna Weiler (11 points) paced Neshaminy. Tennent was led by Megan Zimmerman (13 points) and Ashley Alden (10 points).
Eagles end Vikings’ streak – Norristown sprinted out of the gate to a 5-0 record but then stubbed its toe in a 44-43 loss to Chichester. Things were never quite the same.
Until Tuesday night.
That’s when the Eagles spoiled Upper Merion’s 10-game winning streak, rolling to a 21-8 halftime lead on their way to a 48-37 win.
“We’ve actually had a long layoff, and since we haven’t played as many games the last two weeks, the girls were raring to go,” coach Ashlee Harrison said. “Upper Merion had been playing strong, and we knew we had to play extremely good defense on (Lisa) Ridgeway and (Cassidy) Koenig, their shooter, to be able to stay in the game, and that’s what we did.
“We came out and played phenomenal defense, and Mercedes Harris played her heart out.”
Harris was unstoppable in the paint, scoring a game-high 24 points that included sinking 6-of-10 shots in the first half and six-of-six in the second half.
“There were games were she was one-for-nine, and then to have a game like that, I couldn’t ask for more,” Harrison said. “She was finishing in traffic without even getting foul calls.
“That was big for her. She’s one of our smallest forwards, but you can’t tell, considering the way she finishes around the rim. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Harrison credited Brittney Rose for holding Ridgeway to 10 points.
“She had most of those in the fourth quarter,” the Eagles’ coach said. “Netta Wyse played phenomenal defense on Koenig.”
Koenig finished the game with six points on a pair of treys.
Harrison is hoping the win is a sign that the Eagles are back. They dropped five of six games after winning their first five, and Harrison points to the one-point loss to Chichester as the turning point.
“We didn’t know how to lose at that point,” the first-year coach said. “Our shoulders dropped, our heads hung low, and it seemed as though they felt there was nothing they could do to redeem themselves.”
A year later- Last year when archrivals Cheltenham and Council Rock North met in the Scholastic Classic at Archbishop Carroll, the Indians jumped out to a 19-2 lead and then withstood a late-game Panther charge for a 58-52 win.
That game – a rematch of the 2007 PIAA Class AAAA state title game won by Cheltenham – pitted two teams that were in the midst of rebuilding. The Indians brought a 13-4 record into the game while the defending state champions were an uncharacteristic 10-8.
A lot has changed since then.
The two teams are once again among the district’s elite, and both brought dazzling winning streaks into Saturday night’s rematch which was won by the Lady Panthers 63-56.
The win extended the Lady Panthers’ winning streak to 11 but ended the Indians at 13.
“This is a monumental victory,” Cheltenham coach Bob Schaefer said. “This will go down as one of our bigger wins. They’ve had the upper hand in non-league games against us.
“I told them this would be a good measuring stick to see where we are now (compared to) where we were last year. Last year we opened the game down (15-0). I said we had to go out with more composure, and we did.”
This year, it was the Indians who looked unnerved early but rallied from a 5-0 deficit to knot the score 15-15 at the end of one quarter.
“I tried to explain to them that we have been tested against very good teams – number six in the state, number nine in state and some very good teams from (New) Jersey,” Palkovics said. “Why are we nervous?
“I didn’t feel like Cheltenham had been tested yet, but we came out as the team that looked jittery and nervous.”
It’s a safe bet those nerves will be gone if and when the two teams do battle again in yet another post-season war.
A star in the making - Council Rock North’s Lauren Gold is a freshman in name only.
In Saturday night’s showdown against Cheltenham, the freshman guard displayed the court savvy of a seasoned veteran while burning the Panthers for 10 first-half points, most on nifty drives to the basket.
“I knew I was getting a player when I got Lauren,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “Did I know she would get to this maturity level and this ability this quick? No, but I feel the utmost confidence with her running the team at the end of the game.”
Gold finished the game with 18 points and was a steadying force for an Indian squad that has high hopes this season.
“I’m confident,” she said. “Sometimes tonight everybody seemed to be panicking, but the coach calmed us down.
“They were pressuring us a lot. The teams we usually see don’t really pressure us like that.”
Lauren’s sister, sophomore Devin Gold, added nine points in Saturday’s contest.
Around the SOL – In the week’s marquee matchup, Cheltenham received 20 points from senior Dayna McCrewell while Shayla Felder added 17 points and Monet Constant, 13, in the Lady Panthers’ 63-56 win over Council Rock North. Freshman Lauren Gold (18 points) and junior Sarah Kiely (16 points) led the Indians.
Central Bucks South opened its week with a 63-29 win over CB West. Brittany Kaewell and Nicole Mummert led a balanced attack with 11 points each. Katie Ross led West with eight. One night later, South lost a 58-57 heartbreaker to Central Bucks East. Cait Vasey (23 points), Liz Martin (12 points) and Jaime Donovan (10 points) led the Patriots. Calla Miller (18 points) and Katelyn Schneider (11 points) paced the Titans.
CB South closed out its week of SOL action with a convincing 76-59 win over Quakertown that saw five players –Miller (13 points), Laura Duffy (12 points), Jordan Inverso (12 points), Kaycee Schaefer (11 points) and Gab Vass (10 points) – score in double figures. Colleen Gavin (24 points) led the Panthers. Daniella Ciccarone (18 points) and Kyra Ames (12 points) also finished the game in double figures.
In non-league action, Downingtown West downed CB South 41-37. Miller led the Titans with 16 points.
East downed Council Rock South 46-35. Martin (15 points) and Vasey (12 points) led the Patriots. Alex Wheatley scored 15 points and Lea Britton added 10 for the Golden Hawks. The Patriots followed that with a 54-38 win over North Penn. Donnovan’s 20-point effort led the Patriots while North Penn’s Shakia Robinson (21 points) led all scorers.
The Patriots closed out the week with a 64-51 win over Souderton. Donovan and Martin led the way with 18 points each. Emily Price (12 points) and Monica Schmidt (10 points) led Souderton.
Hatboro-Horsham defeated CB West 48-30. Freshman Cailin Schmeer led the Hatters with 16 points while Bia Jurema had 11 points for West.
North Penn received 18 points from Robinson and 10 from Taylour Alston in its 43-33 win over Pennridge. Jordan Dominic led the Rams with 11 points.
In a non-league battle, the Maidens downed Neshaminy 54-36. Robinson had 14 and Mary Ward added 12 for the Maidens.
Pennridge notched a 71-48 non-league win over Pennsbury. Dominic scored 28 points while Lindsey Lyons had 14 points and Marissa Kunkle, 13. Molly Phillips led the Falcons with 13 points.
Abington defeated Pennsbury 51-35. Liz Layton scored 12 points and Kelly Gregorio added 10 points for the Ghosts while Kelsey Balascsak led the Falcons with 12.
Despite a monster 26-point effort by Neshaminy’s Kelsey Ryan, William Tennent edged the Redskins 43-42. Ashley Alden led the Panthers with 14 points. The Redskins came back to down neighboring Pennsbury one night later 40-31. Brianna Hires had 11 points and Kelly Rebert, 10 points.
Tennent picked up its second win in as many days with a 56-16 rout of Harry S. Truman. Alden (11 points) and Taylor Morgan (10 points) led the Panthers. Last Thursday, the Panthers downed CB West 48-19. Morgan and Alden both scored eight points to lead Tennent.
Bensalem defeated Tennent 45-34. Jackie Deegler (16 points), Kate Clarkson (10 points) and Sharmane Hall (10 points) led the Owls. Megan Zimmerman’s 12 points led the Panthers.
Jessica Moore scored 11 points to lead Upper Merion to a 48-37 non-league win over Upper Perk. In their 48-40 win over PW, the Vikings received 14 points from both Cassidy Koenig and Moore. Alyssa Butcher (16 points) and Angie Branigan (15 points) led the Colonials.
Kristen Fuery exploded for 22 points, and teammate Danielle Derr added 11 in Upper Dublin’s 51-27 non-league win over Interboro. One night later, Upper Merion edged the Flying Cardinals 54-52. Derr scored a game-high 24 points while Fuery added 11. Lisa Ridgeway paced the Vikings with 17 points while Koenig added 16.
Cheltenham used the double-figure efforts of Dayna McCrewell (19 points), Shayla Felder (16 points) and Monet Constant (13 points) to down Norristown 67-46. Brittney Rose led the Eagles with 18 points while Mercedes Harris had 12.
Wissahickon edged Upper Moreland 38-34 behind the 13-points effort of Colleen Hinde. Katie Costello led the Golden Bears with nine points. Later in the week, the Trojans eked out a 30-28 win over Springfield. Morgan Smith led the Spartans with nine points, and Hinde paced the Trojans with nine points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh downed Springfield 50-35. Branigan (14 points) and Meg Piotrowicz (12 points) led the Colonials while Annie Crudele (nine points) paced the Spartans.
In a battle of neighboring rivals, Council Rock North – sparked by 19 points from both Sarah Kiely and Kelly Scull – earned bragging rights with a 56-42 win over Council Rock South. Ann Silverthorn led the Golden Hawks with 18 points. Chelsea Allen added 10.
The Golden Hawks came back to defeat Truman 57-19. Jackie Weber led a balanced Rock South attack with 11 points. Shalaya Lynch led the Tigers with 11.
Sparked by the 25-point effort of Ciccarone, Quakertown downed Souderton 62-50. Gavin added 12 points. Liz Mower (11 points), Brittany Sandone (11 points) and Price (10 points) led the Indians.
Harry S. Truman fell to Maple Shade 32-27 in non-league action. Erica Rogers led the way with eight points.
SOS.com’s Fab Five (as of Jan. 21, 2009)
- Cheltenham (13-1)
- Council Rock North (15-2)
- Central Bucks East (14-1)
- Abington (12-4)
- Quakertown (10-5) Upper Merion (12-4)
PA Class AAAA Rankings (The Patriot-News, Jan. 19, 2009)
- Cardinal O’Hara (14-1)
- Central Dauphin (15-0)
- Mt. Lebanon (14-0)
- Downingtown East (13-2)
- Butler (13-1)
- Bethel Park (14-1)
- Cheltenham (13-1)
- Hazleton (12-2)
- Council Rock North (13-2)
- Lower Merion (12-1)
Honorable Mention: Allen (10-2), Archbishop Ryan (11-2), Central (11-1), Central Bucks East (13-1), Liberty (12-3), McDowell (12-2), Northampton (13-3), Upper Darby (15-1)
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