Council Rock North 55, Camden Catholic 33
Devin Gold put her name in the record books with her torrid long-range shooting performance in the Wildwood Boardwalk Classic on Tuesday. The Indians’ senior guard lit up the net for six three-pointers – five in the first half to break the record held by Lisa Brennan.
Gold’s red hot performance helped propel the Indians to a commanding 37-13 halftime lead.
“I think she was five-for-five from the three-point line,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “We probably got six or seven turnovers on our press which led to some real quick baskets.
“There was one series where I think we had three steals in a row. We were up by seven or eight points, and it was inbounds-layup, inbounds-layup, inbounds-layup. They would inbound the ball, and we got layups right off of it.”
Gold led the Indians with 20 points while her sister, Lauren Gold, contributed 13 points, eight assists, four steals and five rebounds in a solid supporting role. Junior Emily Grundman added 10 points.
Camden Catholic is one of New Jersey’s top teams and was ranked fourth in the state.
“I was pretty proud of the kids,” Palkovics said. “(Camden Catholic) had nine points with about seven minutes to go in the (second) quarter. They called a timeout, and we said, ‘Girls, keep them under 15.’”
The Indians allowed just 13 first-half points, and only the sharp shooting of Camden’s Addy Cranny – who scored 18 of her game-high 24 points in the second half – kept the final score from being even more lopsided.
The Indians will face Holy Spirit in Wednesday’s title game.
Upper Merion 67, Reservoir 63 (OT)
Sophomore Kristina O’Sullivan was flat out unstoppable, contributing a triple-double in a dazzling individual effort. She not only scored a game-high 30 points but also contributed 13 rebounds, 11 steals and seven assists. Included in her monster performance was an impressive 14-for-19 effort from the foul line where she connected on 5-of-6 in OT.
“She’s special,” coach Tom Schurtz said. “She was amazing tonight.
“She was clutch in the overtime.”
Cassidy Koenig added 11 points, MJ Valeri, 11 points, and Jamie Mazzi contributed 10 points.
The Vikings found themselves on the short end of a 14-7 score at the end of one quarter and saw that deficit grow to 16 in the second quarter. They still trailed 36-27 at halftime before outscoring Reservoir 32-23 in the second half.
“We were real sluggish in the beginning,” Schurtz said. “We had a 20-point second quarter but only because we made four three’s in the quarter. We couldn’t really do anything.
“It wasn’t our best effort, but it was a better team effort. We had four players in double figures, and that’s what we want.”
According to Schurtz, it was the performance of Valeri that may have been the difference between winning and losing.
“O’Sullivan led us in scoring, but Valeri was the MVP,” the Vikings’ coach said. “They had a player who went for 26 and had 19 at halftime.
“We switched defenses and went with a triangle-and-two, and MJ got the job of guarding their best player.”
In the second quarter, with the Vikings staring at a 16-point deficit, Valeri connected on back-to-back three-pointers. She also scored the go-ahead basket in OT.
“Obviously, O’Sullivan’s 30 was massive and all her rebounds, steals and assists, but watching a freshman really come into her own – today was the first time she really looked comfortable on the basketball court and was going to the basket and wanted the ball,” Schurtz said. “Any time Koenig only has two three’s, you have to be a little bit worried. She had a game where the ball just didn’t go down, but she still played well.
“Mazzi hit a couple of big shots, and Mazzi and Valeri are the reason we even stayed in the game. It looked pretty bleak there for a while in the second quarter.”
The Vikings showed their resiliency in the win. They held a three-point lead down the stretch in regulation only to watch Reservoir connect for a desperation trey with two seconds remaining.
“Their guard made a 26-footer to tie the game with O’Sullivan having both her hands in her face,” Schurtz said. “She literally made it from eight feet beyond the arc.
“We could have folded after that – to force such a bad shot and then to have it go in at the buzzer and to go down twice in overtime, but we just never really gave up. I was real happy with the effort. It was a lot of fun.”
The Vikings, according to Schurtz, enjoy the opportunity of playing with a 30-second shot clock.
“I love the 30-second shot clock,” Schurtz said. “It’s a brand of basketball you don’t always see in Pennsylvania because teams will look at the clock with a minute left in the quarter and hold for one shot.
“We’re averaging almost 50 points a game, and we enjoy running up and down. O’Sullivan likes to have the ball in her hands. She likes to run the floor.”
Abington 52, Gateway 35
Aiyannah Peal led the Ghosts with 16 points while Sarah Listenbee collected a double-double, contributing 10 points and 12 rebounds. Chynna West had eight points and five assists.
“We played much better tonight than we had the past couple of games,” said coach Dan Marsh. “We played better team defense, we communicated, and we moved the ball.”
The Ghosts were coming off back-to-back losses to Council Rock North and Central Bucks South last week.
“No offense to CB South, but we were so bad in that game, and we were still winning until the last two minutes,” Marsh said. “We did not deserve to win that game.
“We had no intensity, and we did not play well.”
According to Marsh, the Ghosts may be paying the price for the move of soccer to fall.
“We didn’t really get started early because we had all these girls playing soccer,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We’re a little bit behind where we were last year in terms of playing together.
“Tonight was better. The girls had a couple of days off for the holidays, and they came out focused and played hard. Gateway was a tough, athletic team from Pittsburgh, but we played well. Everybody played well. We’ll have a test tomorrow though.”
In Wednesday’s title game, the Ghosts will face an Altoona squad that is averaging close to 70 points a game.
Central Bucks South 59, Conestoga 31
The Titans sprinted to a 32-9 halftime lead on their way to the lopsided win.
“We started out a little slow, but we shot the ball well and found our groove defensively,” coach Beth Mattern said. “Defensively, we shut them down, and we hit some big shots.”
Three players – Kelsey Herrmann, Tyler Vitelli and Tori Steinberg – each contributed nine points in the first half.
“They just shot the ball lights out,” Mattern said.
Steinberg finished with a team-high 18 points while Vitelli added 14. Herrmann (injury) did not play the second half.
“Tonight, even though we still weren’t awesome at the foul line, I thought we were much better,” said Mattern. “It’s just gaining confidence as a unit.”
The Titans were coming off a week that saw them fall to Souderton but then upset Abington two days later.
“I think what we went through last week – we’re old in age as a team, but we’re young as far as experience on a varsity court,” Mattern said. “Against Souderton – they were playing very well, and we gave up a big lead and could not finish it off.
“We said, ‘As we move forward, this is going to go one of two ways. We’re going to learn from this and not let it happen again or we can let this be the way our team is.’ We came back with a great practice on Wednesday, and Thursday we went to Abington and realized there was nothing to be afraid of. If we just go out and play, good things will happen.”
The Titans trailed the Ghosts by six at halftime but came back to win by five.
“We started off slow against Abington, and I thought we looked a little timid,” Mattern said. “In the second half, we really clicked and came together as a team, and although we still struggled from the foul line, we finished off more.
“It was a great win because that’s the caliber of team you want to play with – they won the district championship last year, and that’s what your goal is. If you can play with them - that goes a long way for your confidence.”
In the Titans’ win over Abington, center Kate McMenamin had a big game in the paint, contributing 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“She really stepped up at a time when we needed her,” Mattern said. “Abington is a big team. They’re physical, and size-wise, we don’t match up to them, but Kate really stepped up and rose to the challenge.”
The Titans will face Great Valley in Wednesday’s tournament action.
Notre Dame Academy 61, Cheltenham 52
The Lady Panthers sprinted to a 20-9 lead at the end of one quarter, but that lead turned out to be short-lived as Notre Dame outscored Cheltenham 24-8 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 33-28 lead.
“Our lack of physical strength doomed us as there were many situations where they pushed us around the court and dominated the boards,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “On offense, we backed off rather than taking it to them and making them foul us.
“We made a few runs at them and got it to around five points with three minutes to go, but we had to foul and (Megan) McGurk was 8-for-8 from the line in the final two minutes. They were a very nice team, but we didn’t play like we should.”
Senior Tiffany Johnson led the Lady Panthers with 12 points while Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews added 11 points and Shayla Peoples, nine points. Austen Hamler contributed eight points. McGurk led all scorers with 21 points while teammate Kathleen Fitzpatrick added 19 points.
While Notre Dame will face Cardinal O’Hara in Wednesday’s title game, the Lady Panthers will do battle with Villa Maria Academy, which fell to O’Hara 41-37.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 57, Pope John Paul II 26
The Colonials sprinted to a 17-7 lead at the end of one quarter on their way to a 24-14 halftime lead in an opening round game of the 1st Annual George W Snear Holiday Tournament. They blew the game wide open with a 20-5 third-quarter explosion.
Gabby Schumacher once again had the hot hand for PW, lighting up the net for 21 points. Alyssa Butcher added 14 points and five steals while Lex Borkowski contributed eight points and six rebounds.
The Colonials will face Mount St. Joseph Academy in Wednesday’s title game.
Gwynedd-Mercy 34, Wissahickon 31
The Monarchs withstood a late-game surge by the Trojans to hold on for a win in an opening round game of the Trojan Holiday Tournament. Dominique Earland keyed the Trojans’ comeback, connecting for seven of her team-high 11 points in the fourth quarter. Teammate Rachel Stone added nine points for the Trojans, who trailed 18-14 at halftime and found themselves staring at a 32-22 deficit heading into the final frame.
Wissahickon will face Souderton in Wednesday’s consolation round game at noon.
Lansdale Catholic 41, Souderton 32
The Indians led 8-4 at the end of one quarter, but the Crusaders answered with a 15-4 second-quarter burst on their way to the win in the opening round of the Trojan Holiday Tournament. Carley Kendall was the lone Indian in double figures with 15 points while teammate Elizabeth Wetzler had seven points.
Boyertown 68, Pennridge 27
Jessie Dominic scored seven points and Nici Bonacci added five points, but it wasn’t nearly enough against a Boyertown squad that opened up a 17-5 lead at the end of one quarter and extended that lead to 31-11 by halftime.
Pennridge will face Nazareth in a consolation round game of the Boyertown Tournament on Wednesday.
Upper Dublin 50, Oxford 24
Taylor Bryant scored a game-high 14 points to lead Upper Dublin to the convincing win in an opening round game of the Flying Cardinal Holiday Tournament. The Cardinals will face Villa Joseph Marie in Wednesday’s title game.
Villa Joseph Marie 59, Hatboro-Horsham 36
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