To view photos of the Wissahickon/Souderton game, visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
Council Rock North 49, Holy Spirit 20
Helena Gemmell had a breakout performance to lead the Indians to the decisive win in the title game of the Boardwalk Cup bracket of the Boardwalk Classic. The 5-10 junior forward contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and eight steals.
Behind Gemmell’s eight points, the Indians sprinted to a 22-8 lead at the end of one quarter over previously undefeated Holy Spirit. The deadly combination of suffocating defense and torrid shooting propelled the Indians to a lead they would not lose.
Rock North took a 29-12 lead into halftime and extended that lead to 42-17 after three quarters on their way to the decisive win.
Rock North, which improved to 4-0, returns to action on Thursday night when the Indians will face Scotch Plains-Fanwood in a showcase game to cap off their trip to Wildwood.
Upper Dublin 43, Villa Joseph Marie 32
Taylor Bryant scored 12 points and earned tournament MVP honors as the Flying Cardinals captured the tournament title in their first ever holiday tournament.
“It was a big success,” coach Vince Catanzaro said of a tournament that was put together in mid-November. “We had good fans, but you would like to draw more.
“We didn’t have a lot of time this year, and we were lucky to get four teams that had open dates. The place was alive today. We had people going in and out all day, and it was a very good experience.”
Catanzaro’s game plan to go with a smaller lineup worked to perfection as the Flying Cardinals ran the taller Jems off the court.
“We went with five girls that could dribble the ball,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “They’re a lot bigger than we are with Mary (Newell), who is 6-2, in there. She was unstoppable yesterday against Hatboro.”
Newell had 16 points in the Jems’ win over the Hatters. She had just eight against the Flying Cardinals.
“It was one and done – I would say 80 percent of the time they got one shot,” Catanzaro said. “We pushed the ball, and (Newell) had to come out of the game because she couldn’t keep up.
“Every time she tried to get an offensive rebound – if we got it, we pushed up, and it was five-on-four every time. We went from man-to-man to matchup zone, and their best shooter had a tough time shooting the ball. She had three three’s – two in the first quarter and one in the fourth, and that was it. Our defense was the key to it all. They have kids that can score, but we just played good ‘D.’”
Upper Dublin opened up a 17-11 lead at the end of one quarter and stretched that to 27-16 by halftime. Another key was the Flying Cardinals’ ability to exploit the Jems’ zone defense.
“They had three people on (Curtrena Goff) in the middle, and that left it open for Taylor to go backdoor and drive on one player,” Catanzaro said. “Taylor was consistent. She had seven steals yesterday, and she’s playing defense, she’s pushing the ball, and she’s playing point guard if (Goff) is inside. She’s doing a lot.
“(Goff) is the same way. They’re demanding the ball. They’re dribbling the ball, they’re doing everything they have to do out there. The way we stepped up by going smaller helped us today. We do what we have to do to win the game.
“Today our bigger kids played better just going in and helping. Brianna Specter had a good game, and Tori Waters played better coming in and helping on the big girl. Having Jen Myers play as the big guy on the team just gave us an added shooter and an added dribbler. It really benefited us to go with five people who could dribble the ball.”
The Flying Cardinals are 6-2.
Wissahickon 45, Souderton 44 (2 OT)
Rachel Stone didn’t have a field goal in the first 39 minutes and 52 seconds of Wednesday’s consolation round game against Souderton, but when it mattered most, the sophomore guard delivered.
With eight seconds remaining in the second overtime, Stone calmly buried a shot from just inside the three-point arc. It turned out to be the game winner as the Trojans survived a last-second shot by the Indians for the dramatic win.
“That was a big shot,” senior captain Alex Schaeffer said. “Our team’s shooting is kind of hit or miss, and the fact that she made that was really important.
“We’re not too far into our season, and looking back on this game, I think we’ll be pretty confident.”
Stone – a goalie for the soccer team – is a first-year player for the Trojans.
“She’s competitive, and she has what it takes to play the game,” coach Jerry Hartman said. “If she sees a shot, she’s going to take it, and she plays tough defense.
“She’s a valuable, valuable part of the team, and she’s going to get better and better.”
The Trojans actually trailed 36-33 midway through the final quarter after Elizabeth Wetzler scored on a short jumper, but Dominique Earland, who led the Trojans with 16 points, scored on the low post to make it a one-point game.
With six seconds remaining in regulation, Schaeffer sank the first of two foul shots to send the game into overtime as the Indians did not score a point in the final 4:38 of regulation.
“I don’t know why, but I actually wasn’t very nervous,” said the senior captain, who was fouled going back up after pulling down an offensive rebound. “I felt we had nothing to lose, so it was like, ‘I have to relax and hit one,’ and that was enough to put us in overtime.”
A bucket by Schaeffer early in the first OT put the Trojans on top by two, and they led 40-36 after a low post basket by Earland. Gabby McAndrews buried a trey for the Indians, and when Carley Kendall, who led the Indians with 16 points, sank one-of-two from the charity stripe, it was a 40-40 game.
Neither team scored the rest of the way, setting the stage for a second overtime that saw the Trojans playing without a pair of starters – senior point guard Casey Bill, who fouled out near the close of regulation, and Earland, who fouled out late in the first OT.
“We knew we had enough people on the bench that would not replace those players but who could help us out,” said Schaeffer, who ran the point in Bill’s absence.
Sierra Eskridge scored a bucket to give the Trojans a quick lead in the second OT, but Kendall answered with a basket for the Indians. Meredith Byrne sank one-of-two from the foul line for the Trojans, but Wetzler’s bucket in the paint with 18 seconds remaining put the Indians on top 44-43, setting the stage of Stone’s late-game heroics.
“We were at points playing with three sophomores and a freshman out there in overtime,” Hartman said. “I told them this is a building block.
“We’re struggling to find an identity. We have a lot of new players out there, and we’ve been inconsistent. Today I hope they learned if they play together as a team and do the things they’re capable of doing and take advantage of their strengths – they can win games.
“We’re young, but this was a big step to battle through losing two of your best players out there.”
Schaeffer and Kim Schwemmer both added seven points for the Trojans. Freshman Bianca Picard added 11 points for the Indians.
Kendall and Earland both earned spots on the all-tournament team.
Neshaminy 39, Our Lady of Mercy 19
Our Lady of Mercy brought a perfect 4-0 record into Wednesday night’s Boardwalk Classic contest, but the Redskins brought an end to that winning streak, throwing some serious defense at their opponent and allowing just three field goals in the entire game.
“The key to the game was the defensive pressure of our guards,” coach Joanne McVey said. “We put them on the foul line where they were 12-for-20.
“We did not shoot well, and that’s typical down here – the perception is different, but our defense is really what kept us in it.”
Shannon Barlow and Amanda Laly led a balanced attack with 10 points each. Barlow also had nine rebounds while senior Jen Slivka had a team-high 13 boards.
“We got contributions from a lot of different players,” McVey said.
The Redskins will face Vineland – a 40-39 winner over Washington Township – in Thursday’s Ocean Cup title game.
Council Rock South 32, North Penn 27
Defense has been a trademark of the Golden Hawks this season. They have not allowed more than 36 points in any game, and that trend continued on Wednesday when they limited the Maidens to just 27 points.
Alex Wheatley led the Golden Hawks with 11 points while Courtney Brown had 10. Erin Maher scored eight points to lead the Maidens, whose high-scoring center – Steph Knauer – was held to just five points.
“We have been playing great defense all year, but we need to play better offensively,” coach Monica Stolic said. “We were real rusty. We were off Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Sunday and Monday.
“We had a hard time even catching the ball.”
Wednesday’s game was a late addition to the schedule after both Rock South and North Penn saw Sunday and Monday’s games at the Wildwood Boardwalk Classic cancelled because of the snowstorm.
“I got an e-mail from them last week saying they were expecting bad weather, so I called Maggie (deMarteleire) and said, ‘If we don’t play, why don’t we play each other,’” Stolic said. “We’re both still missing a game.
“It’s a shame this happened. It’s a bonding thing getting away and going down to the shore. It was disappointing, but at least we got this game. North Penn is a good team.”
Altoona 61, Abington 52
The Ghosts ran into a buzz saw when they took on host Altoona in the title game of the Wendy’s Holiday Tournament.
“They have five good players and two or three off the bench,” coach Dan Marsh said. “It was a good experience for us.
“We played well. I told the girls afterwards that we had nothing to hang our heads about. They were better than us tonight. They hit some big shots.”
Aiyannah Peal hit a three-point shot to put the Ghosts up by one with two minutes remaining.
“They came down and hit a three right back at us, and then we had to foul,” Marsh said. “It wasn’t really a nine-point game. Once it got to the point where they were playing keep away – we were forced to foul, and they made their foul shots, so that was the end of it.
“I was very impressed by them. We have seen some good teams, and they are as good as anyone we have seen. They’re well rounded. They have two six footers who are both good. They don’t have a weak link. I think we’ll definitely hear from them in states.”
Altoona, according to Marsh, was a perennial state power in the 90s, and first-year coach Jill Helsel played for the team during its glory years.
“There’s not anybody I could compare them to because there’s not anybody we have played like them,” Marsh said. “They run, and they score a lot of points. They scored 84 points last night.
“They scored 61 today, and we didn’t play bad defense. We wanted this game to be in the 40s or low 50s for us to have a shot. Their three-pointers killed us. It’s not like they were open. There wasn’t one girl that couldn’t shoot the ball.”
The Ghosts are 4-3 for the month of December.
“The girls were upset because we’re not used to being 4-3, but this was a good loss,” Marsh said. “We went out, and we played well.”
Peal led the Ghosts with 17 points while Jess Schmidt added 11 and Jamie Shectman contributed three treys for nine points. Sarah Listenbee finished with double-digit rebounds. Chynna West directed the offense and had eight points.
“We got contributions from everybody,” Marsh said. “It was a good game. We battled with them the whole game and finally took a lead late in the fourth quarter, but they bounced right back.”
Villa Maria Academy 57, Cheltenham 53
The Lady Panthers took a 38-33 lead into the final quarter when they were outscored by the Hurricanes 24-15.
"Villa is a very nice team with great shooters and scrappy kids," coach Bob Schaefer said. "We led until the fourth quarter when we got the bobbles, and they couldn't miss. We just couldn't get back."
The Lady Panthers were forced to foul, and the Hurricanes capitalized, connecting on 17-of-19 from the foul line for the game.
"It's a very disappointing loss in a game we could have won," Schaefer said. "We just can't find a player who can make a shot when we have to have it."
Austen Hamler led the Panthers with 11 points while Ciara Andrews, Christina Coleman and Tiffany Johnson each added 10 points.
The Lady Panthers are 4-3 heading into January with all three of their losses by four points.
"Hopefully we'll mature from the past two difficult games," Schafer said. "We knew we would take some lumps and struggle to beat good teams (early in the season)."
Mount St. Joseph Academy 55, Plymouth Whitemarsh 35
The Colonials led 13-6 after one quarter against the highly regarded Magic, but the Mount responded with a 17-8 second-quarter burst and then controlled play in the second half on the way to the win in the title game of the Snear Holiday Tournament at the Fellowship House.
Alyssa Butcher led PW with 11 points and three blocked shots. Gabby Schumacher and Erin Martin each added eight points. Martin also had eight rebounds.
Nazareth 58, Pennridge 12
Nazareth led 18-4 at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 34-11 by halftime. The Rams – who were led by Jessie Tennett’s four-point effort – managed just one point in the second half of Wednesday’s consolation game of the Boyertown Holiday Tournament.
Great Valley 48, Central Bucks South 40
Oxford 50, Hatboro-Horsham 41
Highland Park (Ill.) 56, Central Bucks East 44
Central Bucks East 54, Ransom Everglades (Fla.) 23 (Tuesday)
Bensalem 54, New Hope 19 (Tuesday)
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