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National Conference
Council Rock South 40, Neshaminy 31Alex Wheatley expected it to be a war when the Golden Hawks took on Neshaminy in a key National Conference battle. Not even a 20-6 Rock South halftime lead could change her mind.
“We know every game is going to be a close game, and we know the Neshaminy games are always intense” Wheatley said. “We know that if we’re going to win we have to play hard the whole game. If we come out strong in the first half, we have to come out even stronger in the second.”
In truth, it would have been nigh impossible for the Golden Hawks to top a first half effort that saw the Redskins endure a scoreless second quarter as Rock South’s defense forced turnovers and never allowed Neshaminy to find any kind of offensive flow.
“Our girls are buying into playing defense,” said Rock South coach Monica Stolic, whose team has not given up more than 36 points in a game this season. “They know defense leads to good offensive opportunities.”
Wheatley accounted for 12 of her team’s points in the first half, including seven in a first quarter that saw the Golden Hawks open up a 10-6 lead. The Golden Hawks led 22-6 after Brooke Beidler buried an outside jumper to open the third quarter. The Redskins’ scoring drought of 10-plus minutes came to an end when Jackie Gerth scored at the 5:21 mark of the third period.
The Redskins made it a 26-12 game after a steal and layup by freshman point guard Megan Schafer. Courtney Brown answered with a bucket for the Golden Hawks, and Rock South led 30-12 after a Wheatley putback.
Neshaminy, however, refused to go down quietly and answered with a 6-0 run in the final minute of the quarter that included back-to-back baskets by Lori Paulits as well as a bucket at the buzzer by Amanda Lally to make it a 30-18 game.
It was a 34-27 game after Schafer banked home a trey at the 3:30 mark, but Wheatley, who led all scorers with 18 points, scored after pulling down an offensive rebound. The Redskins would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
“We knew they were going to come out strong,” Wheatley said. “In the locker room, our coaches said, ‘Play to win. Don’t play to not lose.’ We knew it was going to be tough, but we ended up pulling it out.”
Alexis Hofstaedter, who finished with 10 points, sealed the win for the Golden Hawks by burying 6-of-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter (8-of-8 in the game).
“I felt really confident,” the sophomore point guard said. “I felt if they fouled me, I could make them.
“They had a lot of pressure. We just tried to keep our composure and do what we did the first half.”
Rock South (3-0) will take on Abington in National Conference showdown on Friday. The Redskins (1-2) will travel to Notre Dame (N.J.) for a non-league game on Thursday and will host Bensalem on Friday.
Abington 78, Pennsbury 63
Defense has been a trademark of Abington under coach Dan Marsh, but the Ghosts found themselves in a shootout against Pennsbury in a contest that saw the two teams combine to score more than 140 points.
“I don’t know what was going on,” Marsh said. “They made some shots, but we just didn’t play much defense.
“We were up 10-12 most of the game, and we pushed it up to 68-48 with probably three minutes to go. I don’t know what it is right now, but we have these lapses where we’re just not focused. I’m telling myself it’s not going to happen when we play a team like Council Rock South, but if it does, we’re going to get whooped. We pride ourselves on being a defensive team. To give up 63 points is absurd.”
Scoring 78 points made the Ghosts’ defensive lapses a bit more palatable.
Aiyannah Peal led the scoring explosion with 22 points while Jess Schmidt and Chynna West both added 17 points. Jamie Schectman, in her first full game of action, scored nine points.
“Maybe this is my fault – we’ve really been working on our offense,” Marsh said. “I felt like we struggled in that area because so many teams have been throwing zones at us. They played a two-three tonight, and we really moved the ball well.
“We were getting good looks. Sarah Listenbee started it out. She only had eight points, but she probably had those eight points in the first quarter, so they started paying attention to her, and it opened things up for everybody.
“It’s nice to be able to have more than one option. If we can get the defense down, we can be a pretty good team, but we have to get that part of our game down.”
The Falcons received some big offensive performances of their own. Molly Phillips scored a team-high 20 points.
“Molly Phillips was tough – she played well,” Marsh said.
Jae Jackson added 13 points and Sajanna Bethea, 10 points.
The Ghosts (2-1) will travel to Rock South on Friday while the Falcons (1-2) will travel to Council Rock North.
Council Rock North 63, Harry S. Truman 10
The Indians (3-0) will host Pennsbury on Friday while Truman (0-3) will travel to William Tennent.
Continental Conference
Souderton 66, Hatboro-Horsham 39
Sophomore Libby Wetzler contributed 21 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two assists in a superb all-around effort to lead the Indians. Erin Reagan added 14 points and Carley Kendall had 11 points for the Indians.
The Indians opened up a 21-5 lead at the end of one quarter and stretched that lead to 37-16 by the intermission.
“They pressed us fullcourt the whole game, and that has been an issue for us,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “We just kind of went after them. We played extremely unselfishly – everyone was looking to make the next pass.
“Carley Kendall had five assists, and it was one of those games where everybody was looking for everybody else. We had smart shot selection, and we had 15 offensive rebounds.”
The Indians’ strong outing was especially significant in light of last week’s showing in the Wissahickon Holiday Classic that saw Souderton drop back-to-back games to Lansdale Catholic and Wissahickon.
“Last week was bad in a lot of ways,” Carroll said. “Since then, we have had nothing but great practices.
“This team has so much potential. We knew there might be some ups and downs, but all of the coaches know the potential this team has and how much better we’re going to get as the year progresses. There’s nothing but an up side to this group of girls.
“It was nice they responded the way they did. The girls have been focused at practice and determined to get better, not settling to be the team they are. They’re really committed to getting to where we need to be.”
Souderton (2-1) will travel to Quakertown on Friday while Hatboro (1-2) will host Pennridge.
North Penn 49, Central Bucks West 41
For three quarters, the Bucks had the better of play and took a 35-29 lead into the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game. That’s when the Maidens came to life, going on a 20-6 tear to earn the impressive come-from-behind win.
“I’m not going to lie,” North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “As a team, I was a little concerned about how we ended the third quarter.
“I felt like we were falling apart, but the kids – on their own – rose up and said, ‘We’re not going to lose this game.’ That’s probably the best quarter we had all year.”
The Maidens were propelled by an impressive inside-outside game. Junior Steph Knauer kept the Maidens afloat with a brilliant performance that included 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
“She’s a beast,” deMarteleire said. “She doesn’t get a lot of calls inside, and I feel she should be shooting more from the foul line. She did a really nice job defensively when they attacked the basket in the first half, and her rebounding was just amazing.”
Also amazing was the torrid offensive showing of Vicky Tumasz. The fearless freshman added 16 points – 14 in a dazzling second half that saw her bury four three-pointers. Her final trey came at the end of a fastbreak with the Maidens clinging to a 44-41 lead and just over a minute remaining. It effectively sealed the win for the Maidens.
“At first when I took the shot, I was like, ‘Oh my god, why did I just do that?’” Tumasz said. “But then I made it, and I was like, ‘Oh, thank god.’
“When I was warming up tonight, I wasn’t making any shots. The second half, I turned it on and started shooting, taking them on my own.”
“It’s huge for her to step up like this,” Knauer said of Tumasz. “I know my freshman year I was real nervous the first couple of games. These past games – she really wants to be starting, and she’s really working hard and helping us out.”
Jen Fabien led West with 10 points. Sam Colloi added nine – all in the first half, and according to Fabien, the Bucks, who struggled against the Maidens’ pressure defense in the fourth quarter, will use Tuesday’s game as a learning experience.
“This is the first time we have been in a close game at the end,” Fabien said. “I think it was jitters.
“Now that we have that out of our system – we know how to work with that fast pace and pressure, and hopefully, the next time it will change.”
The Maidens (2-1) will host Central Bucks South on Friday. The Bucks (2-1) will host Central Bucks East.
Central Bucks East 53, Pennridge 19
Courtney McManus and Margaret Anne Hubbell led a balanced Patriot attack with eight points each. Alexis Scrivano added seven points while Melissa Remmey and Lindsey Kelly both added six points and Laura Aseltine, five points.
Alyssa Marchunsky led the Rams with nine points.
East led 13-8 at the end of one quarter and extended that lead to 24-15 by halftime before outscoring the Rams 29-4 in the second half.
Central Bucks East (3-0) will travel to CB West on Friday while the Rams (0-3) will travel to Hatboro.
Central Bucks South 42, Quakertown 21
Tyler Vitelli was the lone player in double figures with 13 points while Kate McMenamin added seven points. Kelsey Herrmann scored six points, and Madison Vitelli chipped in five points. Lauren Starzecky and Ashlee Ruzicka led the Panthers with eight points each.
The Titans led 8-6 at the end of one quarter and took a 21-15 lead into halftime before going on a 13-4 third-quarter tear.
South (2-1) will travel to North Penn on Friday while the Panthers (0-3) will host Souderton.
American Conference
Cheltenham 68, Upper Merion 30
Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews scored a game-high 26 points while teammate Christina Coleman added 12 points and 10 rebounds, but on this night, all 10 Cheltenham players who saw action put points on the scoreboard in a game that saw the Lady Panthers sprint to a 32-13 halftime lead.
“We played good defense,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “We really got the game moving up and down the floor, which was to our advantage.
“We had some great assists and fast breaks. We have had games like this where the first half was close and made teams believe they had a chance to win. Tonight we just went out and took charge right from the start.”
Andrews set the tone for the big win by scoring 12 first-quarter points as the Lady Panthers went on top 17-9. She added 11 in the third quarter and saw action in just three quarters.
“She played real well,” Schaefer said. “Christina Coleman gave us a good game, and Shayla Peoples did a nice job at guard, had some nice assists.”
Cassidy Koenig led the Vikings with 18 points on six three-point baskets. An interesting fact about Tuesday’s game was the fact that the Vikings did not have a two-point field goal in the first three quarters and had just two in the game.
For the Panthers, Jiana Clark had six points and Ming Seawright and Shayla Peoples each had five while Austen Hamler and Artavia Sheffield both had four points. Tiffany Johnson, Samira Gray and Asia Dan closed out the scoring with two points each.
Cheltenham (3-0) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday while the Vikings (0-3) will host Phoenixville in a non-league contest on Thursday before traveling to Pottstown on Friday for another non-league game.
Norristown 67, Upper Moreland 47
Tyshay Britten had a big game for the Eagles in the paint, contributing 14 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots. Teammate Stephanie DiNolfi added 14 points, six steals and four assists while Nicole Graham had 13 points and Sierra Gordon, 10 points.
The Eagles sprinted to a 41-21 lead by halftime, and the story of the game, according to coach Ashlee Harrison, was defense.
“They came out really focused,” the Eagles’ coach said. “We had been talking about it because in the tournament, we struggled a little bit over break.
“We know we have three games in the next three weeks, and in order to get wins, defense is going to be the key for us. We came out with pressure, and the girls converted in transition.”
The Eagles (2-1) will host Chester on Wednesday before traveling to Upper Dublin on Friday. Upper Moreland will travel to William Tennent on Thursday for a non-league game before hosting Wissahickon on Friday.
Upper Dublin 62, Plymouth Whitemarsh 40
Taylor Bryant scored a game-high 17 points while teammate Curtrena Goff added 12 points to lead the Flying Cardinals to the impressive win.
“The kids came out and played one of their better games this year,” coach Vince Catanzaro said. “It mainly came down to our defense again.
“We’re playing a matchup defense as good as I have ever seen us play it. We were rotating and not giving anyone open three’s. They made three tonight, and they were early in the game. We just got better and better as the game went on, rotating and moving to the next man. Our low post players are doing a good job of doubling anyone down low.”
Catanzaro is sticking with the short lineup he employed en route to a tournament championship over the holidays.
“Kids are stepping up,” he said. “We’re pushing the ball. Every time someone challenges us for an offensive rebound, we’re pushing it up the floor because we’re a lot faster.
“Everybody dribbles on the team, so it’s a lot faster going up and down the court. It gives us an advantage. We scored 62 points, and I played everybody on my team. We subbed so much, and we were never tired, but they were. We did a lot of good stuff out there tonight.”
Sarah Hallowell scored nine points while Tori Waters and Megan Deetscreek each had six points. Jen Myers added five points.
“Jen Myers is really stepping up,” Catanzaro said. “She had seven offensive rebounds in the first half alone. We’re boxing out really well, and it doesn’t matter how big the other team is. We’re just doing a good job of boxing out.
“(Curtrena Goff) is making passes like college players do, and the kids are actually starting to catch the ball. Tori Waters had three layups on backdoor cuts. We had so many backdoor cuts – it was phenomenal.”
Alyssa Butcher led the Colonials with 12 points and eight rebounds. Erin Martin added 10 points and four boards and Gabby Schumaker had nine points for the Colonials, who trailed 13-7 at the end of one quarter and saw that deficit grown to 34-19 by the intermission.
The Flying Cardinals (2-1) will host Upper Moreland on Friday while the Colonials (2-1) will host Cheltenham.
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