Council Rock North, Cheltenham, Upper Dublin and Central Bucks East – the top four seeds from the SOL – all earned berths in the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament while Upper Merion remained alive in Class AAA action.
#1 Council Rock North 46, #16 North Penn 40
The Indians fought off a late Maiden rally to earn the win and a berth in the state tournament. The Maidens, who trailed 26-15 at halftime, cut the Indians’ lead to 41-38 with 1:20 remaining when they pulled off an improbable five-point play.
Freshman Erin Maher buried a trey, and point guard Brenda McDermott – while setting a screen – was fouled. McDermott sank both ends of the one-and-one, and just like that, it was a three-point game.
Lauren Gold answered with a big bucket at the other end, all but icing the win for the Indians, whose early lead proved to be the difference in the game.Credit for that early lead, according to coach Lou Palkovics, has to go to the Indians’ defense.
“Our pressure was great,” the Indians’ coach said. “We gave a bunch of different looks in our press, and it worked well.
“A lot of teams are going to having their big girl bring it up, and we have gotten better with switching people on that. They definitely spent a lot of time with (Lauren) Crisler bringing the ball up. It was the same thing (Council Rock) South did with (Alex) Wheatley bringing it up. This time we reacted a lot better to it.
“We got some big turnovers the first half. The only thing I was upset with in the first half – of their 15 points, I would say 10 of them came off offensive rebounds. They’re very big and strong. They used their bodies well around the basket.”
The Maidens were led on the boards by Steph Knauer, who pulled down 13 rebounds to go along with 13 points.“Steph played very, very well,” Maiden coach Maggie deMarteleire said.
The Maidens’ coach was not especially happy with the way her team came out of the gate.
“We just turned the ball over and played with no intensity,” deMarteleire said. “I think they scored on their first five possessions, and we were turning the ball over.”
After watching the Maidens rally from 11 down to win their opener against Abington, Palkovics felt none too secure with his team’s halftime advantage.
“We knew sooner or later they would make a run,” the Indians’ coach said. “At one point, it was 31-17, and I said, ‘Let’s put them away.’
“They’re a tough team to put away. They’re well coached, and they’re very disciplined in their offense. We knew they would make a run.”
Lauren and Devin Gold each scored 13 points for the Indians while Megan Cunningham – who was saddled with three fouls in the first half - added nine points.
“Megan Cunningham played great,” Palkovics said. “If she didn’t get in foul trouble, she would have probably had one of her best games of the year. “She’s able to shoot off the dribble, and she can shoot over people when she gets into the middle. She was hitting her shots tonight, and that was big. She was covering a tough player in Crisler, who likes to post up, and it got her into foul trouble, so she had to sit most of the first half.
“When she came back in, she went right back to doing what she does well. She and Devin Gold played great, and Lauren defensively caused havoc. Helena Gemmell did as well. She got us going. I had a talk with her on Saturday and said, ‘The next time you only take five shots in a game, I’m going to take you out.’ We need her to shoot more and be more offensive-minded. They all stepped up tonight.”
The Indians were a near-perfect 15-for-17 from the foul line – led by the 5-for-5 effort of Lauren Gold and 4-for-4 performance of Devin Gold. They were 9-for-10 in the pivotal fourth quarter. The Maidens were just 9-for-16 from the charity stripe.
“That killed us,” deMarteleire said. “They made big plays. They made big shots when they needed to.”
The Maidens will face Spring-Ford as they begin their quest to earn the ninth and final berth in states, and they hope they can duplicate last year’s post-season success when they earned the ninth seed.
Rock North, meanwhile, has earned a date with SOL rival Central Bucks East in a quarterfinal game tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday night as part of a girls/boys double header at Council Rock South.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 46, NORTH PENN 40
North Penn (40) – Erin Maher 2 0-0 6; Emily Hagan 2 0-0 4; Meg Gallagher 0 0-0 0; Brenda McDermott 0 4-6 4; Lauren Crisler 3 2-6 8; Vicky Tumasz 2 0-0 5; Steph Knauer 5 3-4 13. TOTALS 14 9-16 40
Council Rock North (46) – Devin Gold 4 4-4 13; Alyssa Dumont 0 1-2 1; Lauren Gold 4 5-5 13; Helena Gemmell 3 0-0 6; Emily Grundman 1 2-2 4; Dana Storjohann 0 0-0 0; Megan Cunningham 3 3-4 9. TOTALS 15 15-17 46.
North Penn 7 8 9 16-40
Council Rock North 11 15 7 13-46
Three-point goals: NP-Maher 2, Tumasz 1. CR North – D.Gold.
#4 Cheltenham 58, #13 William Tennent 41
Cheltenham – thanks to its big win over Tennent - will be making its 26th trip to the state tournament in 28 years.
“I’m excited – I think even more than other years,” senior co-captain Tiffany Johnson said. “In other years going into states, `we’re not as confident, but this year I think we have a lot of confidence.
“It’s our third year straight – that’s quite an accomplishment.”`
Junior Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews led the Panthers with 21 points, which included a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line. Senior Austen Hamler added 15 points. Ashley Alden led Tennent with 11 points.“From the beginning of the game, we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Hamler said. “They said they were ready to play us, and they had seen what we could do.
“It’s always harder going against a team that’s taller than us.”
The visiting Panthers – with a height advantage at just about every position – used their size to get some easy baskets inside, and they had to have visions of pulling off a major upset when they opened up an 11-10 lead at the end of one quarter. Melissa Horn led the way with six points, including a pair of foul shots to close out the quarter.
Cheltenham turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, picking up steals on Tennent’s first two possessions of the frame. A Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews steal resulted in the junior standout burying a three-pointer at the other end, putting the Lady Panthers on top 14-12.
Liz Koval answered with a bucket at the other end, but Shayla Peoples found Christina Coleman for an easy bucket inside, and Cheltenham was back on top. A Peoples three-pointer extended the Lady Panthers’ lead to four points, and when Andrews found Coleman for a bucket in transition, Cheltenham led 21-15.
“In the second quarter, they were getting transition points,” Alden said. “They were driving, and we were picking up fouls. That was a big setback for us.”
Cheltenham led by double digits (25-15) after Peoples found Hamler for an easy bucket inside, and when Hamler scored on a putback as time expired in the half, the Lady Panthers led 31-20.“In the second quarter, their pressure got to us,” Tennent coach Paul Veltre said. “We’d turn the ball over, and they’d turn it into transition points. It was nothing we weren’t expecting, and they did a very good job defensively turning it into some easy baskets.
“There’s no doubt in my mind they pulled away with what they do best, and we deviated from what we planned.”
Late in the second quarter, junior forward Christina Coleman, who had six first-half points and four rebounds, went to the bench with a shoulder injury. She did not return.
Despite her absence, the Lady Panthers stretched their lead to 39-25 after a fast break off a Tennent miss that saw Johnson find Andrews for the easy deuce.
“When they went on that run in the third quarter and the calls started going the other way, we got emotional and started thinking about the other players and stopped focusing on the game,” Alden said.
Alison Malatesta answered with a trey for the Panthers to make it a 39-28 game, and when Jiana Clark – Cheltenham’s sixth man – was whistled for her fourth foul with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Schaefer elected to spread the floor.
After eating close to a minute off the clock, Johnson penetrated and dished to Hamler for an easy bucket. The rest of the game featured Johnson and Andrews orchestrating Cheltenham’s spread offense. Cheltenham took a 42-30 lead into the fourth quarter, and back-to-back Tennent turnovers to open the final quarter resulted in four straight foul shots for Andrews that put the Panthers on top 48-30.
The rest of the game was little more than a parade to the foul line for the Panthers, who took 16 trips to the charity stripe in the fourth quarter and converted 12.
“Tiffany was fantastic and so was CC,” Schaefer said of his backcourt duo. “I was happy with our kids’ execution. Jianna Clark and Asia Dan stepped in and gave us important minutes when we had to have them.”
While Tennent will face Downingtown West as eight teams vie for one state berth, the Lady Panthers have earned a date with fifth-seeded Lower Merion in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. Just as important, according to Schaefer, is his team’s return to the state tournament.
“It’s a wonderful statement about our program and the kids we get and their commitment,” the veteran coach said. “I don’t think there’s a team out there that has strived to improve as much as this team has.
“CC has worked really hard to become our go-to player. In the beginning of the season, I was on her because she didn’t want the ball enough.”
Andrews was 8-for-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. The Lady Panthers were 19-of-28 from the line for the game with 22 of those coming in the second half. Tennent took just 11 foul shots in the game and converted five – a stat that raised some eyebrows on Tennent’s sidelines. In the first half, Cheltenham took six foul shots while Tennent took five.
CHELTENHAM 58, WILLIAM TENNENT 41
William Tennent (41) – Malatesta 1 0-0 3; Chatburn 2 0-0 4; Alden 5 1-5 11; Koval 3 1-2 7; Horn 2 2-2 6; Mueller 3 1-2 7; O’Donnell 0 0-0 0; Wasserleben 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 17 5-11 41.
Cheltenham (58) – Andrews 5 10-10 21; Johnson 2 2-4 6; Coleman 3 0-2 6; Peoples 2 2-4 8; Hamler 5 5-8 15; Clark 1 0-0 2; Dan 0 0-0 0; Cassius 0 0-0 0; Petty 0 0-0 0; Seawright 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18 19-28 58.
William Tennent 12 8 10 11-41
Cheltenham 11 20 13 14-58
Three-point goals: Tennent – Malatesta, Wasserleben. Cheltenham – Andrews, Peoples 3.
#7 Upper Dublin 53, #10 Council Rock North 48
The Flying Cardinals were flying high after Wednesday’s big win over the Golden Hawks. The win was Upper Dublin’s first ever over Rock South, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Wednesday’s win propelled the Flying Cardinals into the state tournament.
“We were going bananas,” coach Vince Catanzaro said. “I have had good teams, but I have never had a team that worked like these kids do.
“These kids work together. Obviously, we’re not very tall, but we played our butts off in the second half. They all stepped up.”
Upper Dublin rallied from a 10-point deficit to earn the big win.
“I turned the offense backwards,” Catanzaro said. “We were working from the outside in, so I turned it around and went baseline out. We started to work the baseline and kicked the ball out, which opened it up a little bit more because everybody was sagging into the basket where before we were working from the outside in, and everyone was in our way.”
A play that began to turn momentum in Upper Dublin’s favor came when Curtrena Goff buried a trey just before halftime, trimming a 24-14 deficit to 24-17. Goff opened the third quarter with another three-pointer, and suddenly, it was a four-point game.
“That opened up the floodgates,” Catanzaro said. “When she hit that three, we went into a frenzy. We were going nuts. This place was pumped.
“For us, we got back in the game so quick. We extended our defense. Our guards were pressuring just over halfcourt, and we were forcing the wings and outside perimeter players to make passes with someone pressuring them. It paid off.”
At the end of three quarters, the Flying Cardinals led 36-35. Taylor Bryant scored eight of her team-high 15 points in the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw the Flying Cardinals connect on 9-of-11 from the foul line. Sarah Hallowell scored five of her nine points in the final frame.
“You have to give a lot of credit to the kids,” Catanzaro said. “They all stepped up and made shots and played really good ‘D.’”
Alex Wheatley led all scorers with 22 points while Alexis Hofstaedter added 14 points.
“Jen Myers, Tori Waters and Lauren Rothfeld did a great job on Wheatley,” Catanzaro said. “They were all helping out.
“I didn’t see the tape yet, but I would doubt that she had more than three putbacks the whole game. We didn’t let her get in there.”
Goff added 11 points for the Flying Cardinals while Rothfeld had 10 and Myers, eight points.
“(Goff) was phenomenal getting rebounds at the end,” Catanzaro said of his sophomore point guard. “She had a couple of steals and played her heart out.
“Taylor was determined to score. Everybody seemed to hit a crucial shot. Every time there was a dropped pass – we got it. Every loose ball went our way, and that doesn’t usually happen. That was the biggest difference because every time they made a mistake, we got the ball. It was the other way around in the first half. We were making mistakes, and they were getting it.”
Upper Dublin will face second-seeded Mount St. Joseph in a quarterfinal game on Saturday while Rock South will face Rustin as the battle for the ninth and final state berth begins.
#8 Central Bucks East 44, #9 Spring-Ford 37
A Central Bucks East squad that came into the season with a lot of question marks answered those questions emphatically by winning first an SOL Continental Conference title and – on Wednesday – clinching a berth in the state tournament.
It is the 11th time in 12 years that East has advanced to states under coach Tom Lonergan.
“Certainly coming into the season, you don’t know what’s going to happen – being an inexperienced team with four out of our 12 players being freshmen,” Lonergan said. “We were relying heavily on a lot of minutes from Lexi Scrivano and Lindsey Kelly, who were both jayvee players last year and had no varsity experience.
“You have to give all the credit in the world to my seniors, especially my senior captains (Courtney McManus and Melissa Remmey) for bringing the team together and getting them to play with confidence and poise and aggression.”
McManus buried six three-pointers and scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Patriots, and the senior guard set the tone for the game early on, burying three treys in the first quarter and propelling the Patriots to a quick 18-8 lead. The Patriots took a 28-14 lead into halftime.
“Courtney is always looking for that opportunity, for an open look,” Lonergan said. “She’s very confident in her shot, and we have a lot of confidence in her shot as well. She’s been playing really well. When there’s a big game on the line, Courtney has come through for us.
“I think the key was our ability to get out of the gate quickly. I thought we played extremely well in the first half. We did leave some points off the board in the second quarter. We could have gone into halftime with a larger leader. We played tremendous defense – forced them into a lot of one-and-dones.”
Also coming out of the gate strong for the Patriots was junior Lindsey Kelly, who scored six of her 11 points in the first quarter.
“Lindsey got in foul trouble in the third quarter, and she sat out most of the third quarter when they went on their run,” Lonergan said. “She played a really strong first half, so that hurt us.”
The Rams went on a 14-5 third-quarter tear, cutting East’s lead to three at one point.
“We were able to hold them off,” Lonergan said. “The biggest play of the game was Courtney McManus hitting a three.”
The trey came in the fourth quarter to put the Patriots on top 38-30.
“We were able to take time off the clock, and we made enough foul shots,” Lonergan said. “We weren’t as proficient as we’d like to be from the line, but we made enough to keep the lead to several possessions.
“They’re a team that can put points on the board, and I think this was their lowest score of the year. We played great defense for three out of four quarters. Our only letdown was the third quarter when we let them back in it.”
The Patriots connected on 6-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, 10-of-14 for the game. They will face Rock North in a quarterfinal game on Friday.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 44, SPRING-FORD 37
Spring-Ford (37) – Moore 0 0-0 0; Stipa 2 0-0 5; Hinnaht 2 0-0 4; Lynch 1 0-0 2; Yates 2 0-0 6; Traywick 2 1-2 5; Haas 1 0-0 2; Mueller 1 2-2 4; Payonk 4 0-1 9. TOTALS 15 3-5 37.
Central Bucks East (44) – Shaun Kane 0 3-4 3; Melissa Remmey 3 2-3 8; Shannon Devlin 0 0-0 0; Lexi Scrivano 1 0-0 2; Laura Aseltine 0 0-0 0; Karoline White 0 2-3 2; Courtney McManus 6 0-0 18; Lindsey Kelly 4 3-4 11. TOTALS 14 10-14 44.
Spring-Ford 8 6 14 9-37
Central Bucks East 19 9 5 11-44
3-point goals: Spring-Ford – Stipa 1, Payonk 1, Yates 2. CB East – McManus 6.
DISTRICT ONE CLASS AAA
#7 Upper Merion 43, #10 Harriton 33
Cassidy Koenig exploded for 24 points – which included six three-pointers – to lead the Vikings to the decisive win.
“We controlled the game throughout,” coach Tom Schurtz said. “It was 6-6, and they didn’t make another basket from the field until the third quarter. We played great defense, and we limited them to one shot.
“We did a really good job on the glass as well.”
While Koenig stole the spotlight, it was Jackie VanLoan scoring the first six points of the game for the Vikings.
“She was kind of an unsung hero for us today,” Schurtz said. “She did a really nice job on the glass and played solid defense.
“We talked about this being a playoff game and everyone needing to go out and do something to help the team. Here’s Jackie – she came out and scored our first six points, and that really relaxed everybody else and got us into a rhythm.
“We really executed today. We got a lot of good looks.”
By the end of one quarter, the Vikings led 12-6, and they stretched that lead to 24-9 by halftime.
“We were trading baskets early in the third quarter, and then Koenig decided she had had enough and made three three’s in the third quarter to put it away,” Schurtz said.
The Vikings led 37-17 heading into the final quarter, and with the win, the Vikings made it a perfect 3-0 for American Conference teams on Wednesday night.
“The American Conference isn’t the showcase conference in the Suburban One, but we have a couple of really good teams in the conference,” Schurtz said. “You have to face Cheltenham twice, Upper Dublin twice and PW twice.
“We were ready to play that grind of the playoff game, and I attribute that to the level of play we have faced all year.”
As a result of the win, the Vikings have earned a second round date with second-seeded Nazareth. The game will be played on Friday night at Holy Ghost Prep at 7 p.m.
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