Eight SOL teams captured tournament titles on Saturday. Check out all of the SOL action.
ABINGTON 52, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 43
Aiyannah Peal doesn’t have to worry about doing it all in the Ghosts’ backcourt these days. Deja Rawls has seen to that. The freshman point guard is capably directing the offense for the Ghosts this season, freeing Peal to do what she does best – penetrating and dishing to open teammates or posting up her defender.
“It’s good for me because she relieves the pressure off me,” the Ghosts’ gifted senior guard said. “It’s another ball handler on the floor. It’s good.”
Peal – named the MVP of Abington’s Tip-Off Tournament - let the action come to her in Saturday’s title game against West. She spent the first quarter dishing off passes to her teammates as the Ghosts sprinted to a 16-3 lead. Senior Sarah Listenbee, who scored seven of her 11 points in the frame, was on the receiving end of some of those passes.
“I’m used to Sarah posting up, so I just look for her,” Peal said. “We were looking for the post players inside and letting the outside game come to us.
“Me and Deja drive, and we let them do what they do. Sarah had a good game, everybody had a good game.”
Coach Dan Marsh credited his team’s senior leadership for its early success.
“Sarah and Aiyannah have been tremendous leaders, and so has Fran (Monterosso),” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Fran can’t play now, but she’s on the bench helping those kids out. We have great captain leadership which is huge for the freshmen.”
The Bucks broke an Abington 12-0 run to open the game when freshman Nicole Munger connected on one-of-two from the foul line at the 3:32 mark of the first quarter.
Peal opened the second quarter by burying back-to-back treys to put the Ghosts on top 22-3. Fabian interrupted Peal’s personal 6-0 run with a bucket, but Abington sophomore Gianna Vitale buried a three-pointer from the corner, putting the Ghosts on top 25-5 at the six-minute mark of the quarter.
That would be the extent of the Ghosts’ offense in the half as the never-say-die Bucks – sparked by four points from both Jen Fabian and Amanda Parker – closed out the half with a 9-0 run of their own to make it a 25-14 game at the intermission.
The Ghosts were hampered by foul problems as Marsh went 10 deep on his bench in the half. Michael Harris, the Ghosts’ 6-2 transfer, picked up four first-half fouls.
“That’s going to be our Achilles Heel,” Marsh said. “Our bench has talent, but they’re just not ready to play yet, so we’ve got to have more defensive discipline.
“It’s a catch 22 because we want to create offense with our defense. We want to be aggressive defensively, but the number one thing on our board today was smart fouls. We know we’re going to foul. We just want to get rid of the bad ones.
“You have to give them credit. They play so hard, and they made it difficult for us.”
Things got interesting when senior Sam Colloi buried a trey to open the second half, pulling the Bucks to within eight (25-17), but just as she had in the Ghosts’ win over Ridley, Rawls responded with some big plays for the Ghosts. First the freshman point guard buried a pair of them foul line. Then she scored on a runner and capped her personal 7-0 tear by hitting nothing but net on a trey to extend Abington’s lead to 31-17.
“I’m new because I’m a freshman, and I just want to bring something to the table,” Rawls said. “I like to take over and play good defense without reaching when I know my team is in foul trouble.”
The Ghosts took a 36-25 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Bucks refused to go away. It was a 43-35 game after Caitlyn Mautz buried both ends of a one-and-one at the foul line, and when Mautz scored on a putback, the Ghosts’ lead was trimmed to six. Fabian – who finished with a team-high 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds – sank one-of-two from the foul line, and suddenly, it was a 43-38 game with 2:02 remaining in regulation.
Rawls connected on a pair of foul shots for the Ghosts, but Fabian found Mautz for an easy bucket, making it a 45-40 game with 1:45 on the clock. Vitale sank two foul shots for the Ghosts, and after Peal turned a steal into an easy bucket, the Ghosts led 49-40. West would get no closer than six the rest of the way as the Ghosts held on for the big win.
“This was very important,” Peal said. “We read the previews that said we’re not going to be as good as last year, but in my opinion, we’re better than last year. We just need to show everybody who we are this year and how we play – how we have more speed and more size.
“By the middle of the season, I feel we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”
Abington returns to action on Tuesday when they will host Chester while Central Bucks West will host Neshaminy on Tuesday.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 43, COATESVILLE 24
Seniors Emily Grundman and Helena Gemmell were named the team MVPs for the Indians, who captured the title in the Coatesville tournament. In Saturday’s win, Grundman had another big outing, contributing 20 points, five rebounds, three steals and one block. One night earlier Grundman also scored 20 points.
“We have said all year – we do expect a lot out of Em,” coach Liz Potash said of Grundman. “She can get the ball inside, and she had some really nice moves around the basket.
“Last night in the game, she split her lip open, and she was in the hospital until one o’clock in the morning getting stitched up. She came back today and said, ‘I’m playing.’
“Defensively, she’s a huge help, and we kind of take her for granted. She’s just solid.”
Gemmell added 12 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and two assists.
“She can change a game with her athleticism,” Potash said. “She had some good opportunities to score, and she’s real active on defense. She does a lot of things – on one of the sideline plays we have, she takes the ball out, and she has to make the right reads, and she does it. That’s the kind of stuff that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but it’s the kind of things Helena can do.”
A pair of players whose names might not stand out in the boxscore – Alyssa Dumont and Melissa Rowland – also came up big for the Indians.
“We put Alyssa on their big player (Martianna Wilson) – she had 23 points the first night, and Alyssa held her to 11 today,” Potash said. “The other guard for Coatesville (Autumn Smith) had 12 points last night, and Melissa Rowland totally shut her down. She only had five points.
“Those two players didn’t score a lot tonight, but the game’s not the same without Alyssa and Melissa playing the defense they did.”
Dumont contributed three points, six rebounds, two steals and five assists while Rowland had two points, seven rebounds, one steal and two assists.
The Indians’ tournament title and strong start came on the heels of several serious setbacks. Rock North not only lost point guard Lauren Gold – who transferred to Abington Friends and is sitting out the season as she recuperates from a torn ACL – but also Megan Cunningham and Molly Doyle.
“It’s nice to have some success early,” Potash said. “We’re happy for them. They really have been working hard the last couple of weeks.”
Council Rock North is off until next Friday when the Indians will travel to William Tennent for their SOL opener.
CHELTENHAM 57, ABINGTON HEIGHTS 43
Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews was an easy choice for MVP in the Hazleton Tournament. One night after the senior guard torched Spring-Ford for 27 points, Andrews scored 26 points in the Lady Panthers’ win over Abington Heights in the title game. In Saturday’s win, she was 12-for-15 from the foul line.
“She had a nice game for us,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “We held the ball in the fourth quarter and made them have to come out on us. CC was 9-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.”
The Lady Panthers received a strong supporting effort from point guard Shayla Peoples, who scored 12 points – which included a pair of treys and a 4-for-5 effort from the foul line.
The Lady Panthers led 14-9 at the end of one quarter and 28-24 at the intermission. They still led by just five (42-37) at the end of three quarters before blowing the game open with a 15-6 fourth quarter.
“We came out flat, unfortunately,” Schaefer said. “I guess we thought we won the tournament last night since everybody was saying that was the big game.
“Ironically, against Spring-Ford, which has a nice big team, we dominated inside. The first half tonight they killed us inside, but we’re still learning. They did what they had to do to get through the game, and Abington Heights is no slouch. They’re going to have a good season.”
Cheltenham returns to action on Wednesday when the Lady Panthers will host Central Bucks South in a non-league game.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 56, DOWNINGTOWN WEST 43
Alex Wheatley had a huge night for the Golden Hawks, scoring 30 points and pulling down 23 rebounds. Point guard Alexis Hofstaedter added eight points as Rock South captured the Methacton Tournament title. Both players earned spots on the all-tournament team.
“We had never won this tournament before – we have been here every year since it’s been here,” coach Monica Stolic said.
The Golden Hawks led 28-23 at the intermission but put the game out of reach with a 16-5 burst in the third quarter. Stolic credited the defense of Caitlin Jackson on Brittany Sicinski as key. Sicinski ended up with 21 points but was silenced in the third quarter.
“She really did a nice job,” Stolic said of Jackson.
The win avenged last year’s season-ending loss at the hands to the Whippets in districts. The Whippets also defeated Rock South in an opening round game of last year’s Methacton Tournament.
“We had eight losses last year, and two of them were to Downingtown West,” Stolic said. “We played really good defense tonight, and that was key. It was our best defensive effort.”
The Golden Hawks will return to action on Thursday when they host Souderton in a non-league game.
BENSALEM 50, PENNRIDGE 47
Pennridge took a 38-32 lead into the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s title game of the Pennridge Tournament, but that’s when Ashley Schneider went to work, lighting up the net for five three-pointers and helping the Owls outscore the Rams 18-9 to earn the big win.
“Ashley was on fire,” coach Don Bogan said. “We were down by nine at one point, and she started lighting it up, but our defense is what won it for us. We shut them down at the end.
“Ashley got to the corners and got her confidence. She’s a real good player, but when she doesn’t hit her shots right away, she stops shooting. Tonight she got it together and played very well.”
Making Schneider’s performance even more critical was the fact that the Owls were without 6-2 Tyra Roberts, who had 15 points and seven rebounds in the Owls’ win over Christopher Dock one night earlier.
“Tyra is acting with Sesame Place – she’s under contract with them,” Bogan said. “It’s a pretty big deal because she has an actor’s guild card and everything.
“Tyra is very quick for a girl her size, but when she’s out and we play with a smaller lineup, we’re flying all over the place. We can play both ways – with or without, and now the girls on the bench are starting to find themselves.”
Also coming up big for the Owls was Ashida Cooper, who had 16 points.
“She had a very big game,” Bogan said. “She had a couple of nice steals at the end, and she ran the team very well.”
The Owls, who are off until Thursday when they will host Norristown, are off to a 2-0 start.
“This was very big,” Bogan said. “We’ve been riding this roller coaster the whole preseason, but we’re coming together as a team. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but this was big for the girls because now they’re starting to believe in each other, and they’re starting to work with each other, and that’s really big for us.”
For the Rams, who lost sophomore Jordan Rimmer in the first quarter to a knee injury, Alyssa Marchunsky came up big, scoring a team-high 16 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Jen Cooley added 10 points and Nici Bonacci had eight points. Shannon Chynoweth contributed seven rebounds and three blocks.
Pennridge will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday in a non-league contest.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 49, SPRINGFIELD (DELCO) 36
Madi Vitelli scored 19 points while teammate Tori Steinberg added 10 points to lead the Titans. Both players earned berths on the all-tournament team with Vitelli copping MVP honors.
“Madi really controlled the floor and the tempo of the game and was able to really drive and distribute but yet finish in the same respect,” coach Beth Mattern said. “She helped others finish from the field, and she did herself. She was 7-for-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, which sealed the win for us.
“Tori hit a couple of big threes when we needed them, and again, she played strong defense, and she made the shots in the clutch.”
Although the tournament title was the second in as many years for the Titans, they had never defeated host Springfield.
“This was our best showing at this tip-off tournament ever,” Mattern said. “I thought Unionville and Springfield both had very nice teams.
“Our defensive effort today was fantastic. Unfortunately, they went to the foul line a few more times than we would have liked, but overall, the shots they were getting from the floor –it was the way you draw up on paper how you want your team to play defense.
Sophomore Alysha Lofton added 10 points, but her contributions on the court went well beyond the points she scored.
“She came up huge this weekend,” Mattern said. “She was our leading scorer last night with 12 points, but her offensive and defensive rebounding kept us in the game. Defensively, she has been matched up against the best player from both teams so far.”
Central Bucks South will travel to Cheltenham on Wednesday night.
UPPER DUBLIN 63, UPPER DARBY 49
Curtrena Goff scored 20 points and earned tournament MVP honors while teammate Taylor Bryant added 17 points and also earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
“(Curtrena) played really well today and so did Taylor,” coach Vince Catanzaro said. “They’re going to be kids that step up a lot for us. I told (Curtrena) she’s going to have to play big this year.”
The win propelled the Flying Cardinals to the Upper Darby Tournament title.
“Upper Darby is a very good team,” Catanzaro said. “They have a nice solid big player and a real fine shooting guard (Tyra Polite). We followed her everywhere and held her to nine points. She had 22 the night before.”
Catanzaro credited Lauren Rothfeld and Kayla Mcananey for putting the defensive clamps on Polite.
“Overall, it was just a real good game for us,” Catanzaro said. “I think the only lead they had was 4-2, and we did a good job from there on out. We kept switching on them from man-to-man to a matchup zone.
“We played very well as a team. We did much better than we did the night before. I thought we got better as the game went on. I had an opportunity to play a couple of younger kids, and I had a chance to play a senior who rarely gets in the game. We’re going to need these other kids. They’re good players. They just need a little playing time to get some experience.”
Upper Dublin will host Lansdale Catholic on Tuesday in a non-league contest.
NORTH PENN 50, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 27
North Penn junior Lauren Crisler collected a double-double to lead the Maidens, finishing the game with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Vicky Tumasz also had 13 points.
North Penn sprinted to a 16-3 lead at the end of one quarter and upped that lead to 20-3. The Maidens were slowed down when senior Steph Knauer picked up three quick fouls, and the Crusaders trimmed the Maidens’ lead to 24-12 by halftime. They would get no closer the rest of the way.
“We did more good things than bad,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “We played really, really good defense, and we rebounded very well. At times we looked like the best ball handling team in the world, and at other times we did not look like the best, but I was pretty pleased.”
The Maidens will host Neshaminy in a non-league contest on Monday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 56, METHACTON 44
Four players finished the game in double figures as the Colonials earned their first win of the season when they downed the host team in the consolation game of the Methacton Tournament. Two of those players collected double-doubles.
Maya Thomas led PW with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five steals while Erin Martin had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Gabby Schumacher and Egypt Thompson both added 12 points with Schumacher also contributing five steals and four rebounds while Thompson had seven rebounds.
The Colonials led 13-8 at the end of one quarter only to watch the Warriors trim that lead to 26-25 by halftime. The two teams battled to a 6-6 draw in the third quarter as the Colonials still clung to a tenuous one-point lead (32-31). They won the game with a 24-13 scoring explosion in the fourth quarter.
The Colonials return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Pennridge.
UPPER MERION 55, QUAKERTOWN 25
Despite being the focal point of the Panthers’ defense, senior Cassidy Koenig still scored a game-high 14 points while freshman Reggie Robinson turned in a 13-point effort. Ten of Robinson’s points came in a third quarter that saw the Vikings outscore the Panthers 21-7 to go on top 44-17.
“She had a real nice second half,” coach Tom Schurtz said of his freshman guard. “We returned our starting lineup from last year, and she’s a welcome addition to our team.”
MJ Valeri added nine points for the second time in as many nights as the Vikings rolled to the decisive win in the consolation game of their own tournament.
“She has been playing on a sprained ankle,” Schurtz said of Valeri. “I’m really happy with the work she did in the offseason.
“We’re a little behind where I thought we would be at this point, but we’re excited about our season.”
Brittny Buonanno-Taylor led the Panthers with 10 points while Katie Kelsall added nine.
The Vikings will travel to Upper Perkiomen on Monday while the Panthers will host Faith Christian on Tuesday.
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