Check out Friday night’s SOL girls’ basketball results. To view photos of the Souderton/North Penn game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
American Conference
UPPER MERION 35, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 32
The Vikings staged a heroic fourth quarter comeback, rallying from as many as nine points down to earn the dramatic win over the Colonials.
“It was one of the finest games I have ever coached or been a part of,” Viking coach Tom Schurtz said. “It was so much fun, it was just a blast.
“It was back and forth the whole game. They’re a very good team – they’re very physical, very strong, and they’re bigger across the back line than we are.
“The atmosphere was great. They had a good crowd, and everyone was into it. It was just one of those games when you talk about why you coach and why you play – those are the games you want to be a part of, win or lose.
“We didn’t take the lead until four minutes to go in the game.”
The Vikings trailed 14-7 at the end of one quarter, and despite a furious second quarter rally, they still trailed 20-19 heading into halftime. The Colonials outscored the Vikings 9-5 in the third quarter to go into the final quarter with a 28-25 lead.
“(Cassidy) Koenig did not have one of her better nights, conservatively speaking,” Schurtz said of his senior sharpshooter. “She was 2-for-17 from the three-point line, and she did not take a bad shot. She just could not get it to rattle down, but with 40 seconds to go, she was 4-for-4 from the foul line to ice the game, and that’s what you want out of your senior.”
The Vikings led by one before Koenig connected on both ends of a one-and-one, and she then duplicated that feat to give Upper Merion a five-point advantage.
While Koenig delivered in the clutch, it was senior Jackie VanLoan who kept the Vikings afloat with her 10-point, 11-rebound performance.
“This game was all about Jackie VanLoan,” Schurtz said. “She is 5-8 going against 6-2, and she had a double-double tonight playing on two sprained ankles. She did not get cleared to play until five minutes before game time. She was in a walking boot the last seven days.”
Another player who came up big was freshman Reggie Robinson.
“She did a great job of guarding Gabby Schumacher,” Schurtz said. “We switched Reggie to her in the second half. Gabby had two three’s in the first half and then did not score in the second half. Gabby is a great shooter, and Reggie was able to pester her the whole game.
“This was one of those games you’re just happy to be part of. I give PW a lot of credit. They’re very good defenders – they guarded Koenig all over the floor, and they held (Kristina) O’Sullivan to two. They did a great job defending us at every spot. It was two teams equally matched. We made some free throws down the stretch, and really that was the only difference.”
Koenig finished the game with 10 points. The Colonials were led by the 13-point effort of Egypt Thompson. Erin Martin added seven points.
The Colonials saw their record drop to 2-3 in league play (4-6 overall) while the Vikings improved to 3-2 in the league (8-4 overall).
UPPER DUBLIN 39, WISSAHICKON 34
The Flying Cardinals survived a foul-fest with the Trojans on Friday. By the time the game had ended, four Flying Cardinals had four fouls and two players had three fouls. The Trojans weren’t nearly as fortunate as four of their players fouled out, and several others were in serious foul trouble.
The Trojans – who led 22-14 at halftime – saw the game slip away in the second half as the Flying Cardinals outscored the Trojans 10-6 in the third quarter and then won it with a 15-6 fourth quarter surge.
Taylor Bryant led the Flying Cardinals with 16 points while teammate Curtrena Goff added 12 and Jen Myers, seven points. For the Trojans, Dominique Earland scored 10 points while Sierra Eskridge added eight.
While the Trojans fell to 1-4 in the league (3-7 overall), the Flying Cardinals improved to 5-1 in the league (13-1 overall).
CHELTENHAM 61, UPPER MORELAND 23
Shayla Peoples and Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews both scored seven first quarter points to lead the Lady Panthers to a quick 21-4 lead. They took a 33-12 lead into halftime and never looked back.
Andrews led a balanced attack with 14 points while Christina Coleman added 11 and Jiana Clark, 10 points. Seraih Robinson contributed seven points off the bench. Katie Costello led the Golden Bears with six points.
The Lady Panthers are 5-0 in conference play (12-0 overall) while the Golden Bears saw their record drop to 0-5 in the league (2-10 overall).
National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 46, BENSALEM (42)
The Owls took a 20-17 lead into halftime before the Indians rallied to take a 32-31 lead into the fourth quarter when Bensalem came back to knot the score. The Indians won it by outscoring the Owls 6-2 in OT.
“I watched Bensalem, and I told the girls they were a good team,” North coach Liz Potash said. “They can definitely compete.
“We didn’t play to the level we played on Tuesday night (in an OT loss to undefeated Council Rock South). We didn’t come ready to play, and to Bensalem’s credit, they did. We were lucky to get out of there with a win tonight because they battled the entire game.”
Emily Grundman turned in a monster game for the Indians, scoring a game-high 24 points to go along with eight rebounds and three steals.
“Emily was huge,” Potash said. “Coming off her big fourth quarter on Tuesday night, she carried that over and was huge. She carried us to that win.”
On a night that saw the Indians connect on just 11-of-24 foul shots, Krista Campbell stepped to the line in the overtime period and buried both ends of a one-and-one to give Rock North a four-point advantage.
“I’ll give Krista credit,” Potash said. “She came in, and she nailed her two. She didn’t touch the rim.”
Another player who came up big in OT was junior Dominique Pinto.
“She did not play against South because she was away at a softball tournament,” Potash said. “She came in and played Roberts in the overtime. She doesn’t have the height, but Helena (Gemmell) had fouled out and we were in foul trouble. We didn’t have anybody to put on her, but Dom said, ‘Let me play her,’ so she did, and she shut her down.”
Helena Gemmell contributed eight points, eight rebounds and three steals while Alyssa Dumont contributed five assists and five steals. Bensalem was led by the 14-point effort of Tyra Roberts. Ashley Schneider added 10 points while Ashleigh Spence had nine.
While the Owls dropped to 2-4 in league play (4-5 overall), the Indians improved to 4-2 in the league (7-4 overall).
“Give Bensalem credit – they played hard, and they did a lot of nice things,” Potash said. “Maybe (our girls) needed a wake-up call.
“We’ve proven we can play with anyone, but we haven’t won any of those games. Everyone says, ‘You can beat anyone.’ I say, ‘No, we can play with anyone, but we haven’t beaten anyone.’ That’s a huge hurdle.”
ABINGTON 37, WILLIAM TENNENT 31
The Panthers took a 22-17 lead into halftime and still led 28-23 heading into the final quarter when the Ghosts went on a 14-3 tear to earn the come-from-behind win. Aiyannah Peal led the winners with 13 points while Michael Harris added 11 points and Deja Rawls, eight points.
While the Panthers fell to 2-4 in SOL play (6-4 overall), the Ghosts improved to 5-1 in the league (8-4 overall).
NESHAMINY 63, HARRY S TRUMAN 17
Lori Paulits and McKenna Mullin led a balanced Redskin attack with 16 and 14 points respectively. Maddie Murray and Audrey Wunder both had nine points while Stephanie Donohue had a team high 11 rebounds to go along with four points.
The win was the fourth in a row for the Redskins (3-3 SOL, 5-7 overall) after a 1-7 start while the Tigers remained winless in league play (0-6, 1-9).
Continental Conference
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 68, HATBORO-HORSHAM 37
The Titans rebounded from Tuesday’s heartbreaking loss to Central Bucks East to seize early control of their game on Friday. Before fans had settled in their seats, the Titans led 18-0, and they never looked back. Shannon Senour led the early charge, scoring eight of her 11 points in the quarter.
As a result of their win, the Titans upped their record to 5-1 in league play (10-3 overall) while the Hatters fell to 1-5 in the league (3-8 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS 57, PENNRIDGE 18
Jen Fabian led the Bucks with 14 points while freshman Corinne Godshall added 10 points and Mackenzie Carroll chipped in with seven.
While the Rams fell to 1-5 in league play (2-9 overall), the Bucks improved to 3-3 in the league (8-4 overall).
NORTH PENN 53, SOUDERTON 37
A complete game story is posted on the web site.
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