Check out all the results for girls’ basketball teams in action at Saturday’s SOL Challenge. To view photos of the Springfield/Quakertown, Souderton/Upper Merion/ Hatboro-Horsham/PW and CB West/Truman girls, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Saturday featured the 24 SOL teams taking on opponents from another conference. How did the respective conferences fare?
The Continental Conference, which features a pair of teams in the top 10 in the latest Penn Live Class AAAA rankings in No. 4 Central Bucks West and No. 8 North Penn, put on the best showing, finishing 5-3. The American Conference, which features the state’s No. 7 squad in Upper Dublin, was 4-4 in crossover games, and the National Conference was 3-5.
SOUDERTON 49, UPPER MERION 34
(To read a complete game story, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/article/content/souderton-honors-former-coach-win-0041012)
Souderton turned a 10-9 deficit after one quarter into a 24-16 half time lead and never looked back.
Sarah Derstein had a big day under the basket, contributing 14 points, 14 rebounds, six blocked shots, three assists and two steals. Senior point guard Bianca Picard also scored 14 points, which included a 4-for-6 effort from beyond the arc. Senior Allison Gallagher was the third Indian in double figures with 10 points, and Devon Boehm added seven.
Upper Merion – less than 24 hours removed from an emotional come-from-behind overtime win over Norristown – was led by junior Regie Robinson with 20 points, which included three three-pointers. Shekema Gentles added eight points.
Souderton upped its record to 11-4 overall (5-3 SOL) while the Vikings are 8-7 overall (4-4 SOL).
Upper Merion 10 6 8 10-34
Souderton 9 15 15 10-49
ABINGTON 67, CHELTENHAM 41
The Ghosts had the upper hand from the outset in Saturday’s battle between neighboring rivals. Deja Rawls led the charge with seven points in a first quarter that saw Abington open up a 21-8 lead. By halftime, that lead had grown to 36-15 in a contest that saw the Ghosts outscore the Lady Panthers in all four quarters.
Michael Harris led a balanced Abington attack with 15 points while Rawls finished with 13. Sammy Locher also finished in double figures with 10 points. Bre Bermel and Leah Simmons both added nine points, and Gabby Nolan had eight.
Ashley Jones led all scorers with 24 points – 17 of those came in the second half. Point guard Amarri Trueheart also finished the game in double figures with 10 points.
The Ghosts are 10-5 overall (7-1 SOL) while the Lady Panthers are 9-5 overall (5-3 SOL).
Cheltenham 8 7 14 12-41
Abington 21 15 16 15-67
SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 44, QUAKERTOWN 30
The Spartans enjoyed every minute of their trip to Souderton to compete in Saturday’s SOL Challenge. It didn’t hurt that they came away with a win over the Panthers.
“It was really fun actually,” senior Veronica Asman said. “I don’t know why, but it just felt like less pressure this game. Even though this doesn’t help with our (conference) record, we know we beat Quakertown, so we know we can beat schools like this.”
“It was definitely fun,” senior Meghan Wheatley added. “It’s always good to have games where it’s not just the seniors and the starting five getting points, but everyone is getting points.
“That’s good for the team and getting experience. We have a lot of young players. When we play against teams that aren’t in our (conference) and we win, that helps us. I definitely think we’re very underrated, and we can play with most teams.”
The Spartans used their fullcourt pressure to force turnovers that resulted in easy baskets.
“We practice pressing for at least an hour every day,” Asman said. “I’m glad we were able to show it today.
“We stayed composed and our press helped us out a lot.”
Wheatley (13 points), Molly Dugan (12 points) and Asman (eight points) led a balanced Springfield attack.
The Spartans – who compete at the Class AA level - find themselves playing in a conference comprised mainly of 4A schools.
“It’s definitely tough, but now we know we can beat them,” Asman said.
The Panthers were led by the 16-point effort of Ashlee Ruzicka while Meghan Klee added 10 points.
Springfield is 4-11 overall (1-7 SOL), and the Panthers are 1-3 (0-8 SOL).
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 44, UPPER MORELAND 16
Emma Gardy led a balanced CB South attack with 10 points. Alysha Lofton added seven points while Chloe Entenberg and Taylor Dunn both had five points. Madison Pisut led the Golden Bears with six points, and Karli Lynch added five.
Central Bucks South upped its record to 12-3 overall (5-2 SOL) while the Golden Bears fell to 4-11 (2-6 SOL).
Upper Moreland 1 4 9 2-16
Central Bucks South 16 10 7 11-44
UPPER DUBLIN 45, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 29
It’s been a roller coaster ride for the Flying Cardinals since losing senior standout Kayla McAneney for the season to an ACL injury in last Friday’s showdown against Plymouth Whitemarsh. Upper Dublin went on to defeat the Colonials and followed that with a win over North Penn 24 hours later.
On Tuesday, the Cardinals suffered their first SOL American Conference loss in two years when they fell to Upper Merion.
“Obviously, we struggled to come focused and ready to play on Tuesday against Upper Merion,” coach Tony Funsten said. “To give them credit, they played a great game.
“Part of it was us, but a lot of it was them also. They played a great game.”
Funsten acknowledged that even Thursday’s 50-24 win over Wissahickon was a bit of a struggle for one half.
“We still didn’t have the level of focus, and our mindset coming into today – starting today was a new season,” the Cardinals’ second-year coach said. “If you asked my girls our record - we’re 1-0.
“We’re refocused now. After practice and talking to the girls, I thought we’d come ready to play today, and we did. We came in with a game plan to stop (Jessica) Gerber. She’s a dangerous scorer, and Taylor (Linus) held her to four. The two shots she made were very, very difficult shots.
“It was a great team defensive effort, and we knew that’s where it had to start. We didn’t lose the Upper Merion game because we couldn’t put the ball in the basket. We lost the Upper Merion game because we gave up 49 points, and that’s uncharacteristic of us.”
The Flying Cardinals led 11-8 at the end of one quarter and extended that to 25-13 by halftime. They outscored the Indians 20-16 in the second half.
Regan Gallagher led the Flying Cardinals, finishing with a double-double – 14 points and 10 rebounds. Allison Chernow added nine points. Julie Cross had eight points, 15 rebounds and five assists, and Jackie Lillo added eight points.
“This is what we’re going to need moving forward,” Funsten said. “Teams are going to key on Regan, and Allison has picked up her scoring.
“We had nice balanced scoring, and we really did dominate the glass. Julie really, really played well – she really rebounded the ball well.”
The Flying Cardinals are 13-1 overall (7-1 SOL) while the Indians fell to 6-7 overall (4-4 SOL).
Upper Dublin 11 14 10 10-45
Council Rock North 8 5 9 7-29
NORTH PENN 60, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 27
Vicky Tumasz could not miss.
Literally.
The Lady Knights’ senior guard was in some kind of zone, connecting on 8-of-9 shots from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 26 points. Six of her three-pointers came in a first half that saw Tumasz score 20 points as the Lady Knights sprinted to a 37-8 lead. For good measure, Tumasz also had six rebounds and five steals.
“She was just in rhythm, and her teammates – when they realized how hot she was, they just kept finding her,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “Erin (Maher) and Sam (Carangi) in particular did a good job.
“Sam would drive down the left side, dribble all the way under the basket and kick it out to Vicky on the baseline. Erin was looking to find her, and she just kept hitting everything.”
Erin Maher also had a big day for the Lady Knights, finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
The Golden Hawks were led by the 13-point effort of Allison Taub.
The Lady Knights are 12-2 overall (7-1 SOL), and the Golden Hawks are 3-11 (2-5 SOL).
North Penn 15 22 11 12-60
Council Rock South 4 4 10 9-27
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 36, PENNSBURY 20
Defense had been a trademark of Patriot squads under coach Tom Lonergan. That hasn’t changed in Liz Potash’s first year at the helm. The Patriots allowed four points or less in three of four quarters on Saturday, and senior center Courtney Webster had a monster day to lead the Patriots, contributing 22 points, nine rebounds – seven offensive – and three blocked shots.
“Courtney is playing so well,” Potash said. “She’s just really stepped it up, and I don’t know what it is. It’s not like we’ve put more focus on her. It’s not like we’ve said, ‘Get the ball to Courtney.’
“She’s finishing, and I think that’s the big difference right now. She’s just finishing everything she’s putting up there. She’s stepping up point-wise, rebounding, blocked shots. She had a lot of putbacks today. She got herself in good position, they didn’t put a body on her, and she can finish.”
The Patriots led 10-4 at the end of one quarter and took a 20-13 lead into halftime.
“Karoline (White) is always the biggest proponent of – ‘We’re known for our defense, we defend, we keep teams under 30,’” Potash said. “It’s one of those things where I kind of laugh because I’m like, ‘That could be unrealistic.’
“Thirty – that’s not a lot of points, but they have so much pride in their defense, and that’s always been instilled in them. We don’t feel any different as coaches, but that is a huge point of pride for them.
“We went in at halftime and we had given them 13. We said, ‘All right, we’re keeping them under 30,’ and to keep them to 20 was incredible. That’s a pretty good team.”
White had five assists for the Patriots, whose defense limited high-scoring Sajanna Bethea to just three points. Kaitlin Kelly led the Falcons with 12 points.
The Patriots upped their record to 10-4 overall (5-3 SOL) while the Falcons fell to 7-7 overall (6-2 SOL).
Pennsbury 4 9 4 3-20
Central Bucks East 10 10 8 8-36
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 73, HARRY S TRUMAN 48
The Bucks opened up a 21-4 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 43-19 lead into halftime on their way to the big win.
Peyton Traina led a balanced attack with 16 points, which included four three-pointers. Sophomore Makenzie Mason added 12 points. Meghan Tillger and Mackenzie Carroll both had nine points. Corrinne Godshall and Nicole Munger each chipped in eight points in a game that saw 10 West players get into the scoring column.
Khristaijah Jackson led the Tigers with 27 points. Taylor Gasperi added nine.
West upped its record to 12-3 (6-2 SOL) while the Tigers are 4-10 overall (1-7 SOL).
Harry S Truman 4 15 11 18-48
Central Bucks West 21 22 20 10-73
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 51, HATBORO-HORSHAM 34
Sparked by 12 points from Asia Baker, the Colonials sprinted to a 21-6 lead at the end of one quarter. They never looked back.
Baker finished with a game-high 27 points while Alynna Williams added 17. For the Hatters, sophomore Cassidy Quattro led the way with 14 points. Emily Fox added nine points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh is 12-2 overall (7-1 SOL), and the Hatters are 1-11 (1-6 overall).
Hatboro-Horsham 6 9 10 9-34
Plymouth Whitemarsh 21 9 8 13-51
WISSAHICKON 40, BENSALEM 26
The Owls managed to keep the game close for the better part of four quarters. Foul shooting, according to Bensalem coach Don Bogan, was the difference in the game. The Trojans connected on 19-of-32 from the charity stripe – which included a 9-for-14 effort in the fourth quarter - while the Owls were 2-for-6 for the entire game.
“Both teams played excellent defense,” Bogan said.
Samantha Werth led the Owls with eight points while Lyric Lewis added seven. The Trojans were led by the nine-point effort of Daria Earland while Carolina Mack added eight.
The Trojans are 3-10 overall (1-7 SOL) while the Owls are 1-12 (0-7 overall).
NESHAMINY 44, NORRISTOWN 37
The Eagles, less than 24 hours removed from a heartbreaking overtime loss to Upper Merion, hung tough in their non-league game against the Redskins. Neshaminy led 11-10 at the end of one quarter, but the Eagles took an 18-16 lead into halftime. The Redskins won it in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 17-11 in the third quarter and 11-8 edge in the fourth quarter.
Maddie Murray and Morgan Goldenbaum led the Redskins with 12 points each while Sarah Oliveira added 10 points. Both Murray and Oliveira pulled down six rebounds.
Norristown’s Briana Hedgepeth led all scorers with 16 points. Essence Milligan-Williams added 10 points.
The Redskins upped their record to 10-2 overall (7-0 SOL). The Eagles are 7-7 overall (5-3 SOL).
Neshaminy 11 5 17 11-44
Norristown 10 8 11 8-37
WILLIAM TENNENT 52, PENNRIDGE 32
Angie Pomponio was one of three Tennent players in double figures, scoring a game-high 15 points. Freshman Kyla Gibson added 14, and Nikki Alden had 12. For the Rams, Ashley George led the way with nine points.
The Panthers led 10-6 after one quarter and took a 24-17 lead into halftime. They led 37-28 heading into the final quarter when they closed out the game with a 15-4 tear.
Tennent improved to 9-5 on the season (3-4 SOL) while the Rams are 4-10 (3-6 SOL).
Pennridge 6 11 11 4-32
William Tennent 10 14 13 15-52
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