City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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FAIRLESS HILLS — Scoring is an art form.

Some artists master a certain study, such as spot-up shooting, finishing on the low block or bullying their way to the foul line. With Pennsbury’s Sofia Vitucci, it’s more of a blank canvas and the junior guard just keeps packing more onto a palette that’s already loaded with plenty of substance.

Vitucci dabbled in just about every medium, including gravitational pull, while Nevaeh Dash added another clutch shot and Pennsbury rallied to defeat rival Neshaminy 42-41 on Thursday to open the SOL slate.

“We heard everything that was said, we saw it, but we came out and played our game,” Vitucci said. “We’ve been in the gym relentlessly, working hard. We were working toward this game, but really the whole season.”

Victucci played just about every minute in the second half, scoring 17 of her game-high 21 points after halftime and had no problem letting someone else take the go-ahead shot. Neshaminy gave the guard the extra attention she deserved, so when the Falcons put the ball in play with 10 seconds left, the junior ran around the arc, her orbit pulling defenders along her path.

That left Dash wide open in the corner in front of the Falcons bench and an avenue for Layla Matthias to throw a perfect cross-court pass for the game-winner with 4.2 left in the game.

“Nevaeh’s made a lot of clutch shots in her career, she really has, so when she had the ball in her hands, we felt good about it,” Falcons coach Frank Sciolla said.

Having scored or assisted the previous eight Pennsbury points, Vitucci wasn’t worried about not having the ball ever come her way on the play.

“I trust her to make that shot,” Vitucci said. “When she’s that open, there’s a good chance it’s going in.”

Guts, guile and good shot can only get a scorer so far, especially when they’re on the smaller side like the 5-foot-6 Vitucci is, so that’s where the artistry comes in. The junior still practices in the art of the middle ground, using her mid range shot and a crisp pull-up shot and she’s a maestro of creating that sliver of opportunity to put up a shot over a defender.

A scorer knows they have it going on when a mere shoulder shimmy is enough to get a defender off-kilter and backpedaling, as Vitucci did at one point in the first half. For all the little moves, the feints and step-backs, Vitucci rarely over-does it.

Plenty of players think they can be scorers, but often that leads to a step-too far back jumper or a flurry of dribbles and sneaker squeaks signifying nothing. Knowing how much is needed while staying balanced and under-control is an art in itself.

“She’s always shot the pull-up really well, she puts a lot of time into her game because it means a lot to her,” Sciolla said. “You don’t see those shots anymore because of the way things have changed analytically, and even we have, but she’s a person where if she can get to a spot and she can get space, she elevates and she makes it.”

“I’ve worked on not getting myself in too deep and keeping myself out of trouble,” Vitucci said. “I’m a smaller guard, I know I have to get space to get a shot off or get space to get balanced and get it to a shooter. I’ve been getting up a lot of reps and also lifting helps a lot.”

Vitucci came out quick, scoring five of Pennsbury’s first eight points in an 8-0 sprint off the opening tip. The junior then missed her next six shots and a free throw, finishing the half with those same five points while visiting Neshaminy overcame its slow start with a barrage of threes.

A 10-0 run, featuring threes from senior Linds Little — who gave Neshaminy a major lift off the bench with nine points and three offensive rebounds — and Taylor Gurysh staked the visitors to a 32-24 halftime lead. Dash and Victucci traded scores to start the third but Neshaminy used an 8-0 spell to go up 11 points with 1:49 left in the third.

Vitucci responded, using a shoulder feint to shake a defender and drill a three before the third ended, then she opened the fourth with a catch-and-shoot three off a great cross-court find by Matthias.

“Momentum is so big for us, once we start going that’s when it picks up on the defensive end as well,” Vitucci said. “When one person is in it, that’s when everyone’s in it.”

Neshaminy scored the next five points to go back in front by double-digits before the Falcons, who had relied on Vitucci or Dash for every point of the second half, got some big contributions from their other players. Daniella MacDonald scored on a take to the rim and freshman Emily Panaro converted a put-back before Vitucci swiped the ball - one of four steals - and hit MacDonald with a nice bounce pass for a layup.

Vitucci banked in a three with 2:36 left that made it a 39-36 game, then the junior missed two really clean looks for a tying three on the same possession before Gurysh - who led Neshaminy with 12 - scored with 50 seconds left. Some artists are perfectionists, letting the smallest flaw ruin their entire effort, but basketball is not a perfect game and Vitucci was undaunted by missing two open looks.

With less than 40 seconds to play, she dribbled the ball up the floor and with the defense a half-second slow to converge, pulled and hit her fifth 3-pointer of the night to slice the lead to two points.

“It’s not really over until it’s over, I forget about it and make up for it on the next one,” Vitucci said.

A costly turnover by Neshaminy with 30 seconds left gave Pennsbury a crucial extra possession. 

The last two years, Vitucci thrived playing off Ava Sciolla —-the 2021-22 Class 6A All-State Player of the Year now at Maryland — who provided that gravity of pulling in the defense and finding the next person up to make a play. Thursday, it was Victucci with that same type of gravity, stretching a defense her way, spacing the floor and letting the right passer make the right pass to the right shooter.

Scoring is an art form, but so is knowing when it’s someone else’s time to add their mark.

“I worked really hard to get my shot up quicker, be more consistent from the three and be able to just get my shot off,” Vitucci said. “I expected that I would be guarded differently this year and we’ve been preparing.

“It’s all about consistency and staying at it until I find my rhythm.”

By Quarter
Pennsbury: 9 | 5 | 10 | 18 || 42
Neshaminy: 6 | 13 | 13 | 9 || 41

Scorers
P: Sofia Vitucci 21, Nevaeh Dash 11, Daniella MacDonald 7, Emily Panaro 2, Danielle Sherman 2
N: Taylor Gurysh 12, Reese Zemitis 10, Linds Little 9, Lola Ibarrondo 5, Jess Purdy 3, Anna Soska 2