City of Basketball Love

By Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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District I’s largest league in terms of membership hasn’t held a postseason tournament for all that long — the inaugural SOL Tournament was during the 2014-15 season — and is only in its second year with eight entrants.

The tournament fields consist of the four SOL division winners from the Colonial, Patriot, Liberty and Freedom and four wildcard teams. In the event of a shared division title, the team with the higher District 1 playoff rating assumes the “champion” top-four seed and first-round home game.

Similarly, the four wild cards are chosen from the next four highest District 1 playoff ratings, regardless of classification (for example: a Class 4A team with a 12.356 rating would qualify over a Class 6A team with a 12.253 rating).

The higher seeded teams will host throughout the tournament, including the championship games so there is potential for the boys’ and girls’ titles to be handed out at different venues as happened last year.

Here’s a look at Friday’s first rounds.

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GIRLS

No. 1 Plymouth Whitemarsh (SOL Liberty Champion) vs No. 8 Council Rock South

Season Meetings: Did not play

The Golden Hawks had their best regular season in a decade and have set themselves up for a first round home game in districts but first, they’ll make their SOL Tournament debut against the defending champions. South’s played a tough slate and has the experience of last year’s first round district game to boot, so they’re anything but a throw-in to round out the field.

Some late-night shuffling in the power rankings on Wednesday bumped PW to No. 3 in the district and the top overall slot among SOL teams, so they’ll have home court in Gym West as long as they’re in the league tournament. Given that the PW boys are also the top seed and at home, it should mean a solid crowd for Friday’s planned doubleheader.

PW closed the season extremely strong, having won 12 straight that included a very important win over Abington and a last-second win over Upper Dublin that wrapped up a fourth straight outright SOL Liberty title. Seniors Abby Sharpe (Penn) and Erin Daley have led the way all season, each surpassing 1,000 career points during the regular season and combining for a high percentage of the Colonials’ offense.

Senior guard Angelina Balcer has bounced back after a midseason injury, the Chestnut Hill College basketball/soccer recruit adding a veteran presence on the ball. Freshmen AJ Avery and Kenna Winland have found confidence as the season has gone on and the Colonials are certainly playing some of their best ball getting into the heart of February.

CR South definitely earned its spot in both the district rankings (No. 15), and SOL tournament with a blend of veteran players and underclassmen who quickly proved themselves. At the middle of it is senior Karissa Smedley, a versatile three-sport standout committed to Georgian Court who makes a difference on the defensive end and of late, offensively. Senior Jess Mangoni has put together a nice rebound year after a junior year injury, adding spacing as a stretch five and senior Katie Purpura is a feisty defender and shot maker.

Sophomore Lily Metrick has entrenched herself as one of the top long-range threats in the SOL while classmate Kathryn O’Kane spins passes left and right to flow the offense. Cam Gregory, Fiona Reckner and Lily Bross round out a solid rotation that likes to push pace and puts plenty of shooting on the floor.

No. 4 Upper Moreland (SOL Freedom Co-Champion) vs No. 5 Abington 

Season Meetings: Abington 51-35, Jan. 3, 2023

A rematch of a first-round game from last year, the Golden Bears’ reward for a division title is another game with an Abington team that’s right near the top of the Class 6A rankings and loading up for a postseason run. Upper Moreland, which has designs of its own in the District 1 5A bracket, comes in hobbled a bit with a few untimely injuries depleting the starting lineup after sharing the SOL Freedom title with New Hope-Solebury.

Abington, which currently sits No. 6 in the District 1 6A rankings, has wins over PW and Souderton this season but finds itself on the road again because it couldn’t hold off the Colonials for a Liberty title and that’s just how this tournament works. Cire Worley heads into the final stretch of a brilliant career, the senior UMass-Lowell recruit already having scored more points than anyone else in Abington girls’ basketball history and looks to lead her team to some trophies.

Senior Abril Bowser has been terrific all year, swiping the ball left and right on defense in Abington’s press, knocking down threes and taking people off the dribble. Junior Piper McGinley has emerged as a key contributor, sophomore Maya Johnson holds it down at point and Jordyn Reynolds, Mikaiya Durham and Maura Day each bring a different dimension when they’re on the floor.

The Bears know that knocking off Abington would be a tall task, even at full strength, but they always come ready to compete. Senior EmmyFaith Wood — who has missed the last few games due to injury — seems likely to be out with UM needing her back for districts. Holly Gohl has been a mainstay in the lineup, the junior forward getting things done on both ends while Mikel Lancit has emerged as a strong contributor. Senior Alyssa Wiley has gone under the radar, giving UM some stout defense and rebounding while doing the little things that help win games.

No. 2 Souderton (SOL Colonial Champion) vs No. 7 Pennridge

Season Meetings: Souderton 54-34, Dec. 13 & Souderton 50-42, Jan. 27

The team’s third meeting this season could be a possible precursor to a second round district game, if seedings hold, No. 4 Souderton could see No. 13 Pennridge in short order. To say the squads’ last meeting was a bit mercurial would be an understatement, with Pennridge having a four-point quarter, a 27-point quarter and finally a 0-point quarter while Souderton held it together for a win.

Souderton’s back in familiar territory — division championship secured and high district seeding all but guaranteed. Last year’s postseason didn’t end on a great note in districts or states and with four senior starters, that’s the mission for this group. Leading the way is Northwestern-bound point guard Casey Harter, who has gotten better again and just seems to never tire on either end of the floor.

Forward Teya McConnaha seems back to her usual self after finally losing the protective face guard she wore most of January after a facial fracture. Souderton’s calling card is defense, but the Colonial champion will also need a little offensive kick from senior Erin Bohmueller and Mikayla McGillian, plus junior Brooke Fenchel and sophomore Grace McDonough going forward.

Pennridge, under first-year head coach Jason Rapp, has really put things together and is in line for a home district playoff game next weekend. The Rams offense can be downright explosive, as evidenced by a few 20-plus point quarters in the final leg of the regular season but they can have droughts too, something they’ll look to clean up in the playoffs.

Standout senior Katie Yoder (Goldey-Beacom) leads the charge, getting the chance to follow her three brothers’ legacy of leading Pennridge on a playoff run. Junior Anna Croyle, a fantastic soccer player, has been a defensive stopper and a consistent secondary scorer while senior Olivia Poole has put together some nice games and senior Grace Roscia is a veteran presence at point guard.

No. 3 Neshaminy (SOL Patriot Champion) vs No. 6 Pennsbury

Season Meetings: Pennsbury 42-41, Dec. 8, 2022 & Pennsbury 31-30, Jan. 24, 2023

Every year, there seems to be a pair of SOL teams that end up playing some ridiculous number of games against each other and it feels especially fitting if Pennsbury and Neshaminy become those teams this year. A pair of one-point Falcons wins have been among the very few blemishes on Neshaminy’s register this year and finding a way to dictate the terms could go a long way to deciding who takes Round Three.

Neshaminy claimed its first SOL title in two years thanks to its core three and complementary contributions. Junior Reese Zemitis is a talented three-level scorer, working a little more in the midrange to complement her outside shooting and size inside. Junior guard Lola Ibarrondo is in the midst of a breakout in her second season in Langhorne and senior Taylor Gurysh (Kutztown) does a little bit of everything. Sophomore Aleah Cofield and seniors Jess Purdy and Lindsey Little have been solid contributors at guard all season.

The Falcons go deep — Pennsbury might play 11 or 12 players — but it starts with junior Sofia Vitucci, who has turned scoring into an art with her mastery of all three levels. Neveah Dash is a veteran guard with a knack for timely shots and on a given night, any other number of players may step up, though Layla Matthias, Danielle Sherman and Daniella MacDonald have been consistent contributors for a Falcons squad that manages the game at its pace and doesn’t give up very much on defense.

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BOYS

No. 1 Plymouth Whitemarsh (SOL Liberty Champion) vs No. 8 Neshaminy

Season Meetings: Did not play

The Colonials haven’t lost to an SOL team all season and haven’t lost in general since the calendar flipped to 2023 so it’s safe to say they're on a good roll. Neshaminy comes in battle-tested but going into PW’s gym and winning is not an easy task to accomplish, especially when the Colonials feel like they have a pretty good team.

Qudire Bennett could probably walk into any gym in the area and already have five or six points before tying his shoes, so giving him the type of supporting cast he has this year has meant a whole lot of buckets to his name. Jaden Colzie, now a junior, is still doing the work at point guard while Chase Coleman has come in and immediately started filling it up in the backcourt.

Lincoln Sharpe - who took last year off to focus on baseball - gives PW good size at 6-foot-5 and gladly does the work like rebounding, screening and passing to let the guards and wings focus on points.

Neshaminy found itself square in the middle of the grinder that was the SOL Patriot division - every team in the division had at least four league losses — but that’s not a bad thing. Senior Sean Curley has been a top performer all season, forming a potent 1-2 punch with forward Nate Townsend, the junior complementing Curley’s shooting prowess.

Emeer Coombs, also a junior, is just as big a part of things as Curley and Townsend with Neshaminy embracing a scrappy mentality that makes it hard for them to be fazed in a tough environment.

No. 4 Pennsbury (SOL Patriot Champion) vs No. 5 North Penn

Season Meeting: North Penn 66-61, Jan. 3

North Penn looks like a lock for a first round District 1 playoff bye at No. 6 in standings while the Falcons are currently slotted in at No. 14, the fifth-highest spot among SOL teams in 6A. However, Pennsbury won its division and that means the Knights will have to go to always-raucous Fairless Hills looking to reverse after having their 12-game win streak snapped.

Pennsbury saw alum Wes Emme come home to take over as head coach and gave him a division title as a result. Senior Tyler Kocak has been nothing less than fantastic for the Falcons this season in terms of scoring the ball and leading his team while fellow senior Ryan Zuckerman, a Pitt baseball recruit, came back to basketball after three years away and has given his all.

The two seniors have allowed two juniors in Connor Taddei and Teddy Mangan to come into their own, a rugged division full of nightly battles priming Pennsbury for a division banner and the postseason to come.

The Knights can go. North Penn’s backcourt of Mario Sgro and Norman Gee has blistering speed in the full court part of the game and their quick first steps are hard guard if the game slows to the halfcourt. Teddy McCallister is pretty quick himself and a spark scorer, who can get hot very quickly.

Ryan Zeltt, a Millersville signee at quarterback, is a stretch big while Ryan Deininger is a crafty scorer in the spaces for a Knights squad that’s been putting up some big offensive games with regularity. 

No. 2 CB East (SOL Colonial Champion) vs No. 7 Pennridge

Season Meetings: East 61-46, Dec. 16 & East 61-59, Jan. 31

There are three rematches in the boys’ bracket but this is the only third-time pairing in the first round. If this one goes anything like the last, it should at least be a gem as East edged the Rams on a Joey Giordano buzzer-beater in their second regular season meeting. Pennridge has enjoyed a bounce-back season and historically has done well in this tournament.

East made sure it wasn’t sharing the Colonial title with anyone thanks to a pretty solid win over North Penn in Tuesday’s finale. The Patriots have one of the strongest backcourts in the league with a senior in Giordano and Jake Cummiskey, only a junior despite it feeling like he’s already had a career’s worth of big games.

Senior Kyle Berndt has owned his role in his first season as a starter while junior Tyler Dandrea has emerged throughout the season for the now three-time defending division champions. It didn’t come in a walk-over either, the Patriots had to find a way to win a couple clutch games but they did so as a group, usually finding the right guy on the right night to get it done.

The Rams had a down year for their standards last season, but are right back in the playoff picture this year with sharpshooting senior guard Matt Campione, a Catholic University, leading the way. Xavier Peters has been Pennridge’s breakout player, the sophomore point guard finding his scoring touch and taking just enough attention off Campione to allow one of the SOL’s best shooters room to operate.

A Dean Behrens-coached team will always go hard and these Rams have guys like Tommy Cramer, Gannon Perlini and Ryan Hass willing to do that on a pretty deep roster. Caden Fisher and Jake Buesing are also frequent contributors.

No. 3 William Tennent (SOL Freedom Champion) vs No. 6 Upper Dublin

Season Meeting: Upper Dublin 73-49, Jan. 6

When the teams met in SOL crossover play, it turned into a statement win for the Cardinals as the fifth in what became a 12-game win streak while the Panthers faced a turning point. Tennent learned from the experience, coming out of crossovers with two more losses but going a perfect 5-0 in the second leg of the Freedom to clinch its first division championship since 2004.

Tennent’s strong season has the Panthers in position to host a first-round playoff game. Junior guard Kirby Mooney has been a big reason for that, the 6-foot-3 guard planting his flag in the upper echelon of SOL players with a polished offensive game. Senior George Marion usually isn’t too far behind him in the book, if he’s not the scoring leader himself, the two combining to power a fast-paced offense that wants to get downhill and punish defenders.

Having players who get into the middle of a defense means shooters are open and Tennent’s got some guys out there like Isaiah Dawson and Evan Devor.

When Derek Brooks took over at Upper Dublin this offseason, he knew he had a good team that happened to be loaded with players from a really good football team. Ask any coach though, and they’ll generally want winners and once UD’s football run ended, they came back inside and just kept winning.

Sophomore Ryan Mulroy isn’t a football player and he kept things afloat alongside senior Seaton Kukla, a Juniata recruit in the midst of his best season and three-point ace Brady Fogle until everyone else had their legs back. The Cardinals took off from there, with D-I defensive back DJ Cerisier adding punch on both sides of the ball and Rutgers-bound quarterback and all-SOL point guard Colin O’Sullivan returning from injury right at the end of the regular season to boost an already strong roster.