Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action Saturday. CB West/Methacton photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko. Check back for a gallery of photos. (CB East photos courtesy of Diane Barry/CB East BB) CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' GIRLS' BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
Non-league
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 55, DOWNINGTOWN EAST 41
The District 1 6a Tournament is still a few weeks down the road, but if it started today, the Patriots and Whippets would be staring at each other across the bracket at two and three respectively.
On Saturday, it was the Patriots who had the upper hand, turning an 11-10 lead after one quarter into a 25-17 halftime lead.
Haley Moran was the offensive catalyst with 11 points in the half.
The Patriots took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter, and the visiting Whippets never really threatened.
CB East’s defensive effort in the win was underscored by limiting Charlotte Aldridge to just six points. She entered the game needing 16 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Natalie Berndt – the Patriots’ defensive stopper – made sure she was not even close.
Key players: Haley Moran led the Patriots with a game-high 21 points. Jess Lockwood and Payton Williams both added 12 points. Lockwood also had six rebounds and five assists.
Central Bucks East coach Liz Potash:
--The game: “We split with them last year. They got us in season, and then we got them during the playoffs, and they’re tough. They are missing a starter right now (Kendall Chiavelli), who’s injured, which does hurt them, but they have a lot of pieces around her.
“We just know that they’re physical, and they have kids that can score. It was just a really good team effort. We do a little team heart at the end of every game, and the last three games we’ve just been giving it to the team because they’re just playing so well together right now, both offensively and defensively.
“The 15 assists (on 20 baskets) were unbelievable. They’re finding each other for open shots. We’re not even shooting at a super high percentage right now, but we’re able to find each other and do a lot of good things.
“(Downingtown East) plays a lot of pressure defense, and we handled that well, so it was just a good win for us. They had two kids foul out, and it hurt them. They’re very physical, and they weren’t allowed to play that way today, so they finished the game down a lot of kids.
“We played with fouls too, so everyone had to play through a little adversity in that way. I was proud of us for really keeping our composure on both ends.”
--Props: “Nat (Berndt) held (Charlotte) Aldridge to six, and that’s a kid that averages 15 a game, so that was a huge 
piece. We know Aldridge can hurt us in a lot of ways. She’s got length on Nat. She’s actually a little bit bigger, but she can shoot from three, she can finish around the basket, and she can post. You take it for granted because Nat’s done it for us for four years now, but her defense is unbelievable. It’s not flashy. She doesn’t get a million steals. She just has so much pride in her defense, and she just contains kids, and she makes life really hard for them.
“Haley (Moran) had a really nice game. She was very efficient with her shooting and was able to get to the basket. She hit some really tough pull-ups inside the foul line but then was able to find kids as well.
“Jess Lockwood was really tough on the boards. I think we limited them to three offensive rebounds, which is something we struggled with a lot against Upper Dublin, so we’ve been working on that a ton. It was just a big all-around team effort to keep all of them in check.”
Up next: Central Bucks East will travel to Souderton on Tuesday.
Downingtown East 10-7-12-12 41
Central Bucks East 11-14-14-16 55
Downingtown East (41) – Charlotte Aldridge 2 2-2 6; Chloe Humold 5 8-10 19
Grace Hodges 2 2-2 7; Mya Johnsohn 0 4-4 4; Madelyn Martin 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 11 16-18 41.
Central Bucks East (55) – Haley Moran 9 2-2 21; Emma Penecale 1 0-0 2; Natalie Berndt 3 0-0 8; Payton Williams 6 0-0 12; Jess Lockwood 4 2-2 12; TOTALS 23 4-4 55.
3-point goals: DE – Chloe Humold, Grace Hodges, Madelyn Martin; CBE – Natalie Berndt 2, Jess Lockwood 2, Haley Moran.
PHOENIXVILLE 41, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 36
The Colonials managed just three points in the first quarter, falling behind 13-3 after one and trailing the Phantoms 24-12 at halftime. They outscored their visitors 24-17 in the second half and trimmed the Phantoms’ lead to three on several occasions late in the fourth but could get no closer. Kenna Winland helped spark the comeback attempt with five points – including a clutch 3 – in the fourth quarter.
Eliza Meersman led the Colonials with 17 points. Olivia Patete added seven points.
PW coach Dan Dougherty:
--The game: “The cliche ‘(You) can’t win a game in the first quarter, but you can certainly lose it’… we came out today and were not ready to match the intensity and physicality Phoenixville plays with. We went down 13-3 after one, 24-12 at halftime, and 27-12 three minutes into the third.
“From there, we scratched and clawed all the way back to 36-33 with just over two minutes to play. We had two possessions with a chance to tie or cut it to one but couldn’t. Their top kid (Kayden Baratta) hits a 25-foot catch-and-shoot three, gets them back up six, Kenna Winland answers with a three for us; it’s now 39-36 with 21 seconds left. Couldn’t get a steal, forced to foul, they knocked down free throws to win the game. Adding to frustration, Phoenixville banked in four threes, while we shot 9-for-17 from foul line and missed countless layups to start the game. Hopefully, we learn a lesson from this game about the intensity and physical nature you have to play with in order to compete at a playoff level.”
--Props: “Props to Liv Patete today, she gave great effort defending their top kid (Baratta). She scored 20 points, but it was on 20 shots, banked in multiple threes. Their supporting cast just outplayed us.
Also, credit to Kenna Winland, who hit some big shots to get us back in the game in the fourth quarter.”
Due up: Plymouth Whitemarsh will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday.
Phoenixville 13-11-8-9 41
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-9-14-10 36
Phoenixville (41) – Riley Ford-Bey 1 0-4 2; Taylor Schneider 1 3-4 5; Charlie Campbell 3 2-5 8; Allyson Turner 0 1-2 1; Kayden Baratta 6 4-4-5 20; Maggie McCoy 1 0-0 2; Avah Breisblatt 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 13 10-20 41.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (36) – Olivia Patete 3 0-0 7; Kenna Winland 2 0-2 5; Eliza Meersman 5 6-10 17; L Brodzinski 1 1-1 3; Grace Harvey 1 2-4 4; TOTALS 12 9-17 36.
3-point goals: P – Kayden Baratta 4, Avah Breisblatt; PW Olivia Patete, Kenna Winland, Eliza Meersman.
METHACTON 42, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 37
MERION MERCY 47, SPRINGFIELD TWP 20
CHESTER 49, CHELTENHAM 41
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