District 1 off to a solid start in playoffs
Upper Dublin, PW and Souderton each post opening-round victories
At the start of Friday night’s PIAA 6A girls’ basketball first round, there were 11 teams from District 1 in the field.
By the end of games late Friday, eight of those 11 teams were still standing. It was an impressive start for District 1 in the state tournament as those eight teams now compose half of the remaining 16 squads heading into Tuesday’s second round.
Of those eight teams, seven hail from the Suburban One Conference, which went 7-1 in Friday’s opening round.
The SOL was well-represented with three teams from the Continental in Souderton, CB South and CB East, three from the National in Abington, CR North and Neshaminy and two from the American in Upper Dublin and Plymouth Whitemarsh. CB East was the only team not to advance, but the Patriots gave District 3 champion Central Dauphin all it could handle.
Plymouth Whitemarsh traveled to Northern York in Dillsburg while Abington went out to Reading’s Geigle Complex and both used strong fourth quarter runs to close out their wins. Upper Dublin turned the most heads with its first round result, a thrilling double overtime victory against PCL champion Cardinal O’Hara.
Tuesday’s second round features three all-District I matchups. Upper Dublin takes on Garnet Valley while Neshaminy faces PW and CB South duels CR North in a pair of SOL clashes. Souderton faces Easton and Abington takes on Freedom, both District 11 teams in a doubleheader at Spring-Ford.
While there is an abundance of talented players on these remaining teams, that’s far from the only reason for the district’s success. It’s as much a result of the great coaches in the district, teams willingness to step out of their comfort zones in nonleague games and tough conferences that prepare these teams for the postseason.
At worst, the district will have three teams in the final eight and could have as many as five.
MILESTONE FOR WILSON » Wissahickon boys’ basketball coach Kyle
Wilson picked up his 300th career victory in the Trojans’ District I playback game against Chester on March 3.
The longtime coach guided the Trojans to a topfour seed in the 5A district tournament, a third place finish in Districts and back to the state tournament. While Wiss fell to Achbishop Carroll in the first round, the Trojans pushed the PCL power for most of the game.
Wilson isn’t one to take credit for his team’s success
and all throughout the season, praised his seniors for their leadership and his team’s overall unselfish play. He also frequently noted the Wissahickon students and community for the support they provided the team throughout the season whether it was at home or even away games.
While the Trojans will have to replace some top contributors, they have a nice core of players due to return including Eddie Fortescue, Cole Hirsch and Carmen Ostroski. BACK ON TARGET » Every basketball player is going to have a stretch where their shot just won’t fall. Souderton’s Megan Bealer
and Megan Walbrandt had that in the last couple games of the District 1 tournament, where they were getting the same kind of good looks they had all season and just couldn’t make them. The two juniors broke their mini-slumps in the first round of states against Manheim Township.
Bealer led Souderton with 18 points while Walbrandt scored 15. Souderton won big, but having two of their starters get their confidence back up was just as vital as the final margin of victory. Both players continued to contribute in other ways, Bealer with her rebounding and Walbrandt her lockdown defense.