Souderton, Mount Saint Joseph start quests
Souderton, Mount Saint Joseph start single elimination postseason quest for local teams
Despite a shortened season and condensed playoff brackets, plenty of The Times Herald/Reporter/Montgomery Media girls’ basketball teams find themselves in good position heading into the District 1 postseason.
In fact, just two local teams are scheduled to play in the opening round of the Class 6A and 5A tournaments that begin on Saturday. Mount Saint Joseph, the No. 9 seed in 5A, will travel to No. 8 Pottsgrove while in 6A, No. 18 Souderton will visit No. 15 Neshaminy although that contest won’t actually be played until next week.
The rest of the local qualifiers will have a weekend to prepare as they all face the same directive: it’s one-and-done the rest of the way.
CLASS 6A >> Only in a COVID-19 afflicted season could something like this come up.
Souderton had been scheduled to face Neshaminy on March 3, the final day of the regular season to have results count for the District 1 playoffs. However, Neshaminy had to shut down for the final week of the season due to a coronavirus issue within its program and wasn’t able to play that game.
In a late reschedule, Soud
erton picked up a game with Council Rock North and won, earning a spot in the district tournament against, insert drumroll, Neshaminy. With the second round not happening until Wednesday, March 10 and the host program coming off its shutdown, the game will be played on Monday, March 8 at 6pm.
The game, when it happens, will pit two relatively young teams against each other. Souderton has leaned on senior leadership from Jordan Zimmerman, Hayley Fenchel and Olivia Schneider but also relies on standout sophomore point guard Casey Harter and forward Teya McConnaha, a physical presence down low who has embraced a starting role.
Neshaminy’s sole senior is Kacie Sienko but the No. 15 seed has plenty of upand-coming talent headlined by freshman Reese Zemitis and sophomore Taylor Gurysh. The winner moves on to face No. 2 Plymouth Whitemarsh.
PW is part of a top four group that has plenty of familiarity with each other. The Colonials own two wins over No. 4 Upper Dublin but their lone loss came against No. 3 CB East. UD fell to top-seeded and unbeaten Spring-Ford by three points but the Cardinals are responsible for East’s only setback this season.
With higher-seeded teams hosting all the way through the playoffs this year, that top four spot is extra-beneficial with the added home games it brings.
Upper Dublin, like PW, doesn’t know its foe yet and awaits the winner of Saturday’s game between No 13 Haverford and No 20 Kennett.
Abington on the other hand, knows what it’s getting because it’s a familiar face. The No. 8 Ghosts will play host to No. 9 Methacton on Wednesday, less than a week after they met in a regular season game. Behind some hot-shooting from Cire Worley and Abril Browser and with Jaida Helm and Khalis Whiting helping out plenty, Abington won that game on the Warriors’ floor but Methacton’s core three of Nicole Timko, Cassidy Kropp and Mairi Smith could easily return the favor with the winner potentially getting a crack at the top seeded Rams.
The defending District 1-6A champion will have to road-trip at least a little bit this time around. No. 10 CB West will start its title defense at No. 7 Unionville next week but the Bucks, led by seniors Paige Gilbert, Maggie McCusker and Elena Blue are playoff veterans and junior Emily Spratt has been playing excellent hoops over the past few weeks.
In Class 5A, the Mount will finally get a look at somebody from outside the confines of the AACA while hoping 13 games against the usually tough league will pay off. The No. 9 seeded Magic will visit No. 8 Pottsgrove at noon Saturday with the winner moving on to face top-seeded Springfield Delco.
Pottsgrove’s had an interesting season with a 1-6 start giving way to a nine-game win streak that finally ended on Tuesday. The Falcons are a balanced team led by seniors Sierra Potts, Rachel Ludwig and Riley Simon.
Mount Saint Joseph is a sophomore-heavy team with the Magic starting four second-year players around all-state senior Grace Niekelski. A Dartmouth recruit, Niekelski can do it all on the floor while guards Lauren Hoffman and Kiersten Pumilia have come strong of late and Georgia Pickett has been a consistent presence at forward among the sophomore group.
Should the Magic move on, they’ll face a familiar foe in Springfield. The top-seeded Cougars and Magic have played each of the past four years in the playoffs with each team winning twice.
Upper Moreland has reaped the benefits of its program-building over the past five years with the No. 4 seed and a second-round home game against No. 5 Bishop Shanahan. The Golden Bears top two scorers are sophomore EmmyFaith Wood and freshman Holly Gohl and coach Matt Carroll guided the team to a share of the SOL Freedom conference title, a nice reward for a group that just keeps improving.
Gwynedd Mercy Academy, winners of the last three District 1-4A titles, is trying to send its seniors out 4-for-4. The Monarchs host No. 4 Villa Joseph Marie next week and aren’t looking past the Jems despite beating them three times already this season.
No. 2 New Hope-Solebury, the other half of the SOL Freedom champions, hosts No. 3 PJP II in the other 4A semifinal.
Class 3A sees four-time champion St. Basil at the No. 1 seed facing No. 2 MaST Charter on Wednesday with the winner moving on to play the District 11 winner on March 16. The Panthers, who just claimed their fifth straight AACA title are in their final stretch of games with the school slated to close after the school year concludes.
Dock Mennonite, the No. 2 seed in Class 2A, will visit top seed Academy of the Sacred Heart in the district final.
In Class A, Jenkintown has won the last five district titles and has again earned the No. 1 seed. The Drakes will have to find a way past a No. 2 Faith Christian team that has the firepower to hang with the defending champions.