Southeastern Pa. Top 20 (Jan. 1)

Here's a New Year look at the top 20 teams (plus one) in Southeastern Pa. at this point in the season. I haven't seen most of these teams play, so I'm going by scores.

Please feel free to e-mail around the link to this page. And let me know if I have missed anyone.

--Stephen Cornell

*****

TOP 21

1. Cardinal O’Hara (9-0)

2. Germantown Academy (8-0)

3. Archbishop Carroll (8-1)

4. Downingtown East (7-1)

5. CR-North (9-1)

6. Cheltenham (7-1)

7. Notre Dame (8-2)

8. Mount St. Joseph (10-0)

9. Archbishop Wood (5-3)

10. Villa Maria (5-2)

11. St. Basil (8-2)

12. Downingtown West (7-3)

13. CB East (4-0)

14. Abington (7-2)

15. Shipley (9-2)

16. Penn Charter (8-3)

17. Nazareth (8-0)

18. Central (7-0)

19. Springfield Delco (11-0)

20. Lower Merion (7-1)

21. Archbishop Ryan (9-1)

Penn Charter 53, Conwell-Egan 38

Conwell-Egan (38)
Carmen Tyson-Thomas 6 2-2 15; Rachel Moore 1 1-2 3; Trish Watson 0 0-0 0; Jenny Rongione 2 0-0 4; Kim Breslin 1 0-0 2; Kaitlyn Mourer 4 0-0 8; Sam Lubey 2 0-1 4; Kaleigh Ewing 0 0-0 0; Kaity Moonan 0 0-0 0; Kristen Ralph 0 2-2 2. Totals: 16 5-7 38.

Penn Charter (53)
Nikki Gwynn 2 0-0 4; Dianna Thomas 5 2-3 12; Aleesha Powell 3 5-6 12; Kendall Stokes 5 0-2 10; Brianna Butler 2 3-3 7; Mary Kate O'Brien 2 0-2 4; Erin Martin 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 10-16 53.

CEC: 13-8-11-6--38
PC: 15-13-12-13--53

Three-point goals: Tyson-Thomas (CEC); Powell (PC).


EIGHT THINGS

1. Conwell-Egan (6-3) shot poorly after hitting about 48 percent of its shots in a 66-33 first round win over Immaculata in the Eastern States Christmas Invitational Tournament at Trenton Catholic Academy. But despite a very low percentage from the floor, the Eagles were in this game into the third quarter. CEC's Kim Breslin had a steal and a layup with 5:06 to go in the third quarter to make it a three-point game, 32-29. Forty seconds later CEC senior Carmen Tyson-Thomas scored on an offensive rebound put-back to make it 34-31. After that, Penn Charter (8-2) went on a game-breaking 17-1 run over about nine minutes.

2. Tyson-Thomas finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals. She had some trouble getting shots, took a bunch of three-pointer and only hit one. Against Immaculata, Tyson-Thomas had 17 points.

3. CEC forward Kaitlyn Mourer scored eight points. The other three Eagles starters combined for five points. Guard Trish Watson, who scored 16 points vs. Immaculata, was scoreless vs. Penn Charter.

4. Penn Charter sophomore guard Aleesha Powell scored 12 points, but didn't shot particularly well. The 5-7 Powell, who is one of the top sophomores in the Philadelphia area, scored 29 points in Penn Charter's 60-51 tournament-opening victory over Trenton Catholic Academy. Penn Charter didn't shoot particularly well as a team vs. Conwell-Egan.

5. Tyson-Thomas: "All of us didn't come out as tough as we should have."

6. Mourer: “I think we lost some of the intensity and momentum we needed to keep us in this game.”

7. Conwell-Egan coach Norman O'Rourke: “We shot atrocious. We got five points (combined) out of three of our starters. You can’t win games that way.”

8. Conwell-Egan has scored fewer than 40 point three times in nine games and lost all three games.

Villa Joseph Marie 50, Pennsbury 44

Villa Joseph Marie (50)
Lauren Waterson 0 0-0 0; Meghan Ledwith 1 0-0 2; Kate Abel 4 0-0 8; Suzanne Bierly 4 2-2 10; Carolyne Heston 1 2-4 4; Jennie Quattrocchi 3 0-2 8; Melissa Van Wert 5 2-2 16; Jenny Sandora 0 0-0 0; Christine Gorrell 1 0-0 2; Melissa Poderis 0 0-1 0. Totals: 19 6-11 50.

Pennsbury (44)
Lacey Balascsak 2 2-2 7; Kelsey Balascsak 4 2-3 13; Molly Phillips 3 0-2 6; Lauren Gerity 0 0-0 0; Kelsey Moulton 1 1-4 3; Lauren Pisauro 1 0-0 2; Kelsey Alvino 0 0-0 0; Kelly Rebert 4 3-4 11; Kersten Formento 1 0-1 2. Totals: 16 8-16 44.

VJM: 13-12-12-13--50
P: 12-9-15-8--44

Three-point goals: Van Wert 4, Quattrocchi 2 (VJM); K. Balascsak 3, L. Balascsak (P).

Link to Courier Times article

NINE THINGS

1. Villa Joseph Marie (3-5) led by as many as eight points in the first half. But Pennsbury (1-6) came back in the third quarter and trailed by a point, 37-36, at the end of three. The Falcons led by three points, 40-37, after a drive by sophomore Molly Phillips about 1:20 into the fourth quarter, and had a two-point lead, 44-42, with 3:10 left. VJM's Kate Able scored to tie it at 44-44, and Suzanne Bierly hit two free throws to put the Jems ahead for good with 2:37 left.

2. Guard Melissa Van Wert led the Jems with 16 points. Van Wert hit four 3-pointers, including three 3-pointers in a span of about 2 1/2 minutes in the second quarter. Van Wert also made two foul shots with 1:45 left in the game. “When Melissa’s on, she really has ice in her veins,” VJM coach Becky Flynn said.

3. Bierly scored 10 points for VJM. Forward Kate Abel scored eight points and had two blocked shots, while guard Jennie Quattrocchi scored eight points and added five assists.

4. VJM has struggled with chemistry in the season's first month, but has won three of its last five games after an 0-3 start. “It makes my job challenging, more so than in the past,” Flynn said. “I have to find the right combinations. On paper we look great, but that doesn’t always translate to the court. We played with more intensity tonight. When we play with that kind of intensity, we’re a different team. Everybody who played tonight, played with intensity.”

5. Pennsbury has talent, but is very young. The Falcons nine-player rotation included two freshman and three sophomores. Sophomore guard Lacey Balascsak scored seven points for Pennsbury, and sophomore Molly Phillips added six points. Sophomore Kersten Formento (two points) and freshmen Kelsey Moulton (three points) and Lauren Pisauro (two points) logged significant minutes. “We’re battling, and they’re learning,” Falcons coach Donna Nicholson said. “We just keep getting better every game. They’re getting used to each other. You can’t fault their effort. I’m looking forward to them coming together in the second half of the season. Our future looks bright.”

6. Senior guard Kelsey Balascsak led the Falcons with 13 points and hit three 3-pointers. Junior forward Kelly Rebert added 11 points.

7. Pennsbury has played a tough schedule over the first three weeks. The Falcons have already played Council Rock-North, Bensalem, CB East and William Tennent. Pennsbury doesn't play in a holiday tournament, but hosts North Penn on Dec. 30. The Falcons open January with CR-South, Truman, Conwell-Egan and rival Neshaminy.

8. VJM plays in the Boyertown tournament and begins January with Sacred Heart and Gwynedd-Mercy.

9. VJM junior forward Carolyne Heston is playing with a broken finger and had four points.

Council Rock-North 60, Oakland Catholic 38

CR-North (60)
Juliann Fricke 2 0-0 4; Devin Gold 3 2-2 9; Kelly Scull 3 0-0 8; Kate Logan 2 0-0 6; Sarah Kiely 8 1-1 17; Lauren Gold 4 5-5 14; Chloe Pinto 1 0-0 2; Rebecca Houser 0 0-1 0; Jody Marrazzo 0 0-0 0; Emily Grundman 0 0-0 0; Steph Brennan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 8-9 60

Oakland Catholic (38)
Claire Bernato 2 1-1 5; Colleen Kiss 3 0-0 7; Kayla Walczak 0 0-0 0; Gina Tudi 0 0-0 0; Caitlyn Rudge 1 0-0 3; Robbie Cain 2 0-0 4; Allie Schmidt 5 2-4 12; Caroline King 2 0-2 4; Maria Tassari 0 0-0 0; Jones 1 0-0 2; Kumar 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16 4-9 38.

CRN: 20-14-11-15--60
OC: 5-11-9-13--38

Three-point goals: Logan 2, Scull 2, L. Gold, D. Gold (CRN); Kiss, Rudge (OC).

Link to Courier Times article


EIGHT THINGS

1. CR-North (7-1) dominated this game from beginning to end. The Indians scored the game's first 12 points over 4:02 and led by 15 points at the end of the first quarter, 20-5. The lead was never less than 15 points after the first quarter.

2. North junior forward Sarah Kiely scored the game's first nine points in about three minutes and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Kiely is averaging about 15 points and 10 rebounds in eight games.

3. The Indians hit six 3-pointers and shot 56.1 percent (23 for 41) from the floor. They shot at least 50 percent in every quarter. “We always play one or two good quarters,” Kiely said. “In this game, we focused on playing four good quarters.”

4. Indians sophomore guard Devin Gold had eight points and six assists, while freshman guard Lauren Gold finished with 14 points and five steals. They are the third and fourth Gold sisters to play for the Indians. Devin had a very good freshman season and appears to be a more mature player. Lauren averaged 7.3 points and 2.7 rebounds with 17 assists and 18 steals in North's first six games.

5. North senior point guard Juliann Fricke looks more comfortable this season than she was as a junior, when she was one of the few experienced veterans on a really young team. Fricke is a quick defender and frustrated Oakland Catholic's guards. “Other coaches see what Julie brings for us,” North coach Lou Palkovics said. “She’s such a good defensive player that nobody wants to play against her. And she’s going to college on a cross-country scholarship, so she never stops running.”

6. Oakland Catholic, which began the season as the No. 3 Class AAAA team in the state according to the Harrisburg Patriot-News, left Pittsburgh at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning for a 1:30 p.m. varsity game. The Indians visited Oakland Catholic two years ago and lost.

7. Kiely: "We haven’t played them in two years,” Kiely said. “Last time, we had to drive all the way back after a disappointment. We felt that if we could send them packing (today), that would be the best revenge.”

8. North is getting balanced scoring. Five players scored six points or more vs. Oakland Catholic. Through North's first six games, five players averaged 7.2 points or more. Senior Kate Logan is averaging 8.0 points had has 11 3-pointers in eight games.

Rained Out

Rain washed out the Pennsbury-Tennent game tonight. But here is the link to my article from Friday's Courier Times article.

The girls basketball notebook featured Morrisville, Bristol and CR-South.

In a bit of an unusual move, Morrisville girls basketball coach Dave Howell chose freshman forward Kievanna Lacey as one of his team captains.

The decision to put that much responsibility on a young player is working out well.

The Bulldogs (4-2 overall, 1-2 Bicentennial Athletic League) won their first four games, and Lacey has been a leader in practice and during games ...

Link to full Courier Times article

My Lower Bucks County Top 5 is:

1. Council Rock North (5-1)

2. Archbishop Wood (3-2)

3. Conwell-Egan (4-2)

4. Bensalem (3-1)

5. Neshaminy (3-1)

Coming tomorrow: Council Rock-North vs. Oakland Catholic.

Arch. Wood 54, Lansdale Catholic 26

Archbishop Wood (54)
Christine Verrelle 2 2-3 6; Ashley Robinson 3 7-8 13; Steph Keyes 2 3-6 9; Tori Arnao 3 1-2 7; Sam Greenfield 2 0-0 6; Caitlin McCartney 1 0-0 2; Ashley B'Oris 0 1-2 1; Kelly Young 1 0-0 2; Grace Gallagher 0 0-2 0; Grace Mirack 1 0-2 2; Jenelle Hudson 0 0-0 0; Rachel Friend 1 0-0 2; Jenna Swope 1 0-0 2; Aubrey Howland 1 0-0 2; Lauren Nealon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 14-25 54.

Lansdale Catholic (26)
Angie Palmerio 2 2-3 7; Amanda Curry 1 0-0 2; Nora Walsh 1 0-0 3; Shea Wassel 0 1-3 1; Colleen King 1 1-2 3; Kate Greenhalgh 0 0-0 0; Colleen Rafferty 1 1-4 3; Kelsey Logan 0 0-0 0; Jackie McCarron 3 1-2 7; Kaitlyn Rafferty 0 0-0 0; Jenna Logan 0 0-0 0. Totals; 9 6-14 26.

AW: 11-12-16-15--54
LC: 0-5-14-7--26

Three-point goals: Keyes 2, Greenfield 2 (AW); Palmerio, Walsh (LC).

EIGHT THINGS
1. Wood (3-2 overall, 3-1 Philadelphia Catholic League) dominated the first half. The Vikings led 11-0 after the first quarter and 23-5 at halftime. Wood held Lansdale Catholic (2-4, 0-3) scoreless for 12 1/2 minutes to start the game.

2. Wood's three Catholic League wins have been by 28 points, 36 points and 52 points. Its losses were to Archbishop Carroll by 14 and Notre Dame Academy by three points in overtime.

3. Vikings senior center Ashley Robinson had 13 points, four rebounds, three blocks, three steals and three assists. Junior guard Sam Greenfield had six points and five assists.

4. Wood senior Ashley B'Oris played much of the fourth quarter on an injured knee and played well. B'Oris suffered the injury in an October fall league game. She is trying to put off the surgery so that she can play this season. B'Oris hit one of two free throws in the last two minutes for her only point.

5. Wood's eight sophomores combined for 32 points. Center Tori Arnao had seven points and five rebounds in her second varsity start. Guard Christine Verrelle had six points and four steals, while guard Steph Keyes scored nine points and hit two 3-pointers. The Vikings 10th graders have size and athleticism and are quickly gaining experience. The other sophomores are guard Caitlin McCartney, forward Aubrey Howland, guard Rachel Friend, guard Grace Mirack and forward Jenna Swope.

6. The Vikings don't play locally again until Jan. 6 against Kennedy-Kenrick. They are traveling to the Kroger Holiday Classic in Pickerington, Ohio, for the second straight year. Wood visits Cardinal O'Hara on Jan. 9.

7. Christine Verrelle on becoming a varsity regular as a sophomore: "I was a little nervous at first, but I have confidence."

8. Verrelle on last week's 55-41 loss to Archbishop Carroll: "I'm glad we played Carroll early. Now we know that we can stay with them."

Standings, Dec. 13

Through Dec. 13, 2008

SOL National

	League	Overall
CR-North	2-0	4-1
Abington	2-0	4-1
Bensalem	2-0	2-1
Neshaminy	1-1	2-1
CR-South	1-1	2-2
W. Tennent	0-2	2-2
Pennsbury	0-2	1-2
HS Truman	0-2	0-3

SOL Continental

	League	Overall
Pennridge	2-0	4-0
Souderton	2-0	4-0
CB East	2-0	3-0
Quakertown	1-1	1-2
North Penn	1-1	1-4
CB South	0-2	1-3
Hat.-Horsham	0-2	1-4
CB West	0-2	0-5

SOL American

	League	Overall
Norristown	2-0	4-0
Cheltenham	2-0	3-1
Wissahickon	2-0	3-2
Upper Merion	1-1	2-2
Upper Dublin	1-1	2-3
Springfield	0-2	1-3
U. Moreland	0-2	0-3
P-W	0-2	0-4

AACA

	League	Overall
Nazareth	2-0	4-0
Mount St. Joseph	1-0	4-0
Villa Maria	1-0	2-0
St. Basil	1-1	4-1
Merion Mercy	1-1	3-1
Villa Joseph Marie	0-1	1-3
Gwynedd-Mercy	0-1	0-2
Sacred Heart	0-2	2-3

PCL

	League	Overall
Arch. Ryan	3-0	5-0
Card. O'Hara	3-0	4-0
Arch. Carroll	2-0	2-0
Conwell-Egan	2-1	3-1
Arch. Wood	2-1	2-2
Card. Dougherty	1-1	2-1
Little Flower	1-1	2-1
Arch. Prend.	1-1	2-2
W. Catholic	1-1	1-1
Neu.-Goretti	1-1	2-3
Lans. Catholic	0-1	2-2
Bishop McDevitt	0-2	1-3
Kennedy-Kenrick	0-2	0-4
Hallahan	0-2	0-4
St. Hubert	0-3	0-5

Friends League

	League	Overall
Fr. Central	0-0	8-0
Shipley	0-0	6-0
ANC	0-0	2-1
George Sch.	0-0	2-2
Fr. Select	0-0	2-2
Moorestown Fr.	0-0	0-0
Germ. Friends	0-0	1-2
Abington Fr.	0-0	1-3
Westtown	0-0	0-4