Girls Basketball: See all the matchups, scores, game recaps from the District One, PCL, PAISAA playoffs

melissa hanejko, bucks county courier times

Sat, Mar 4, 2023, 6:47 PM·13 min read

The postseason is here, and District tournaments are about to begin! Check out the matchups, final scores, and game recaps from all the Courier/Intell teams in the District One, PCL, and PAISAA tournaments right here! This will be updated regularly so be sure to check back throughout the postseason!

PIAA State Tournament Qualifiers, Projected 1st Round Matchups:

Class 6A

1-5 Neshaminy vs. 12-3 Archbishop Carroll
1-7 Souderton vs. 3-2 Central York
1-9 Abington vs. 2-1 Wyoming Valley West
1-4 Pennsbury vs. 11-3 Nazareth

Class 5A:

1-4 Gwynedd Mercy vs. 12-2 Freire Charter
1-5 Upper Moreland vs. 11-1 Bethlehem Catholic
12-1 Archbishop Wood vs. 1-6 Mount St. Joseph

Class 4A:

12-1 Lansdale Catholic vs. 3-6 Bishop McDevitt

Class 3A:

1-1 New Hope-Solebury vs. 12-3 Masterman

Class 2A:

1-1 Faith Christian vs. 12-3 Belmont Charter

District One

Class 6A (12 PIAA qualifiers)

(All times are 7 p.m. unless noted)

Semifinals, Wednesday, Feb. 28

No. 2 Haverford 43, No. 11 Pennsbury 21: The Falcons’ quest for a district title came to an end at the hands of the undefeated Haverford (27-0). Sofia Vitucci had 12 points and five rebounds for the Falcons, who will play Spring-Ford on Friday for state playoff seeding.

Quarterfinals, Saturday, Feb. 25

No. 1 Perkiomen Valley 48, No. 8 Neshaminy 27: Reese Zemitis had 11 points and 6 rebounds but Neshaminy couldn’t overtake top-seeded PV. Neshaminy already secured a state playoff spot and will head to the playback tournament.

No. 11 Pennsbury 32, No. 19 Upper Dubin 27 (OT): Sofia Vitucci had 8 points in overtime to send the Falcons on to the district semifinals. Vitucci finished with a game-high 17 points. Nevaeh Dash tied the game with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation with a clutch free throw to send the game to OT. Layla Matthias had another huge game, racking up nine rebounds, five steals and three assists.

No. 5 Spring-Ford 41, No. 4 Souderton 37: Casey Harter had 15 points and Erin Bohmueller scored 10 for Souderton in the close game. The Indians, after trailing by 7 points going into the fourth, fought back and were within a point late in the fourth. Souderton already secured a state playoff berth and will head to the playback tournament.

Playbacks

Third Place Game, Friday, March 3

No. 5 Spring-Ford 50, No. 11 Pennsbury 33

Fifth Place Game, Friday, March 3

No. 8 Neshaminy 43, No. 19 Upper Dublin 41: Sophomore Alena Coffield had the biggest offensive game of her young career, scoring a career-high 20 points in Neshaminy’s fifth-place game. Neshaminy will play No. 3 Archbishop Carroll from District 12 in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs on Friday.

Seventh Place Game, Friday, March 3

No. 4 Souderton 39, No. 7 Springfield 32: Teya McConnaha led the way with 17 points for the Indians, who were without top scorer Casey Harter in the seventh-place game. Mikayla McGillian had 11 points and reserve Alexis Stefanowicz stepped up with six points. Souderton will play Central York, the No. 2 seed from District 3 in the first round.

Ninth Place Game, Friday, March 3

No. 6 Abington 67, No. 9 Unionville 56: Cire Worley scored 30 points to lead the Ghosts in a high-scoring win. Abington clinched ninth place in District One and will play District 2 champion Wyoming Valley West in the first round.

No. 8 Neshaminy 51, No. 4 Souderton 45 (OT): Alena Cofield scored the first basket of OT, and Reese Zemitis connected on five free throws to secure the win for Neshaminy in the playback game. Taylor Gurysh led with 16 points and Lola Ibarrondo had 15 in the win. Casey Harter led the Indians with 9 points, but was limited due to an ankle injury.

No. 6 Abington 60, No. 10 Conestoga 48: Cire Worley dominated in the Ghosts’ playback game, scoring 35 points in the playback game. Abril Bowser and Jordyn Reynolds scored 8 points apiece for the Ghosts, who led 34-22 at halftime.

No. 6 Abington 46, No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh 38: It was their fourth meeting of the season, and when it counted most, the Ghosts prevailed to clinch a spot in the PIAA state playoffs. Cire Worley, the Ghosts’ all-time leading scorer, stepped up with 16 points, a game-high, and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Maya Johnson had 15 points in the win.

No. 9 Unionville 52, No. 17 CB East 47: The Patriots outscored Unionville in the second half, 26-23, but couldn’t quite close the gap in the playback game. Anna Barry had a great outing, leading all scorers with 19 points, while freshman Natalie Berdnt had 15 points. With both returning next year, the Patriots are in great shape for next season.

No. 22 Garnet Valley 44, No. 21 North Penn 41

Pennsbury junior Sofia Vitucci reaches for a loose ball at Abington Senior High School on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. The Ghosts fell to the Falcons at the District One second-round playoff game, 51-39.

Second round, Wednesday, Feb. 22

No. 8 Neshaminy 42, No. 9 Unionville 25: Reese Zemitis led the way with 19 points as Neshaminy started strong with a 13-9 first-quarter lead to the win and dominated the rest of the way. Zemitis’ night included four 3-pointers, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks, all in just three quarters. Lola Ibarrondo contributed 8 points, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, while sophomore Alena Coffield had four points and four offensive rebounds in the win.

No. 4 Souderton 53, No. 20 Garnet Valley 31: Casey Harter scored 25 points to send the Indians into the quarterfinals and a guaranteed PIAA state playoff berth. Erin Bohmueller added 10 points for the Indians, who outscored GV 29-11 in the second half. Teya McConnaha tallied eight points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the win.

No. 11 Pennsbury 51, No. 6 Abington 39: A dominating performance from Sofia Vitucci secured the Falcons’ convincing upset of sixth-seeded Abington. Vitucci scored a game-high 24 points, including 11 in the second quarter, when the outcome was still very much in question. The second half was a different story, with the Falcons outscoring Abington 27-14. Navaeh Dash had 12 of her 15 points in the fourth, and Layla Matthias led the team defensively with 9 rebounds, along with 4 assists. Cire Worley led the Ghosts with 13 points.

No. 1 Perkiomen Valley 49, No. 17 CB East 42: The Patriots took an early 12-4 lead and came very close to pulling off the upset of top-seeded PV. Anna Barry led with 12 points, while freshman Natalie Berndt scored 8 points.

Spring-Ford 64, No. 21 North Penn 45

First round, Friday, Feb. 17

Pennridge's Ella Brown, center, and Katie Yoder guard Garnet Valley's Katie Dwyer in a District One Class 6A first round playoff game at Pennridge High School in Perkasie on Friday, February 17, 2023. The Jaguars defeated the Rams 45-42.

No. 20 Garnet Valley 45, No. 13 Pennridge 42: The Rams’ best season in recent memory came to a close due to a hot second-half from Garnet Valley. Senior Katie Yoder, who scored her 1,000th point in the regular season, finished her high school career with an excellent 24-point performance. Sophomore Ella Brown had 10 points for the Rams, who hosted their first district playoff game in over 15 years. The Rams finished with a 16-8 record, the best in more than a decade, under first-year head coach Jason Rapp.

No. 19 Upper Dublin 53, No. 14 Council Rock South 48: Katie Purpura scored 13 points and senior Karissa Smedley had 11 for the Golden Hawks, who fell to a hot Upper Dublin squad. The Golden Hawks finished an excellent season with a 16-8 record, and with several promising sophomores, including Lil Metrick and Kat O’Kane, should be in contention again next season.

No. 11 Pennsbury 48, No. 22 Penncrest 12: Sofia Vitucci scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Falcons dominated from start to finish in the first round win. Vitucci finished with a game-high 16 points, which was more than Penncrest’s entire team thanks to the smothering Falcons' defense. Layla Matthias had 9 points, 8 rebounds and deflected several passes, while Presley Foote nabbed four steals.

No. 21 North Penn 59, No. 12 Great Valley 57 (OT): Caleigh Sperling’s buzzer-beater clinched the win for North Penn In the upset of the tournament so far. The junior finished with 14 points, while Abby Plaugher had a game-high 17 points, including the game-tying shot late in the fourth.

No. 17 CB East 56, No. 16 WC Henderson 51: A huge game from Anna Barry secured the Patriots’ win in a close first-round matchup. Barry scored 24 points, 15 of them in the second half, and Kendall Gregor had 13, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line, in the victory.

Pennsbury senior Neve Davis makes her way through Neshaminy sophomore Alena Cofield at Neshaminy High School on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Neshaminy fell to Pennsbury at home after overtime, 31-30.

Class 5A (6 PIAA qualifiers)

Semifinals, Friday, Feb. 24

No. 1 West Chester Rustin 46, No. 4 Gwynedd Mercy 24: The Monarchs, playing in 5A for the first time this season, had a tough task in taking on top-seeded WC Rustin. Freshmen Bailey Balkir scored 13 points and Emilia Coleman had 8 for the Monarchs. Despite the loss, the Monarchs secured a spot in the PIAA state tournament.

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