Fast-starting Souderton earns PIAA 6A state tourney berth
Uwchlan >> Needing a victory in Wednesday’s PIAA District 1 6A girls’ basketball playback game at Downingtown East in order to wrap up a PIAA state tournament berth, No. 12 seed Souderton used a fast start to defeat the ninth-seeded Cougars, 54-47.
The Indians, who are returning to the PIAA 6A state tourney for the fourth year in a row, jumped out to a 23-6 first quarter lead and withstood constant defensive pressure by D-East the rest of the way.
Souderton’s Mikaela Reese, the team’s lone senior and leading scorer, led the way with 20 points (14 in the first half) and a trio of treys. The youthful Indians started two freshmen, Erin Bohmueller and Casey Harter, who combined for 16 points – and shot a coolly efficient 9-for-10 performance from the free throw line. Harter had eight assists.
“Going into this game, we had nothing to lose, so we all came into this game with our heads up, with a positive attitude,” said a smiling Reese, the returning starter from last year’s Suburban One League Continental champions. “Getting into States, I’m very excited and couldn’t be prouder. All the freshmen, sophomores, juniors playing for our team, I love playing with them, I couldn’t ask for a better group. I think we all just click [together].”
Souderton has one more district playoff game left – the ninth-place contest against No. 14 seed Owen J. Roberts Friday. OJR defeated Garnet Valley, 42-41, Wednesday to clinch its first-ever state tourney berth.
For Downingtown East, Wednesday’s loss did not end the Cougars’ season – they still have a shot to nail down the 11th and final PIAA 6A state tournament berth, when they play No. 7 seed Garnet Valley in the District 1 6A 11th-place game Friday.
D-East head coach Tom Schurtz said, “Our message to the players after the game was the season’s not over – how you get in the [state] playoffs is irrelevant; you’re going to play a district champion [in States] regardless of whether you’re a 9, 10 or 11 seed, so [at this point] you just have to get in. So our goal will be to play well [Friday].”
Heading into Wednesday’s game at Downingtown East, Souderton faced the looming presence of 6-foot-5 senior center Bella Smuda, the reigning Daily Local News All-Area Player of the Year and the current leader of the Ches-Mont League champions.
“She [Smuda] is an incredible player – you don’t see many 6-foot-5 players in high school – so I think our main focus was to get in front of her with a help defense,” said Reese.
Midway through the first quarter, Souderton had a modest 6-4 lead, then the Indians exploded for a 17-2 run the remainder of the period, triggered by a trio of treys.
Bohmueller hit the first three from the top of the key, then following a D-East missed shot from underneath, Reese nailed a trey to make it 12-4.
The Cougars’ Lauren Kent temporarily stopped the Souderton streak with an uncontested layup on a nice feed from Smuda, but 30 seconds later, Reese hit another trey.
“We thought we might get some mismatches on the perimeter, we did, and we took advantage of them,” said Souderton head coach Lynn Carroll. “We went to the basket if we thought there was a speed mismatch, and our kids made good decisions and finished. Erin Bohmueller did a really nice job of attacking the basket early, and Mikaela used a mismatch early to her advantage.”
Reese said, “We tried to look for open shots on the outside early, and when your shooting is on, it’s on, so I think it’s important to keep on encourage the [hot] players that if an open shot is there, definitely take it.”
The Cougars not did connect on a single shot for the remainder of the period, including several attempts from short range.
Meanwhile, Souderton scored on transition layups from junior Olivia Schneider, Reese and junior Jordan Zimmerman. With one second remaining in the first quarter, Harter converted two free throws to make the score 23-6.
D-East outscored Souderton in each of the next three quarters, but it was not enough to wipe out the Indians’ lead.
“Souderton got some timely shooting early, and in a game like this, you have to find a way to get a couple of shots early to stem the tide of a team shooting that well, and we didn’t,” said Schurtz. “I think we let a couple of opportunities slip away – that got us out of rhythm and put our back against the wall. When you’ve got to play catch-up against a good team, that’s a tough thing to overcome.”
In the second and third quarters, D-East kept the defensive pressure on the visitors, who committed several turnovers as the Cougars crept closer.
“Downingtown changed some things defensively in the second quarter, they got out of a man-to-man defense; they played a full-court press and then got back into a 1-3-1 at midcourt,” said Carroll.
“There were stretches where we did not handle their defensive pressure very well. In the second, third and fourth quarter, they did a good job of getting us out of our rhythm.”
Shurtz said, “Our defensive intensity picked up as the game went on; we played with a sense of urgency, but in a playoff atmosphere that sense of urgency has to be right from the start of the game. Souderton had playoff intensity from the start, and we did not.”
In the second quarter, Souderton’s tandem of Reese and Zimmerman scored all of the Cougars’ 11 points, as the Indians maintained a 34-21 halftime lead.
Carroll said, “With Smuda at the back of a 1-3-1, it’s hard to get to the basket, but we had kids making outside shots – Jordan Zimmerman (who scored 14 points) was one of them – she played smart and hit some big shots for us.”
D-East continued to chip away at the Indians’ lead in the third quarter, led by Smuda, who scored 10 of the Cougars’ 12 third-quarter points. In addition, her dominant rebounding skills were allowing D-East some extended offensive possessions that led to Cougar points.
“It’s almost like perfect position still isn’t good enough when you’re boxing out Smuda,” noted Carroll. “She brings the fire to them, she was trying to get them going, trying to take over the game.”
Smuda, who finished with 25 points, continued her potent offensive production in the fourth quarter. A couple of putbacks by the Liberty University commit kept D-East within five points of the lead (46-41) with 2:19 to go.
To get the ball back quickly, the Cougars were forced the foul in the final two minutes, and Reese, Bohmueller and Harter went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
“We had enough composure at the right time tonight,” said Carroll. “We have a young team, but we’re not ready for next year yet; we’re trying to see what we can do here, going into the state tournament.”
Souderton 54, Downingtown East 47
Souderton 23 11 7 13 – 54
Downingtown East 6 15 12 14 – 47
Souderton (54): Zimmerman 6 1-2 14, Bohmueller 2 2-2 7, Schneider 1 0-4 2, Harter 1 7-8 9, Fenchel 0 0-0 0, McConnaha 1 0-0 2, Reese 7 3-4 20, Totals 18 13-20 54.
Downingtown East (47): Denning 0 0-0 0, McFillin 1 2-4 5, Kent 4 1-6 9, Brennan 1 0-0 3, Hewitt 0 0-0 0, Smuda 9 7-9 25, Geary 2 0-0 5, Totals 17 10-19 47.
3-point field goals: Souderton – Zimmerman, Bohmueller, Reese 3. DE – McFillin, Brennan, Geary.
