District 1-6A: Pennsbury rallies past Souderton Area to grab third place

FRANCONIA — Pennsbury pressed on every possession, Ava Sciolla poured in 18 points, and many heroes surfaced in a big fourth quarter for the Falcons, who got a well-earned 41-31 victory over Souderton Area in the District 1-6A Third Place Game Friday afternoon.

“Souderton is a great team. They’re a great defensive team, so we knew we had to be as on as we could be,” said Sciolla, who scored seven points in a tide-turning third quarter. “I think we did a good job of moving the ball and setting screens for each other.”

Both teams now head to states. Pennsbury is at home Tuesday night against Dallastown and Souderton Area will also be home, against either Nazareth or Easton.

“It’s been a while since we put together four good quarters,” said Big Red coach Lynn Carroll. “The most important game of the season is the next one. We wanna keep going, so over the next couple practices, we have to find out how to get back to playing hard for four quarters, playing with confidence for four quarters, playing smart for four quarters.”

Down 19-14 at the half, the Falcons turned things around in the third quarter and controlled the fourth.

Sciolla kept driving to the basket with purpose, battling her way in for a three-point play that pushed the Falcons in front, 23-21, late in the third. A basket by Casey Harter (12 points) drew Souderton even entering the final frame.

Sofia Vitucci scored two of her 12 points on a steal and layup to give the Falcons a boost, and later Sciolla scored on a rebound to give Pennsbury a 30-27 edge with 2 minutes, 40 seconds to play.

Pennsbury kept forcing turnovers and taking advantage.

The Falcons also found the open shooter, with Sciolla snapping a pass to Neve Davis, who buried a three to give Pennsbury a 33-27 edge with two minutes to go.

Harter scored to bring the Indians within 33-29, but another clutch shot – this one a corner three by Nicole Pompili – widened the gap to 36-29 with a minute to play.

The Falcons went 8-of-10 from the foul line in the fourth to put the game away.

“We got it together. Our pressure started working and that’s what we do best – play fast,” Sciolla said of the fourth quarter.

“Souderton’s a state-title contender. They have so many good pieces and they’re well-coached,” Falcons coach Frank Sciolla said. “We were able to pressure all game, which is how we played in December. And we started this year being a team that pressured non-stop, and then we morphed into this team that was playing more and more zone because we had injuries and people in and out of the lineup.

“Today, we were able to play more people and stay fresh.”

District 1-6A Third-Place Game

Pennsbury 41, Souderton Area 31

Pennsbury 6 8 9 18 – 41

Souderton 11 8 4 8 – 31

P: Ava Sciolla 7 4-5 18, Daniella MacDonald 0 2-2 2, Sofia Vitucci 3 6-8 12, Nevaeh Dash 1 0-0 3, Neve Davis 1 0-0 3, Nicole Pompili 1 0-0 3. Totals 13 12-15 41.

S: Brooke Fenchel 1 1-2 3, Mikayla McGillian 4 0-0 8, Casey Harter 5 1-3 12, Teya McConnaha 2 0-0 4, Grace McDonough 1 0-0 2, Erin Bohmueller 0 2-2 2. Totals 13 4-7 31.

3-pointers: P-Dash, Davis, Pompili; S-Harter.