Abby Sharpe, Plymouth Whitemarsh beat Souderton in OT for SOL Tournament title

WHITEMARSH >> Late in the first half, neither of Plymouth Whitemarsh’s 1,000-point scorers had made a field goal. Seniors Abby Sharpe and Erin Daley combined for 10 points on 10 free throws and the Colonials faced a 14-point deficit as the second quarter seconds ticked away in the Suburban One League Tournament championship game against Souderton.

With 13 seconds left in the half, Sharpe got to the rim and finished a layup to make it a 12-point game at the break. That basket started a 17-2 run that gave the Colonials a one-point lead at the end of the third quarter.

The SOL Liberty Division champions Plymouth Whitemarsh and SOL Colonial Division champions Souderton played within two points the entire fourth quarter and were tied when the clock showed zeroes.

Sharpe gave PW the lead with a three-point play with 2:09 left in overtime. Senior Angelina Balcer added two free throws to make it a two-possession game and Sharpe went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch to close out a 47-40 win at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School Tuesday evening.

Sharpe scored 16 of her game-high 22 points after halftime and 13 of the Colonials final 15 points in the game.

“Not seeing those shots go in is frustrating,” Sharpe said of the first half, “but like we’ve been saying you just need to have a short-term memory and keep shooting the shots that we practice. I think we did a good job staying aggressive and keep shooting, eventually they will fall and it gives us more momentum.”

“I thought (Souderton senior) Casey (Harter) did a great job on (Sharpe) all game,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “She was making her work super hard for everything that she got. You’re just talking about two of the best players in the state going at each other, at each other, at each other. Sometimes good offense beats good defense. When you have the ability to stop, rise up, make pull-ups, hesitate, go passed – Abby Sharpe is just an elite, elite player.”

After Sharpe’s layup at the end of the first half cut the Colonials (23-2) deficit to 12, 27-15, the top seed in the tournament won the third quarter, 15-2. Their 30-29 lead was their first since 9-8. Daley had five in the game-changing third quarter while Sharpe and Kenna Winland each had three and AJ Avery and Balcer each had two. Balcer’s two free throws put PW ahead, 30-29.

“Those kids played really well, especially in the third quarter,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said of PW. “I also thought the third quarter – at halftime one of the things we talked about was I think in the first half Angelina (Balcer) was the only other kid to take a field goal. We talked at halftime that that’s probably going to change, they’re probably talking in their locker room about other kids looking to score. They did that in the third quarter. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough, especially considering how well Abby and Erin were playing. We shot the ball incredibly well in the first half. I was a little concerned that we wouldn’t be able to sustain that, but I thought our defense was good enough that it would be OK, but they made more plays than we did down the stretch. Our kids worked really hard for 36 minutes and I’m proud of the effort.”

Souderton senior Teya McConnaha put the second-seeded Indians (21-4) ahead by one early in the fourth, but Daley responded to give PW a one-point lead. Harter hit a three to give her side a two-point lead, but Sharpe answered for a 34-34 tie. Senior Erin Bohmueller hit two free throws with under four minutes left, but Sharpe came right back with a basket of her own to make it 36-36.

The teams traded blocked shots and missed shots before Souderton tried to hold the ball for the final 1:50. The Indians got fouled with six seconds left, but missed the front-end of a one-and-one. Plymouth Whitemarsh was unable to get a shot off and the game went to overtime tied 36-36.

Sharpe and Harter traded layups – Sharpe with an offensive putback and Harter with a drive to the basket – to make it 38-38. Sharpe put PW ahead for good, 41-38, with her three-point play with 2:09 left in the game.

After PW got a defensive stop, Balcer hit two free throws with 52.9 seconds left to make it a two-possession game, 43-38. Sharpe added two more free throws with 21.6 left after a Souderton miss. Souderton sophomore Grace McDonough scored to make it 45-40, but Sharpe hit two more free throws to close it out, 47-40.

The Colonials went 23-for-23 from the free-throw line in the win. Sharpe and Daley each went 9-for-9 while Balcer was 4-for-4 and Winland 1-for-1.

“I thought the one that took the lid off of it with the free throws was Balcer,” Dougherty said. “Balcer steps up to a one-and-one and makes both of them. I thought that was probably one of the most critical. Sometimes practice works out.”

“We were all focused,” Sharpe said. “We practiced before the game. I think we realized how important free throws were, especially in a game like this, a game this close. A switch just turned on and we were perfect.”

“Twenty-three for twenty-three from the line,” Carroll said, “that’s a lot of points. Obviously it’s part of what they do, it’s part of their offensive scheme for Abby and Erin to attack the basket and get to the foul line if they’re not finishing. I think on too many we tried to block shots.”

The win gives PW back-to-back SOL Tournament championships and makes it the first school to win the tournament, which began in 2015, twice.

“This is big,” Sharpe said. “Like I said before, a lot of people may say it doesn’t matter, but it’s another championship to add to our resume. I’m proud of it and I’m proud of this team.”

The win also marks 100 for PW’s senior class. Sharpe and Daley have played key roles all along as the team has gone 100-8 so far during their careers.

“The fact that I could be a part of that milestone, that achievement, I’m just really proud to be a part of it,” Sharpe said. “Hopefully the younger generation can keep it up.”

Daley joined Sharpe in double figures with 13 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Harter led Souderton with 11 points and Brooke Fenchel added eight.

Fenchel and Mikayla McGillian each scored six points during the second quarter. After trailing 9-4 midway through the first, the Indians rattled off a 23-4 run to build a 27-13 advantage late in the first half.

Plymouth Whitemarsh and Souderton will both have first-round byes in the District 1-6A tournament. PW is the No. 3 seed and Souderton No. 4. They’re on opposite sides of the bracket and can only meet in a district championship game.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 47, Souderton 40 (OT)
Souderton 10 17 2 7 4 — 40
Plymouth Whitemarsh 9 6 15 6 11 — 47
Souderton: Casey Harter 4 1-2 11, Teya McConnaha 2 1-3 5, Erin Bohmueller 1 2-3 5, Brooke Fenchel 3 0-0 8, Mikayla McGillian 3 1-2 7, Grace McDonough 2 0-0 4, Alexis Stefanowicz 0 0-0 0. Total 15 5-10 40.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Abby Sharpe 6 9-9 22, Erin Daley 2 9-9 13, AJ Avery 1 0-0 2, Angelina Balcer 1 4-9 7, Azzy Crumpton 0 0-0 0, Kenna Windland 1 1-1 3, Joslyn Perez 0 0-0 0. Total 11 23-23 47.
3-point goals: S: Casey Harter 2, Erin Bohmueller, Brooke Fenchel 2. PW: Abby Sharpe, Angelina Balcer.