Harter scores 1,000th career point as Souderton holds off Council Rock North

FRANCONIA >> Casey Harter and the Souderton girls basketball team had work to do heading into the fourth quarter Tuesday night.

Harter stood just seven points shy of 1,000 career points while the senior guard and host Indians were trying to figure out a way to shake free from Council Rock North in a tight Suburban One League crossover contest.

“I didn’t want to keep it on my mind, I didn’t want to keep thinking about it during the game so I kind of just let it happen,” Harter said. “If it happened, it happened. If it didn’t it would be Friday.”

Harter’s two objectives converged in the final period. TheNorthwestern commit scored eight points as Souderton pulled away with an 11-2 run – Harter capping the burst by reaching quadruple digits on a drive with 2:38 remaining to put Big Red up 14.

“Like any other fast break, transition drive but it was definitely exciting,” she said. “I definitely felt the tension. Everybody was waiting to see if it went in.”

Harter, who became the seventh player in the program history to reach 1,000 points, finished with a game-high 18 points – 10 coming in the fourth – as SOL Colonial Division-leading Souderton held off Council Rock North for a 45-38 victory.

“It was nice to have the cushion that coincided with Casey scoring her 1,000^th point – it was good timing,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “And is there a more deserving kid? Her work ethic, her competitiveness, I mean will not back down to any challenge, has worked as hard as any kid I’ve ever coached in the offseason.

“There’s times in season where she’s doing two-a-days, coming to basketball and going to a training or going and doing speed and agility and strength stuff. She’s earned every bit of what she’s accomplished and has every year just turned herself into a better player from one year into the next.”

Teya McConnaha added 11 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks for Souderton (13-2, 9-1 division), which bounced back from last Friday’s loss at Neshaminy that snapped an 11-game win streak.

“It’s definitely motivating coming off the loss,” said Harter, who also had three assists and three rebounds. “We worked hard in practice and obviously our shots didn’t fall on Friday, it wasn’t much better today but definitely in the second half it was better and that always helps.”

Jaden Wan’s 14 points paced Council Rock North (6-9, 2-8 SOL Patriot), which was looking for back-to-back victories after topping Gwynedd Mercy in a nonleague game last Saturday.

In the third, North took a 21-19 lead on consecutive baskets from Kiera Katz and Jaden Wan. A Mikayla McGillian two then Brooke Fenchel’s corner 3-pointer had Souderton up 24-21 but Wan drained a trey to knot things at 24.

Souderton, however, took the lead for good on a McConnaha basket with Erin Bohmueller’s three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-pointer giving the home side a 29-24 leading at the end of the third.

“They’re a good team,” said Harter of CR North. “They fought with us just like most teams are now and we kind of just stuck together, kept playing as a team and locking down in the fourth quarter. They scored a few extra points than we’d rather but we ended up with a win.”

Souderton finishes the week with two road games. Big Red visits Council Rock South 7 p.m. Friday then is at Perkiomen Valley for a nonleague matchup noon Saturday crucial for both teams in the District 1-6A positioning. Souderton is fourth in the rankings while PV stands third.

“The good thing is we don’t have any easy ones, right, so you have no choice but to form good habits in order to beat teams that are as good as the ones we play in the conference and in the crossovers,” Carroll said. “We just have to continue to play the way we’re capable of playing and hopefully we’re playing our best basketball in three weeks.”

Council Rock North, 25^th in the 6A rankings – 24 teams making the district playoffs – hosts Central Bucks East 7 p.m. Friday.

Harter, who is Souderton girls’ first 1,000-point scorer since Kate Connolly in 2018, began Tuesday’s game 15 points shy of the milestone. She started Big Red’s scoring with a jumper that made it 2-2 in the opening quarter and by halftime had seven points as Souderton held a 16-15 advantage.

“I think it was very clear to everyone in the gym how excited and genuinely excited her teammates were for her and it’s genuine,” Carroll said. “They’re all very close and they’re all good friends but I think the way she plays is contagious. You see a kid like that just play tough defense on every possession as a teammate you want to match that and the amount of respect I’m sure they all have for her and the time she’s put into her game.

“It was just great to see and I’m happy that I was able to be here – along for the ride.”

Harter collected just a point in the third on a free throw 62 seconds in the quarter but in the fourth, a defensive switch helped Harter key a run that pushed Souderton’s lead from five to 14.

“We went into like a 1-3-1 and it spurred our defense to offense,” Harter said. “And we got a few steals and my teammates found me out long, converted on baskets.”

A McConnaha 3-point point play off an offensive rebound had Souderton’s lead at 34-26 with 6:17 left. Harter followed with six straight points – posting back-to-back baskets before making two at the line at 4:41, extending the margin to 40-26 and putting herself a point away from 1,000.

Lizzie Lustig’s bucket had Rock North down 12 but after a North miss, McConnaha grabbed the rebound and found Harter with an outlet pass. Harter darted by a defender on the right side and got to the hoop for a layup to reach the milestone and put Souderton back up 14.

“It’s always been a goal of mine,” Harter said. “And it’s just amazing that it got to happen at this time. It’s always to have all the support I have and the trainers who’ve helped me get here.”

Council Rock North, however, did not make things easy for Souderton down the stretch – the visitors putting together a 10-1 run to pull within 43-38 after a Lustig basket in the final minute. But Harter hit two at the line to make it a three-possession game with 12.1 seconds remaining.

“I wanted to make a mark on this program,” Harter said. “And especially this is my last year, I wanted to go out doing as much as I can so it’s awesome that I got to hit this milestone and be here with my team.”

In the first quarter, Souderton twice had four-point leads, the last at 9-5 after McConnaha connected on a trey but Josie Boyle three and a Kiera Katz free throw at 9.9 seconds had things even 9-9 after eight minutes.

A Delaney McCaffery 3-pointer had North up 12-11 before McGillian hit a jumper and Harter scored off a drive. A Harter foul shot at 3:18 had Big Red leading 16-12 before a McCaffery triple made it 16-15 at halftime.

Souderton 45, Council Rock North 38
Council Rock North 9 6 9 14 — 38
Souderton 9 7 13 16 — 45
Council Rock North: Jaden Wan 6 0-0 14; Lizzie Lustig 4 0-0 9; Delaney McCaffery 3 0-0 9; Josie Boyle 1 0-0 3; Kiera Katz 1 1-2 3; Totals 15 1-2 38.
Souderton: Casey Harter 6 6-8 18; Teya McConnaha 4 2-4 11; Mikayla McGillian 4 0-0 8; Erin Bohmueller 0 3-4 3; Brooke Fenchel 1 0-0 3; Grace McDonough 1 0-0 2; Totals 16 11-16 45.
3-pointers: CRN-McCaffery 3, Wan 2, Boyle, Lustig; S-Fenchel, McConnaha.