Souderton edges CB South in three overtimes to win District 1-6A title

PHILADELPHIA >> Kate Connolly and Tori Dowd at least had the energy to crack a few jokes.

After grinding out three overtimes against Central Bucks South in an instant classic District 1-6A title game, the Souderton seniors had enough left in the tank to enjoy the moment. With Connolly tightly holding the district title trophy, which she and Dowd named “Chip Jr.” they had to marvel a little bit at the game they had just played.

Spurred by eight points from Alana Cardona in the third overtime, the No. 1 seeded Indians topped the No. 2 Titans 52-48 in triple overtime at Temple’s Liacouras Center on Saturday to earn the program’s first district crown.

“That was one for the ages,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “There’s a lot of exhausted basketball players right now.”

Connolly led Souderton with 18 points, adding five rebounds, six blocks and three steals and had arguably the shot of the game in the first overtime. Draped with a defender, the Drexel-bound senior hit a leaning 3-point shot with 16 seconds left that helped force the second extra period.

Connolly buries the tying three. 39-39 pic.twitter.com/6ayXl7Tsfd

— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) March 3, 2018

That Souderton (26-2) was even in extra time was a tribute to the play of CB South (24-4) defensively and a tremendous effort from junior point guard Alexa Brodie. South’s defense made Souderton look out of sorts all game.

Brodie meanwhile hit a trio of 3-pointers, each one more ridiculous than the last and all very well defended by Dowd. The South junior canned two in the final 46 seconds of regulation to force overtime, then started the second OT with a long trey while falling down for an advantage.

Brodie led all scorers with 23 points.

“I thought our defense was really good and Alexa Brodie just found a way,” Carroll said. “The shots that she made, Tori could not have defended her any better. They were contested shots, they were tough shots and she just carried the team there in the second half. She was just great.”

Connolly carried Souderton early, scoring the team’s first four points and seven of the first eight. The senior also added a steal and a block in the first six minutes of play and by halftime, had nine points, three rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals.

The first half was also a showcase of two teams playing for the fourth time this season. Souderton jumped several CB South passes for steals while the Titans were able to send quick help on passes into the post, leading to a couple of Souderton turnovers.

Connolly’s wing three with 2:18 left in the first quarter put Souderton up 8-2, but the No. 1 seed only took a 9-7 lead into the quarter break as Haley Meinel and Brodie combined for five points. The duo of Meinel and Brodie had 12 of the Titans’ 14 points at half.

“It’s an awesome feeling, coming in as a freshman and winning five games in a season, I would have never dreamed of this,” Dowd said. “Now it’s reality and I can’t put into words how amazing it feels.”

Early in the second quarter, Meinel blocked a 3-point try, with Brodie grabbing the ball and zipping up the floor to draw free throws. She split to get within a point, but Souderton came back with the next four and a series of four made freebies late in the second frame put Big Red up seven.

South picked things up in the third quarter, cutting the lead down to three points, only for the Indians to stretch it back out a bit in the final minutes. Free throws by Cardona gave Soudy a 35-29 lead with 1:22 left before Brodie’s heroics sent the game to overtime.

“She hit some crazy shots, it’s just having composure in the type of game it is,” Dowd said. “It’s been a roller coaster the entire game and it’s all about the next play, so that’s what we had to do.”

Tie game. Alexa Brodie from way out with 16.3 left pic.twitter.com/hRLrd6kK9D

— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) March 3, 2018

After Brodie hit a pair of foul shots with 27.8 left in the first overtime, it was Souderton’s turn to hit an audacious shot. Connolly drilled her contested trey with 16.6 left, tying the game and extending it again.

“I don’t know, I knew it had to be shot so I took it and thank God it went in,” Connolly said. “It just worked out. I was thankful for that.”

“I think I just yelled,” Cardona said. “I was right under the basket and saw it spin around and go in and thought ‘oh my gosh, we got this.’ It put into perspective that we can do this. We just made a really tough shot, let’s get it together and go.”

Connolly put her team up two with 17 seconds left in the second overtime, but not wanting to foul, the Indians gave up a bucket to South freshman Caroline McSorley with nine seconds left to end the second extra period in a deadlock.

Cardona wasn’t at her sharpest in regulation, but stepped up when her team most needed her. The senior put Souderton ahead 46-44, then converted a three-point play on a putback for a 49-44 lead and the winning bucket.

“I was just able to calm down and hit my shots,” Cardona said. “We’re all experienced basketball players and there was just so much energy in that gym and I had full confidence in my team that we could pull out something.”

Both teams will now prepare for the state tournament. Carroll said she wanted to give her players a couple days off to recover, then get to work on Tuesday preparing for states.

“They put up a fight, it was a good game and it was fun,” Cardona said. “We just fed off the energy in there and we were there for each other. If I wasn’t making my shots, someone else would step up and that’s what a team is about, everyone stepping up and making big differences.”

SOUDERTON 52, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 48
SOUDERTON 9 12 7 7 4 5 8 – 52
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 7 7 11 10 4 5 4 – 48
Souderton: Kate Connolly 5 6-9 18, Tori Dowd 4 4-13 12, Megan Bealer 1 2-4 4, Alana Cardona 3 7-8 13, Megan Walbrandt 1 3-4 5. Nonscoring: Sami Falencki, Megan O’Donnell. Totals: 14 22-39 52.
Central Bucks South: Alexa Brodie 6 8-10 23, Haley Meinel 4 3-3 11, Natalie DiSandro 1 0-0 2, Maddie McShane 2 0-0 4, Mackenzie Ehresman 1 0-0 2, Lindsay Scott 1 0-0 2, Caroline McSorley 1 0-0 2, Sophia Sonnet 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 11-13 48.
3-pointers: S – Connolly 2; CBS – Brodie 3.