Souderton opens with a flourish in rout of Phoenixville
FRANCONIA >> The start by Souderton’s girls basketball team Friday night was fast and furious.
The Indians threw a load of pressure at Phoenixville on defense and on offense, swung the ball until the best possible shot was there. After a quarter, they had forced eight turnovers and led by double-digits. At the half, they led by 32 and had upped it to 18 forced turnovers.
Souderton easily took care of the Phantoms 51-15 in the second game of the Jim Church Classic thanks to an aggressive defense that collected 16 steals and an efficient offense that assisted 15 of 17 made shots.
The defense started up top with guards Tori Dowd and Sami Falencki and extended back to the wall of arms in the Big Red frontcourt.
“Tori does such a great job of on the ball defense,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “She’s just relentless putting pressure on the ball and whoever she’s guarding. She’s gotten so much better at doing it without fouling and without contact. Sami did it too, putting that pressure on.”
Souderton’s newest player, junior forward Kate Connolly, made a mark in her first game wearing white and red. While scoring just six points, the Archbishop Wood transfer also had two rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block.
Connolly, along with starters Megan Walbrandt and Alana Cardona, made entry passes nearly impossible for the Phantoms and helped get the deflections that led to many of Souderton’s steals. What Connolly has added as much as anything is a special court vision.
“Our length is a strength as much as anything this year on both ends,” Carroll said. “Kate is one of the best passers I’ve ever seen and she’s got such great court vision that she literally can see everything because of her height.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Souderton’s Tori Dowd gets own miss, leads to Megan Walbrandt And-1 pic.twitter.com/wJphrNY0GS
— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) December 10, 2016
The Indians are hoping the addition of Connolly to a young but experienced roster is what puts them in contention not only for the SOL Continental, but in the postseason. Their league is rugged, but there’s been a commitment from the players to put in the work that could help them make that jump.
Souderton has just one senior on the roster and starts all underclassmen.
“We’re a young team but a group of juniors and sophomore Megan Walbrandt who have been playing varsity since they were freshmen,” Carroll said. “They play more like seniors most of the time.”
Souderton had three scorers in double figures, paced by 13 from Falencki, 11 from Walbrandt and 10 from Cardona. The Indians also hit six 3-pointers, all of them wide open looks obtained off ball-movement and an extra pass.
“We talked about ‘how many baskets can we score that are assisted?’ and not settling for a bad shot,” Carroll said. “There’s always a better one out there if you make that extra pass. All offseason we’ve been playing that way and no one has cared about being the one to score.”
Souderton will face Germantown Academy, a 53-37 winner over Lansdale Catholic in Saturday’s championship game at 3 p.m.
“Most nights when we play in our conference it’s a battle, so playing a program like GA which is one of the best in the area, is a great test to see where we are,” Carroll said.
Souderton 51, Phoenixville 15
Phoenixville 2 2 5 6 – 15
Souderton 19 17 11 4 – 51
Phoenixville (15): Dakota Graham 2 1-2 5, Jordon Hrynkow 1 0-0 2, Julia Brown 0 2-2 2, Peyton Graham 0 2-4 2, Marlee Brown 1 0-0 2, Amanda Fields 0 0-2 0, Hannah Sands 0 0-1 0. Totals: 5 5-11 15
Souderton (51): Tori Dowd 1 2-3 4, Alana Cardona 3 4-7 10, Megan Walbrandt 4 1-1 11, Sami Falencki 4 2-2 13, Kate Connolly 2 2-2 6, Erica Stephens 2 0-0 4, Curran O’Donnell 1 0-0 3. Nonscoring: Megan Bealer, Cara Romaniello, Liz O’Hara, Megan O’Donnell. Totals: 17 11-5 51
3-pointers: S- Walbrandt 2, Falencki 3, O’Donnell 1.
Top Photo: Souderton’s Kate Connolly sprints down court with a stolen ball chased by Phoenixville’s Dakota Graham during their game on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)
