Souderton puts it on the line to top CB West, take over first place in SOL Colonial

FRANCONIA >> Trips to the foul line were quite something for Souderton on Tuesday.

For three-and-a-half quarters, Big Red couldn’t seem to make much of anything each time it went to shoot free throws. For 49 seconds to close the game, Souderton was perfect at the line and it sealed up a win. Even the last miss from the line had an impact on the outcome, leading to the go-ahead shot for the hosts.

An 8-of-8 finish at the foul line added up in a 38-31 Souderton win over visiting Central Bucks West, breaking the deadlock atop the SOL Colonial in the Indians’ favor for the moment.

“We knew we needed to hit them right there,” junior guard Erin Bohmueller, who went 4-of-4 in that closing stretch at the stripe, said. “Earlier in the game, they definitely still mattered but there, with time coming down, it mattered that much more. We all said to each other ‘it’s just practice, we need to hit these. It was a focus thing and we hit them at the end.”

Bohmueller played a great game on both ends of the floor, scoring a game-high 13 points with seven of them coming in the final frame while chasing around and limiting West junior Tai Henkels to just one point. Couple that with Casey Harter’s usual clamp-down defense that helped limit Emily Spratt to just five points, it seemed like Souderton (7-2, 4-1 SOL Colonial) had a path to winning with two of West’s (8-2, 3-2 SOL Colonial) top players held well below their season averages.

That’s where the misses at the line, plus a myriad of uncharacteristic turnovers started accumulating and of course, the Bucks’ supporting cast stepping up in a big way. Bohmueller came through for her team late, but Katie Finnan nearly did the same for West by accumulating seven of her team-best 11 points in the final quarter. Factor in a tenacious effort by Ava Longo with eight points and seven rebounds and Alexis Castro’s four points and six boards and the Bucks were right there for all of a low-scoring game that turned into a frantic finish.

“To hold them to 31 points, I thought Katie Finnan played great for them, she really stepped up,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said. “It’s a credit to our help defense, you can’t play that way if you don’t have help.”

West is a really sound defensive team as well and the Bucks more than did their job on that end, especially by intercepting quite a few of Souderton’s cross-court passes. The Bucks just couldn’t convert enough of them on the offensive end in the first half and trailed 14-10 at halftime.

It was a rough night for the Bucks overall, shooting just 4-of-12 from their own foul line, but they would come back to tie the game 18-18 in the third quarter before Souderton center Teya McConnaha made a great pass to freshman Grace McDonough for a short jumper that broke the deadlock. McDonough’s impact was not done for the night either.

Five straight by Finnan put West up 24-22, then Bohmueller hit a three off a pass by Harter, Ava Longo scored and the teams traded a few points until a Finnan layup put the Bucks in front 29-27 with 3:46 to go. On the next trip down, McDonough drew contact and got a trip to the foul line.

She missed both, but went right after the second, grabbing the rebound and kicking out to Harter in the corner. The junior point guard, who had badly missed her last attempt from outside the arc, then drilled the go-ahead trey for a 30-29 lead the Indians wouldn’t give back. Harter made shooting, and not dwelling on misses, a focal point of her offseason development.

“It’s exactly that, I didn’t want to stop shooting because of an airball three,” Harter said. “Grace passed it out, I was open, I shot it and it went in, luckily.”

McDonough had five points, eight rebounds and even blocked a drive on West’s final possession to help eliminate any last chance the Bucks had. Carroll said the freshman is only just realizing how she fits in and Harter, who had six assists, added the entire team is still growing nine games into the season.

Tuesday’s victory put Souderton up a game in the standings as the SOL prepares for its crossover slate, with the Colonial clashing against the Patriot with each game counting in both conferences’ respective tables. It was also a noteworthy win for Souderton’s entire roster, which does not have a senior on it this year, for another reason.

“First of all, it was such a huge win because our junior class, really anybody here, had ever beat West,” Harter said. “It was really exciting to get that kind of a big win. We all played together and knew we could win if we stepped up as a team. Everybody did well and it came together at the end.”

West had to start fouling and with Souderton just 2-of-6 from the line to that point, it would be up to the hosts to close it out with their foul shooting. Bohmueller knocked down both ends of a one-and-one with 49 seconds left, Harter followed with two more to answer a West layup, McConnaha canned a pair and with just 0.1 left, Bohmueller knocked down two more just for good measure.

“We have not been shooting well down the stretch and obviously, it was as crucial as ever tonight,” Carroll said. “I feel like they were stepping to the line as though it was going in as opposed to stepping to the line hoping and worrying that it was going in which that’s the expectation out of Erin, Teya and Casey at this point of the season.”

Souderton 38, Central Bucks West 31
Souderton 8 6 8 16 – 38
Central Bucks West 7 3 9 12 – 31
Souderton: Brooke Fenchel 1 0-0 2, Erin Bohmueller 4 4-4 13, Mikayla McGillian 1 0-0 2, Casey Harter 3 2-2 9, Teya McConnaha 2 3-4 7, Grace McDonough 2 1-2 5. Totals: 13 10-14 38.
Central Bucks West: Tai Henkels 0 1-2 1, Katie Finnan 4 1-4 11, Emily Spratt 1 3-8 5, Ava Longo 4 0-1 8, Nia Perry 1 0-0 2, Alexis Castro 2 0-0 4. Totals: 13 4-12 31.
3-pointers: S – Bohmueller, Harter; CBW – Finnan 2.