Pennsbury Lady Falcons Drop Tough One To Council Rock South 56-46

By: Jordan Hirsh

February 4, 2023

FAIRLESS HILLS, PA. – It was an uncharacteristically tough night on the defensive end for Pennsbury, as the Lady Falcons (16-5) lost to the Council Rock South Lady Hawks (14-6) on Friday, 56-46.

It was senior night at the Falcons nest. Prior to the game, Pennsbury honored their three seniors, guard NevaehDash, guard Neve Davis, and center Izzy Ruta.

As for the game itself, it was a battle of two teams who play completely different brands of basketball.

The Lady Falcons pride themselves on defense. In fact, coming into this matchup, they had not allowed a team to score over 30 points in nearly a month.

The Lady Hawks, on the other hand, have some of the best offensive firepower in the SOL, and regularly play lineups in which every player is capable of knocking down threes.

“We’re going to have to score a little bit tonight,” said Lady Falcons head coach Frank Sciolla before the game.

Unfortunately for Pennsbury, the scoring came just a little too late.

At halftime, Council Rock South held a 27-17 lead. They were powered by senior guard/forward Karissa Smedley, who scored 14 first half points. Meanwhile, Pennsbury saw no player score over 7 in the first half.

The Lady Falcons played hard out of the break, and found themselves down by only 6 after the third. Junior guard Sofia Vitucci caught fire, scoring 9 of her 21 points in the quarter, as Pennsbury attempted to claw their way back.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Lady Hawks were determined to contain Vitucci. They double-teamed and face-guarded her constantly during the final eight minutes. Despite this, she was able to get open off of a screen and knock down a three, as well as drill a tough, contested jumper from the foul line, as part of an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to 45-44 with 3:45 to play.

However, it was all Council Rock South after this. They finished the game on an 11-2 run, fueled by three clutch layups from Karissa Smedley, who finished with a game-high 24 points.

The win served as a huge boost to the Lady Hawks chances of hosting a playoff game. They are now the 15^th ranked team in the PIAA D1 6A standings, and are favored to win their final two games against Villa Joseph Marie and Harry S. Truman.

The Lady Falcons will finish out their regular season schedule on Tuesday, as they travel to Council Rock North to take on the 9-12 Indians. The game will be Pennsbury’s last before the playoffs, where they will look to capture a 4^th straight SOL title.