Basketball Advances to Second Round of States

Portions of the following text are excerpts from an article that originally appeared in the Chestnut Hill Local on March 11, 2019. Read the full article here.

Mount basketball triumphed over Solanco (Southern Lancaster County) High on Saturday, advancing to the second round of states.The team plays Jefferson High School, from Pittsburgh, in Chambersburg on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. 

The Mount Magic were seeded 12th in District 1, but upset three more highly-ranked teams to reach the finals and ultimately emerge as the district’s second seed going into the PIAA state tournament.

Solanco had been seeded first for the District 3 tournament out in South Central Pennsylvania, but lost in overtime in the semifinals to the eventual champ, Palmyra. Solanco also succumbed in the third-place playoff to become the fourth seed out of District 3 for the PIAA’s.

The teams proved to be fairly well matched through most of last Saturday’s state tourney opener. The Mount held a three-point advantage after three periods, then took command with a 10-2 surge in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.

Receiving a game-high 16 points from junior Lauren Vesey and 14 from sophomore Grace Niekelski, Mount led by 13 points shortly before the final score was locked in at 49-39. Juniors Kelly Rothenberg and Taylor Sistrunk added eight and seven points, respectively, and junior Grace Morrow and sophomore Paige Metzler added two points apiece.

Pictured: Going for a rebound, Mount senior Lauren Cunningham (right) outreaches Solanco’s Mackenzie Gladfelter as Taylor Sistrunk (left) looks on. (Image via Chestnut Hill Local; photo by Tom Utescher.)