Pa. Girls: McCollum paces St. Basil over Mount St. Joseph

Mary Ellen McCollum scored seven points in the final quarter as St. Basil rallied from a deficit and handed Mount St. Joseph a 44-36 loss in an Athletic Association of Catholic Academies basketball game yesterday.

McCollum led the Panthers with 14 points and keyed a 15-6 fourth-quarter run that turned a 32-29 deficit into a lead. Teammate Jacqui Thompson added 11 points.

The Magic's Steph Smith led all scorers with 17 points.

Public. Prep Charter jumped out to a 23-7 lead in the first quarter and coasted to a 59-34 win at Franklin Learning Center behind a pair of 17-point efforts from Tiffany Johnson and Sydney Mallory. The Bobcats' Tina Frisby scored a game-high 23 points.

Catholic. Host Archbishop Prendergast placed four starters in double digits to earn a 68-43 win over Hallahan. The Pandas were led by Jessica Rotella's 13 points, but they also got 11 points apiece from Lindsay Cras and Ingrid Fitzgerald, and 10 from Brooke Stretch.

Shanice Johnson's 10 points helped host Cardinal Dougherty close out St. Hubert, 46-30.

Bicentennial. Emily Homan scored 14 points as Delco Christian cruised to a 55-11 win at Calvary Christian. Carly Neal added 10 points for the Knights (4-0), who scored 28 of the first quarter's 30 points.

Suburban One National. Lauren Gold scored 17 points for Council Rock North in a 59-28 win over Pennsbury. Teammate Kelly Scull added 10 points.

The Indians (2-1), who defeated highly regarded Central Dauphin last Friday, have lost to just Downingtown East.

Emily Leer had 24 points for Abington in its 52-29 win at Neshaminy. The Ghosts took control early and led, 18-5, at the end of one quarter.

Ashley Alden had 12 points and seven rebounds for host William Tennent in its 49-30 win over rival Bensalem. Melissa Wasserleben, a point guard, handled the ball well and dished off six assists in addition to her 11 points.

Tennent led Bensalem, 12-2, at the end of the first quarter and 28-12 at the half.

Central Bucks East made 11 of its 12 fourth-quarter free throws to win at North Penn, 46-36. Melissa Remmey's 16 points paced the Patriots.

Suburban One American. Kristy Ragbir's 20 points powered host Wissahickon past Springfield (Montgomery County), 51-43. The Trojans also got a strong floor game from Jessica Scannapieco, who had 11 rebounds. Colleen Hinde added 11 points for the Trojans (2-2).

Host Upper Merion limited Plymouth Whitemarsh to just two points over the final quarter and came away with a 37-29 win. Alex Galdi led the Vikings with 13 points.

Abington Friends Charity Weekend. Emily Wetz's 24 points proved to be the difference for Agnes Irwin in its 52-39 first-round win over Little Flower. Shannan Williford added 10 points for the Owls to help offset a two-pronged attack for the Sentinels of Chelsea Kada and Annemarie Collins, who combined for 25 points.

In the other first-round game, host Abington Friends got a career-high 26 points from Bashira Anderson in a 41-23 win over Palumbo.

Make-A-Wish Tournament. In a tournament at Germantown Academy, Aleesha Powell scored 11 of her team-high 18 points in the first half to get Penn Charter off to a good start in a 58-49 first-round win over Shipley. The Quakers led, 39-14, at halftime.

Brianna Butler, the sophomore point guard who is coming off an MVP performance in the Germantown Community Tournament, added 13 points for Penn Charter.

Shipley, which finished second to Mount St. Joseph in its own Brain Tree Tournament, was led by Celeste Golub's 20 points.

Nonleague. Jen Casatelli and Kelly Fair each had 11 points and six assists for Calvary Baptist in a 36-23 win at West Chester Christian. The two helped the visitors from Lansdale overcome a 7-6 deficit at the end of the first quarter. Calvary Baptist closed out the game with a 10-3 fourth-quarter run.