By Matt Smith
Harriton High was missing its head coach for Saturday’s Central League girls playoff quarterfinal with reigning champion Garnet Valley.
Second-year Rams coach Chris Wielgus was being honored at Dartmouth College, where she coached for 28 years and won 12 Ivy league championships before taking over the Harriton program in 2018. Forty years of Dartmouth women’s basketball was celebrated at halftime of Big Green’s contest with Yale, and Wielgus was a big reason for the program’s success over the last four decades.
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Back at Harriton, Wielgus’s absence left sensational sophomore guard Annie Aspesi and Co. to win one for the Gipper. With interim coach Chris Gari, the eighth-grade coach at Welsh Valley Middle School, calling the shots, the Rams pulled off an absolute shocker. Aspesi generated 31 points, three steals and two assists to propel Harriton to a 43-39 victory at Kobe Bryant Gymnasium.
“It was awesome to win this for her,” Aspesi said. “She told us before that she didn’t have to go and leave us. She is back at Dartmouth where she is being honored and she said she doesn’t want to have to choose them over us. But we all told her to go and we told her that she has done enough for us and that we can handle it and work hard.”
Oh, the Rams absolutely deserved this win. With strong, on-the-ball defense and savvy decision making on the offensive end, the Rams (12-11) gave the Jags (18-5) all they could handle Saturday.
Webmaster’s note: The Central League Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball Championships on February 11th will be audio broadcast LIVE right here on Delcohoops.com!