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Reginna Baker dropped 16 points against O’Hara (Photo by Mark Jordan/CoBL).

By Joseph Santoliquito

Reginna Baker was still decompressing with an ice bag wrapped around her left ankle and a megawatt smile as a panacea for any soreness she was feeling.

A year ago, it may have been different for the Neumann-Goretti 5-foot-6 sophomore rising star. A year ago, she may have flubbed the gimme shot underneath. A year ago, her teammates may not have thought her an option in such a crucial spot. A year ago, she would not have been the one to make a difference.

That was a year ago.

In the present, Baker came up with a clutch three-point play to tie it and Amya Scott knocked down a free throw and batted away a pass in the closing seconds to preserve Neumann-Goretti’s exciting 51-50 victory at Cardinal O’Hara in the Catholic League season opener for both teams Thursday night.

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By Zak Wolf

Heading into the offseason, Sean Forcine knew one thing about his team. They were sick of getting beat up physically. His second year at Conestoga was a successful one. The Pioneers took a step forward, finishing third in the Central League and making the second round of the District One playoffs.

But a common theme arose when facing top competition. They weren’t being physical enough. 

Two weeks after a 69-51 loss to Bensalem in the district playbacks, Forcine’s squad was in the weight room. It wasn’t just one or two players who showed up. The entire team did. It became a central part of their offseason. Two, sometimes even three times a week, players came together to do an array of other weight training exercises in an attempt to get stronger. 

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Megan Kelly (above) and Haverford picked up a huge win Tuesday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

By Jeremy Goode

When Megan Kelly is on, she is on. 

So, when the Fords were up eight points and Kelly got the ball underneath Garnet Valley’s basket with eight seconds left, she dribbled up to half court and threw it up. The quick line drive heave found itself through the net as the third quarter buzzer sounded, giving the Fords a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter 34-23. The shot completely gave the Fords all the momentum to close the game. 

“I was looking at the clock and thought I might as well get a shot up,” Kelly said. “I shot it, and I really think it brought the energy up. Now that we had a lead, if we got scored on, we still had a comfortable lead that we were able to be confident in ourselves.”

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Bradford Berwick scored 11 points in the first quarter to send Delco Christian cruising to a 69-32 decision over Plumstead Christian Wednesday.

Berwick finished with 13 points. Khamai Orange poured in 28 points, including four 3-pointers for the game and 13 points in the third quarter. Beau Lyren added nine points for the unbeaten Knights (5-0, 2-0 Bicentennial).

Girls Basketball

Abbie McFillin scored a game-high 15 points as Archbishop Carroll started the Catholic League slate with a 54-26 win at West Catholic.

The Patriots (3-2) led 21-5 after a quarter and held a 25-point edge at halftime. McFillin added five rebounds and three assists. Alexis Eberz scored 13 points. Kayla Eberz chipped in six.

In nonleague action:

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By Chad Graham

SPRINGFIELD — Hoop Group hosted its first Philly Classic at Cardinal O’Hara and showcased three competitive games from start to finish. Here are the standouts.

Scores
Westtown over Mercersburg, 61-49
Mt. Carmel over Cardinal O’Hara 57-50
Archbishop Carroll over Gill St Bernard, 81-70

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Malik Brown (2027 | Cardinal O’Hara)
Mt. Carmel had 3 bigs taller than Brown, but he more than made up for it with his accurate hands on defense. When post players tried to score on him, he targeted the ball on the way up and knocked it out of their hands. Brown also used his quickness and length to beat them for rebounds. And when his team had the ball, he created opportunities to score on putbacks and by moving without the ball, winding up with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. 

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