Month: December 2021

Girls: Dotseys, Rowland lead Haverford in home classic

Caroline Dotsey, Emma Rowland and Rian Dotsey combined for 30 points to lead host Haverford to a 56-22 victory over Bonner-Prendergast in the Haverford Hall of Fame Classic on Sunday.

Caroline Dotsey scored 12 points to earn all-tournament honors. Rowland pitched in with 10 points and Rian Dotsey eight. Maddie Williams also made the all-tournament team for the Fords.

Bridie McCann had a game-high 14 points to lead the Pandas. She was named to the all-tournament team along with Mary Kate Gray (Merion Mercy), Emily Tiffan (Spring-Ford) and Madison Smith (Friends Central).

At the She Got Game Classic:

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 60, STATEN ISLAND ACADEMY 47 » Junior Taylor Wilson erupted for 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Patriots on the second day of the tournament in Springfield, Va. Wilson shot 13-for-16 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line.

Maggie Grant added nine points, five rebounds and four assists for the Patriots, who jumped out to a 19-6 lead after one quarter and never looked back.

BISHOP IRETON 61, CARDINAL O’HARA 55 » Maggie Doogan, Sydni Scott and Molly Rullo combined for 46 points but it wasn’t enough as the Lions fell.

Doogan, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, led O’Hara with 19 points. Scott pitched in with 14 and Rullo, a freshman, had 13.

Rice commit Lauren Clifton paced the Cardinals with 19 points.

In nonleague action:

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 56, INTERBORO 17 » Grace Bright led the Bucs with nine points and eight rebounds on Saturday. Erin Boyer pitched in with six points.

Girls: Penncrest’s balance on scoring ledger leads to a victory

Emily Huggins led a balanced scoring effort with 11 points, and Bailey Garrison chipped in 10 points as Penncrest handled Sun Valley, 53-29, Saturday in the Media Tip-Off.

Kathryn Harding added eight points for the Lions (2-0), who had nine players score. Jaina Preuhs led Sun Valley with eight points.

Also at the Media Tip-Off: Strath Haven 38, Academy Park 29 >& gt; Rose Henry scored 16 points to go with 15 assists, and Laura Shea did a little of everything with seven points, five steals and five rebounds for the Panthers.

Jada Kinlaw and Alaysia Kinlaw scored seven points each for the Knights.

At the She Got Game Tournament:

NOTRE DAME 76, NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN 47 » Maeve McErlane went off to the tune of 34 points, including six 3-pointers, as the Irish romped in Springfield, Va. Katie Halligan chipped in 16 points, and Julia Dever added three triples for nine points for the Irish.

(click on this link for the full story and more scores)

Boys: Coleman-Newsome’s long wait proved worthwhile for Carroll

Archbishop Carroll's Dean Coleman-Newsome is awarded a game MVP award for his 21 points in a win over Episcopal Academy Saturday in the Inter-Ac/Catholic League Challenge at West Chester University. (MediaNews Group staff photo).

Archbishop Carroll’s Dean Coleman-Newsome is awarded a game MVP award for his 21 points in a win over Episcopal Academy Saturday in the Inter-Ac/Catholic League Challenge at West Chester University. (MediaNews Group staff photo).

By Matthew DeGeorge

In one way, the waiting through 2020 was eased for Dean Coleman-Newsome. But that didn’t make his situation easy, by any means.

Knee surgery in October 2020 meant the Archbishop Carroll guard knew his sophomore season would likely be washed out, no matter what the COVID-19 pandemic did to schedules that winter. A second procedure on his other knee in January made it official.

So the combo guard who had such a revelatory freshman season pre-pandemic resolved to bide his time, recuperate and come back stronger. Two varsity games in, it seems clear that Coleman-Newsome made the most of his time away.

The junior scored 21 points Saturday, helping Carroll dominate Episcopal Academy, 66-38, in the Inter-Ac/Catholic League Challenge at West Chester University’s Hollinger Field House.

For someone who still considers himself rounding into shape, he would’ve fooled an unaware observer.

“It was rough, just the process of physical therapy and getting myself back into game shape,” he said. “I’m still getting acclimated to the game, but it’s been good.”

(click on this link for the full story and more game scores)

Girls: Cassidy, Episcopal courteously off to a winning start

Episcopal's Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf, left, and Marple Newtown's Haley Levy mix it up on a pass to Keffer-Scharpf in the first quarter Friday. (Pete Bannan - MediaNews Group).

Episcopal’s Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf, left, and Marple Newtown’s Haley Levy mix it up on a pass to Keffer-Scharpf in the first quarter Friday. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group).

By Matt Smith

It was a simple gesture, but not something you see everyday from high school athletes.

Moments after Episcopal Academy’s Riley Cassidy led her team to a 49-22 victory over Marple Newtown Friday, the senior guard went over to every official and gave them a fist-bump.

Cassidy’s courteousness has been part of her basketball routine ever since she was a little kid.

“My CYO coach encouraged it,” she said. “You know, just to thank the refs and be respectful. They’re taking their time to come out and officiate, and it’s something I like to do.”

Cassidy likely made the officials’ jobs easier. Whenever she had the ball, it seemed, she swished baskets. In the fourth quarter alone, Cassidy drilled four 3-point field goals and scored 13 of Episcopal’s 18 points. Overall, Cassidy netted 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the field for the Churchwomen (2-0).

(click on this link for the full story)

Boys: O’Donnell, Hoey lead Springfield to terrific tip-off

By PAPrep LIVE

Guards Mike O’Donnell and Mike Hoey showed the way for Springfield in a 45-25 victory over Pottstown in the Pottsgrove Tip-Off Tournament Friday night.

O’Donnell hit three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 13 points. Hoey chipped in with 11 and Jake Adams added eight, and the Cougars’ defense held the Trojans to single digits in each quarter.

Archbishop Carroll 84, Academy Park 43 >> Moses Hipps scored 11 of his game-high 26 points in the first quarter and eight more in the third period. Dean Coleman-Newsom and Shawnn Smith chipped in with 12 points each.

(click on this link for the full story and more scores)

GIRLS: Jones leads Chi to a happy return with win over Lower Merion

Chichester’s long-awaited return to the court was a success.

After not fielding a team last season, the Eagles delivered a season- opening win for first-year head coach Kimberly Wood at the Lower Merion Tip-Off Classic Friday.

Dujwana Jones produced 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals as Chi nipped the host Aces, 43-42. Damiyae Moyet made two 3-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 13 points for the Eagles, who stormed back from a 2116 deficit at halftime.

In other nonleague action:

STRATH HAVEN 51, SUN VALLEY 35 »

Rose Henry buried four 3-pointers and ended with 21 points as the Panthers won the first game of the Media Tip-Off at Penncrest.

(click on this link for the full story and more scores)

Welcome to the 2021/22 Basketball Season (finally)

Welcome back to, what we hope, is a full season of hoops for high school teams in Delaware County!

We’re a little late getting started as the football season for Strath Haven went for 15 weeks which cut into our prep time for Delcohoops.com.  

We have two new broadcasters (actually one is just returning) for our weekly broadcasts and we have some exciting news. After years of discussions and strategies we will be covering both the boys and girls games this year.  We plan on having two broadcast crews on the street and hope to be able to cover one boys and one girls game each week.  We will also link articles in local publications. It’s twice the amount of work but we always felt we should be covering both boys and girls but lacked the resources to do it.  Thanks to the generous support of Keystone Transport we have been able to complete our mission.

We are still working on the full Delco game schedules for both boys and girls and hope to post that this weekend.  The season officially starts in January for our Game-of-the-Week but we’ll see if we can squeeze in a game or two in December.

Welcome back high school basketball fans!

Boys: Doyle, Penncrest back with high Central League hopes

MEDIANEWS GROUP FILE PHOTOGarnet Valley's Ryan Wootten, here grabbing a rebound in a scramble during a game against Marple Newtown in the Central League tournament last season, is back to try to ease the growing pains of a rebuilding squad.

Garnet Valley’s Ryan Wootten, here grabbing a rebound in a scramble during a game against Marple Newtown in the Central League tournament last season, is back to try to ease the growing pains of a rebuilding squad. MEDIANEWS GROUP FILE PHOTO

By Matthew DeGeorge

Garnet Valley’s journey to the top of the Central League last season wasn’t easy. Its battle to stay there won’t be, either.

A veteran-laden squad led the Jaguars to a 17-4 record in 2021, including a first Central League title and the semifinals of the District 1 Class 6A tournament. But with All-Delco Carl Schaller among four departing seniors, the reloading this season will require new faces to step up.

Max Koehler played big minutes as a sophomore, averaging 7.2 points per game. He’ll have to assume a larger role, as close to the Schaller responsibilities as possible. Ryan Wootten also proved an ability to hit big shots in 2021, averaging 4.9 ppg.

Ryan Faccenda will be elevated from sixth man to the starting lineup. In Jake Sniras and Logan McKee, this year’s Jaguars have more height than usual.

Like Garnet Valley, Haverford is tasked with turning the page on the era of one of the program’s brightest players. John Seidman is gone, the 1,000-point-scoring All-Delco having impacted every aspect of the Fords’ game the last three years.

(click on this link for the full story)

Boys: Despite talented opponents and transfer losses, Clippers carry on

Chester senior Isaaiah Freeman, a Clippers quarterback in the fall, is a returning All-Delco honorable mention player for the Clippers basketball team. Freeman is seen with former mate Karell Watkins, left, amid a loss to Archbishop Ryan in the PIAA Class 5A state semifinals last March.

Chester senior Isaaiah Freeman, a Clippers quarterback in the fall, is a returning All-Delco honorable mention player for the Clippers basketball team. Freeman is seen with former mate Karell Watkins, left, amid a loss to Archbishop Ryan in the PIAA Class 5A state semifinals last March. Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group

By Jack McCaffery

The summer tour led Larenzo Jerkins through 11 states and twice as many opportunities to impress, so Chester High basketball coach Keith Taylor would brace for the inevitable.

There was Jerkins, his 6-5-and-developing junior, creating a mild stir with SK Elite on the AAU barn-storm. That, then, would be the cue for the recruiters to pounce.

Not college recruiters.

The other kind.

“High school coaches in the state,” Jerkins was saying, before a recent practice at 9th and Barclay. “A lot of them. They were trying to contact me. Schools like O’Hara, Archbishop Carroll. A lot of teams.”

Such has been the test Taylor has had to endure at Chester, which long has produced gifted players and tolerated desperate high school recruiters. It’s nothing new, and that transfer portal will not likely be buttoned shut any time soon.

All Taylor can do, then, is try to sell Chester’s dazzling basketball history and try to keep pace.

(click on this link for the full story)

Boys: After season wiped by COVID, Academy Park starts over

By Matthew DeGeorge

Building from scratch after not being able to play at all is something completely different. Add in a new coach and you’ve got the measure of the challenge before Academy Park this winter.

The Knights opted out of the 2021 season, citing concerns over COVID-19 in the community. That means new coach Todd Hryn has little experience within the ranks to build on. Instead, the former assistant at Penncrest and Strath Haven has a chance to create this year’s team out of whole cloth.

The closest thing to experience comes from the football field. The Knights will count on a pair of players from AP’s run to the District 1 Class 5A semifinals to provide grit in the post, via senior Ibrahim Sanogo and junior Darrell Fields. Kahlil Greenwood was one of the Knights’ top pass-catching threats in the fall, and the 5-9 senior has varsity experience dating back to 14 games as a sophomore.

Senior captain Zahamir Mobley played sparingly in his sophomore season in 2019-20. Sophomore Jamir Anderson will run the point, while junior Najee Shaw and senior Bryce Mickens will fill out the rotation.

(click on this link for the full story)