Month: January 2022

By Matt Smith

When Marple Newtown’s Haley Levy underwent back surgery last March, she wasn’t sure if she would be in tip-top shape in time for her senior season.

One of the top scorers in the Central League since her sophomore year, Levy did know she had months of hard work in front of her.

“It was a long recovery,” she said recently. “But over the summer I started running. Started slow, but then in the fall I played field hockey so I could get in shape for basketball. … I was really excited to get back for this season.”

Her back flared up in the Tigers’ season opener at Episcopal Academy, causing her to exit the game early, but overall Levy has been extremely effective for a team with goals of winning Central League and District 1 Class 5A titles. She is second on the team with 11.5 points per game, behind only senior guard Nikki Mostardi, who is averaging 12.1 points.

Levy, Mostardi and junior Brooke Impriano (9.5 ppg) have offered consistent production on the offensive end. Mary O’Brien, a junior and three-year varsity player, has also excelled in coach Ryan Wolski’s lineup. Ellie DiBona has stepped up as well.

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

Saahir Lee put on a good show Sunday.

The Penncrest point guard produced 29 points, collected five rebounds and added five assists in leading the Lions’ boys basketball team to a 63-56 shellacking of rival Strath Haven Sunday.

Ben Stanton had a solid all-around game with 12 points, five rebounds and three rebounds for the Lions. Brandon Hemphill chipped in nine points and Quinten Perilli dominated the glass with 15 rebounds.

Jaden Jauregui paced the Panthers with 16 points.

Taylor Hunyet’s tiebreaking free throw with three seconds left to play Saturday gave Springfield a 29-28 victory over Marple Newtown.

With the win, the Cougars snapped the Tigers’ 10-game winning streak. Marple’s most recent loss came at Springfield Dec. 17. The teams are tied for first place in the Central League. The Cougars jumped out to a 13-0 advantage after one quarter and managed to hold on despite the Tigers’ 28-16 run over the final three periods.

Mia Valerio and Sophia Ward each scored six points and Anabel Kreydt grabbed 12 rebounds for Springfield.

Haley Levy and Nikki Mostardi finished with 10 points apiece for Marple.

Boys Basketball

Chris Kwaidan scored 19 points, hitting four shots from beyond the arc, and Todd Harper added 17 as Sun Valley went out early and then cruised home to a 63-47 victory over Delco Christian Saturday.

Noan Griffen added 12 points for the Vanguards, while Josh Parks and Josh Dell’Arciprete scored 10 points apiece for DCCS.

Sophia Hall and Emma O’Hara scored nine points each, and Notre Dame turned up the defense for a 53-16 Inter-Ac League win over neighborhood rival Agnes Irwin Friday night.

Katie Halligan added eight points. Chloe Knox and Molly Pegg supplied six points each as nine Irish players scored. The defensive was where the win happened, though, as the Irish limited the Owls to three points total in the middle quarters.

PENN CHARTER 47, EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 32 » Riley Cassidy scored 11 points, but EA’s comeback was thwarted by a 14-8 margin by the Quakers in the final quarter. Kaylinn Bethea had a game-high 15 for Penn Charter. In the Central League:

UPPER DARBY 45, LOWER MERION 37 » Aubrey Ennis scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth-quarter Thursday night as the Royals rallied from an 11-point deficit to win.

Upper Darby outscored the Aces, 22-5, in the final eight minutes. Ennis had seven straight points, culminating with the goahead 3-pointer with 1:44 to play.

Alliyah Jean-Baptiste had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Kareemah McCafferty added 10 points.

Boys Basketball

Chris Kwaidah scored 19 points as Sun Valley topped Delco Christian, 63-47, in a contest moved up a day due to snow. Kwaidah hit four 3-pointers. Todd Harper, who scored 17 points, hit a pair of triples. Noah Griffin added 12 points.

Josh Parks and Josh Dell’Arciprete scored 10 points each for the Knights.

In other nonleague action:

PHOENIXVILLE 61, INTERBORO 53 » Zakee Brooks scored 15 points and Alec Walls added 12, but the Bucs couldn’t catch up.

In the Inter-Ac League:

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 64, EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 53 » Kevin McCarthy and Sam Malloy scored 11 points each, but a 21-7 disadvantage in the third quarter was too much for the Churchmen to overcome. Jake

Jaszcz added nine points.

In the Central League:

GARNET VALLEY 79, RIDLEY 42 » Max Koehler scored 19 points, and Ryan Wootten chipped in 17 as the Jaguars hit 14 3-pointers late Thursday. Logan McKee and Jake Sniras added 11 points each for the Jags. Haj Saleen led Riley with 11 points and Tahir Mills scored 10.

   

Both teams kept pass with Haven hitting their free-throws and Marple Newtown dropping in their 3 pointers until the fourth quarter when the Tigers decisively pulled away for the win, 63-56.

Three players scored a baker’s dozen for the Tigers: Jordan Bochanski (who went 4 for 4 on 3-pointers), Jonny Small and PJ Esposito (listen to our interview with PJ Esposito in our game archive below).

Jaden Jauregui’s 27-point effort along with Jack Edwards 11 points and Matt Shuler’s 10 points wasn’t good enough for the Panthers.

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Charlie Thornton scored all of his 14 points in the middle quarters to help lift Radnor to a 50-34 Central League victory over Penncrest.

Thornton added six rebounds and two blocked shots. Pierce Justice tallied 10 points and Danny Rosenblum added seven points and three assists. Jackson Hicke ended with seven points, four rebounds and two helpers for the Raptors (15-1).

Ray Wolson netted 11 points for the Lions.

Elsewhere in the Central League:

HAVERFORD 54, CONESTOGA 45 » Googie Seidman netted 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Fords downed the Pioneers in a matchup of two teams with two league losses each. Nick Colucci poured in a game-high 17 points.

LOWER MERION 72, UPPER DARBY 39 » The Aces held the Royals to 13 points in the second half to pull away. Sam Wright paced LM with 15 points.

Nadir Myers paced UD with a game-high 18 points.

In the Del Val League:

CHICHESTER 85, INTERBORO 48» Akhir Keys drained six treys and finished with 29 points as the Eagles blasted the Bucs. Maz Sayed poured in 23 points and Vince Wildrick had 10 for the Eagles, who made 14 triples.

Gavin Walls paced the Bucs with 17 points.

In the Ches-Mont League:

SUN VALLEY 52, KENNETT 45 » The Vanguards used an 18-9 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Blue Demons. Noah Griffin tallied a game-high 17 points and Chris Kwaidah had 15. Todd Harper added 13 points for the Vanguards.

Ava Possenti did a little bit of everything for Garnet Valley Thursday.

The senior guard had a game-high 17 points, five steals and four assists in the Jaguars’ 52-35 win over Ridley.

Freshman Haylie Adamski chipped in 16 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Jags, who led 29-14 at halftime. Emily Olsen contributed six points and six rebounds.

Emily Liberio led the Green Raiders with eight points.

In other Central League action:

Radnor 47, Penncrest 45 >> The Raptors stormed back from a 10-point deficit to beat the Lions.

Mary Sareen led a balanced attack with 11 points. Ellie Davis managed 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Maddie Bader had nine points on a trio of 3-point baskets.

Bailey Garrison and Kyla Curci each scored 12 points for Penncrest.

(click on this link for more game scores)

By Matt Smith

Xenia Gillis sat out most of the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Thursday’s game against Del Val League rival Chester, Gillis was playing in only her second game of the current season.

As a freshman, she was an impact player. She helped that Patriots team win a memorable six-overtime game against Marple Newtown in the first round of the District 1 Class 5A tournament.

Now that she has returned permanently to the starting lineup, Gillis is hoping to make up for lost time. Thursday was a great start. The talented junior forward led all players with 28 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Patriots to a 53-50 victory over the Clippers.

“My mom didn’t want me to play because of COVID my 10th-grade year, but I did come back for playoffs,” said Gillis, who shot 13-for-17 from the floor. “I’m proud of my play. I’ve put in a lot of hard work.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

By Josh Verlin

Sydni Scott’s Twitter handle doesn’t leave any room for interpretation. When you go by “Syd Buckets,” you’re making a statement. 

The Cardinal O’Hara senior guard, born and raised in Delco has played with an eye on the rim since her father Christopher Scott had her playing with his boys program in Yeadon. 

“My friend Sanaa [Redmond], she goes to Samford, her mom called me ‘Syd Buckets,’ so I dragged that out to this day,” Scott said. “I’m going to get buckets this whole season, keep getting buckets — buckets for my team, just play for everybody. I play for myself, but I mostly play for my coaches that helped me work until this point, that helped me commit, I just play for everybody I love.”

“I watched her CYO journey, and she was a scorer,” O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan said, “but she was a tremendous passer — to a point where we’re like Syd, if you’re open, shoot.

(click on this link for the full story)