Month: February 2023

By Matt Smith

No. 2 Sacred Heart Academy missed nine shots in the first quarter and trailed third-seeded Delco Christian by five points after eight minutes of Tuesday’s District 1 Class 2A girls semifinal match.

Sophomore guard MJ Donohue and the Lions were poised to change the script in the second period.

Donohue swished back-to-back 3-point field goals to highlight a game-changing, second-quarter run by the Lions, who rolled to a 42-28 victory in a rematch of last year’s district final.

Sacred Heart is aiming for its seventh consecutive Class 2A district championship and will face No. 1 Faith Christian Saturday.

Donohue scored seven of her 11 points during a 19-5 spurt in the second quarter. Sophomore power forward/center Keara McCaffrey dominated the paint with six points, three rebounds, two steals and a block and Maya Walker provided a spark with four points, two rebounds and two assists in the quarter. Sacred shot 8 of 15 from the floor and its defense recorded four steals in the second stanza.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matthew DeGeorge

Max Koehler saw the smile on teammate Jack Krautzel’s face as he stepped to the line in double overtime. It was out-of-place enough to register with him.

Krautzel, you might’ve thought, would want to be anywhere in the known universe beside the free throw line at Garnet Valley at that point Tuesday night. He’d gone 1-for-4 from the line at the end of regulation to see a Jaguar lead over Methacton that had run to 13 in the fourth evaporate. He’d missed two free throws in a first overtime period that saw zero points scored.

But still, Krautzel’s grin was undimmed.

“I’m like, this kid knows he’s got it,” Koehler said. “And I knew he got it, and the rest of us knows he’s got it. We had trust in him.”

Krautzel scored seven points in the second overtime and cleaned up the missed free throw with 2.2 seconds left to seal the game as the Jaguars bested Methacton, 73-69, in the District 1 Class 6A second round.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Andrew Robinson

Deja Evans knew.

The Archbishop Wood senior knew there wasn’t much time left. She knew her first attempt at a tip-in after Ava Renninger’s miss on a drive was way off and she knew she’d get one last chance. As the Albany recruit put up her last-ditch effort, the ball hit the rim, then the backboard and spun on the iron.

That’s when Deja Evans knew it was good.

Evans’ improbable put-back lifted No. 2 Archbishop Wood to a 31-29 win over No. 3 Cardinal O’Hara in a defensive slugfest of a PCL girls basketball semifinal Tuesday night at St. Joseph’s University City campus (the venue formerly known as USciences.)

“I didn’t know for sure until it hit the second spin,” Evans, who had a game-high 19 points, said. “Amazing. It’s an indescribable feeling, now we get to go play at the Palestra and I’m really excited.”

Wood will face No. 1 seed Lansdale Catholic, a 53-39 winner over No. 4 Archbishop Carroll, in the PCL title game on Monday. It’s Wood’s first title appearance since 2020-21 but first trip to the Palestra since 2019-20, with the ’21 title game being played at Carroll.

(click on this link for the full story)

By CoBL Staff

The first round of districts is over, with 16 teams left who find themselves in good position to make the PIAA bracket — 12 of those 16 will play in states, including the eight winners of Tuesday night’s second round and four of the losers, who all go into play-backs to determine those final spots. 

Here’s a look at all eight games on Wednesday as the top eight seeds make their district debuts:

4) Souderton  vs. 20) Garnet Valley

With their upset of No. 13 Pennridge, the Jaguars spoiled a potential fourth meeting of SOL Colonial foes but now face the tall task of trying to take down senior-led Souderton. GV’s young but talented but will have to figure out an opponent that isn’t looking to go home early this year.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

The Catholic League’s down to its final four. The girls’ semifinals are this Tuesday night at the former University of the Sciences, now part of Saint Joseph’s, while the boys are Wednesday night at the Palestra. 

Here’s a look at all four games as well as my predictions:

Girls Semifinals
2) Archbishop Wood vs. 3) Cardinal O’Hara (6:00 PM)

There have been four clear contenders for the 2023 Catholic League girls’ championship this season, and they’re the four remaining in the semifinals, with any of the four perfectly capable of winning their next two games and emerging with a title at the Palestra next Monday. These two teams met at this same spot last year, a 55-48 win for O’Hara, but many of the stars of that one are gone: O’Hara’s Maggie Doogan (Richmond), Sydni Scott (Marshall) and Annie Welde (Villanova), as well as Wood’s Ryanne Allen (Vanderbilt) and Bri Bowen (Delaware), leaving it up to the next group of Lions and Vikings to carry the torch. 

(click on this link for the full story)

By CoBL Staff

The first round of districts is over, with 16 teams left who find themselves in good position to make the PIAA bracket — 12 of those 16 will play in states, including the eight winners of Tuesday night’s second round and four of the losers, who all go into play-backs to determine those final spots. 

Here’s a look at all eight games on Tuesday, as the top eight seeds make their district debuts:

8) Garnet Valley vs. 9) Methacton
Only 14 hundreds of a point separated Methacton and Garnet Valley in the district rankings, the Jaguars with just enough of an edge to be hosting this game instead of it being up in the PAC. Garnet Valley (15-8) enters the postseason on a three-game losing streak, including scoring just 29 points against Springfield (Delco.) in the first round of the Central League playoffs, but Mike Brown has had 12 days to get his squad back on track as they host a Warriors side that comes in 16-8, having beaten Conestoga 48-38 in the first round of districts after themselves losing in the opening round of their league playoffs. This one is a rematch of a district quarterfinal from last season when the then top-seeded Warriors held off the then 24th-seeded Jags in OT. 

(click on this link for the full story)

Being on the road didn’t bother Episcopal Academy in the championship game of the PAISAA Commonwealth Cup.

The second-seeded Churchmen took control early and cruised to a 67-56 victory over top-seeded Germantown Academy Saturday.

EA opened up a 12-7 lead to start the game, expanded its advantage 53-32 heading into the fourth quarter and shot 8-for-12 from the free throw line to hold off the Patriots and win the title.

Kevin McCarthy paced EA with 17 points. He made two free throws in the fourth quarter, as did T.J. Lamb and Murilo Pereira.  Timmy Dennis and Calvin Szorodi chipped in with 14 points each.

Bryce Rollerson led the top-seeded Patriots with a game-high 20 points.

In the District 1 Class 6A tournament:

(click on this link for more game stories and scores)

By Josh Verlin

It was about a month ago that Upper Darby got a dose of good news: senior wing Yassir Joyner was going to be postseason eligible. The South Philly transfer and Upper Darby native had received a unanimous ruling from a District 1 panel, Royals coach Bob Miller said, and was going to be able to play for as long as Upper Darby’s season went. 

For a team that’s been playing good hoops all season but is highly reliant on its starting five, it was a crucial outcome, allowing the Royals to be at full strength both physically and emotionally for the playoffs.

“We need everybody but we need him, that’s like my battle twin,” senior forward Niymire Brown said. “Once we got him, it was like, oh yeah, we’re good.”

Upper Darby certainly benefited from Joyner’s presence in their District 1 6A opener, the No. 10 seeded Royals getting a big-time double-double from their senior wing in a 74-54 win over No. 23 Cheltenham. 

(click on this link for the full story)

By Terry Toohey

Penn Wood’s Nasir Washington seems to rely solely on his natural abilities, of which there are many. The 6-foot-3 senior guard works at his craft, even if there can be a few stumbles along the way.

Washington also likes to work out three times a day. That’s a heavy load, but it’s hard to argue with the results.

Thursday, for instance, Washington made 300 shots in a nighttime workout and that paid huge dividends against Norristown in the opening round of the District 1 Class 6A opener Friday night.

Washington poured in 37 points in just three quarters to pace Penn Wood to a 78-48 romp over the Eagles.

“I just came in today all confident,” said Washjington, who finished three points shy of equaling his career high. “This is my last year, so I’m just doing whatever I can to help the team.”

Myron Kirlew led the 19th-seeded Eagles (10-14) with 22 points but it wasn’t enough to offset Washington’s torrid shooting performance. He didn’t miss many.

(click on this link for the full story)