Author: delcohoops

It’s been a good year for Central League boys basketball. Three of the top four spots in the District 1 Class 6A tournament are a reflection of that.

Three Central League teams will receive byes when districts begin on Friday, with the brackets released on Sunday (though they remain unofficial until Monday).

Lower Merion (19-4) earned the top seed in the district, with Conestoga (17-6) third and Garnet Valley (17-6) fourth in the 6A fold.  That’s in addition to Penncrest (20-2) being the second seed in Class 5A. Penncrest and Lower Merion will meet Monday night for the Central League title, with league playoff games having no bearing on postseason seeding.

Garnet Valley gets a bye until next Tuesday’s second round of the Class 6A tournament, where it will face the winner of No. 13 Bensalem and No. 20 Owen J. Roberts.

Del Val champion Chester (15-7) manages to shoot the gap of Central League teams, but a tantalizing matchup could await nonetheless. As the 15th seed, the Clippers will host No. 18 Downingtown West in Friday’s first round. The winner gets to visit No. 2 Coatesville. The Whippets just dropped a 57-55 overtime decision to Coatesville in the Ches-Mont League semifinals.

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Garnet Valley earned the second seed in the District 1 Class 6A girls basketball tournament, the brackets for which were revealed on Sunday.

Garnet Valley (22-1) will first play for a Central League title Monday night. Then it awaits the winner of No. 15 North Penn and No. 18 Phoenixville in the Feb. 19 second round. The Jaguars play Conestoga in the league final, which has no bearing on postseason seeding. The Pioneers will have to turn it around for a game on Friday against Coatesville as the No. 9 seed, only the top eight getting byes.

Also missing that cut is Haverford (18-5) in 10th. The Fords host No. 23 Central Bucks South Friday for the right to visit No. 7 Downingtown West next week. Chester (18-4) is the only other Delco team in the field, drawing the No. 12 seed and a home game, with No. 21 Methacton coming to town.

Two-time reigning champion Perkiomen Valley is the top seed. Springfield (12-10) was the first school out of the 24-team field. Eleven teams make the state playoffs. Brackets are unofficial until Monday.

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The Central League Basketball Championship final is set for February 10th @ Marple Newtown High School:

GIRLS

#1 Garnet Valley vs #2 Conestoga- 6:00 PM 

Broadcast begins at 5:45 PM right here on Delcohoops.com

BOYS

#1 Penncrest vs #2 Lower Merion – 7:30 PM

Broadcast begins at 7:15 PM right here on Delcohoops.com

By Matt Smith

Garnet Valley felt a tinge of frustration in the second quarter of Friday’s Central League semifinal against Lower Merion.

Despite being the top seed, and one of the best teams in the area, the Jaguars found themselves trailing the No. 5 Aces, a team that had pulled off a minor upset over fourth-seeded Radnor less than 24 hours earlier. Lower Merion, making its first league semifinal appearance since winning the title in 2010-11, came ready to play and perhaps stun the entire league.

The Aces moved the ball well and took advantage of a cold shooting stretch from Garnet Valley, which had jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter before cooling off late in the first and into the second.

The Jaguars, however, knew they were the better team. And it was time to prove it.

Garnet Valley responded with a dominant run midway through the second quarter and never looked back, rolling to a 59-40 victory. The Jags will face No. 2 Conestoga in the Central League final Monday at Marple Newtown. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

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By Owen McCue

It would be an understatement to call the Conestoga and Haverford girls basketball teams familiar foes.

The Pioneers and Fords met up for the ninth time in three seasons on Friday night in the Central League semifinals as the matchup that decided the league champion in both of the past two seasons took place a round earlier.

After falling to Haverford in the league title game in each of the past two seasons, second-seed Conestoga broke through for a grind-it-out 28-23 win over the third-seed Fords to book a third straight trip to the Central League title game. Conestoga will face top seed Garnet Valley on Monday at Marple Newtown.

“It’s definitely really exciting because they’ve beat us in the championship twice and we wanted to get our revenge, and we’re not done yet,” Conestoga junior Ryann Jennings said. “We still have the championship Monday, and we’re still going to be prepping for that.”

Conestoga (18-5) entered the season with one win in its last seven games against the Fords (18-5). The Pioneers won both regular season meetings, starting the new year with a 38-32 win on Jan. 3 and closing the regular season with a 36-32 victory on Tuesday.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

In a Central League that has been tight all season, it makes perfect sense that two road teams would prevail in the first round of the league playoffs.

No. 6 seed Marple Newtown knocked off third-seeded Conestoga, 64-60, Thursday night, while No. 5 Springfield overcame fourth seed Garnet Valley, 54-53, in overtime.

It sets up Friday’s semifinals, with the Tigers returning to top-seeded Penncrest – after dropping a double-overtime contest there on Saturday – and the Cougars venturing to No. 2 Lower Merion.

Matt Gardler was a difference maker as usual for Marple Newtown, with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He went 6-for-6 from the line in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers were 9-for-10 at the charity stripe in the final frame.

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By Jeremy Goode

In today’s game, you usually have to tell kids to shoot the ball less. This was not the case for Haverford High’s Mya Foley.

Foley knew her role well for the first three years of high school basketball through the Fords’ basketball program: lock down on defense, make several plays through passing, get a rebound, and score occasionally. 

Going into her senior season, Haverford head coach Lauren Pellicane had a different role for the 5-foot-5 defensive-minded guard to embrace: become more offensive in general, especially through moving without the basketball and shooting.

It was not a punishment for Foley. After all, she had been a significant part of some very talented Haverford teams. She was on both championship teams, including sophomore year which Haverford finished 27-0. She just happens to be a good basketball player in an unselfish way.   

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By Matt Smith

Natalie Wright doesn’t love shooting free throws in high-pressure moments, but she knows how to block out the noise and get the job done.

The Haverford senior forward knocked down 5-of-6 foul shots in the fourth quarter while also coming up with two crucial steals and a key basket off an inbounds play. Wright’s late-game heroics powered the third-seeded Fords to a 43-31 victory over No. 6 Springfield in the Central League quarterfinals Thursday.

With the win, Haverford advances to face No. 2 Conestoga in Friday’s semifinals – a rematch of the last two league championship games.

“I wouldn’t say I liked it, but I was ready to do it,” Wright said. “I had to step up for my team, and that’s all that matters in the moment.”

Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane had complete faith in Wright’s ability in the final quarter. She knew it was only a matter of time before Wright ignited the spark the Fords needed. With Springfield keeping the game tight through three quarters, Pellicane was looking for someone to make a game-changing play and Wright delivered on offense and defense.

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Delcohoops.com will, once again, be broadcasting, LIVE, both the Girls and Boys Championship basketball games on February 10th.

Currently scheduled to be held at Marple Newtown High School the girls game is scheduled for 6 PM while the boys are scheduled at 7:45 PM.

Playoffs will begin on Thursday, February 6th. See the CoBL article below for teams and times.

You will be able to view the championships games right here on Delcohoops.com as well as You Tube and PPV service NFHS Network.  All links will be posted this weekend for your convenience.

By Josh Verlin

Here’s a look at each bracket in the Central League, with a breakdown of each to follow:

Girls
First Round — Thurs., Feb. 6 (at higher seed)
3) Haverford High vs. 6) Springfield (Delco.) (6:00 PM)
4) Radnor vs. 5) Lower Merion (7:00 PM)

Semifinals — Fri., Feb. 7 (at higher seed)
1) Garnet Valley vs. TBD (7:00 PM)
2) Conestoga vs. TBD (6:00 PM)

Championship — Mon., Feb. 10 (Marple Newtown or Harriton)

Boys
First Round — Thurs., Feb. 6 (at higher seed)
3) Garnet Valley  vs. 6) Springfield (Delco.) (7:00 PM)
4) Conestoga vs. 5) Marple Newtown (6:00 PM)

Semifinals — Fri., Feb. 7 (at higher seed)
1) Penncrest vs. TBD (6:30 PM)
2) Lower Merion vs. TBD (6:00 PM)

Championship — Mon., Feb. 10 (Marple Newtown or Harriton)

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