Author: delcohoops

By Matt Smith

Keara McCaffrey knew she had her hands full the moment she took a good look at the tallest player on the other team Thursday.

Sacred Heart Academy’s sophomore power forward has excelled in her first full season as a starter. As a freshman, McCaffrey was a flex player on JV and varsity, forced into action with the elders due to a series of injuries to senior players. The Lions went on to capture their sixth consecutive District 1 Class 2A title and McCaffrey proved to be a solid contributor.

This season McCaffrey is one of the go-to players for Sacred Heart coach Zach Shuler. She is developing into a talented low-post presence on both ends of the floor and continues to gain confidence on a young team that doesn’t have any seniors. Sophomore point guard MJ Donohue was a starter last year and the Lions’ leader on the floor. She is probably the closest Shuler has to a team captain.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Chester Charter Scholars Academy’s defensive performance was perplexing Thursday evening.

It would be hard to say the Sabers were struggling in that department through three quarters, having turned visiting Christian Academy over 14 times. But once the Crusaders got the ball over mid-court, things went south for Chester Charter, TCA shooting 63 percent from the field. In the third quarter alone, the Crusaders were 8-for-11 from the field, repelling several Sabers salvos to get the game under control.

Not until the fourth quarter, with a little adjustment and a lot more focus, did Chester Charter finally accomplish that.

A runner by Jaylen Williams put the Sabers up for good with two minutes to play, and the defense buckled down to deny TCA’s late attempts to get even in a 65-60 decision in a battle of District 1 Class A squads.

Doubling down on defense – and doubling out on shooters on the perimeter – the Sabers (16-3) stemmed the tide of TCA’s offense. They created 20 turnovers, which was great. But it wasn’t until holding the Crusaders to a 3-for-7 shooting performance in the fourth quarter that they could back their open-court intensity with half-court execution.

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Taylor Wilson had a game to remember as Archbishop Carroll’s girls basketball team cruised to a 67-49 win over Catholic League foe Neumann-Goretti Thursday night.

Wilson, a West Point commit and All-Delco forward, scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Brooke Wilson added 18 points and 11 boards for the Patriots (9-11, 6-2), who combined for six 3-point field goals.

Freshman Alexis Eberz went 8-for-10 at the free-throw line and finished with 13 points.

In the Central League:

Garnet Valley 55, Upper Darby 23 >> Kylie Mulholland was on fire early in this one. She scored all 14 of her points in the first quarter and the Jaguars made eight 3-pointers in the first half to run away from the Royals. Haylie Adamski totaled 13 points and Jordan Daubenberger pitched in with 11. CeCe Jones had 11 points in her final home game for the Royals.

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

By Andrew Robinson

LANSDALE — Joanie Quinn remembered being a few steps ahead of Gabby Casey, sprinting to her spot and setting her feet but not much of the rest until her teammates were picking her up, all of them yelling in her face.

Missing the middle part might have been for the best as the Cardinal O’Hara junior absorbed a mighty crash from a full-speed Casey on a one-way track with designs on tying, if not getting a chance to win, their PCL clash Thursday night. Instead, it was Quinn who won the battle – perhaps at a bit of a personal cost – drawing the decisive offensive foul with one second left and the Lions in front by two points.

It was a different sort of game-winner for Quinn, but the type of play she’d expect any of her teammates to make in the same situation, sealing up a 53-51 win and handing LC its first loss in PCL competition.

By Sean Barnard

Control what you can control. That’s the message for the Springfield (Delco.) boys as they make their final playoff push.

The Cougars have been forced to fight their way into the postseason after a rough start to the season, losing their first three games, with a 4-9 record through their first 13. 

“Blame it on Coach, ‘cause I overscheduled,” coach Kevin McCormick joked. “We played a very difficult early-season schedule.”

The murderer’s row of games included Downingtown West (15-6), West Chester Henderson (11-9), Coatesville (12-8), and Chichester (17-3), but those tough games started to pay off. After growing battle-tested through this stretch, Springfield began to turn it around, winning five of seven heading into a crucial Thursday night clash with Strath Haven, both teams fighting for their postseason lives. 

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By Matt Smith

Jaina Preuhs and Rory Tiedeman were freshmen when coach Anthony “Tony” Zambino was hired to take over the Sun Valley girls basketball program.

At the time Zambino was excited to have both players. He knew with Preuhs and Tiedeman on the roster, the future was bright for the Vanguards.

With their high school careers winding down, the guards are hoping to make the district playoffs for the first time. The Vanguards are competing for one of the final spots in the District 1 Class 5A tournament.

Since they were freshmen Preuhs and Tiedeman have been penciled in as starters. Preuhs is in her fourth season and Tiedeman her third after missing all of 2021-22 with a knee injury.

By Josh Verlin

Chichester’s boys took a big step towards reversing a long drought on Tuesday night. To finish off the job, they’re going to have to end one more.

The Eagles haven’t won a Delaware Valley League title — solo or shared — since 1993, the program typically an afterthought in the small league of Delco public schools, which has traditionally been dominated by Chester, with Penn Wood nosing in there on occasion. 

Now it’s Chichester in the drivers’ seat with two games to play, courtesy of a 62-51 win over Penn Wood on Tuesday night at Chichester, but it’s far from a done deal. 

“We’re loving it, but the job’s not finished yet,” senior point guard Mazen Sayed said.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matthew DeGeorge

Akhir Keys called it Chichester’s “statement defense.” The Eagles, however, would make a statement or two on the defensive side Tuesday night against Penn Wood, and Keys was just one of a host of Eagles doing the talking.

Keys kept Delaware County’s leading scorer Nasir Washington to just two points in the second half, the Eagles turned Penn Wood over 21 times in its 3-2 half-court trap and Maz Sayed assembled an otherworldly stat line in a 62-51 win that keeps open Chichester’s path to a Del Val title.

Let’s get the mind-numbing numbers out of the way. Chichester (16-3, 5-1 Del Val) capped a season sweep over Penn Wood (12-5, 5-2). If Chi beats Academy Park Thursday and wins at Chester (10-9, 4-2) next week, the Eagles win the Del Val crown outright. A win at AP clinches at least a share of the title for the Eagles.

Penn Wood’s only hope is to win out (the Patriots play AP next week) and hope Chester tops Chichester for a second time to ensure a three-way split at 6-2.

(click on this link for the full story)

Penncrest was out for revenge Tuesday at home against Strath Haven. After losing to the Panthers in December, the Lions needed to win in order to maintain one of the final playoff spots in the District 1 Class 6A power rankings. Bailey Garrison made sure the Lions wouldn’t have a letdown. The junior scored game-high 19 points as Penncrest earned a 67-51 win. The Lions were in control from the tip. leading 14-5 after the first quarter. Kathryn Harding tallied 13 points and Makayla Johnson finished with 10 in the victory. Chloe Hunold and Sierra Felder both scored 12 points for Strath Haven.

Elsewhere in the Central League:

Springfield 59. Marple Newtown 27 » Kaitlyn Kearney scored a team-high 11 points for the Cougars, who jumped out to a 20-6 advantage in the first quarter. Lexi Aaron (10 points) and Taylor Hunyet (nine) each hit on three 3-point shots. Mia Valerio andAlyssa Estep collected eight points apiece.
Brooke Impriano tallied a game-high 14 points for the Tigers.

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A strong defensive performance in the first half powered Strath Haven to a 46-40 victory over rival Penncrest in Central League boys basketball action Tuesday night. The Panthers held the Lions to nine points in the first half, one in the second quarter, to take a 25-9 lead into the break. Jaden Jauregui paced the offense with 15 points. Jack Edwards chipped in with nine points. Brendan Hemphill topped Penncrest with a game-high 17 points.

Elsewhere in the Central League:

Upper Darby 65, Haverford 56 » The Royals shot 19-for-26 from the free throw line to hold off the Fords. Niymere Brown led four Upper Darby players in double figures with 19 points. Yassir Joyner added 14. Khysir Slaughter chipped in with 13 and Nadir Myers had 10. Googie Seidman paced Haverford with a game-high 23 points. Tommy Wright added 15 points and Brian Weiner added 10.

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