Author: delcohoops

By Matt Smith

The Central League race is heating up, and the usual contenders are right in the mix.

For the third straight season, Conestoga (15-4), Garnet Valley (18-1) and Haverford (15-2) sit atop the standings, each with one league loss. The Fords, reigning back-to-back champs, are chasing a rare three-peat, having taken down Conestoga in the title game the last two years.

This final stretch will decide the top seed, with each squad facing off one more time. Garnet Valley hosts Haverford Thursday night 7 before welcoming Conestoga Saturday for a 1 o’clock tip off. Haverford travels to Conestoga next Tuesday to close out the regular season. The league tournament tips off later that week, with the final on Monday, Feb. 10.

All three teams have at least one 1,000-point scorer in their arsenal – Conestoga junior Ryann Jennings, Garnet Valley seniors Haylie Adamski and Kylie Mulholland, and Haverford senior Rian Dotsey. Each team has taken down one of the others, proving there’s not a clear favorite.

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By Josh Verlin

Delco Christian doesn’t have enough girls to have an offseason basketball program.

With most of the roster playing fall and spring sports at the 700-student, K-through-12 private school nestled in between the Main Line and the more rural parts of the suburbs, the Knights coaches had to wait until the preseason begins in mid-November to even start to see what they had to work with. And despite coming off a sub-.500 season, with most of the starting lineup turning over, it didn’t take Jake Godino long this fall to sense he had something good brewing.

“The first three weeks of any season for me are very structured,” said the Knights’ head coach, a 2008 Delco Christian grad and former Temple walk-on. “You put in this offense, this defense, you do this, you do that. And then all of a sudden I started to see something coalesce, but I wasn’t sure how far we could take it.”

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By Josh Verlin

As Beau Lyren noted, the last stretch before scoring a thousandth point can drag out.

The Delco Christian senior had been aware of the progress he’d been making towards the milestone, the Knights’ coaching staff not shy about sharing such numbers with their players. His classmate Khamai Orange, on pace to set the program’s scoring record (currently 1,369 points), had already reached the milestone early this season. 

So when the 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter against MaST Charter and headed to the bench, knowing he was just two points shy, Lyren 

“That was part of our conversation when he came to the bench — ‘coach, I won’t get any more fouls,’” Parks said, chuckling.

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Sisters Kayla and Alexis Eberz dominated the floor as Archbishop Carroll rolled past Conwell-Egan, 59-23, in a Catholic League girls basketball matchup Tuesday

Kayla, a freshman, exploded for 27 points and added two assists, while her junior sister Alexis dropped 23 points, grabbed seven boards and added two steals for the Patriots (12-8, 7-2).

Abbie McFillin dished out six assists.

In the Central League:

Strath Haven 38, Springfield 27 >> Freshman Maddie Fanning (three steals) amassed 17 points as the Panthers stormed back from a 19-13 halftime deficit.

Eliza Jauregui (four steals) and Kenzie Fanning (two assists) added six points apiece for Haven. Maryella Gill and Olivia Voshell both contributed four points and six boards.

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Khamai Orange scored a career-high 39 points for Delaware County Christian School in a 72-62 triumph over The Christian Academy in Bicentennial League action Tuesday.

Sir Guy Epps carried the Crusaders with 26 points.

In the Central League:

Haverford 64, Ridley 48 >> Andrew Steigleman paced three Haverford players in double figures with 16 points.

Grant Zborowski and Billy Williams added 16 and 15 points, respectively, for Haverford.

Chris Sizemore poured in a game-high 21 points for the Green Raiders.

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By Dan Arkans

There are no secrets left for first-year Lansdale Catholic head coach Tom Lonergan or his Crusaders.

According to Lonergan, Lansdale Catholic has never beaten Cardinal O’Hara in its storied history which also included a PIAA title in 2023 for the Crusaders.

He would have loved to give his team that little tidbit after finally defeating the Lions on Tuesday night.

Instead, the cat was out of the bag prior to the game, so to speak. 

“It’s really big,” said LC senior point guard Sanyiah Littlejohn of the win. “This is our first time breaking history. We never beat O’Hara, this was a big night for us. We kept an undefeated record on our home court, so it was pretty special.”

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By Matthew DeGeorge

By law, it being a Del Val League contest, Tuesday night’s game between Chichester and Penn Wood had to come down to the final possession.

A five-point first-quarter edge for the Eagles didn’t matter. Nor would Penn Wood’s eight-point lead at the break, nor its six-point bump after three.

One way or the other, in an unusually tight season of a league that requires no accelerant, the game would be decided in the final minute.

Penn Wood went 6-for-6 at the line in the fourth quarter and 4-for-4 in the final minute to eke out a 44-41 win.

The result is a balm to Penn Wood’s playoff hopes in Class 6A, leveling its record at 9-9. For Chichester (8-10, 2-4), relatively more secure in the Class 5A field, it means that the Eagles’ four Del Val League losses have come by a combined seven points, including a one-point loss at Penn Wood.

Penn Wood’s triumph came thanks to Bellvin Smith and the Patriots’ work on the boards. Smith, a freshman guard, tallied a game-high 15 points, including PW’s only three made 3-pointers on 16 attempts. 

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By Matt Smith

 In a 50-year span as a high school basketball head coach, Tom Stewart has never lost his passion for teaching and guiding young athletes, a perfect reflection of his lifelong career in education.

Stewart, Bonner & Prendergast’s assistant principal for student services, is in his 31st season leading the Pandas after spending 18 seasons at the helm of St. James High School in Chester, which closed in 1993. He was in as Prendie’s coach the next year.

Last year, he was finally inducted into the Delco Athletes Hall of Fame, a long-overdue recognition.

This season, Stewart has guided the Pandas back to respectability after some rebuilding years. He has talented freshmen who are starting and producing. While the Pandas aren’t quite ready to compete against perennial powerhouses Archbishop Carroll and Cardinal O’Hara, they are making progress under the tutelage of “Coach Stew.”

Even during the Pandas’ lean years, when the talent pool wasn’t as deep, Stewart, a 1964 Monsignor Bonner graduate, returned each winter. He has grown increasingly disillusioned with the recruiting battles, which he believes have intensified in recent years. That side of high school sports, he admits, is something he could do without.

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By Bruce Adams

The 6-foot-1 senior forward and second-year captain recently became the 11th player in the Ford girls’ basketball program to score 1,000 points when she reached the milestone Jan. 14 against Springfield (Delco), a game in which she scored 32 points. Dotsey is averaging 18.3 ppg and 10.2 rpg this season for the Fords (15-2 as of Jan. 27). Last winter, she averaged 15.5 ppg and 9 rpg and received first team All-Central League and All-Main Line honors. Next winter, Dotsey will play basketball for Saint Joseph’s University. Off the court at Haverford, Dotsey is a NICU Volunteer at Lankenau Hospital and is a member of the school’s Interact Club, which performs volunteer activities within the community.

Q: Tell us a little about the play in which you scored your 1,000th point, how the play developed. Were you aware as the play developed that you were on the verge of 1,000 points?

A: I was really excited to know going into the game that I was only eight points away from 1,000! When I needed one more basket I knew my team was looking for me. I got the pass on the block from Mya Foley, which was a super cool moment since we’ve played with and against each other for so long! After I scored that basket my team rushed the court and we all celebrated!

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By Josh Verlin

After two losses in the first half of Catholic League play, Father Judge is picking up steam. 

The Crusaders, widely expected to be one of the PCL’s main contenders after a strong summer and fall, seemed to solidify that status after a win over Imhotep Charter midway through December. But the Catholic League is a gauntlet for a reason, and a two-point home loss to Bonner-Prendergast and a five-point defeat at Devon Prep were good reminders that there were indeed other strong challengers for the crown.

But since that loss to the Tide on Jan. 16, Father Judge has won its last three league games, beating fellow contender Roman Catholic by four on Thursday before an absolute demolition of Cardinal O’Hara, 82-35, on Monday night in Delaware County.

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