Author: delcohoops

A trip to Brooklyn turned into a memorable night for Haverford’s Caroline Dotsey.

Dotsey scored 23 points, including the 1,000th of her career, as the Fords rolled over Tottenville, 71-21, in the Brooklyn Bridge Holiday Classic.

Dotsey reached the milestone on a layup in the fourth quarter. Aniya Eberhart backed Dotsey with 13 points. Rian Dotsey pitched in with 12 points and Mollie Carpenter added 10 points for the Fords, who take on Staten Island Academy at 4 Friday afternoon.

Cardinal O’Hara 58, Rustin 55 >> Joanie Quinn drilled a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in the second overtime to win it for the Lions.

O’Hara overcame a 10-point, third-quarter deficit to send the game into overtime. Molly Rullo led the attack with 17 points. Quinn finished with 14, as did Megan Rullo, the latter for a career high.

Drexel commit Lanie McGurk led Rustin with a game-high 22 points.

(click on this link for more games and scores)

By Matthew DeGeorge

With ice on his ankle and a slight stoop in his shoulders, Branden Hemphill saw both sides of it Thursday night.

There is progress from a young Penncrest team, of which the senior guard is one of a select few returning contributors from last season, since four consecutive losses to begin the 2022-23 season.

But there remains a nagging disappointment, centered on the fact that three possessions separate the Lions from a winning record. And on a night like Thursday, when more than mediocre end-game execution was required to top Science Leadership Academy Beeber in a 53-52 loss in the final of the Penncrest Holiday Tournament, the sting sets in particularly deep.

“We were really on a roll,” Hemphill said, “and it really hurts to lose this game.”

Hurts because the Lions (3-6) had fought back from a deficit that stretched as large as 11 points in the second quarter. Hurts because the Lions got 21 points and eight rebounds from fab freshman Mikey Mita. Hurts because Penncrest weathered seven ties and nine lead changes, the last on Amadou Dia’s two free throws with 14.4 seconds left, after the Rockets (8-2) had missed not two but four free throws at a 52-51 deficit to go ahead.

(click on this link for the full article and more games and scores)

By Andrew Robinson

It was supposed to be a layup.

Locked in a tie game already in its second overtime against West Chester Rustin, Cardinal O’Hara took a timeout with 10 seconds left. Anticipating the Golden Knights would probably go zone and collapse on Molly Rullo if she got the ball, the Lions drew one up to get Joanie Quinn something easy.

Quinn got it, but it wasn’t easy, the junior guard confidently draining a step-back three with 2.3 seconds left that lifted O’Hara to a 58-55 win Thursday.

“Originally, it was supposed to be a layup for me, so I wasn’t even sure if I was doing the right thing,” Quinn said. “I kind of knew. Once I shot it, I knew that it was going in. I got into her and I felt like I had space.”

It was one shot in a late December game, but Quinn’s confidence to take and make it was noteworthy. This isn’t the Lions team of the past two years that won two state titles and a PCL championship but it still has the makings of a pretty good squad.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Andrew Robinson

 For any freshman playing varsity basketball, life can come at them fast.

For Archbishop Carroll’s Alexis Eberz, that’s most definitely been the case. Not only is the freshman starting for a Patriots team that reached the PCL title game, she’s doing it at point guard against a whirlwind schedule that’s included trips out of state and games against some top-tier opponents.

Life is coming fast, but Eberz has handled it in stride to give a veteran Carroll team just what it needs.

“It is a lot quicker but I think I’m doing good, I just have to keep shooting when I’m open,” Eberz said. “It’s been good so far.”

(click on this link for the full story)

By Joseph Santoliquito

 Kyree Womack is used to this by now. Chester’s 5-foot-10 junior guard has a flair for the dramatic. As a sophomore last year, his 3-point bank shot in the closing seconds of the PIAA District 1 5A championship against Radnor sent the game into overtime and eventually translated into a Clippers’ victory.

As a freshman, he stood there with ice water through his veins and drained three free throws to beat Crestwood in a state playoff game.

Womack did not need the magic wand Wednesday night against traditional area rival Coatesville in the Pete & Jameer Nelson Play-By-Play Classic at Widener University.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin & Owen McCue

Another Play-By-Play Classic took place in the region on Wednesday as Widener University hosted the Pete & Jameer Nelson Classic. CoBL had staff in attendance for the six-game affair, which saw 10 area teams and one each from Delaware and New Jersey match up for some high-level hoops.

Here’s a brief recap of the first three games with more coverage to come:

Cardinal O’Hara 49, Episcopal Academy 23 » All-Delco Molly Rullo paced the Lions with 16 points, Carly Coleman finished with eight and Greta Miller six. Brynn Kehl had a team-high 10 points for the Churchwomen.

Villa Maria 55, Archbishop Carroll 36 » The Patriots (1-6) were overwhelmed by Villa’s excellent 3-point shooting. Elana Guerzon, who hit four treys, finished with 14 points. All-Delco Taylor Wilson poured in a game-high 19 points. Brooke Wilson had eight points for Carroll.

George Snear Holiday Tournament:

Agnes Irwin School 57, Chester 24>> Gabrielle Seibert’s 14-point output helped Agnes Irwin School to a 57-24 victory over Chester in Conshohocken. Grace Getz netted 12 points and Amelkia Bagnell added eight for the Owls.

At the Garnet Valley Holiday Tournament:

(click on this link for more tournament games and scores)

Jackson Hicke’s game-high 22 points powered the Radnor boys team to a 61-36 triumph over United High of Texas Wednesday at the KSA Events Holiday Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla.
Cooper Mueller contributed 11 points for the Raptors, who will play for the blue bracket championship Thursday.

Radnor 43, Worcester North (Mass.) 41 » Danny Rosenblum swished a pair of free throws with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Raptors the win late Tuesday. Rosenblum and Hicke (eight rebounds, three assists) each netted 15 points while Charlie Thornton racked up seven points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

At the Garnet Valley Tournament:

Garnet Valley 83, Bishop Shanahan 81 » The Jaguars won an overtime thriller to take the consolation game of their holiday tourney. Jake Sniras produced 27 points and Logan McKee poured in 26, including six in the extra session. Quinn O’Hara (14 points) was 6-for-8 at the foul line in overtime.

At the Penncrest Tournament:

(click on this link for more tournament games and scores)

By Matt Smith

Caroline and Rian Dotsey are in their second and final season playing basketball together at Haverford.

The big difference this winter is the emergence of Rian, a 6-foot-1 sophomore guard/forward who, according to her big sister, “came on really strong last year.” Rian earned her spot in the starting lineup alongside Caroline, a four-year starter and 6-2 power forward who is bound for the University of Maine in 2023. The elder Dotsey is close to scoring 1,000 points for her career.

With the Dotsey siblings playing dominant ball in December, the Fords entered this week’s Brooklyn Bridge Classic in New York with a perfect 7-0 record. They have outscored their opposition by an average margin of 30.4 points.

“I think they are going to have a special year together,” Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane said following her team’s 57-30 win over Garnet Valley last week. “Obviously Rian was on the team last year, but she is making major strides forward and really improved her game. She had a nice offseason. They are different types of players, but they play well with each other. They look for each other and they know each other’s game, so it’s fun to watch every day. It’s in practice, not just games. When they go at each other (in practice), it’s fun to see. They compete on the regular.”

(click on this link for the full story)

In need of able bodies, the Sun Valley girls basketball team called upon four freshmen to lend a helping hand Tuesday.

Freshman Luci D’Amico produced 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Vanguards beat Collegium Charter, 60-34, for their first victory of the season.

Senior Jaina Preuhs tallied 18 points, two assists and a pair of steals for the Vanguards (1-5), who used a 19-6 run in the third quarter to pad their cushion. First-year players Allison Riley (seven points, four steals and three steals), Samantha Baron (two steals, two assists) and Rylee Hoesch also contributed nicely for the Vanguards, who were limited to eight players because of injuries.

Sophomore Brielle Wright went for 12 points, six assists and five steals and senior Rory Tiedeman finished with four points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

(click on this link for more Girls and Boys game scores)