Author: delcohoops

By Owen McCue

Lauren Frederick has had her father as one of her coaches for pretty much her entire basketball career.

If you went to a Great Valley practice, however, you wouldn’t be able to pick out assistant Todd Frederick’s kid.

“He’s coached pretty much all of us,” Lauren said. “It’s like they’re all getting coached by their dad almost because they’ve played under him for years.”

The Patriots (8-1) have seven seniors on the roster. Their three senior captains, Laura Lum (13), Frederik (12) and Gia Sioutis (10) led the charge in a 41-34 win over Garnet Valley on Tuesday.

(click on this link for the full story and other tournament games and scores)

 

The Play-By-Play Classics came to Cristo Rey on Tuesday for a five-game affair, which saw 10 teams from the area match up for a series of inter-league affairs. 

Here’s a brief recap of all five; click here for our staff standouts from the event:

Game One: Episcopal Academy vs. Bartram

Traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway did its best to slow down Episcopal out of the gate, but the Churchmen survived an initial flurry of 3s from Bartram, then found their feet and pulled away over the course of the second half for a 75-43 win.

It was 19-9 Bartram after one quarter, the Philadelphia Public League squad knocking down its first three 3-pointers as EA started off 1-of-11 from deep.

“We showed up late and everything, it was hard to get going,” junior guard Tyler Beaulieu said. “Beginning of the second quarter, we got two or three stops in a row and we made a few shots […] and that’s when we started going.”

(click on this link for the full story and other tournament games and scores)

By Joseph Santoliquito

Akhir Keys had been waiting for about a month. Inside, it gnawed at the 6-foot-3 Chichester senior guard that he wasn’t able to do the things he did late last season for the Eagles. It frustrated him. He began to press. Nothing good was happening.

Keys found what he needed Tuesday night against host Garnet Valley in the 42nd annual Garnet Valley Varsity Club Invitational Tournament.

He dropped a season-high 17 points in aiding the Eagles (5-2) to a 52-46 victory over Garnet Valley (6-2), setting up the tournament championship game Wednesday night at Garnet Valley between Chichester and Archmere Academy (Del.) at 7 p.m., while the host Jaguars will play in the consolation game against Bishop Shanahan at 3 p.m.

“Akhir is someone who we’ve been waiting to explode,” said Chichester coaching legend Clyde Jones, who in a short period of time is turning Chichester into a winner as he did Harriton and Penn Wood. “He had a phenomenal summer. He led us in scoring this summer. He never misses a workout. He’s a program kid, who works hard and trains hard.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Josh Verlin

The Pete & Jameer Nelson Play-By-Play Classic is one of the longest-running annual holiday events in the Philadelphia region, a multi-day event taking place at Widener University, honoring two of the best to ever play in the area by hosting some of the current top teams around on the boys side.

Many of this year’s participants — St. Joseph’s Prep, Malvern Prep, Coatesville, Lower Merion, Chester and Plymouth Whitemarsh —  will play on both Wednesday and Friday, while a few others stop by for just one game. 

It’s a total of 12 games, six each day; here’s a brief look at each of them:

Coatesville vs. Chester (8:00 PM)
This is a fun one to close out the first day, two District 1 6A schools with a lot of pride and hoops history behind them, both schools in the “Philadelphia area” but representing cities of their own, though the game’s in Chester’s backyard. Coatesville (6-2), which is one of the four contenders in the Ches-Mont National, is under the direction of first-year head coach and Coatesville alum John Allen, the former Seton Hall standout proving to be a success so far in his new position. He’s got a lot of interchangeable pieces to work with including senior Jeremiah Marshall (6-3), junior Dior Kennedy (6-2), junior Zuri Harris (6-0), sophomore Amon Fowlkes (6-2) and more, with Harris — a transfer from Cardinal O’Hara — giving them a really nice pop from the 3-point arc and as a facilitating scorer.

(click on this link for reviews of all of this tournaments games)

By Matt Smith

A slew of Delaware County boys and girls basketball teams will partake in holiday themed invitational tournaments this week.

The Pete & Jameer Nelson Classic is Tuesday and Wednesday at Widener University. The Chester boys team meets Coatesville Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Garnet Valley boys and girls will host their Varsity Club Tournaments Tuesday and Wednesday. Chichester is one of the teams involved in the boys’ bracket.

One staple during the holiday season is the Haverford High Steve Juenger Tournament, which takes place Tuesday and Wednesday. The Fords open against Council Rock North.

The Ridley boys welcome District 12’s Simon Gratz, Lincoln and Lansdale Catholic for their holiday tourney Tuesday and Wednesday. On the girls’ side, the Green Raiders are set to host Penn Wood, Pennsbury and Unionville.

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt Smith

It would appear that there is a new team to beat in the Central League.

Caroline Dotsey and Haverford rolled past Garnet Valley Thursday night, 57-30, for their seventh victory in as many games this season.

The Fords are as dangerous as they have ever been under coach Lauren Pellicane, now in her sixth season. Dotsey, a four-year starter at power forward, has matured into a well-rounded threat from all areas of the floor. She produced a game-high 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

“Our mentality this year is we came out really hungry as a team,” Dotsey said. “The competitiveness we have in practice and the effort everyone puts has really put us in a good spot at this point in the season. We just want to keep getting better.”

The Fords love to push the ball, a delightful change of pace from the stop-and-stall tactics many high school teams employ. They move the ball well and have four legit shooters who can drill the long-range shot. Thursday, Dotsey and her sophomore sister Rian each banked a 3-pointer, along with fleet-footed combo guards Sky Newman and Aniya Eberhart, who netted seven points apiece.

(click on this link for the full story and more game scores)

Logan McKee endured a frustrating afternoon Tuesday in Garnet Valley’s win over Upper Darby. Friday night, McKee rebounded for a career night.
McKee erupted for 31 points as Garnet Valley edged Haverford, 62-54. He hit six 3-pointers, five in a 19-point first half.
He had scored just six points on 2-for-9 shooting Tuesday, without hitting a basket in the first half.
Jake Sniras added three 3-pointers and 15 points for the Jags (6-1, 4-1 Central). Jack Kratuzel chipped in eight points, including six in the third quarter.
Googie Seidman led Haverford with 17 points. Brian Weiner scored 14, and Tommy Wright added 12 for the Fords (5-2, 3- 2).

Also in the Central League:

(click on this link for more game scores)

By Matt Gaffney

For decades, the traditional early season non-league matchup between the Reading High Red Knights and the Chester Clippers has served as a December test for both schools and a potential preview of a state playoff matchup later in the season.

Two elite 6A Pennsylvania high school programs with a rich tapestry of championship seasons like Reading and Chester don’t just hope to play in March – they plan to play in March. 

This season isn’t any different. The current incarnation of the Red Knights is a contender once again and for good reason. With a talented roster, they have every expectation to be playing for both another District 3 championship and state title.

Reading came into the game undefeated and after a 71-57 victory over the Clippers, the Red Knights remained perfect, improving their record to 7-0. 

(click on this link for the full story)

By Jared Leveson

Cardinal O’Hara guard Izaiah Pasha gathered the ball after teammate Miles Johnson swatted away a Sankofa lay-up attempt. 

The stalwart guard’s eyes darted up the floor to a streaking Aasim “Flash” Burton who palmed the ball in his right-hand, cocked his arm back as he flew toward the rim, and finished the play with a vicious tomahawk slam. 

The junior, who played at Math, Civics and Sciences last season, made Manor College’s small gymnasium erupt with ‘ayys’ from his teammates at the Difference Makers Showcase. 

“As soon as I got here they started helping me with my bounce,” Burton said. “We got the Vertimax. I started doing it at least like a month ago.” 

Flash’s leaping prowess isn’t the only thing that’s changed for the better since he arrived at  1701 South Sproul Road. 

(click on this link for the full story)

By Matt Smith

Cardinal O’Hara’s Bridget Dawson did not have any stats to speak of and played limited minutes off the bench Tuesday afternoon at the Academy of Notre Dame.

And she couldn’t have been any happier.

It had been a long time since the senior guard last saw action for the Lions. The last time was in late February when O’Hara defeated Archbishop Carroll in the Catholic League final.

Dawson, who transferred to O’Hara prior to her junior year, was ineligible during the Lions’ run to a second straight PIAA Class 5A title. That caused a lot of consternation and disappointment. Before the start of what she hoped would be a drama-free season, Dawson injured her foot and missed the Lions’ first three games. Tuesday was her season debut.

“It felt great being out there, even though I didn’t do very great,” said Dawson, all smiles after O’Hara’s 56-25 victory over the host Irish. “Watching practices hasn’t been the same as being on the court. So being able to come back finally and play again is great.”

(click on this link for the full story and more game scores)