Category: Latest News

By Austin Hertzog

Hailey Hudak heard the yell from Spring-Ford assistant coach Dan Brittingham to come to midcourt following Wednesday night’s district playoff game.

The Rams senior forward strode over, assessed the situation and went to help the handful of people folding and reracking chairs from the sideline.

Though she was actually called to be interviewed by a reporter, she was apparently still in game mode, which meant doing what Hudak and her teammates had spent the past hour-and-a-half doing: assisting.

With Hudak and freshman guard Anna Azzara playing major roles in the ball-sharing effort and senior guard Lucy Olsen striking for 24 points, No. 1 seed Spring-Ford cruised by No. 16 Penn Wood, 67-36, in a District 1-6A second round game.

Spring-Ford ran its record to 20-0 with a ball-moving clinic that featured assists on nearly every basket. It set up a quarterfinal matchup with No. 8 Abington – a 68-56 winner over Methacton – on Saturday.

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Ridley’s season was dealt a fatal blow Wednesday in the second round of the District 1 Class 6A tournament.

The sixth-seeded Green Raidrs relinquished an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter as No. 11 Pennsbury rallied for a 23-21 victory.

Kylie McNicholas hit one of two free throws with 5:08 left to play. The Falcons scored the game’s final 10 points en route to handing the Green Raiders a crushing defeat.

Pennsbury junior Ava Sciolla made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1;36 to play. The play was extended after officials missed a travel violation on the baseline by Pennsbury’s Layla Matthias.

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Sally Austen’s career game wasn’t enough to keep Radnor’s season alive.

Austen scored a personal-high 14 points Wednesday night, but No. 10 Radnor suffered a 36-31 loss to No. 2 Harriton in the second round of the District 1 Class 5A tournament.

“Harriton made seven 3s tonight. It was a one-point game late, but then they hit two long balls, which were big shots,” coach Mark Jordan said. “Mary Calhoun hit three 3s for them. They went up 34-27, we made it 34-31. Couldn’t get closer. The girls battled. They fought hard and I’m really proud of them.”

Cierra Hopson added seven points and seven rebounds for Radnor. Calhoun led the way for Harriton with 11 points.

This loss marked the end of the road for longtime coach Jordan, who is stepping away from coaching high school basketball. Before taking over at Radnor, where he will continue coaching the varsity baseball team, Jordan was the basketball coach at Sacred Heart Academy. Jordan won District 1 championships at both schools and a Central League title at Radnor, where he spent the last 15 years.

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No. 1 Delco Christian couldn’t fend off a late charge by Bristol and lost, 63-58, in the District 1 Class 2A championship game Wednesday.

Bristol, the No. 2 seed, outscored Delco Christian 23-18 in the final period. The Knights entered the fourth quarter holding a three-point advantage.

Elijah Alexandre poured in a game-high 23 points in leading Bristol to the championship.

Delco Christian had four players reach double figures. Jordan Mitchell led the way with 19 points and Joe Dell’Arciprete netted 14. Josh Park added 13 and Jace Kee had 13.

“Really tough loss in the final three minutes,” Knights assistant coach Matt Hummel said. “Parks and Dell’Arciprete fouled out and they chipped away at our lead and overtook us.”

Delco Christian finished the 2021 season with a record of 11-5.

By Bob Grotz

When the bombs stopped falling, there was no trace of the bumpy start Garnet Valley weathered Tuesday to reach the quarterfinal round of the District 1 Class 6A boys basketball tournament.

With Carl Schaller taking it to the rack and Justin Langan throwing shots in from the parking lot, the Jaguars rolled to a 69-41 victory over an Upper Dublin squad good enough to have ended the postseason of Central League competitor Haverford.

Hard to believe the Jaguars trailed the Cardinals 6-0 and 8-2, much of the damage coming from 6-7 center Drew Stover, who scored a game-high 27 points, including all of his team’s points in the third quarter.

“He’s a really good player,” Jaguars coach Mike Brown said. “Our Achilles heel is we’re not very big. But we finally triple-teamed him and gave him a hard time.”

More than that, the Jaguars (15-3) gave the Upper Darby defense fits. Schaller scored 19 points, Langan 17 to lead the Jaguars, who now oppose Perkiomen Valley, which defeated Pennridge 56-52.

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By Matt Smith

Ainsley Davis had to step away from the Sacred Heart Academy basketball team in January, days after the start of her junior season.

She had tested positive for COVID-19.

“It was really hard,” Davis said. “I had it pretty bad for a few days, but (then) I started to feel a lot better. It was really difficult to not come back and play right away because of protocol, even though I was feeling fine. So, when I was able to come back it was really nice to be able bring so much energy and motivation to the team.”

Davis returned in late February and helped Sacred Heart earn the No. 1 seed in District 1 Class 2A. The Lions won their fifth straight district championship Tuesday with a 47-11 victory over No. 2 Dock Mennonite.

“I felt like I took it all for granted,” Davis said. “I never really expected to have to sit out and not be able to play, but I was glad to be back on the team.”

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Mike Tansey knew that the District 1 Class 5A first-round game against Chichester could be his last at Marple Newtown.

The senior guard played like someone determined to make sure that wouldn’t happen Saturday night.

Tansey scored 27 points, was 8-for-9 from the field and made all four of his looks from 3-point range, staking Marple to a 56-39 win over No. 10 Chichester.

Marple Newtown, the seventh seed in District 1, advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinal at No. 2 Chester

At halftime, Tansey had 16 points. Chichester only had 13. His ability to hit long-range shots frustrated Chi’s aggressive, half-court trap that sought to run the Tigers off their usual perimeter spots.

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By Matt Smith

Sally Austen ensured Radnor’s survival in the District 1 Class 5A tournament.

The senior guard/forward’s play was aggressive in crunch time Saturday at Marple Newtown. She delivered all five of her squad’s points and came up with a big defensive rebound in overtime.

Austen had a basket and went 3-for-4 at the free-throw line to lead No. 10 Radnor to a dramatic, 43-42 victory over seventh-seeded Marple Newtown.

Austen was cool in crunch time for Radnor, which travels to another fellow Central League opponent, sixth-seeded Harriton Wednesday for a second-round contest.

“I think everybody just brought the energy today and that helped us,” said Austen, who totaled 11 points, including six in the first period. “We were excited to play and get the win.”

Down the stretch, Austen ran the point. It’s not her natural spot on the floor, but coach Mark Jordan entrusted her to engineer the offense with Radnor’s season on the line.

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By Kev Hunter

Josh Jones’ long-reaching rebound and putback set North Penn on its fourth-quarter charge.

Moments later, Jones buried a three, and the Knights were digging in.

“That three at the beginning of the fourth quarter was pretty big,” Strath Haven coach Chris Conlan said. “That made it a two-possession game, which, to that point, made it feel like 10 or 12.”

In what was a back-and-forth battle for three quarters, North Penn gained firm control in the fourth and secured a 68-62 victory in the opening round of the District 1-6A Playoffs.

The win sends No. 18 North Penn to No. 2 Conestoga Tuesday night. No. 15 Strath Haven, led by Luke Edwards’ 32 points, finished its season at 8-5.

“We were playing free and like our normal selves,” Jones said of the Knights’ critical push.

Jones poured in 24 points, including nine in the fourth quarter.

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