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By Matthew DeGeorge

The trombone’s sliding toot – the second one, the one that drew the technical foul assessed to Haverford’s bench during Michael Hoey’s free throw in overtime – could’ve soundtracked the general offensive performance at Jeunger Gymnasium Tuesday night.

Instead, it was the death wail of a trend that has bedeviled Springfield all season.

Behind Hoey’s suffocating defense, Springfield gutted out a 41-34 win in overtime at Haverford, their first victory of the season in a game decided by single digits. It came with the Cougars (7-10, 6-5 Central) shrugging off what for all the world looked like the story beats of a team destined to see its misery continue: A four-point lead evaporating in the final minute, around a pair of turnovers and the first basket of the game by Haverford’s Googie Seidman, banked in off glass with 2.7 seconds left.

But the Cougars persevered, upped their energy for OT and re-secured the shackles on the Fords by limiting them to two overtime points to banish their close-game demons.

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By Sean Barnard

Mindset can be everything and for the Haverford High girls, their sights have been zeroed in on one game at a time. 

“Every game we go into it thinking it’s a new game,” standout senior Caroline Dotsey said. “So it’s really important to us that we don’t get ahead of ourselves and kind of stay humble. Everyone’s kind of kept that mindset. That’s kind of how we have to look at it.

This has become increasingly difficult as the Fords have kept a perfect record through the first 16 games of the season. They carried this into a tough matchup with Springfield (Delco.), who has grown into one of the team’s biggest rivals. The Cougars, always a threat in the Central League, are also in the midst of a successful year and entered the game just one game back in the league standings, Ky McNichol’s group playing its usual brand of defensive-minded ball to great success. 

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Chris Kwaidah and Noah Griffin combined for 29 points to pace Sun Valley to its fourth straight win with a 50-26 romp over Oxford in the Ches-Mont League. The Vanguards limited the Hornets to one point in the second quarter to open up a 24-11 lead and put the game away with 20 points in the third period. Kwaidah hit five 3-pointers and paced the Vanguards with a game-high 19 points. Griffin pitched in with 10 points and four assists, while Bucky Grayston had eight rebounds and four points.

In the Central League:

Radnor 64, Lower Merion 41 » The Raptors outscored the Aces, 40-18 in the second half to pull away from a 24-23 halftime lead and stay undefeated. Charlie Thornton topped Radnor with 15 points. Jackson Gaffney added 14 points and three assists, while Jackson Hicke pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out eight assists.

In nonleague action:

Episcopal Academy 66, Delco Christian 48 » The Churchmen opened up a 20-10 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Kevin McCarthy paced EAwith a game-high 22 points. Eddie Jones and Tommy Dennis pitched in with 10 points each. Josiah Gaines had 14 points and Khamai Orange 13 for the Knights.

 

Jaina Preuhs came to the rescue in the fourth quarter and overtime as Sun Valley rallied for a 40-35 girls basketball victory over Oxford in the Ches-Mont League. Preuhs hit two free throws with 12 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and then scored five of her team-high 14 points in overtime to seal the victory that avenged a loss to Oxford earlier in the season. Rory Tiedeman scored 12 points and had two big free throws in OT.

In the Inter-Ac League:

Notre Dame 49, Episcopal Academy 28 » Annie Greek and Lizzie Halligan combined for 11 points in the first quarter as ND jumped out to 21-8 lead and never looked back. Greek scored six of her seven points and Halligan added 11 of her game-high 13 to help the Irish open up that 13-point advantage. Chloe Knox added eight points and Greek had six of her seven points in the opening period. Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf topped EA with eight points.

In the Catholic League:

Archbishop Carroll 55, Little Flower 24 » Taylor and Brooke Wilson combined for 26 points, 14 rebounds and five steals for the Patriots (8-10, 5-1 Catholic League). Taylor Wilson led the way with 15 points and nine boards. Brook Wilson added 11 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Archbishop Wood 47, Cardinal O’Hara 37 » The Vikings outscored the Lions, 16-1, in the third quarter to take control of the game and hand O’Hara its first league loss. The victory also kept Wood in a first-place tie with Lansdale Catholic. Molly Rullo led O’Hara with 13 points. Joanie Quinn chipped in with eight points.

 

By Matt Smith

Academy Park’s Emani Banks and Chester’s Imani Dorsey are underclassmen with similar sounding first names, and two players from the Del Val League brimming with potential.

The Del Val lives in the shadow of the Central League and Catholic League, but there are talented players to be discovered. Banks, a rangy sophomore forward/center who doesn’t hesitate to shoot from long range, is one such player. Dorsey, a freshman point guard who possesses good court awareness and a nice jump shot, is another.

Banks was excellent in helping the Knights improve to 4-0 in league play last Thursday in a 53-50 win at Penn Wood, scoring 15 points to go with 12 rebounds and four blocks. She is averaging around 10 points per game.

“Imani is probably our most complete player,” AP coach Ron Bright said. “Defensively she can guard the wing and she can block shots. On offense she can shoot the 3, she can attack and she can shoot the mid-range.”

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By CoBL Staff

All eyes will be on Lower Merion High School on Tuesday night, as the Aces (15-1, 9-1 Central) host Radnor (15-0, 10-0) in a preview of what’s likely to be the Central League championship game. LM comes in No. 2 in the District 1 6A rankings and Radnor No. 1 in 5A, and a rivalry that hasn’t been competitive on the hardwood in decades could reach its peak this season. As a fun side plot, Radnor’s Jackson Hicke (Princeton) goes up against future Ivy League foe Sam Brown (Penn), as they’ll see each other plenty in the years to come.

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