Girls Roundup: Dotsey hits 1,000th point as Haverford wins in NY

Haverford’s Caroline Dotsey looks for an opening against Garnet Valley in the first half of their Central League showdown last Thursday night. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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)

Boys: Painful loss for Penncrest in tourney final

Penncrest's Branden Hemphill, in action last season, scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds as the Lions fell to SLA-Beeber, 53-52, in the championship game of the Penncrest tournament. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group).

Penncrest’s Branden Hemphill, in action last season, scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds as the Lions fell to SLA-Beeber, 53-52, in the championship game of the Penncrest tournament. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group).

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)

Girls: Joanie Quinn plays hero for O’Hara in 2OT win over Rustin

Joanie Quinn (above) capped a 14-point outing with the game-winning 3-pointer. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

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)

Girls: Carroll freshman Alexis Eberz stepping right into big role

Alexis Eberz (above) has started at point guard for Archbishop Carroll from her first game of her freshman year. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

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)

Boys: Chester’s Kyree Womack takes center stage again in Clippers’ win over Coatesville

Womack (above) twists his way to a second-quarter layup. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

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)

Boys: Pete + Jameer Nelson PBP Classic: Game Recaps (Dec. 28, 2022)

Sam Brown (above) went off for 29 points against Germantown Academy in a blowout win. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

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:

Game Three: Lower Merion 81, Germantown Academy 34

There wasn’t much for Sam Brown to critique about his performance on Wednesday.

The Lower Merion senior guard and Penn commit scored a game-high 29 points in a runaway win over Germantown Academy.

But it was one off a career-high and Brown thought he left some meat on the bone.

“I was a little disappointed, I missed a wide open layup,” Brown said of a missed fastbreak opportunity that would have given him a career mark.

Brown estimated the 24 first-half points he put up in the first half were the most he’s scored in a half during his career. He had 14 points in the first quarter, hitting four of his seven threes in the frame. 

(click on this link for more game articles and updates)