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By Matthew DeGeorge

Ryan Keating has played with Matt Gardler long enough to know when the time is coming.

Much as Gardler, the 1,000-point scoring guard, finds getting his teammates involved to be his primary role, there are games that demand he call his own number and simply be the best basketball player on the floor. Keating can sense when those stretches are about to arrive, and he knows what he and his Marple teammates must do to complement Gardler’s star turns.

In Friday’s District 1 Class 5A opener, the time dawned in the third quarter, Gardler pouring in 12 of his game-high 23 points to put away No. 12 Strath Haven, 64-40.

“He just starts hitting shots, and you can tell he’s in rhythm,” Keating said of Gardler. “So, you know, give him the ball if he’s open, just help him do what he does.”

The win sends fifth-seeded Marple (18-7) into next Wednesday’s quarterfinals at No. 4 Upper Moreland, with a states berth on the line.

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By Matt Smith

When Olivia Gicking finds her rhythm early, it usually bodes well for the Marple Newtown girls basketball team.

The sophomore guard wasted no time making an impact in the first quarter Saturday, pouring in 10 points in the quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers, to set the tone in a District 1 Class 5A tournament first-round matchup at Sun Valley. Gicking finished with a game-high 21 points, leading the ninth-seeded Tigers to a 55-46 victory over the No. 8 Vanguards.

“I think it just helps me calm down a little and gives us energy,” said Gicking, who shot 5-of-12 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

But Gicking wasn’t the only one with the hot hand for the Tigers (11-12).

Freshman Evie Grimste proved she was more than ready for the moment in her first district playoff game. With both teams struggling to take care of the ball in the second quarter, Grimste provided a spark, knocking down all three of her shots in the period, including a triple and an and-1 play. She scored eight of her 11 points in the quarter, helping to keep the Tigers steady at a critical juncture.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

For the seventh time in eight seasons, Chester is the Del Val champion. But something about this year’s group looks different.

Namely, it’s the two freshmen logging vital minutes.

When crunch time arrived last week against Penn Wood, coach Keith Taylor had no qualms about turning to freshmen Ramee Davis and Zahir Clayton. More often than not this year, they’ve delivered.

They’ll need more of that in the District 1 Class 6A tournament, where Chester is the No. 15 seed, opening the tourney Friday night by hosting No. 18 Downingtown West.

Clayton, a shifty guard with good defensive instincts and the ability to catch-and-shoot, has worked his way into the starting lineup.

Davis, who doesn’t look like a freshman with his long strides and on-ball strength, is part of the closing unit. He supplied eight fourth-quarter points in a 54-46 win over Penn Wood, helping ensure the Clippers a first-round home game.

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By Matt Smith

Since their historic 2019 season, when coach Joe Woods guided Garnet Valley to its first District 1 championship and a trip to Hershey for the PIAA Class 6A final, the Jaguars haven’t been this equipped – both in talent and experience – for a deep postseason run.

The second-seeded Jags are battle-tested and stand above most of their competition in the District 1 Class 6A tournament, which gets under way Friday. Top-seeded Perkiomen Valley (21-3), the reigning two-time district champion, looms as Garnet Valley’s toughest potential test, provided both teams can navigate to a district final showdown Feb. 28 at Saint Joseph’s Hagan Arena. But there’s plenty of work to be done before that becomes a reality.

Even on off nights – like Monday’s Central League final against Conestoga, where its shooting faltered most of the game – Garnet Valley has still found ways to win, rallying from a seven-point deficit in the second half. Now, the focus shifts to a bigger goal of claiming a second district title in six years.

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By CoBL Staff 

The District 1 playoffs get underway on Friday with elimination games in the 5A and 6A brackets. The girls’ 5A bracket has four games, all of which will see one team move into the quarterfinals and the other done for the season.

Here’s a look at Friday’s first-round matchups:

Quarterfinals: Tues., Feb. 18
Semifinals: Fri., Feb. 21
Championship: Tues., Feb. 25 @ West Chester Univ. (7:00 PM)

8) Sun Valley vs. 9) Marple Newtown (Feb. 15, 1:00 PM)
Winner gets 1) Gwynedd Mercy

The Vanguards and Tigers haven’t played this season, but a number of similar results against common opponents lead one to think this should also be competitive: both teams lost close games to Ridley, beat Academy Park and beat Avon Grove in similar ways, and both had bigger wins over Renaissance Academy as well. Sun Valley (15-7) only had a 4-6 record in Ches-Mont American play but otherwise had its best season in at least a decade, and certainly since a 17-win season in 2012-13. Senior guard Brielle Wright, a three-year starter, is one of their leaders along with junior forward Lucy Damico, who’s in her second year as a starter. 

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By Andrew Robinson

This was no time to walk the ball up the floor.

With the Lansdale Catholic gym rattling in the wake of a go-ahead three in overtime, Cardinal O’Hara seized the opportunity to get down the floor and get up a shot in a hurry. Almost as quickly as the energy had tilted to the home side of the gym, it swung right back to the visitors thanks to the latest in a line of big shots from the Lions’ pride on Thursday night.

Natalie DiBlasi put No. 5 O’Hara ahead for good, the junior adding just one of a multitude of big moments from the entire roster as the Lions edged No. 4 Lansdale Catholic 41-38 in overtime of their PCL girls’ basketball quarterfinal.

“It was nerve-wracking, I got a wide-open shot and had to take it,” DiBlasi said. “I just hoped to make it and give us a good lead so we could lock it in.”

DiBlasi’s shot, a long two that initially went on the scoreboard as a three, gave O’Hara a 39-38 lead just a few seconds after LC’s Nadia Yemola had buried a three to put the hosts ahead with 2:23 left in the extra period. Getting to that shot took plenty of contributions from her teammates.

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