Delcohoops.com

By Kevin Gamli

Archbishop Carroll lifted a state championship trophy in 2009, the first year Philadelphia Catholic League programs were allowed to compete in the PIAA tournament.

The players on Carroll’s current roster likely don’t remember that one. The group of all freshmen and sophomores were 2 years old or younger back then. 

The Patriots head to Hershey on Thursday night for the PIAA Class 4A championship game at 8 p.m. against District 7 champ Lincoln Park looking to hoist the trophy for Carroll again.

“The guys are thrilled,” Patriots coach Francis Bowe said. “They’re so young but I think they understand this moment, they’re realizing what they’re achieving is rare.” “They’re starting to embrace it now, and they’re really excited for Thursday night.”

Carroll (21-8) has five sophomores and two freshmen at the top of the rotation. It’s an inexperienced team reaching heights they shouldn’t at such an early part of their high school careers. 

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By Matt Smith

Cardinal O’Hara seniors Joanie Quinn, Carly Coleman and Greta Miller are more than just standout players on the basketball court.

They are model student-athletes and team leaders. They are friends and mentors to the underclassmen. And in the eyes of coach Chrissie Doogan, they are the embodiment of the O’Hara girls basketball program: hard-working, selfless and determined to succeed.

“They are kids who want to get the most out of being O’Hara kids, and they don’t want to waste any experience of their senior year. They want to love every single moment and get the most out of being here,” Doogan said. “Joanie is in 18 student committees, and Carly and Greta are All-Catholic soccer players. They are all great kids and they want to truly experience their senior year. And they are kids who don’t take themselves too seriously.”

The Lions are on the precipice of becoming one of Delco’s great championship dynasties, a win away from capturing the program’s third PIAA title in four years. Only one Delco girls team – Archbishop Carroll – has won three.

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By Matt Smith

Cardinal O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan had high praise for senior guard Joanie Quinn after the Lions defeated Parkland in the PIAA Class 6A semifinals Monday night.

“I thought that might have been Joanie Quinn’s best game in her four years,” Doogan said. “She was tasked with guarding (Talia Zurinskas) and that kid is an all-state type guard. And Joanie broke the pressure. She was very good tonight.”

Quinn poured in a game-high 21 points to lead O’Hara to a 51-32 victory over the District 11 champions. The Lions will play for a state title for the third time in four years Friday night in Hershey at the Giant Center.

Quinn and sophomore Megan Rullo were excellent at limiting Zurinskas after she dropped 10 quick points in the first quarter. From the second quarter on, Zurinskas shot 2-for-11 from the floor for seven points.

“I come into every game hoping to play the best game of my career, but of course that doesn’t always happen,” said Quinn, who added six assists, five rebounds and two assists. “Knowing this was such a big game, I can’t describe it. This is my senior year and there have been ups and downs, so this feels great.”

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By Matthew DeGeorge

The shirts Archbishop Carroll printed up read, “Built for March,” with the Carroll C in white and red. With a roster full of freshmen and sophomores, it might’ve helped to specify which March.

This first one for coach Francis Bowe’s group, though, is going pretty well.

Carroll pulled away in the second half and held off a veteran Scranton Prep squad that had already upended one powerful Catholic League foe in a 66-56 decision Monday night at  Liberty High School in Bethlehem.

Carroll will face Lincoln Park, which won an all-District 7 match over Hampton Monday night, 74-53. It’s the fourth state final in program history for the Patriots and first since 2015.

“Coming into Carroll last year, that was the goal, to change it back to how it was,” sophomore guard Ian Williams said, “back when Ryan Daly, Josh Sharkey, Derrick Jones were here. That was the goal, to bring the Carroll community back together.”

Carroll (21-8) did it in a classic clash of generations. When all is said and done, this group of Patriots will end up with more players fielding Division I offers than its opponent. But District 2 champ Scranton Prep (19-10) was a cohesive, veteran team with a clear identity. The Cavaliers’ dream run included an upset of Neumann-Goretti in the quarterfinals for its first state semi since 2008, vying for a first ever title-game berth.

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By Bob Grotz

It was a heartbreaking loss for Garnet Valley, its underdog season coming to a teary end in the PIAA Class 6A girls basketball semifinals Monday at Norristown High.

At the same time, it was a heart-warming victory for Spring-Ford, which scored a 62-43 win to return to the state championship for the first time since 2021, when such seniors as Aaliyah Soliday, who scored 14 points, were freshmen. Rams coach Mickey McDaniel remembers the last dance quite well.

“We lost to North Allegheny,” McDaniel said of the last trip to Hershey. “Lucy Olsen’s senior year.”

Olsen left for Villanova with 1,699 points, more than any girl or boy in the history of Spring-Ford High. The Rams (27-6) will get a chance to avenge that outcome against Cardinal O’Hara, which cruised to a 51-32 triumph over Parkland in the other semifinal. The state title game is Friday at 6 p.m. at the Giant Center.

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By Matt Smith

Kylie Mulholland packs a whale of a punch for a 5-foot-4 guard, her energy, speed and decisiveness on the floor a vital source of Garnet Valley’s resurgence in the PIAA playoffs.

As the Jaguars continue their improbable run in the Class 6A tournament, reaching the final four as the sixth-place team from District 1, the junior Mulholland has become a breakout star

In the Jags’ 58-51 victory over North Penn in the quarterfinals, Mulholland jumpstarted the scoring with a 3-point field goal, her first of two triples in the opening quarter. She came through at clutch moments driving quickly to the basket and hitting pull-up jump shots.

When the Jags found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter, Mulholland helped lead them back. She scored seven points in the final stanza, and ended with a game-high 21, as the Jags punched their ticket to Monday’s semifinal double header at Norristown Area High School. Garnet Valley (25-6) faces Spring-Ford at 6 p.m.

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