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By Bob Grotz

In a semifinal playoff game sure to leave black and blue marks, Conestoga pulled away in the third quarter Saturday for a 51-31 victory over Garnet Valley for a shot at its first Central League title in 16 years.

Ryann Jennings scored a game-high 17 points for the Pioneers, making 13 of 14 shots from the free throw line in a contest with so many whistles you wondered if you were suffering from tinnitus.

“It was very physical,” said Jaguars senior Emily Olsen, who fouled out with 10 points. “In a Central League game like this, the semifinals, it’s going to be a hard game. We came in knowing it was going to be tough and we would just have to work through it.”

To get the job done it took a masterful game plan by Pioneers coach AJ Thompson and the tenacity of his players to carry it out against the Jaguars, who led three times in the first quarter and trailed by just 21-16 at the intermission.

It also took a tough-minded effort from Jennings, who among other skills was trained for these rugged games, having earned her place at the table battling older brothers Drew and Aaron, who are her biggest fans.

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By Bruce Adams

Keyed by an aggressive defense, Coatesville, the first-place finisher in the Ches-Mont National Division, defeated Sun Valley, the second-place finisher in the Ches-Mont American Division, 54-28, in the Ches-Mont Boys Basketball Tournament semifinals Saturday at West Chester University.

With its win, Coatesville (17-6) will face West Chester Henderson, the second-place finisher in National Division, in the Ches-Mont Tournament championship game Tuesday at West Chester University. The Warriors defeated American Division top seed Unionville 61-58 in overtime in the other Ches-Mont semifinal Saturday.

“We wanted to be aggressive today, that’s our style of play,” Coatesville coach John Allen said. “I think we played well, and it was great to have Larry (Brown) back tonight. He really helped us with our pressure defense. I thought our rebounding was tougher tonight than it was in the past few games.”

Sun Valley head coach Steve Maloney was impressed with the Red Raiders’ effort.

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By Owen McCue

When Radnor senior Kessy Cox perused through a preseason article on the Central League earlier this winter, he couldn’t find any mention of the league’s defending champions. 

Under favorites? Nope. Dark horses? Nope. Players to watch? Nope.

He sent the link to the team’s group chat with the note: “Let’s keep this with us throughout the year.”

Continuing to carry a chip on its shoulder, No. 2 Radnor downed No. 3 Conestoga, 55-50, in Saturday’s Central League semifinal. Despite graduating four starters and a few others from the rotation of last year’s team that won the program’s first league title in at least 50 years, the Raptors will be back in the Central League title game for the third straight year.

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By Matt Smith

All four teams left standing in the Central League girls tournament have a legitimate chance to win it all. No. 1 Haverford has three losses on its ledger, one against No. 2 Conestoga and another at the hands of No. 5 Penncrest.

While the Fords are riding high on an eight-game winning streak, and they are the reigning champions, they’ll have their hands full against a confident Penncrest team coming off a 40-39 victory over No. 4 Radnor in the quarterfinals. Haverford hosts Penncrest in the semifinal round Saturday at 7.

“It’s not always pretty with us,” Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane said last week, “but if you’re up on the scoreboard, it doesn’t always have to be.”

Conestoga’s two defeats were against Haverford in January and No. 3 Garnet Valley on the final day of the regular season. The Jaguars’ other two losses were to Haverford.

These “final four” games can go either way.

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Blaize Eldridge was in spectacular form Thursday night to help Sun Valley complete an amazing comeback in a Ches-Mont League tournament game.

Eldridge scored 33 points, pushing the Vanguards back from what was an early 20-point deficit, en route to a 62-58 win over Downingtown West.

Noah Griffin scored 13 points for the Vanguards, and Kaiden Robinson added 12. Sun Valley trailed, 24-4, early.  With the victory, the Vanguards (15-8) move to the Ches-Mont semis, where they’ll take on Coatesville at West Chester University Saturday at 5 p.m. It’s the third straight 15-win season for Sun Valley.

In the Bicentennial League:

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Episcopal Academy closed the game with 12 unanswered points and claimed a 50-43 win over Agnes Irwin in Inter-Ac League girls basketball action Friday.

Natalie Magnotta paced the Churchwomen with 27 points. Bella Notaro chipped in 11.

Simone Harvey led all Agnes Irwin players with 10 points.

In the Catholic League:

Cardinal O’Hara 63, Conwell-Egan 36 >> Molly Rullo tallied 16 points and Joanie Quinn added 10 for the Lions (19-2, 9-1), who clinched the No. 2 seed in next week’s Catholic League tournament.

Michelle Eburuoh and Carly Coleman had eight points apiece.

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