Delcohoops.com

By Bryan Davis

With the star players from Unionville and Garnet Valley suffering through difficult shooting nights, there was plenty of opportunity for somebody to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

Elle Johnson scored 13 points in the second half as the ninth-seeded Longhorns took control in the fourth quarter en route to a 49-38 victory over the No. 20 Jaguars in the District 1 6A Playbacks on Wednesday.

Unionville (21-6) will take on Abington in the ninth-place game on Friday, while Garnet (15-12) will face Conestoga for 11th place.

“If I had hair, it would be falling out now,” said Unionville coach Fred Ellzy. “Playoff basketball, everybody comes with their ‘A’ game and if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, you can be down quick, like we were.”

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Maz Sayed and Akhir Keys combined to shoot 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to help Chichester hold off Rustin, 69-62. in the District 1 Class 5A third-place game.

Sayed connected on 6 of 8 from the line and Keys made both of his attempts to keep the Eagles in front. Chi shot 11-for-17 from the stripe in the final period. Keys scored nine of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Sayed was one of five players in double figures for Chi. He finished with 13 points. Zaiyin Keys pitched in with 12 points. Carlton Gordy tallied all 11 of his points in the third quarter and Eyan Thomas had eight of his 10 points in the second half for the Eagles.

Ian Schlesinger topped Rustin with a game-high 19 points.

Chichester faces the second seed from District 11 in the opening round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament on March 10. Rustin takes on the second seed from District 12.

By Bob Grotz

In a role reversal from their previous meeting. Springfield came out flat and trailed all Wednesday evening in a 37-22 loss to Upper Dublin in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A girls playback round.

When the teams met two weeks ago, the Cougars crushed the Cardinals. 27-9, right here on Leamy Avenue.

The difference this time was that Cougars point guard Mia Valerio was in a walking boot that could sideline her for the duration while the visiting Cardinals were riding the stark improvement of freshman point guard Megan Ngo, who hasn’t met a defender she wouldn’t try to post up in the low block.

The good news for the seventh-seeded Cougars (17-10), who play Souderton Saturday for seventh place is that they’ve clinched a berth in states.

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By Terry Toohey

Joanie Quinn and Molly Rullo were all Cardinal O’Hara needed to add to its impressive championship history.

Quinn and Rullo combined for 36 points as the Lions rolled over Central, 61-33, in the District 12 Class 6A championship game at La Salle High School.

It was O’Hara’s fourth big school title since the PIAA went to six classifications in 2017. The Lions also won the Class 5A district title in 2021 and are the two-time defending PIAA Class 5A champions.

Quinn led all scorers with 19 points. She also posted nine steals to highlight a strong defensive effort by O’Hara. Rullo added 17 points.  

O’Hara gets the No. 11 seed out of District 1 in the opening round of the PIAA Tournament on Friday, March 10. Meg Rullo hit four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.

By Owen McCue

As Jaden Colzie stood in the student section at the Liacouras Center last March watching the Plymouth Whitemarsh girls capture a District 1-6A championship, he couldn’t help but picture himself out on the floor.

He and teammate Qudire Bennett hung around Temple’s arena for the District 1 boys title game right after and knew they had to find a way to get back there themselves in 2023 after watching Lower Merion knock off Norristown for its second straight title.

“I was standing right there in the student section, and I’m like, ‘This is going to be us next year. I need to get here.’ Hey, one year later and here we are,” Colzie said. “I was really jealous — Norristown, Lower Merion — I was like we can be here, and we’re here, so I’m happy for us.”

The two-time defending champion Aces stood in the Colonials’ way of a trek down to North Philadelphia as the two district powers met up on Tuesday night in a district semifinal. 

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By Kev Hunter

Niymire Brown’s towering presence grew more imposing as the game wore on, and his game-high 20 points led Upper Darby to a 71-68 victory over North Penn in a District 1 Class 6A playback game Tuesday night.

The win sends the 10th-seeded Royals to the fifth-place game, Friday night at No. 4 Central Bucks East. No. 6 North Penn hosts No. 8 Garnet Valley Friday night in the seventh-place game.

“He’s a tough matchup for anybody because he can score down low,” Upper Darby coach Bob Miller said of Brown, who poured in 15 second-half points. “It’s not just his 6-foot-4 frame. He’s built like a man. You get him the ball down there and most teams are going to have trouble.”

Upper Darby’s inside play sent the Royals into the lead for good in the third quarter. Drives by Yassir Joyner (16 points) and Nadir Myers (18 points) made it 47-43, and the visitors would lead 50-45 after three. Three buckets underneath by Brown helped pace the Royals.

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