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By Andrew Robinson

Lizzie Halligan couldn’t help herself.

It was something she’d seen Marisa Francione do countless times, a hustle play her longtime and to-be future teammate does on the regular, so Halligan gave Francione props like always. It was then that it hit the Notre Dame senior point guard that she was playing against the Conestoga senior point guard for the first, and only, time and maybe she shouldn’t have been congratulating an opponent for that.

Francione’s Pioneers topped Halligan’s Irish 32-30 as part of the Hoops for Hope Classic at Arcadia on Sunday, the duo enjoying their only official meeting as opponents.

“I’ve always been on the same team as her,” Francione said. “For our first time playing against each other, it was a lot of fun.”

“She’s a great friend and a great teammate,” Halligan said. “She’s a lot like me, I think our coaches would say a lot of the same things about one another. Our teammates’ parents say a lot of the same things. I think we’re great leaders and we’re really supportive of each other.”

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Don’t look now, but Chester’s boys basketball team is off to a 10-1 start.

Dante Atkinson scored six of his 17 points in overtime as Chester outlasted Bishop Shanahan, 63-55, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Showcase at Octorara.

Dominic Toy was named the game MVP with 16 points and nine rebounds. He supplied five of those points in overtime. Jaseir Thompson added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and Dallas Thompson tossed in 10.

Sun Valley 45, Eastern York 38 >> Blaise Eldridge provided 11 points and four blocks to win game MVP recognition in a physical affair at Octorara.

Kaiden Robinson added nine points and five assists.

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By Matt Smith

Cardinal O’Hara junior Molly Rullo only wishes that her special night Friday would have led to a better outcome.

Rullo was fouled in the process of hitting a shot late in the first quarter of a Catholic League clash with Archbishop Wood. The Drexel commit stepped to the line and calmly swished the free throw for her 1,000th career point, becoming the 23rd player in school history accomplish the feat.

Rullo briefly celebrated with teammates, then went back to work. But this wouldn’t be the Lions’ night.

Wood outplayed O’Hara in all facets en route to a 42-30 victory. It marked the first loss of the season for the Lions’ (11-1).

“It’s a great individual goal, but ultimately we wanted the win tonight and we didn’t get it,” said Rullo, who finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals. “It’s a great honor, but definitely didn’t end the night like I wanted. This was a big game, and coming into it just knowing that we wanted to play hard and do everything we needed to do in order to win. And to not be able to do that is upsetting.”

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Kate Gallagher scored eight points as Radnor handled Chichester, 45-24, in a nonleague affair Friday night.

Gallagher was 4-for-4 shooting. Nyah Yao, Anna Reger, Ally Krug and Bree Simpson had six points each for the Raptors, who led 20-2 after one quarter and spread the points around liberally.

Rayne Edwards led Chichester with 11 points. Gionna Pagan chipped in five.

Unionville 41, Academy Park 31 >> Kiala Bright and Emani Banks scored eight points each, but the Knights couldn’t hold on to a seven-point halftime lead. The Longhorns used a 15-2 edge in the third quarter to take control.

Alaysia Kinlaw added seven points for AP.

Elle Johnson led Unionville with 15 points.

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Jayla Davis scored a game-high 12 points to help Academy Park defeat Interboro, 47-23, for its first victory of the 2023-24 season.

The Knights (1-10, 1-0 Del Val League) jumped out to an 18-3 lead in the first quarter and kept the visiting Bucs at bay. Davis drilled four 3-point field goals, and Alaysia Kinlaw chipped in with 11 points. Emani Banks and Kiala Bright both finished with eight points for AP.

Madilyn Mea led the Bucs (3-9, 0-1) with seven points.

In other Del Val League action:

Penn Wood 75, Chichester 27 >> Taylor Mims poured in 26 points, and Mariah Wright (14 points, six assists) and Taylor Morris (13 points, 13 rebounds) also reached double figures in scoring for the Patriots, who held a 26-9 advantage after one quarter.

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By Matt Smith

Kailyn Bell was fighting herself at the free-throw line Thursday evening.

Ridley’s do-everything senior point guard had missed five in a row when she stepped to the line with another chance to ice a big win for the Green Raiders. Bell composed herself before taking her seventh and eighth free throws of the quarter, with Ridley clinging to a four-point lead.

“I had to lock in,” she said. She did, making both shots to extend Ridley’s advantage to six.

On Strath Haven’s next drip down the floor, Bell had the hustle play of the night when she stole a pass and tip-toed along the baseline, saving the ball and Ridley possession. Keira Small received the pass, got fouled, and hit two freebies to seal Ridley’s 42-35 victory.

“I had to make up for it,” Bell said. “I had to do whatever I could.”

Bell and her partner in crime Kyla Carney each scored 15 points to lead the Green Raiders (7-8) to their third consecutive win. Not bad for a team that began the season searching for answers after a brutal three-game stretch against league juggernauts Conestoga, Haverford and Garnet Valley.

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Sean Thomas picked a fine night to have a career day.

Thomas scored 16 points, and Josh Lloyd added 15 as Interboro rallied to a 74-64 win over Academy Park Thursday night in Del Val boys basketball action.

Will Spaulding added 14 points and seven rebounds. The Bucs trailed by five at half but used a 28-5 edge in the third quarter to pull away.

Bryce Lewis led Academy Park with 17 points. Athony Blue chipped in 15, and Hakim Supplee-Reid added 11 points.

In the Central League:

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By Joseph Santoliquito

Kival Clarke could barely get up, let alone walk across the tiles of the Penn Wood locker room Thursday night. It seemed every tendon and joint in the 5-foot-9 senior guard’s body ached. His knees were swollen, as he shuffled along, and none of that was about to deter the smile on his face.

Penn Wood needed this. Clarke needed this.

The Patriots have had problems closing games early this season, but head coach Matt Lindeman got a nice boost from Clarke and his team Thursday night, as they pulled away from a late Chichester charge to win their first Del-Val League game this season, 47-41.

Penn Wood (6-6 overall, 1-1 Del-Val) had yielded fourth-quarter leads in four of its six losses. Clarke prevented that from happening by scoring seven of the Pat’s final nine points in erasing a 41-36 deficit in a game where every point came at a premium.

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By Josh Verlin

The 17th annual Hoops for Hope charity event will take place this Sunday, January 14, at Arcadia University.

The seven-game girls’ high school hoops showcase, held last year at Ursinus College, makes its Arcadia debut with some of the area’s best high school teams participating, including defending District 1 6A champs Perkiomen Valley, last year’s PAISAA runner-ups Penn Charter, a couple Catholic League contenders in Archbishop Carroll and Archbishop Wood, and more.

All proceeds from Hoops for Hope go towards Morgan’s Message, a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to helping student-athletes with their mental health. It was founded in memory of Morgan Rodgers, a former Duke lacrosse player who took her own life in 2019.

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By Josh Verlin

Conestoga coach Sean Forcine stood with his assistant coaches outside the visitors’ locker room at Penncrest for a quick post-game debrief. Amongst the various mentions of some late-game decision-making and defense, a couple of complaints of some turnovers and a generally optimistic tone, was one statement with which all in the huddle were in agreement.

“That,” Forcine said, “was not a game we would have won last year.”

‘Stoga’s gut-clenching, 35-33 road win over Penncrest was not just the third in a row and fifth in six games for the Pioneers, but a major sign of growth in the second-year coach’s eyes. After finishing 11-12 a year ago, Conestoga’s pushing for a much higher finish in the Central League and District 1.

“We’ve been preaching all year, it’s about staying positive no matter the situation,” Forcine said. “Not freaking out when we do good, not freaking out when we do bad, just keep an even keel. And it showed tonight.”

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