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By Matthew DeGeorge

By the time the final horn sounded at West Philadelphia High Wednesday night, it felt as though more than one game had played out.

Based on the pace of play for large stretches, that was true to a certain degree. For much of the first and third quarters of the PIAA Class 6A boys basketball opener, the game was played on Garnet Valley’s terms. That changed in the second quarter when Lincoln, the District 12 champion, turned up its press. By a helter-skelter fourth, all bets were off.

When all the dizzying ebbs in play had settled, Garnet Valley found itself on the right side of a 65-56 win, the program’s first in a state tournament since 1997.

For the team that barely snuck into districts much less states, it was the perfect kind of victory to ensure midnight has not yet struck on their Cinderella run.

“The entire season has been, we started rocky, but we’ve just learned the entire season,” junior guard Max Koehler said. “It’s been a huge learning process, and look at us now.”

When next you look at Garnet Valley (18-10), it’ll be in the Round of 16 of the state tournament, the sixth seed from District 1 due to tangle Saturday with Scranton.  The District 2 champion eliminated West Chester East, 84-70.

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By Matt Smith

First it was the Marple Newtown boys team that won its first state playoff game. It was the girls’ turn Wednesday night.

The Tigers scored the first 11 points in their PIAA Class 5A girls basketball tournament opener against District 12’s St. Hubert and cruised to a 48-27 win at Archbishop Ryan.

The Tigers (20-8) shot 50 percent from the floor, including 5 of 13 from 3-point distance as four players netted at least eight points. Junior point guard Mary O’Brien and senior forward Haley Levy led the way with 13 points apiece. Senior shooting guard Nikki Mostardi chipped in with 11 points and junior forward Brooke Impriano tallied eight.

“It’s so great to finally win our first game in states,” Levy said. “To make it this far, we are having so much fun.”

Marple Newtown will play Delaware County rival Springfield in the second round. The Cougars routed Lower Dauphin in their first-round game, 38-19.

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By Keith Groller

During the course of a seven-game win that included victories in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 Class 6A titles, the Parkland Trojans never let things get away from them.

But on Wednesday night in their first-round PIAA 6A tournament game against Penn Wood, things got away from the Trojans early.

The Patriots, District 1’s No. 10 seed, hit Parkland with a flurry of 3-pointers and baskets off offensive rebounds. By the 4:45 mark of the opening period, the Trojans were already down 16-4.

Parkland fought back and had a three-point lead late in the second period, but Penn Wood answered that charge and others and ended up pulling away to a 60-50 victory, ending the Trojans’ season at 21-8.

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By Matt Smith

Haverford wasn’t intimidated by the Catholic League or the Catholic League opponent. Nor were the Fords overwhelmed by the Division I caliber talent possessed by the District 12 champions, Roman Catholic.

The Fords trailed by four points midway through the third quarter in a game in which District 1’s 11th-place team was a heavy underdog.

Ultimately, the Cahillites were too much.

Buoyed by senior forward Dan Skillings’ 20-point performance, Roman Catholic withstood a gutsy effort by the Fords and claimed a 59-49 victory at Archbishop Ryan in the opening round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament Wednesday. Skillings has offers from Cincinnati, Rhode Island, Providence, UMass and many other Division I programs.

Haverford was making its second appearance in a state tournament since 1975.

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By Sean McBryan

Springfield (Delco.) junior Mia Valerio’s primary sport is lacrosse, which she’ll play at Richmond after she graduates in 2023. The way she played Wednesday night, you’d think her top sport was basketball.

Valerio scored a career-high 19 points to match Lower Dauphin’s team total as the District 1 third-place Cougars defeated the District 3 third-place Falcons 32-19 in Hummelstown in a PIAA Class 5A first round game.

“I train a lot for lacrosse (which starts in the spring) so my body is in the best shape right now,” Valerio said. “It also helps with the confidence thing because I know if I excel in that sport I can excel in this sport.”

After top scorer Lexi Aaron went down with a season-ending injury just five games in, it’s been a balanced effort in replacing the offensive production for the Cougars. But it was all Valerio Wednesday night and doing it on the road in a state playoff game made it even more impressive.

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Jayden Eager scored 12 points and Cassie Eager balanced it with 11 points as Mechanicsburg came back late to overtake Radnor, 44-37, Wednesday night in Class 5A opening round state tourney game.

Both Eagers were part of a 16-7 Mechanicsburg advantage in the fourth quarter which overturned a Radnor lead that had carried through three quarters.

For the Raptors, Ellie Davis had 10 points and Paige Yurchak scored nine.

But Radnor simply couldn’t keep up with the Wildcats, who were led by Emma Castilla’s 14 points.