Boys: Garnet Valley stuns Spring-Ford to reach district quarters

 

By Zak Wolf

At this point, you might as well call Garnet Valley the comeback kids. The Jaguars pulled off yet another miraculous comeback to advance to the District 1 quarterfinal, clinching a state playoff berth in their 53-50 win over Spring-Ford on Tuesday. 

Once again, Garnet showed its grit and determination, never giving up even when they found themselves down big. 

It was almost deja vu for Garnet Valley. Garnet was down 18 to Upper Dublin in the third quarter of Friday’s first round, but clawed their way back to win right at the end. The same thing happened on Tuesday, with the No. 24 seed seemingly dead and buried. Down by 16 at one point in the third, Garnet finally found their groove late and stole the game right at the death. 

“Unfortunately it was kind of like the start to Upper Dublin,” junior guard Max Koehler said. “It wasn’t looking great the entire third quarter. We brought it back just like we did last game — what can I say? Never count us out.”

(click on this link for the full story)

Girls: Defense, foul shooting power Haverford to quarterfinals

By Bryan Davis

In a defensive struggle that would’ve made any member of the Pat Riley-era New York Knicks teams proud to witness, Haverford High found enough offense to make it where they haven’t been for a long time.

The ninth-seeded Fords held off No. 8 Downingtown East, despite not making a field goal in the fourth quarter, to record a 31-29 victory in the second round of the District 1 Class 6A tourname at the Robert A. Boyer Gymnasium on Tuesday.

Haverford (20-5) advances to the quarterfinals where they await Wednesday’s winner between Great Valley and unbeaten top seed Plymouth Whitemarsh.

“This is the first time since 2012 when two of our coaches (assistants Erin Knox and Jaclyn Gantz) played on that team,” Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane said on making the quarters. “It’s pretty cool to get back here. It’s been a gap. We thought before the season we had the opportunity to do something special and we have a great group of kids who work hard each and every day, so this is a testament to them and how hard they work. Today, it just worked out for us.”

(click on this link for the full story)

Boys & Girls: Rayer helps The Haverford School advance in PAISAA boys tourney

Billy Rayer hit four times from beyond the arc en route to a 14-point performance and Dan Springman added 11 points as Haverford School ran out to a 43-33 victory over Abington Friends Tuesday night.

Debarrin Norman led AFS with 11 points while Ife West-Ingram added 10 in this PAISAA tournament play-in game.

Also at the PAISAA tournament:

EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 72, SHIPLEY SCHOOL 61 » Sam Malloy scored 23 points and Kevin McCarthy added 19 as EA defeated Shipley.

TJ Lamb added 16 points for the Churchmen, while Darrien Grady had 18 and Iman Jackson 12 for Shipley.

Girls Basketball

Sacred Heart started fast Tuesday night and cruised past Morrisville, 39-30, in a District 1 Class 2A girls basketball playoff game.

The Lions posted a pair of 13-point quarters en route to a 26-15 lead at halftime behind a balanced scoring effort. By the time it was over, Ainsley Davis led SH scorers with 13 points, while M.J. Donohue added 10.

Morrisville was led by Ella Quince, who scored a game-high 20 points.

In the Inter-Ac League:

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 60, NOTRE DAME 55 » Jessica Aponik scored 17 points and Jenna Aponik added seven as GA defeated the Irish despite a fourth-quarter surge by ND.

The Irish were led by Annie Greek, who scored 23 points. Julia Dever added 15 points.

Girls: Carroll, O’Hara in PCL final four

Archbishop Carroll's Grace O'Neill, right, takes a shot against Cardinal O'Hara earlier this year. The Patriots face Neuman-Goretti while the Lions take on Archbishop Wood in the Catholic League semifinals Tuesday night at Conwell-Egan. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

Archbishop Carroll’s Grace O’Neill, right, takes a shot against Cardinal O’Hara earlier this year. The Patriots face Neuman-Goretti while the Lions take on Archbishop Wood in the Catholic League semifinals Tuesday night at Conwell-Egan. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

By Matt Smith

As the District 1 playoffs roll on this week, the Catholic League is down to its final four teams.

The girls semifinal doubleheader is set for Tuesday evening at Conwell-Egan High in Falls Township, Bucks County.

Top-seeded Archbishop Carroll, which is undefeated in league play, meets No. 4 Neumann-Goretti at 5:30.

Carroll clobbered West Catholic in the quarterfinal round as Taylor Wilson poured in 19 points for the Patriots in a 57-19 victory. N-G advanced to the semifinals with a 66-52 win over Lansdale Catholic.

Wilson and senior guard Grace O’Neill have been excellent for Patriots (17-4), who’ve won 13 of their last 14 contests.

“I think a lot of people did kind of sleep on us this year and we’ve come out and really proved ourselves,” Wilson said recently.

(click on this link for the full story and more playoff updates)

Playoff games streaming on the Internet

By Delcohoops.com Staff

Lots of schools are streaming their playoff games which is giving basketball fans lots of choices including an ability to bounce back and forth from game-to-game.  Here are the You Tube addresses for school that are streaming their games:

The Christian Academy

Haverford High School

Marple Newtown

Radnor

Springfield

Streaming is done by the home team. If your team is traveling go on You Tube and search for the home school team and you may find a link to tonight’s game.

Girls: Davis helps script Raptors’ convincing win over Lions

  

By Matt Smith

Paige Yurchak being interviewed by Dave DiPasqua and Coach Mark Jordan. Photo by Delcohoops.com

After taking last year off to train for rowing, Ellie Davis was convinced she had to return to the Radnor girls basketball team this season. Her teammates are happy she’s back and playing well.

Davis, a forward/center, has been integral to the Raptors’ success under new head coach Rob Baxter. On Friday night she scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and came away with five steals to help No. 6 Radnor to a 44-30 win over 11th-seeded Penncrest in the first round of the District 1 Class 5A tournament. The Raptors travel to No. 3 Upper Moreland Tuesday.

“From my perspective this is probably my last chance to play basketball. I know it’s not something I’m not going to keep on doing,” Davis said. “I’m going into rowing, so I’ve got nothing to lose and I’m just looking to have fun out there. It’s been something I’ve been doing for a really long time and it’s a lot like riding a bike. It’s fun to have it as a secondary sport.”

Davis is a multi-faceted student-athlete with a bright future ahead. She is editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, the Radnorite, and in 2020 won a Keystone Press Award for her reporting on the disparity within Pennsylvania’s educational system. Davis also helmed a student-led organization called Radnor for Reform, which had a major impact on the decision to change the school’s mascot, from Raider to Raptor.

Paige Yurchak being interview after Radnor’s victory over Penncrest. Check out her interview in the archive below at the 1:28:23 mark. Photo by Delcohoops.com

“Maybe I’ll even write for the sports page in college,” said Davis, who will attend Williams College in Massachusetts. 

(click on this link for the full story)

Click on this icon for the complete Box Scores for this game!

Press the arrow button below to load and play the archive.