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By Rich Flanagan

Tariq Ingraham sat on the sideline and watched as Nanticoke carved up the Bonner & Prendergast zone defense. A pass to the high post then a quick swing to Trojans point guard Nate Kreitzer for a 3-pointer. Two possessions later, a dump to the baseline forced the Friars defense to collapse and left Kreitzer open for the second of his five triples for the game.

The second team All-Catholic selection sat for much of the first half with foul trouble after having not played in the Friars opening round victory over Littlestown due to a busted lip. He had seen enough of Kreitzer and the Trojans carving up the Bonner & Prendergast zone.

Ingraham scored 10 points in the second half to go along with nine rebounds and three blocks while Isaiah Wong broke out for 11 points after the intermission in addition to corralling nine boards of his own as the Friars rolled to a 70-52 win over Nanticoke in the second round of the PIAA Class 4A Tournament at Freedom High School.

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By Harry Chaykun

The Garnet Valley girls basketball team has accomplished quite a during the 2018-19 season, winning the Central League and District 1 championships and setting a school record for wins in a season.

With that in mind, head coach Joe Woods and his assistants would have to spend some time trying to remember a more complete game than the Jaguars played in their 62-40 PIAA Class 6A second-round victory over Bethlehem Freedom at Souderton High School Tuesday night.

“A game like that is really fun to play in,” said senior center Madi McKee, who scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, had two assists, made one steal and chipped in with a blocked shot.

Woods was delighted by his team’s offensive effort, which included 29-for-44 shooting (68.2 percent) from the field with 19 assists. The Jags’ defensive work also brought a smile to the coach’s face. Garnet Valley (27-1) gave up only 10 points in the first half, and Freedom’s only two points of the second period came just seconds before halftime.

“They’ve been so unselfish, and they’ve been getting better every game,” Woods said. “The five seniors have been together for four years. They trust each other. They set a school record for wins, and they’re in the Elite Eight.

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By Austin Hertzog

The 18-point lead the Cardinal O’Hara girls basketball team had just a quarter earlier felt like ancient history.

The Lions’ lead was down to one and the atmosphere and momentum in the Harriton gym said they were on the ropes. Freshman Sydni Scott’s body language – her head down during a timeout with 4:36 to play and O’Hara clinging to a 34-33 lead – said so too.

Down, but not defeated.

Scott’s baseline layup and-1 with 3:19 remaining reclaimed a four-point lead and snapped the Lions out of their second-half funk as Cardinal O’Hara downed Spring-Ford, 43-37, in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs Tuesday at Harriton High School.

The District 12 champion Lions, which got 11 points from freshman Scott and 19 points and seven rebounds from sophomore Amaris Baker, improved to 15-11 as the underclassmen-led team has come of age in a big way in the postseason. O’Hara earns a date with District 1 runner-up Neshaminy – a 70-40 winner over Hazleton Tuesday night – in the quarterfinals on Friday at a date and time to be determined.

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By Terry Toohey

With Glen Mills Schools unable to field teams in football, soccer and tennis because of declining enrollment, the Del Val League voted unanimously to accept the school as an associate member for the 2019-2020 season, the league announced in a release Tuesday.

Glen Mills will remain a member of the league in cross country, basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball and track and field, according to the release.

The vote took place during the league’s bi-monthly general meeting Monday at Interboro High School, Penn Wood athletic director and league president Rap Curry said Tuesday. The meeting included the superintendents, principals and athletic directors from the six member schools. Glen Mills was represented at the meeting by Jim Chobany, the director of education, and athletic director Pete Forjohn.

Glen Mills has been under increased scrutiny since two former counselors were charged with allegedly assaulting a student last July. Recent reports in the Philadelphia Inquirer detailed decades of alleged abuse at the school for court-adjudicated juvenile males in Thornbury Township. Its enrollment has taken a hit because of the reports.

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By Matt Smith

Cardinal O’Hara’s youth movement for the 2018-19 season required first-year head coach Chrissie Doogan to espouse patience.

Doogan knew this year would be a new era for the program the day she was promoted from her role of assistant coach.

“This team never played together before this year, and everything was new. It took a lot of time,” Doogan said after the Lions’ win over Plymouth Whitemarsh in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament.

“We were so fortunate in the past with Kenzie (Gardner), Maura (Hendrixson), Molly (Paolino) and (Hannah) Nihill. All those kids grew up playing together. These guys have never played together, so it does take some time. We’ve been tested, we’ve been in games where we’ve had big leads and lost it. Today’s win was a real gut-check. It was a gut-check win where they were down and had to battle back. I’m so proud of them.”

Sophomore guard Amaris Baker keyed the Lions’ resurgence in the fourth quarter. She tallied 14 points and made four steals. But it was O’Hara’s solid defense that was the real story.

One of Doogan’s more underrated players is senior guard Erin Welde, who was a reserve player on those great O’Hara teams before earning a starting job this season. Welde and Kerry Patterson are the team’s only seniors, and both are relied on for their leadership abilities. Welde doesn’t score often, but she is extremely valuable to Doogan due to her solid play on defense. Welde is not a flashy player, but she is steady.

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