Delcohoops.com

By Matt Smith

An argument could be made that the team most deserving of a win in Saturday’s PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal wasn’t the one that advanced.

Strath Haven saw its improbable run come to an end at Easton Area Middle School. Crestwood, at times too relaxed while trying to bleed the clock in the fourth quarter, may consider itself fortunate to have survived.

Even after Crestwood built a 13-point lead in the third quarter, the Panthers weren’t finished. It was appropriate that Haven came within a few inches of tying the game in the final minute, two clean 3-point attempts from senior Maryella Gill and freshman Maddie Fanning falling just short. The Panthers thrived all season on controlled chaos – and nearly pulled off their wildest win yet.

Strath Haven (15-14), which had clawed its way through district playbacks just to earn a states berth, then shocked everyone with two upset wins, finally ran out of time, falling 54-47 to the District 2 champions.

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By Andrew Robinson

Heart is everything for Olivia Voshell.

The Strath Haven senior plays basketball with plenty of heart and it’s a trait her teammates picked up this season as well. So while she and the Panthers were at a serious size disadvantage against Crestwood on Saturday, they knew their heart would keep them in the game.

Strath Haven’s season ended in the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Saturday but only after the Panthers had pushed the Comets to the limit, Crestwood scraping out a 54-47 win at Easton Area Middle School.

“You can’t really compare height to heart,” Voshell said. “We have some of the biggest hearts. Maddie and Kenzie (Fanning) are five-foot-nothing and they come out and act like they’re eight feet tall. I think it’s just coming in and not being afraid.”

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By Joseph Santoliquito 

They will remember the bus rides. And the pizza in the back of the bus on the bus rides. And the laughs on the bus rides. And the singing on the bus rides. And the giggles and the jokes on the bus rides. And how all the problems in the world seemed to be wiped away on those bus rides.

It is why it was so heart wrenching when the Delco Christian girls’ basketball team took their last bus ride this season on Saturday, after a 54-39 loss to District 4 champion Lourdes Regional at Hamburg High School in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class 1A state playoffs.

Lourdes Regional (23-6) will now advance to the state Class 1A semifinals against District 3 champion Linville Hill Christian next Saturday, while Delco Christian saw a highly successful season end, which included a Bicentennial Athletic League championship, and a 25-5 finish.

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By Matt Smith

When the game was on the line, Kylie Mulholland was spectacular Friday night.

The Garnet Valley senior guard delivered her best performance in a season full of excellent ones Friday night, stepping up time and again in the clutch to lead the Jaguars to a 49-43 double-overtime victory over reigning state champion Cardinal O’Hara in the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals. It was a matchup between two Delaware County powerhouses.

The Jaguars advance to the state semifinals, where they’ll face District 7 champion Upper St. Clair next Friday at a time and site to be determined.

With her flash-like speed Mulholland was unstoppable when it mattered most. With time winding down in the first overtime, she raced to the basket and finished a layup to force a second extra period. She showed control at the free-throw line, sinking four crucial foul shots, including the pair that put Garnet Valley ahead for good in what will go down as an instant classic for Delco high school girls basketball.

After pouring in a game-high 25 points, Mulholland was all smiles, brushing off the heroics as just another day at the office.

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By Owen McCue 

The biggest shot of her high school career? How about two of them?

Garnet Valley senior Kylie Mulholland, not once but twice saved the Jaguars season with a pair of game tying shots late in overtime.

Mulholland put on her Superman cape and scored 25 points in a 49-43 double overtime win over Cardinal O’Hara in Friday’s PIAA Class 6A quarterfinal at Ridley High School to send the Jags to the state semifinals for the second year in a row.

“She’s got nerves of steel and she’s a competitor,” Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods said of Mulholland. “And all my guys are. They believe in themselves. They’re a tight knit group and they love each other, and they pull for each other. It doesn’t have to be just one player, and Kylie came out tonight and was making big shots.”

Mulholland’s first attempt to play hero was no good on Friday night. She put her team ahead 36-34 on a pair of free throws with 1:14 left in regulation. O’Hara senior Drexel commit Molly Rullo (14 points) tied the game seconds later. The Jags held the ball for one minute to take the final shot. Mulholland’s midrange jumper couldn’t go and the two teams headed for four more extra minutes of play, or so they thought, tied 36-36.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Nine times in the last two decades, Neumann-Goretti’s boys basketball powerhouse has been crowned champion of Pennsylvania. A fair few of the wins on the way to those titles were sealed before a bus ever arrived at a gym, the Saints’ mystique beating teams before they tipped off.

To beat Neumann-Goretti, to pull what is no matter the seeds an upset, a team first has to believe it can – not in the rah-rah, let’s-give-it-a-go, huddle-breaking way. Really, truly believe.

The believing – more than the missed free throws or squandered lead – made it difficult Friday night when all was done for Penncrest. First, though, it had made life hard on Neumann-Goretti, for 31½ minutes. And then, in the locker room at Norristown High, that weight came down on the Lions.

“From the start of the week, we knew we could win,” center Mikey Mita said after a 76-69 overtime loss to the Saints in the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals. “We knew we should have won. And we knew from the whole week since Tuesday night, after we beat Holy Ghost Prep, the mentality was, ‘We’re going to win and we’re playing next Friday.’”

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