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Korey Francis (above) and Bonner beat Upper Dublin on Tuesday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Boys 5A
Bonner-Prendergast (12-3) vs. Upper Moreland (1-4)
Norristown HS, 6:00 PM
Korey Francis (above) and Bonner beat Upper Dublin on Tuesday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Norristown plays host to an all-local doubleheader on Friday, with what should be two high-quality games in the 5A classification. Bonner-Prendergast (18-8) pulled off a big-time win in the second round, Billy Cassidy’s Friars beating District 1 champs Upper Dublin by 22 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since a state runner-up finish in 2019. Upper Moreland (22-7) is in the state quarterfinals for the first time in program history, the Golden Bears coming back to beat York Suburban in overtime in the second round to continue what’s been a breakthrough season for Dan Heiland’s program.
Strath Haven’s (12) Maddie Fanning with the layup basket against Radnor Wednesday night in round 2 of PIAA State playoffs held at Bensalem High School. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)
By Matt Smith
The fourth time was the charm for Olivia Voshell and Strath Haven.
After enduring three losses to Central League rival Radnor, including a setback in the District 1 quarterfinals, the Panthers finally exacted revenge Wednesday night at Bensalem High, rallying for a stunning 54-43 overtime win in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A tournament.
Freshman Maddie Fanning recorded a steal with less than a minute to go in regulation and raced the other way before floating in the game-tying basket. In OT, Strath Haven outscored the district champion Raptors 13-2 to seal the improbable win.
The Panthers (15-13) extended their Cinderella run to the state quarterfinals, where they’ll face District 2’s Crestwood Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
Strath Haven trailed by 11 midway through the fourth but closed the game on a 27-6 surge. Senior co-captain Olivia Voshell drove strong to the rim for a go-ahead layup that put Haven up 43-41, a lead the Panthers never relinquished.
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By Andrew Robinson
Try. Fail. Learn. Execute.
Three times this season, Strath Haven had tried to beat Radnor and three times, the Panthers failed. Three times, they’d learned from their losses, even if it didn’t show up in the score the next time they faced the Raptors. They’d tried, they’d failed and they learned, so facing a nine-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter Wednesday night, it was time to execute.
Living by its four-word mantra, Strath Haven authored an incredible comeback to defeat Radnor 53-44 in overtime in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A girls basketball playoffs.
“Our coach had the mantra of first you try, you fail, then you learn and last you execute and we took that with us,” Strath Haven senior Olivia Voshell said. “We really locked in on everything she wrote on the board, tried to stick to the little things and really just stay focused.”
Alexis Eberz (above) scored 23 points in Carroll’s second-round win. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)
By Sean McBryan
Archbishop Carroll junior Alexis Eberz has the rare experience of knowing how it feels to end a season with a win or a loss.
As a freshman, she helped the Patriots win their first state title since 2012. Last year, Eberz and the Patriots fell in the quarterfinal round to Parkland. They prefer the former.
“I won my freshman year, so that’s obviously the goal,” Eberz said. “We want to win it. It’s awesome going [to Hershey’s Giant Center] and playing there in that environment.”
Eberz scored a game-high 23 points to move the Patriots one step closer to the Sweetest Place on Earth with a 60-41 victory over Wilson Tuesday night at Spring-Ford High School in the PIAA Class 6A second round.
Carroll advances to face Central Dauphin, which defeated Parkland 39-23 Tuesday, in the quarterfinals Friday.
Old Forge’s Logan Fanning, right, blocks the shot of Delco Christian’s Atler Abobi. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)
By Tom Robinson
Old Forge took Delco Christian’s best shot as the first half drew to a close and the second half started up.
Most importantly, the Blue Devils also took four charges, three in the second half, creating just enough of an edge to get through the PIAA Class 2A second round game with a 59-52 victory.
With two of the Eastern half of the state’s top 2A threats meeting in the first week of the tournament, the District 1 champion Knights had their season end against a team that went to the semifinals the last two years that it was in this classification. Delco Christian (26-3) entered the tournament with the second-best record in the 32-team field.
The teams were both unbeaten against opponents their own size and showed why in a highly entertaining battle that played out as close as a block/charge call.
