Delcohoops.com

By Josh Verlin

The Central League comes down to the favorites.

Both of the top seeds on both the boys and girls’ sides of the Central League made it to the league championship games, which take place Tuesday night at Marple Newtown (6:00 PM/8:00 PM).

Here’s a look at both games, including areas to watch for and thoughts from an anonymous coach who’s familiar with both programs:

Girls: 1) Haverford High (20-3) vs. 2) Conestoga (21-2)
Previous Meeting(s)
Conestoga 47, Haverford 38 (Dec. 7 @ Conestoga)
Haverford 38, Conestoga 27 (Jan. 25 @ Haverford)

Projected Starters
Haverford: PG Megan Kelly, SG Aniya Eberhart, SF Rian Dotsey, F Natalie Wright, F Ashley Wright

Conestoga: PG Marisa Francione, SG Ryann Jennings, G Katrina Valencia, SF Isabella Valencia, F Janie Preston

(click on this link for the complete preview for Girls & Boys)

   

Delcohoops.com is pleased to announce that we will, once again, be video broadcasting both the Boy’s and Girl’s Central League Championship games on Tuesday, February 13th from Marple Newtown High School!

The Girl’s game broadcast will begin at 5:50 for a 6:00 PM start between the #1 seeded Haverford Fords and the #2 seeded Conestoga Pioneers.

The Boy’s game broadcast will begin at 7:50 for an 8 PM start between the #1 seeded Lower Merion Aces and the #2 seeded Radnor Raptors.

Join play-by-play announcer Dave DiPasqua and color announcer Coach Mark Jordan for all the action!  

There is no charge to watch the game LIVE or on the archive on You Tube or right here on Delcohoops.com. 

Links to the broadcast will be posted right here on Tuesday morning!

By Matt Smith

This Central League tournament semifinal was the chance for Rian Dotsey and Haverford to gain a bit of revenge on Penncrest. The Fords admit they never got over their five-point loss to the Lions in early January.

“It was a big redemption game for us,” said Dotsey, the Fords’ outstanding junior forward.

The rematch played out a lot differently. It was all Haverford, all the time.

Aniya Eberhart scored a game-high 16 points and Dotsey added 13 as the top-seeded Fords cruised to a 52-32 victory over the No. 5 Lions Saturday night. Haverford takes on No. 2 Conestoga in the Central League championship game Tuesday (6 p.m.) at Marple Newtown. Haverford defeated Conestoga in last year’s final.

“I felt our energy was definitely higher than the first time we played them,” Dotsey said. “We knew they were going to be a scrappy team coming in. So in practice, we worked on taking care of the ball and knew what we had to focus on to pull out the win.”

(click on this link for the full article, subscription may be required)

By Matthew DeGeorge

There are many things about the 2024 version of Radnor boys basketball that are surprising. Not among them, though, is a coherent sense of identity.

So Saturday evening, in a Central League semifinal with Conestoga, a one-point edge at halftime surely felt insufficient. As did settling too often for jump shots, not getting the most out of trips to the rim and not always doing the things that have led to 18 wins this season.

Refocusing and recommitting quickly brought No. 19.

The Raptors were exemplary in sharing the ball in the second half, didn’t miss a field goal in the fourth and finally broke the shackles of a back-and-forth affair to beat Conestoga, 55-50.

The reward is a renewal of last year’s Central League final against Lower Merion, the first time Radnor (19-3) had won the league crown. The top-seeded Aces topped Marple Newtown, 80-64. The final is Tuesday night at Marple.

(click on this link for more game stories and scores subscription may be required)

By Joseph Santoliquito

Each shot used to be an adventure. The intention was for the ball to go through the hoop. Though when it left Aniya Eberhart’s fingertips, it would often bounce off the backboard or clang off the rim. It rarely found the bottom of the net.

That’s when the Haverford High School 5-foot-10 senior played center in grade school. Over the last few years, especially this season, Eberhart has found a shooting touch, and she continues to demonstrate it.

On Saturday night, the Millersville-bound guard scored a game-high 16, nine in the game-turning second quarter, to lead the Fords to a 52-32 victory over Penncrest in the girl’s Central League tournament semifinals.

The Haverford victory sets up a championship rematch with Conestoga, winners over Garnet Valley in the other semifinal, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Marple Newtown in a girls-boys championship doubleheader.

(click on this link for the full article)

By Bob Grotz

In a semifinal playoff game sure to leave black and blue marks, Conestoga pulled away in the third quarter Saturday for a 51-31 victory over Garnet Valley for a shot at its first Central League title in 16 years.

Ryann Jennings scored a game-high 17 points for the Pioneers, making 13 of 14 shots from the free throw line in a contest with so many whistles you wondered if you were suffering from tinnitus.

“It was very physical,” said Jaguars senior Emily Olsen, who fouled out with 10 points. “In a Central League game like this, the semifinals, it’s going to be a hard game. We came in knowing it was going to be tough and we would just have to work through it.”

To get the job done it took a masterful game plan by Pioneers coach AJ Thompson and the tenacity of his players to carry it out against the Jaguars, who led three times in the first quarter and trailed by just 21-16 at the intermission.

It also took a tough-minded effort from Jennings, who among other skills was trained for these rugged games, having earned her place at the table battling older brothers Drew and Aaron, who are her biggest fans.

(click on this link for the full article, subscription may be required)