Delcohoops.com

By Matthew DeGeorge

A funny thing happened in the third quarter Monday afternoon at Archbishop Carroll. And being the young leader that he is for the Patriots, naturally it happened to Ian Williams.

For two and a half quarters, Carroll had moderate success in a tit-for-tat affair of largely iso-ball against Bonner & Prendergast, the individual talents that make the Catholic League so pulsating on full display. Only two of Carroll’s first 13 made field goals had been assisted on. But when Williams, the sophomore point guard with a year’s experience under his belt, started making a concerted effort to dish more, a five-point deficit quickly vanished.

It would take more than that run to see off Bonner, including 27 points from Williams and a steely 6-for-6 performance at the line in crunch time. But the unselfishness on display was at the heart of a 66-62 win.

“The main motto in practice was to have fun and play with each other,” Williams said. “At times as young kids, we can get selfish and try to look at the stats, coming into high school and people try to get their points up. But (it’s) coming together as a unit, talking together and just being with each other, telling each other, it’s not about the stats.

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By CoBL Staff

The 17th annual Hoops for Hope charity event took place Sunday at Arcadia University. The seven-game girls’ high school hoops showcase raised money for the Morgan’s Message, a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to helping student-athletes with their mental health. It was founded in memory of Morgan Rodgers, a former Duke lacrosse player who took her own life in 2019. 

CoBL had coverage of all seven games. Here’s who stood out during the event:

Aniya Eberhart (2024 | Haverford High)
The Millersville commit delivered an admirable performance in the loss to North Penn. Early on, Eberhart’s shot wasn’t there around the basket, so she went to her jumper and her teammates. She cashed in four pull-up twos, plus a catch-and-shoot three. She also created open looks for Dotsey who scored 17 points. Without taking any plays off, Eberhart scrapped on defense, collecting two steals and multiple deflections. The 5-9 point guard had 18 points of her own, plus four rebounds and five assists.

(click on this link for all the other standouts)

By Owen McCue & Josh Verlin

The high school playoff races are heating up. Most PIAA teams in the area have played 13 or 14 of their 22 games, the District 1 rankings starting to shape up, teams getting an area where they stand. 

That also creates matchups with more and more drama — it’s one thing when two 2-0 squads face off, another when they’re 5-0, 6-0, 7-0. And indeed, the ‘games to watch’ each week get more and more intense.

• Central League
  There aren’t too many eye-catching matchups in the Central League on either side this week but Thursday has a couple of big ones on the boys side. Lower Merion’s, the lone unbeaten still in league play and two games clear of the rest of the field, travels to Radnor. Conestoga, the team tied with Radnor for second place, travels to fourth-place Harriton. There could be some tightening or separating at the top of the league. A Friday boys matchup between Penncrest and Upper Darby could be another fun one.(click on this link for the rest of the leagues matchups)

By Andrew Robinson

Lizzie Halligan couldn’t help herself.

It was something she’d seen Marisa Francione do countless times, a hustle play her longtime and to-be future teammate does on the regular, so Halligan gave Francione props like always. It was then that it hit the Notre Dame senior point guard that she was playing against the Conestoga senior point guard for the first, and only, time and maybe she shouldn’t have been congratulating an opponent for that.

Francione’s Pioneers topped Halligan’s Irish 32-30 as part of the Hoops for Hope Classic at Arcadia on Sunday, the duo enjoying their only official meeting as opponents.

“I’ve always been on the same team as her,” Francione said. “For our first time playing against each other, it was a lot of fun.”

“She’s a great friend and a great teammate,” Halligan said. “She’s a lot like me, I think our coaches would say a lot of the same things about one another. Our teammates’ parents say a lot of the same things. I think we’re great leaders and we’re really supportive of each other.”

(click on this link for the full article)

Don’t look now, but Chester’s boys basketball team is off to a 10-1 start.

Dante Atkinson scored six of his 17 points in overtime as Chester outlasted Bishop Shanahan, 63-55, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Showcase at Octorara.

Dominic Toy was named the game MVP with 16 points and nine rebounds. He supplied five of those points in overtime. Jaseir Thompson added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and Dallas Thompson tossed in 10.

Sun Valley 45, Eastern York 38 >> Blaise Eldridge provided 11 points and four blocks to win game MVP recognition in a physical affair at Octorara.

Kaiden Robinson added nine points and five assists.

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By Matt Smith

Cardinal O’Hara junior Molly Rullo only wishes that her special night Friday would have led to a better outcome.

Rullo was fouled in the process of hitting a shot late in the first quarter of a Catholic League clash with Archbishop Wood. The Drexel commit stepped to the line and calmly swished the free throw for her 1,000th career point, becoming the 23rd player in school history accomplish the feat.

Rullo briefly celebrated with teammates, then went back to work. But this wouldn’t be the Lions’ night.

Wood outplayed O’Hara in all facets en route to a 42-30 victory. It marked the first loss of the season for the Lions’ (11-1).

“It’s a great individual goal, but ultimately we wanted the win tonight and we didn’t get it,” said Rullo, who finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals. “It’s a great honor, but definitely didn’t end the night like I wanted. This was a big game, and coming into it just knowing that we wanted to play hard and do everything we needed to do in order to win. And to not be able to do that is upsetting.”

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