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Mount Sophomore Making Her Own Mark In Basketball
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| Stephanie Smith is one of many sophomores in the area who are making key contributions to girls’ basketball teams in the state tournament. Smith, a 6-foot center, does most of her damage in the paint for the Magic. (Rob Reed/The Bulletin) |
High School Notebook
By Kevin L. Hall & Drew Silverman, The Bulletin
They may not make headlines in the papers, but sophomores are playing key roles for area girls’ basketball teams this month at states.
Defending Class AAA state champion Mount St. Joseph relies on a pair of 10th-graders in 6-foot center Stephanie Smith and feisty guard Mary Jo Horgan. Both have filled key starting roles left open by the graduation of all-state players who took the Magic all the way to the state championship last season.
But the Mount isn’t the only team that counts on a sophomore to fill quality minutes. Lower Merion has point guard Sheba Hall. Emily Fazzini starts for Archbishop Carroll and can always be counted on for a big rebound or toughness around the basket.
Cardinal O’Hara head coach Linus McGinty looks to reserve MaryKate Gardler as the first player off his bench when any one of his three Division I guards needs a breather or gets into foul trouble.
She played nearly five minutes when starter Tasha Cloud picked up her fourth foul in O’Hara’s hard-fought win over Wilson on Tuesday.
Gardler sees her role as a player who has to be ready at any time to help her team when she is called upon.
“I just try to do as much as I possibly can for the (starters) because they’re all so great,” she said. “It’s hard coming off the bench, but you want to give that energy for these girls.”
For a team that may have been in a rebuilding period, the Mount has shown that if you have one or two returning seniors, you can put talented underclassmen around them and still go far.
Smith and Horgan have spearheaded the youth movement at the Mount, which advanced last night a 42-40 win over Bangor and will face Archbishop Carroll in the AAA quarterfinals on Saturday.
Horgan is a ball-hawking zealot with boundless energy, while Smith is a fearless scorer in the paint and a tough rebounder. Her three baskets in the second half of the Mount’s first-round win over Catholic League brute Archbishop Wood came at key moments when the Magic needed points. And they came against the long reach and big hops of Saint Joseph’s signee Ashley Robinson.
“It’s hard going in on a 6-2 girl,” Smith said. “It helped that I played against her in summer league.”
Smith watched tape of Robinson to get an idea of how to defend and score against her. On offense, Smith would back her down, then pivot and go around her from a low starting angle. She managed to score three times with her scooping bank shots.
“Watching her, I knew I had to go strong and take it into (her),” she said. “On defense, you have to focus all of your energy on her and not (play) as much help defense.”
Smith, who has people already forgetting the play of former Mount standout and current Lafayette freshman Sarah McGorry, hopes to help bring the Mount back to the state championship.
“Last year, everybody knew we could go all the way,” she added. “But this year, we’re the underdogs.”
Pain In The Ankles
When Lower Merion meets Cardinal O’Hara tomorrow night in the quarterfinals of the AAAA girls’ basketball tournament, the game will have a decidedly different feel.
The Aces will be without standout shooting guard Molly Hanlon, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury on March 2. Hanlon, a 1,000-point scorer who’s headed to Holy Family, can compare walking boots with O’Hara All-American Stephanie Holzer.
The difference is, Holzer leaves her boot in the locker room. She has been playing most of the season with right ankle pain, attributed to a buildup of scar tissue. Holzer is playing through the pain, but she hasn’t practiced for over three weeks.
“It’s really frustrating. I need to be there for my team,” she said Tuesday after hitting two free throws with 0.6 seconds left to lift the Lions over Wilson and into the quarterfinals against the Aces.
District 1 Teams Dominate Girls’ AAAA Tournament
Downingtown West’s shocking win over reigning Class AAAA state champion Central Dauphin on Tuesday has shifted the balance of power decidedly toward the east.
That means the top four seeds from District 1 now comprise half of the field for the quarterfinals of the AAAA girls’ basketball tournament.
At least one will be eliminated after tomorrow’s games, however, since the Whippets (20-9) have to play district runner-up Cheltenham (27-2) as part of a state doubleheader at Spring-Ford at 8 p.m. That game follows the contest between the district’s third seed, Lower Merion (26-3), and District 12 champion Cardinal O’Hara (25-2) at 6:30 p.m.
District 1 champion Downingtown East is one of five district champs still playing, and the Cougars (27-2) take on one of those in District 2 champion Hazleton Area (24-2) in Reading at 6:30 p.m.
In the other semifinal that doesn’t include a District 1 team, undefeated Mount Lebanon (28-0), the champion of District 7, meets District 6 champ State College (18-6).
State semifinals for the tournament take place on Tuesday with the state championship held on March 20 at Penn State.
Delco Christian Makes History In State Tourney
Even before it played last night, the Delco Christian girls’ basketball team had already made history.
The Lady Knights (21-8) became the first small-school District 1 runner-up team to win at states in 23 previous tournaments. Prior to that, the District 1 second seed was 0-23.
This year’s tournament is the 26th since the PIAA went from three classes to four. District 1 has had two teams at states for Class A in 24 of them, except 1999, 2000 and this year, when it has three teams.
Delco Christian, which is located in Newtown Square, went for a second unprecedented win in the second round last night when it faced Benton, the third seed from District 4, at Parkland High. Unfortunately, the Lady Knights dropped a 44-32 decision to the Tigers.
Boys’ Basketball: PCL Rivals Meet Again
Neumann-Goretti and Archbishop Carroll are slated to meet tomorrow for the third and final time this season. The Saints won the first meeting, 63-49, on Jan. 9 and took the second matchup, 75-58, on Feb. 6.
On the line tomorrow is a berth in the PIAA Class AAA state semifinals. The game will be played at Archbishop Ryan at 7 p.m.
Neumann and Carroll are also the last two Catholic League teams remaining in any of the boys’ brackets. Class AAAA powerhouse Roman Catholic was upset by Central Bucks South in the first round last Saturday, while North Catholic was routed by Pennsbury in Round 1.
Hardly A Haven
Strath Haven bowed out of the state tournament on Tuesday with a 59-45 loss to York Suburban. The Panthers, who had won five of six entering the game, were paced by Calvin Newell’s 20 points.
That leaves only Holy Ghost Prep among District 1 teams remaining in the Class AAA field. The Firebirds are scheduled to face Hampton in a quarterfinal matchup tomorrow night.
Entering last night, seven District 1 teams remained in the AAAA field, including Conestoga, but the Pioneers lost to Parkland, 56-49, in the quarterfinals.
Jake Cohen, Conestoga’s 6-foot-10 center, scored 15 points and Robert Scott had 12 for the Pioneers, who led at the end of every quarter except the one that mattered most.
Kevin L. Hall can be reached at khall@thebulletin.us. Drew Silverman can be reached at dsilverman@thebulletin.us
Boys’ Top 10
(Records as of Tuesday)
1. Neumann-Goretti (26-3)
2. Friends’ Central (28-2)
3. Norristown (23-5)
4. Imhotep Charter (28-1)
5. Penn Wood (24-4)
6. Chester (24-4)
7. Conestoga (27-3)
8. Archbishop Carroll (24-3)
9. Germantown Academy (24-6)
10. Lower Merion (23-7)
Girls’ Top 10
(Records as of Tuesday)
1. Archbishop Carroll (26-1)
2. Germantown Academy (31-0)
3. Downingtown East (27-2)
4. Cardinal O’Hara (25-2)
5. Mount St. Joseph (27-1)
6. Cheltenham (27-2)
7. Lower Merion (26-3)
8. Downingtown West (20-9)
9. Springfield-Delco (23-3)
10. Academy of Notre Dame (24-8)
Defending Class AAA state champion Mount St. Joseph relies on a pair of 10th-graders in 6-foot center Stephanie Smith and feisty guard Mary Jo Horgan. Both have filled key starting roles left open by the graduation of all-state players who took the Magic all the way to the state championship last season.
But the Mount isn’t the only team that counts on a sophomore to fill quality minutes. Lower Merion has point guard Sheba Hall. Emily Fazzini starts for Archbishop Carroll and can always be counted on for a big rebound or toughness around the basket.
Cardinal O’Hara head coach Linus McGinty looks to reserve MaryKate Gardler as the first player off his bench when any one of his three Division I guards needs a breather or gets into foul trouble.
She played nearly five minutes when starter Tasha Cloud picked up her fourth foul in O’Hara’s hard-fought win over Wilson on Tuesday.
Gardler sees her role as a player who has to be ready at any time to help her team when she is called upon.
“I just try to do as much as I possibly can for the (starters) because they’re all so great,” she said. “It’s hard coming off the bench, but you want to give that energy for these girls.”
For a team that may have been in a rebuilding period, the Mount has shown that if you have one or two returning seniors, you can put talented underclassmen around them and still go far.
Smith and Horgan have spearheaded the youth movement at the Mount, which advanced last night a 42-40 win over Bangor and will face Archbishop Carroll in the AAA quarterfinals on Saturday.
Horgan is a ball-hawking zealot with boundless energy, while Smith is a fearless scorer in the paint and a tough rebounder. Her three baskets in the second half of the Mount’s first-round win over Catholic League brute Archbishop Wood came at key moments when the Magic needed points. And they came against the long reach and big hops of Saint Joseph’s signee Ashley Robinson.
“It’s hard going in on a 6-2 girl,” Smith said. “It helped that I played against her in summer league.”
Smith watched tape of Robinson to get an idea of how to defend and score against her. On offense, Smith would back her down, then pivot and go around her from a low starting angle. She managed to score three times with her scooping bank shots.
“Watching her, I knew I had to go strong and take it into (her),” she said. “On defense, you have to focus all of your energy on her and not (play) as much help defense.”
Smith, who has people already forgetting the play of former Mount standout and current Lafayette freshman Sarah McGorry, hopes to help bring the Mount back to the state championship.
“Last year, everybody knew we could go all the way,” she added. “But this year, we’re the underdogs.”
Pain In The Ankles
When Lower Merion meets Cardinal O’Hara tomorrow night in the quarterfinals of the AAAA girls’ basketball tournament, the game will have a decidedly different feel.
The Aces will be without standout shooting guard Molly Hanlon, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury on March 2. Hanlon, a 1,000-point scorer who’s headed to Holy Family, can compare walking boots with O’Hara All-American Stephanie Holzer.
The difference is, Holzer leaves her boot in the locker room. She has been playing most of the season with right ankle pain, attributed to a buildup of scar tissue. Holzer is playing through the pain, but she hasn’t practiced for over three weeks.
“It’s really frustrating. I need to be there for my team,” she said Tuesday after hitting two free throws with 0.6 seconds left to lift the Lions over Wilson and into the quarterfinals against the Aces.
District 1 Teams Dominate Girls’ AAAA Tournament
Downingtown West’s shocking win over reigning Class AAAA state champion Central Dauphin on Tuesday has shifted the balance of power decidedly toward the east.
That means the top four seeds from District 1 now comprise half of the field for the quarterfinals of the AAAA girls’ basketball tournament.
At least one will be eliminated after tomorrow’s games, however, since the Whippets (20-9) have to play district runner-up Cheltenham (27-2) as part of a state doubleheader at Spring-Ford at 8 p.m. That game follows the contest between the district’s third seed, Lower Merion (26-3), and District 12 champion Cardinal O’Hara (25-2) at 6:30 p.m.
District 1 champion Downingtown East is one of five district champs still playing, and the Cougars (27-2) take on one of those in District 2 champion Hazleton Area (24-2) in Reading at 6:30 p.m.
In the other semifinal that doesn’t include a District 1 team, undefeated Mount Lebanon (28-0), the champion of District 7, meets District 6 champ State College (18-6).
State semifinals for the tournament take place on Tuesday with the state championship held on March 20 at Penn State.
Delco Christian Makes History In State Tourney
Even before it played last night, the Delco Christian girls’ basketball team had already made history.
The Lady Knights (21-8) became the first small-school District 1 runner-up team to win at states in 23 previous tournaments. Prior to that, the District 1 second seed was 0-23.
This year’s tournament is the 26th since the PIAA went from three classes to four. District 1 has had two teams at states for Class A in 24 of them, except 1999, 2000 and this year, when it has three teams.
Delco Christian, which is located in Newtown Square, went for a second unprecedented win in the second round last night when it faced Benton, the third seed from District 4, at Parkland High. Unfortunately, the Lady Knights dropped a 44-32 decision to the Tigers.
Boys’ Basketball: PCL Rivals Meet Again
Neumann-Goretti and Archbishop Carroll are slated to meet tomorrow for the third and final time this season. The Saints won the first meeting, 63-49, on Jan. 9 and took the second matchup, 75-58, on Feb. 6.
On the line tomorrow is a berth in the PIAA Class AAA state semifinals. The game will be played at Archbishop Ryan at 7 p.m.
Neumann and Carroll are also the last two Catholic League teams remaining in any of the boys’ brackets. Class AAAA powerhouse Roman Catholic was upset by Central Bucks South in the first round last Saturday, while North Catholic was routed by Pennsbury in Round 1.
Hardly A Haven
Strath Haven bowed out of the state tournament on Tuesday with a 59-45 loss to York Suburban. The Panthers, who had won five of six entering the game, were paced by Calvin Newell’s 20 points.
That leaves only Holy Ghost Prep among District 1 teams remaining in the Class AAA field. The Firebirds are scheduled to face Hampton in a quarterfinal matchup tomorrow night.
Entering last night, seven District 1 teams remained in the AAAA field, including Conestoga, but the Pioneers lost to Parkland, 56-49, in the quarterfinals.
Jake Cohen, Conestoga’s 6-foot-10 center, scored 15 points and Robert Scott had 12 for the Pioneers, who led at the end of every quarter except the one that mattered most.
Kevin L. Hall can be reached at khall@thebulletin.us. Drew Silverman can be reached at dsilverman@thebulletin.us
Boys’ Top 10
(Records as of Tuesday)
1. Neumann-Goretti (26-3)
2. Friends’ Central (28-2)
3. Norristown (23-5)
4. Imhotep Charter (28-1)
5. Penn Wood (24-4)
6. Chester (24-4)
7. Conestoga (27-3)
8. Archbishop Carroll (24-3)
9. Germantown Academy (24-6)
10. Lower Merion (23-7)
Girls’ Top 10
(Records as of Tuesday)
1. Archbishop Carroll (26-1)
2. Germantown Academy (31-0)
3. Downingtown East (27-2)
4. Cardinal O’Hara (25-2)
5. Mount St. Joseph (27-1)
6. Cheltenham (27-2)
7. Lower Merion (26-3)
8. Downingtown West (20-9)
9. Springfield-Delco (23-3)
10. Academy of Notre Dame (24-8)
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