City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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UPPER MERION — After an epic District 1 title clash last year, the Haverford and Perkiomen Valley girls basketball teams ended their seasons earlier than expected in the state tournament.

While a district tournament rematch was spoiled earlier this winter, the back-to-back Pioneer Athletic Conference and Central League champs met again in Tuesday’s PIAA second round at Upper Merion High School, looking to extend their 2023-24 state playoff runs.

Haverford came in on a deeper postseason run than it did last year when it was bounced in the first round, but Perk Valley put an end to the Fords’ season by pulling away in the third quarter for a 64-50 win to reach its second PIAA quarterfinal in three seasons.

“This was a game we definitely wanted to win because this is how far we got last year,” Perk Valley senior Anna Stein said. “We knew we had to bring an extra level of energy today. We didn’t really have it in the first half, but in the second half we realized that’s what we need.”

Junior wing Rian Dotsey scored 20 and senior Millersville commit Aniya Eberhart tallied 19 to keep the Fords in the ball game as it was a 28-25 contest at half.

The Vikings’ (29-1) balance was on display in the win with a quartet of double-figure scorers led by juniors Bella Bacani and Grace Miley with 12 apiece. Junior Lena Stein added 11 and her older sister Anna Stein chipped in 10. 

“We knew it was kind of pick our poison with them,” Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane said. “Our focus was obviously taking the middle away and forcing tougher shots, but I think they proved what type of well-rounded team they are tonight with the other kids stepping up.”

A 10-1 PV run early in the third quarter was the decisive moment of the game. Bacani fed Lena Stein and junior Gracy Galbavy for corner threes to extend the Vikings’ lead to double digits for the first first time, 40-28. Galbavy, who had a tough night by her own standards, pulled up for another to push the lead to 13. 

The Vikings headed into the fourth up 47-32 and with all the momentum when Anna Stein made an athletic drive and Lena came up with a swat on the other end.

“I feel like sometimes I need Bella to get me going or something like that,” Galbavy said. “Once somebody starts hitting shots, it’s kind of like infectious.”

The run came without junior Navy commit Quinn Boettinger, who picked up her fourth foul with 5:36 left in the third. That highlighted the depth of the Vikings, which Galbavy pointed to is different than last year.

“Everybody just had a willingness to get better this year,” Galbavy said. “They worked so hard throughout the offseason, so now we really have seven who can make an impact. It makes it a lot easier on me.”

Haverford caps the terrific career of Eberhart, who went from the top player off the bench, to starter to co-star in the last three seasons. Classmates Tess Durfee and Ashley Wright stepped into big roles this season to help the Fords repeat in the Central League and do something last year’s talented squad wasn’t able to in winning a state playoff game.

“It’s the best team we faced all year, a state champion contender,” Pellicane said. “No matter what the score, no matter what the circumstance our kids are gonna battle. They’re gonna give it their all. They’re gonna play for 32 minutes. I’m always happy with their effort.”

PV made a bit of an underdog run to the state quarters when the current core were freshmen in 2022. Last season, a cold offensive night ended a dominant season and 16-game win streak with an overtime loss to Carroll in the second round.

The Vikings, currently winners of 21 in a row, face Cardinal O’Hara on Friday looking to book a state semifinal trip, which is something the accomplished program hasn’t done in their recent history.

“I think we’ve been picking it up at practice because last year we came out slow this time of year,” Ann Stein said. “We just know we need to bring it a little extra now. Now that we’ve got over that, we have a couple more games to go hopefully.”

“Obviously, we don’t want to repeat what happened last year,” Galbavy said.

By Quarter

Haverford  13 | 12 | 7 | 18 || 50

Perk Valley  15 | 13 | 19 | 17 || 64

Scoring

Haverford: Rian Dotsey 20, Aniya Eberhart 19, Natalie Wright 6, Ashley Wright 5.

Perk Valley: Bella Bacani 12, Grace Miley 12, Lena Stein 11, Anna Stein 10, Quinn Boettinger 9, Grace Galbavy 8,, Julia Smith 2.

Lancaster Country Day 56, Phil-Mont Christian 43

Phi-Mont Christian faced a hole in its state tournament opener against Greenwood last Friday. The Falcons rallied out of it for a state playoff win.

It was a similar story Tuesday night in the PIAA Class 1A second round as Phil-Mont fell behind by as many as 16 in the second half. This hole was just a little bigger

The Falcons came within five in the fourth and their comeback and season both ended with a 56-43 loss to Lancaster Country Day.

““It was a great year,” Phil-Mont Christian coach Glenn Dolton said. “19 and 8, can’t complain about that. Guys worked hard everyday. They loved playing together. They were a great team. There was great chemistry. I’m disappointed for them, but it just wasn’t our night.”

Lancaster Country Day’s Jordan Ashby poured in a game-high 20 points, answering multiple Phil-Mont runs. The Cougars led 35-19 with 5:40 left in the third quarter and a big Ashby three helped keep them at a 40-31 advantage heading to the fourth. He added another at the start of the period to push the lead back to 12.

Phil-Mont slowly put together a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to five, 43-38, when senior Luis Torres swiped a steal and added an and-one. Ashby responded with an and-one after Lancaster Country Day broke Phil-Mont’s pressure and not long after the Cougars were back up double digits.

The Falcons have been without star junior forward Kendall Bratten and his backup sophomore Malik Minor for the entire postseason. Torres and fellow senior Gabe Williams, who finished with 11, led the way Tuesday. 

Classmate Peter Haviland has been big all year, along with the likes of sophomore Julian Sheppard and junior Jameer Zachary, but Dolton has also been impressed by the growth of his group, including sophomores Ethan Giddens and Titus Wagonner. 

It bodes well for another postseason run next year.

“The seniors have been really dedicated throughout the offseason and everything, and we’ve had a run where the seniors set the standard, and we’ve got a really good group coming back.”

By Quarter

Lancaster Country  18 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 56 

Phil-Mont Christian  12 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 43

Scoring

Lancaster Country: Jordan Ashby 20, Cam Harris 13, Kane Kirby 12, Ben Sponaugle 6, Jeremy Ouilikon 4, Connor McCaster 1.

Phil-Mont: Gabe Williams 11, Luis Torres 9, Jameer Zachary 7, Peter Haviland 6, Jacob Johnson 4, Ethan Giddens 2, Julian Sheppard 2, Titus Waggoner 2.