City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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HERSHEY — The sniffles and the sobs were audible enough to wend through the Spring-Ford team dressing room and out into the Hershey Giant Center hallway. The sounds said it hurt. The blood shot eyes and dripping tears said it hurt.

None of the Spring-Ford Rams were wearing their PIAA silver medals when they returned to their dressing room, after suffering a 42-26 setback to Cardinal O’Hara on Friday in the girls’ PIAA Class 6A state championship.

Second was not good enough. It’s that wrought-iron, never-break mentality that steered the Rams to the state championship game in the first place.

Minutes later, it was time to reflect through the pain of what an amazing ride the Rams’ senior class has taken. Anna Azzara (Wright State), Mackenzie Pettinelli (St. Bonaventure), Katie Tiffan (Lynn), Aaliyah Solliday (undecided, though Lock Haven is showing interest), Siena Miller and Sophia Allocca all go back over a decade playing basketball with each other—since the third grade.

In that time, they built a bond that carried over into high school, and from there, forged the foundation of a state-championship caliber winning program. With those six seniors leading the way, the Rams won 101 games over four years, winning 24, 25, 25 games respectively in their first three years before finishing 27-7 this season.   

“This hurts because this group of seniors were so special, and they did so much, and they had the ability to nurture and grow, and they worked very hard,” said highly successful Spring-Ford coach Mickey McDaniel, who finished his 11th season. “They leave as winners.”

Over the last four years, the Rams won a District 1 championship, won two Pioneer Athletic Conference championships, played in three District 1 Class 6A championships, four PAC championships, and two state championships. That leaves a distinguished resume.

“I know people could put the Ws and Ls to that resume and say that it is not successful, they’re wrong, because the hardest part of all of this is the journey to get here,” McDaniel said. “It what it takes, not in season, but out of season, and not just one year, but four years of commitment and dedication to reach this point.

“This senior class went as far as it could go. They played in the state championship. They finished their careers in the state championship game. In that regard, it’s been a successful class.”

What the departing seniors will miss the most are the bus rides together, and how they could pick themselves up when they sensed someone was down. What they will remember are Solliday’s cackling laughbox laugh, and comedic timing, Tiffan’s singing, and their collective grit. They will miss the times that they could poke and prod each other, knowing how each one of them thought on and off the court.

Azzara did not want to let go of Solliday when the two hugged after receiving their silver medals.

“It sucks to end it this way,” Azzara said. “We came here to win. We would not be here with that mentality. This group of girls are great and it sucks we can’t play together anymore, and I can’t say that without getting emotional. It’s going to take a few days to get over this.”

Cardinal O'Hara's Joanie Quinn, left, and Anna Azzara fight for the ball Saturday at the Giant Center. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Tiffan remembers playing with her older sister, Emily, and she goes out playing with her younger sister, Christina, a 5-9 junior guard. Katie leaves the Spring-Ford program carrying a pile of memories that will last.

“I’ll remember the friendships, and that’s it, we’ve all been friends since we were so young together,” Katie said. “Leaving them will be really hard, because we have chemistry like no other team does. We have so fun together. This will take a week or two looking back and everything we’ve done. It will time for it to settle in, because I’m a little in shock right now.”       

Solliday’s journey is more than anyone else. She tore the ACL in her left knee last October, underwent surgery on October 14, 2022, and carries an inch-long vertical scar and plays with a cumbersome tethered leg brace.   

She is getting attention from Lock Haven, among other schools, and her teary eyes screamed volumes how much she will miss her hoop pals.

“There were only two teams that got here, and that was an accomplishment, but we would have wanted a better outcome,” Solliday said. “What I will miss the most is being with everyone. This team is like a second family, and it hurts because it like a funeral. We are all moving on, and I will be playing in college. Everyone on this team could make you laugh, and there was never a dull moment. That’s what I will miss.”

Pettinelli has big-time college basketball in her future. It eases some of the hurt.

She could not help but smile when her teammates were brought up.

“We will always remember each other and that goes beyond the court,” Pettinelli said. “That’s what I will take with me. When we went on team trips, bus rides, and I’ll miss Aaliyah, everyone, and I will hit a little bit more.   

"This will good for our younger kids, with Kareena (Preuss) and Christina (Tiffan), coming up, because they see our bond and how close we are.

“We got back, our seniors got back to the state championship. We lost then as freshman, and we lost now, but I think in time we will be able to look back at all this and know we did pretty well, and be appreciative of everything we did.”

They should.

Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.