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District 1 6A Girls Championship Preview: Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Spring-Ford

03/04/2022, 11:00am EST
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)

This district tournament has certainly given Plymouth Whitemarsh a chance to face some of its past hauntings head-on.

Two seasons ago, a young Colonials roster had its run through the Class 6A bracket thwarted in the semifinals by Pennsbury. PW got over that one with a win against the No. 4 seeded Falcons on Wednesday.


Abby Sharpe (L) and Jordyn Thomas have No. 1 seed P-W one win from a district title. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

A year ago, it was Spring-Ford crushing the Colonials' dreams of a district title, ending PW's season in the district title game thanks to the altered playoff format due to COVID-19.

Saturday, the unbeaten and top-seeded Colonials will have their opportunity to get past that one when they face the No. 11 Rams in the District 1 6A title game, slated for a 4 p.m. start at Temple's Liacouras Center.

"Winning isn't easy, we don't just roll the balls out with these kids and win," Colonials coach Dan Dougherty said earlier in the tournament. "One of the things that has sparked it, two years ago when we lost to Pennsbury in the semifinals, they went five-out, their 'Carolina' play and basically said 'you can't guard us one on one.'

"Spring-Ford did it in the district championship last year, wait until Lucy Olsen gets the ball and you can't guard her and so every day, the first 30 minutes of practice is one-on-one man defense and that's what wins us games."

Granted, this isn't the same Spring-Ford team that advanced all the way to the PIAA title game last year but this group has more than earned its place at Temple this weekend. Unlike last year's veteran squad, this iteration of the Rams has just one senior and relies heavily on a core of sophomores that rarely play like underclassmen.

Sophomore guards Mac Pettinelli and Anna Azzara were role players for last year's team and Kamryn Pufko - the aforementioned lone senior - has come up through the program but Saturday will be a new experience for remaining sophomore starters Katie Tiffan and Siena Miller and top reserves in sophomore Aaliyah Solliday and junior Megan Robbins.

Longtime Rams coach Mickey McDaniel is no stranger to a championship environment and noted it's something the majority of his team will have to take in once it gets to Broad Street.


Kamryn Pufko (above) is the only senior in the Spring-Ford rotation. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

"People have asked me how we've done this having so many younger girls," McDaniel said after Wednesday's semifinal win over Souderton. "Yeah, we do, but they play a little beyond their years and that's what's important, that they play with confidence. They've had good teachers from the past in our alumni helping them through."

What the Colonials have plenty of is experience. Seniors Kaitlyn Flanagan and Jordyn Thomas are four-year starters, senior Lainey Allen has thrived this year, fully healthy after two seasons slowed by injury woes and juniors Erin Daley and Abby Sharpe have thrived in their first season as full-time starters. PW doesn't have as much depth as years past, but senior guard Fiona Gooneratne has been invaluable this postseason and junior Angelina Balcer can hold her own to buy the starters some time off the floor.

Statistically, there's no clear-cut leader offensively for the Colonials and that's just how they want it. Daley, Sharpe and Allen have all had big games throughout the season, Flanagan has been terrific in terms of assists to turnovers and Thomas has maintained her spot as a threat anywhere on the floor as a 6-foot-1 post with consistent perimeter shooting.

"It's not one person scoring 25 points a game, each person can score 15, 14, 13, we're just a really balanced team," Sharpe said after the team's quarterfinal comeback win against Haverford. "That's ultimately what pushes us to win. Yeah, you can double one person but that just leaves the next person wide open. I think it's hard to defend us because we play smart and get those type of shots."

Both teams are plenty battle-tested.

Spring-Ford worked its way up, using a torrid finish to the regular season that helped catapult it to a PAC title and so far, has continued through the district tournament. PW has an SOL Liberty and tournament title, plus the unblemished record that includes some quality non-league wins over PCL finalists Archbishop Carroll and Cardinal O'Hara.

The Colonials have been extremely versatile on defense all season but whether it's some variation of a press, a zone, man or even pressure in the halfcourt, they've been extremely rigid and coupled with balanced offense, has made a winning combination. The Rams' defense has gotten better as the season's gone on, catching up to an offense that always feels a few made baskets away from erupting to form a potent formula of its own.

"It's a blessing, I think a lot of people counted us out at the beginning of the year," Pettinelli said after the semifinals. "We showed our true colors, pushed it collectively as a team and we're just glad to be going back."


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