City of Basketball Love

Sean McBryan (@SeanMcBryan)
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Emma Rowland and the Haverford Fords’ stingy defense threw everything it had at Cedar Cliff and its freshman sensation Olivia Jones; it was nearly enough to top the Colts on their home court.

As they’ve done in a season where they pushed District 1 champion Plymouth Whitemarsh to the brink and soundly defeated Central League champ Garnet Valley to make it to states, the defensive effort never dwindled for Haverford even while pressing for the majority of the game.

Cedar Cliff, with only one scratch on an otherwise perfect record which came on a halfcourt heave in the district semifinals, were able to match that intensity and keep that single mark in the loss column by outlasting a tough Fords squad 36-27 Tuesday night in Camp Hill in a PIAA Class 6A first-round tilt.

It wasn’t easy for the Colts, who were playing their first opponent outside of District 3. Rowland, committed to play lacrosse at Old Dominion, hounded Jones and held her to only two points in a back-and-forth first quarter that ended with Cedar Cliff up 9-7.

Rowland forced Jones to commit two turnovers in the second quarter as the lead remained the same with the Colts (27-1) up 16-14 at the break.

“Usually my coaches tell me I’m guarding the best player on the opposite team,” Rowland said. “We were looking at film and how (Jones) plays. I was doing my best to match up to her skill and play physical and aggressive.”

Jones and Cedar Cliff began imposing their will in the third quarter going on an 8-2 run to make it a 24-16 game; 6-2 junior forward Caroline Dotsey came alive at the right time scoring five straight points that gave the Fords life only down 26-21 heading to the fourth.

The differences were that Cedar Cliff had a stingy defense too, one that was only giving up 25.8 points per game, and Jones found her groove in the second half, single handedly breaking the press and taking care of the ball.

The Fords struggled to score to begin the final quarter while the Colts went on a 7-0 run, five coming from Sydney Weyant, and the lead ballooned to its largest at 12 with about six minutes remaining. It ended up being too much to overcome.

“We struggled to score over the course of the year at times and it came back to bite us again in the second half,” Haverford head coach Lauren Pellicane said.

Jones led all scorers with 13.

“She’s a tough kid at 5-10,” Pellicane said of Jones. “And a strong, strong kid for only being 14 years old. She can do it all. She’s a point forward and can play one through four.”

“Feels great,” Jones said on her first state tournament win and Cedar Cliff’s first since 2017. “I knew we could be here. I knew we had the potential to be here at the beginning of the season. So it feels good to finally be here.”

Weyant had eight for Cedar Cliff. Dotsey had nine to lead Haverford.

The Fords and their seniors concluded a stellar season in which they made the state tournament for the first time since 2012; they are still on the quest for their second win in the tournament and first since 2004.

“This is one of the best senior classes I’ve coached in 17 years,” Pellicane said. “It’s an unbelievable group of leaders and it’s been fun coaching them.

“We knew we had some talent coming into this season. We have a great group of kids that understand their roles. Emma Rowland has become one of the best defenders the last few years in the Central League. McKenna Walsh is a great shooter. Maddie Williams has battled injuries and has played hurt the whole year. She was the heart and soul of our team.”

And fittingly Maura Dougherty, the fourth and final senior, scored the final bucket of the game on a layup in the final seconds.

“With our seniors we were trying to come back and make it far this year,” Rowland said. “We haven’t ever made it to states (as a group). We tried to make our last year one of the best years and I think we did that.”