City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
__

(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2022-23 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)
~~~

Alexa Bojko remembers standing there in line with her teammates, wiping away the tears last March at Temple’s Liacouras Center. 

The 5-6 senior guard remembers following the PIAA District 1 Class 5A runner-up medal down with her eyes as Eagles’ head coach Jim Powers placed it around her neck. She also remembers replaying the 52-38 loss to Villa Maria Academy in the district championship in her head and how steamed she was. That if it were up to her, she would have pulled the medal off and threw it into the stands.

It’s a memory that resonates and a feeling Bojko and her Shanahan teammates don’t plan on reliving this season. 

They know there is something missing in the Bishop Shanahan gym. It’s a banner that says: Bishop Shanahan Girls Basketball PIAA District 1 champions.

It’s missing because it’s never happened.

Maybe it’s this version of the Eagles that makes it happen.

Shanahan finished 16-11 overall last year and 10-2 in the Ches-Mont National. The Eagles lost to Villa Maria Academy in the District 1 Class 5A finals, then lost in the first round of the state playoffs to eventual and defending PIAA Class 5A state champion Cardinal O’Hara, 52-32.

The Eagles return every starter. Returning with Bojko are 5-10 junior forward Samantha Blumenthal, 5-9 junior forward Abbey Wolfe and a pair of 5-6 senior guards, Alyssa Brown, and Caydence Oswald. Joining them off the bench will be 6-foot senior center Kaitlyn Griffin and 5-4 junior guard Faith Ambrose.

Shanahan is deep, fast, well-coached, and now playoff tested.

Bojko recalls staying on the court last spring to watch the Villa Maria team receive their district championship medals and trophy. What bothers her, and the rest of her returning teammates, is that the Eagles did not play up to their capabilities in the district title game. It’s gnawed at the Eagles for eight months—losing to a Villa Maria team that they previously beat by 20 during the regular season.

They enter this season fueled to correct that.

“I remember wondering where everything went wrong, because we knew we were better than that,” said Bojko, who will be playing her last year of organized basketball this winter. “It’s good motivation to get back there. I stayed on the court and watched (Villa Maria) get their medals. I haven’t forgotten that. None of us forgot that. We can all agree. I do remember being very angry at the time. As a team to get back, we have to play better defense, because I don’t think we’re going to have that much trouble scoring.

“And I have been thinking about this being my last year of playing basketball. That’s also very motivating to me.”

Samantha Blumenthal carries personal incentive. She watched last season as her older sister, Allison, tearfully walked off the court as a senior for the last time. She does not want to witness these seniors doing that again.

“I want to do this even more for the seniors,” said Samantha, who is getting Division III attention from Ursinus and Catholic University. “Coach Powers says he’s not going to let us get complacent. I love these girls way too much to give up on (a district title); something we all know that we want. The talent on our team is not going to stop us. We need to come together and continue to play together. If we do that, the sky is the limit.”

Entering last season, the Eagles had high expectations. They knocked off defending District 1 5A champ Springfield (Delco) in the district semifinals and entered the finals brimming with confidence.

The district championship turned into a valued lesson.

“We thought we had a real good chance of (winning the district championship),” Oswald admitted. “I think we were a little in over our heads, considering we beat (Villa Maria) during the season. It definitely had something to do with the way we played. We could have played a little bit harder. It was a slap in our faces that we lost to (Villa Maria) in the district finals. We learned going on the court that no matter what team that we’re facing, we need to go in with the mentality to play to the best of our ability.

“Of course, it bothers me that we didn’t play our best last year. It drives us to reach the district championship. We all kind of chatted how far we want to go and getting that district championship is something we want to see go up. This is it for me playing basketball. I’ve played basketball for over 10 years. It won’t be easy putting a basketball down for the last time. I think we do have a very good chance of getting back to the district championship and we have a good shot of winning it this time.”

The attitude is there. The talent is there.

Collectively, the Eagles have the faculty to finish.

Sharpening Shanahan’s edge will be non-league games against Lancaster Catholic, O’Hara, Abington, Springfield (Delco), Conestoga, Villa Maria, Nazareth, Northampton, and Episcopal Academy.

Powers joked that he couldn’t schedule the 76ers or Villanova.

“We do a lot of things well, and there is room for improvement on both ends of the floor, but I would say the focus is playing better defense, and it’s something we’ll work to improve on,” said Powers, who is entering his fourth season. “We’re not very big, so we’ll need to do a better job on the glass. This is a team that knows each other very well. This team has a high basketball IQ. I would say, ‘yes,’ this is the best team I’ve had here (in four years).

“Molding and shaping this team came last year. This year, my expectations are high. It won’t be easy. Class 5A is tough. A lot of teams didn’t graduate a lot of players. This team is good enough to win the district title. They’re driven to make up for what they didn’t do last year. They have some unfinished business.”
~~~
Joseph Santoliquito is an 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 .