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Prepping for Preps '22-23: Lansdale Catholic (Girls)

11/29/2022, 2:15pm EST
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)

(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)
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Lansdale Catholic’s aim is to be noise-proof.

The Crusaders aren’t sound-proofing their gym, especially not with the advantage it gives them when the close-to-the-floor student section is riled up. This is more of a team mentality thing, a way to keep the noise out of the building. Last year, it worked well when the external talk coming off a two-win season wasn’t brimming with expectations or possibility.

A run to a state title game, the key players coming back and a few additions will change that.

“We have to eliminate that noise. Last year, no one expected much of us and we eliminated that noise and were able to turn it into a state finalist season,” LC coach Eric Gidney said. “I appreciate the noise and understand that noise, but there are still three other teams in the Catholic League that finished ahead of us in the regular season and three other teams in the Catholic League that won state championships last year.

“We weren’t any of those, so it really is just that, noise.”


Lansdale Catholic senior Gabby Casey has her eyes on a state title before heading to St. Joe's. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

This time last year, LC had a returning all-state player in Gabby Casey, a nice shooter in Olivia Boccella and a mix of question marks and potential everywhere else. A few weeks into the season, Casey had proven her sophomore season wasn’t just the product of some inflated numbers, Boccella kept knocking down threes even with extra attention and quite a few of those questions had been answered by the potential of the team’s freshmen.

The Crusaders finished fourth in the Catholic League’s regular season standings and even after a quarterfinal round loss, came back together for a tremendous state playoff run. It all ended in Hershey, with LC falling to PCL foe Archbishop Wood in the PIAA 4A title game but the foundation was set.

“We’ve been in the gym basically since the season ended and getting a head start,” Casey said. “We wanted to get a jump on all coming together, especially the new girls, so we can just get into it. It's a mental thing but I think we all know we’re ready.”

Not only does Lansdale Catholic have the majority of its team coming back, it also potentially got stronger.

The Crusaders added Jaida Helm, who transferred in after three seasons at Abington, and are getting a healthy Ali Johns back after the senior missed the entirety of the postseason with a knee injury last year. Freshman post player Isabella Allen has the potential to bolster the bench and Gidney also pointed to freshman Aubrey Mobley and senior Alana Ciccocelli as two players who could see minutes as reserves.

Helm, a 6-foot versatile forward, fills the starting spot vacated by co-captain Lauren Edwards, who graduated along with Erin Clark, and the Abington transfer has already fit right in. Even without the opportunity to fully ingrain in the team’s system, Helm was out running the floor, grabbing boards, hustling and both throwing and receiving outlet passes from Casey in LC’s fall competitions.

“Jaida has really helped a lot,” Boccella said. “We’re still learning how to play with her but I think she’s going to help us. She plays with a lot of energy and it’s really fun to play with her.”

Casey grew up playing football with her older brother Jimmy - a reserve tight end at Florida State - and his buddies and it’s translated into her play on the court. Defensively, the 5-foot-11 senior resembles a free safety at times, flying across the court to pick off passes or soaring to grab boards.


Lansdale Catholic junior Olivia Boccella is an established sharpshooter for the Crusaders. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The senior is entering her fourth season as a varsity starter and has already broken the 1,000-point barrier, so her focus is on championships this winter. The relentless playing style that helped to a first team all-state selection last year also drew plenty of colleges in, and Casey pledged to St. Joe’s in April.

“Our ultimate goal is getting back to the state championship but also in the PCL, we want to compete for that championship as well,” Casey said. “Our biggest thing this year will be staying together as a team. If one person has a bad game, we have to pick each other up and stay together if we want to get to March.”

Boccella, who helped LC’s soccer team to the state playoffs this fall, is a certified floor spacer and the junior looks like she’ll get some help in that department. Sophomore Nadia Yemola has shown strides of improvement this fall and has been more confident looking for her shot while Saniyah Littlejohn is also playing more aggressive on offense after finding a role as a lockdown defender as a freshman last year.

With four starters back, plus a newcomer that looks to be an easy fit into the fifth spot and a bench that should be an asset by the end of the season, it’s not hard to see why LC is drawing preseason noise. The program isn’t ignoring them, but the Crusaders don’t want that external buzz to be the reason they don’t get where they think they’re able to go.

“This year, I’ll be honest, there are lofty goals and we know there is a long way to go but because of that, all of them individually have worked really hard on their game to eliminate excuses,” Gidney said. “If we can compete as well as we possibly can, that’s when good and great things will happen for us.”

The four teams that reached the PCL semifinals are all replacing at least two key players, so LC is also an early pick as a top contender for the league title. With increased expectations internally and externally, the Crusaders have pumped up their schedule to help prepare for the Catholic League and what they hope to be a long run through Class 4A after.

If their playoff run last winter, which saw LC face Lancaster Catholic, Allentown Central Catholic, Delone Catholic and Villa Maria (Erie) on the way to Hershey, proved anything, it's that winning in March is quite difficult.

“Nothing is promised, that’s one of our big beliefs this year. It’s nice to be in that conversation but March is a long ways away and there’s a lot of basketball to be played,” Gidney said. “Last year for us was a year of transformation, how do we go from that 2-11 season and become the best team we can be? I don’t think in our wildest dreams did we think it would end with a state finalist type of season. This year, it will be a season of trying to meet our goals.”


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