City of Basketball Love

Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)
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Taking things one day at a time has been the motto for Haverford High’s girls this season. 

Remaining level-headed while not looking ahead has led the Fords to an unbeaten start through seven games. At this point last season, Haverford had only lost two games, but this year the team has been laser-focused on starting even stronger. 

“We're really hungry as a team,” senior forward Caroline Dotsey said. “We work really hard every day and the effort from every single person on this team has been amazing so far. 

“We need to keep that mentality.”

Haverford has won six of its seven games by at least 20 points to start the season, including another dominant performance on Thursday. The Fords defeated Central League rivals Garnet Valley 57-30 in a wire-to-wire victory. 

Haverford (7-0, 5-0) controlled things from the opening tip; boosted by a 10-2 to start the game, the Fords never looked back. Extending their lead to double digits in the second quarter, Haverford never let the Jaguars get close. 

Haverford’s only close game survived a close game against Conestoga where the Fords escaped with a two point overtime win. Like they have all season, Haverford came into Thursday’s contest ready to play, executing the game plan.  

“Tonight, we came focused,” Haverford head coach Lauren Pellicane said. “We’re playing within ourselves right now, we’re preparing and showing up. We’re led by an upper class group, over the years coaching different teams, it makes a difference when you’re senior laden and have upper classmen playing the majority of the minutes.”

Three of Haverford’s starters are seniors, including Dotsey, Mollie Carpenter and Sky Newman. Each led by example, shown in their performances against Garnet Valley with Dotsey running the show. The 6-foot-2 do-it-all forward, bound for Maine next year, filled up the stat sheet, scoring a game high 22 points, pulling in 13 rebounds and dishing out three assists 

Dotsey set the tone for her teammates, opening up the game with a strong take in the lane. The senior scored nine points in the first quarter and personally outscored Garnet 15-14 at half; her dominant play gave the Fords a comfortable 13-point halftime lead. Dotsey stayed in attack mode throughout, doing most of her damage in the paint  

“I have a lot of confidence,” Dotsey said. “Over the years everyone here has built me up as a player and I’ve soaked all the advice in, it's really nice to have that feedback from my teammates.”

Dotsey’s experience gives her leadership responsibilities for Haverford. The senior noted that Katie Reading, the Haverford point guard Dotsey’s freshman season, influenced the way she leads. Learning from her helped her become a leader on and off the court. 

Against Garnet Valley (4-4, 3-2), Dotsey was stuck in the middle of the Jags zone, trying to break it down. The senior was trusted to make smart decisions and keep the ball moving, opening up the zone allowing for open looks for Haverford. 

Haverford’s size gives opposing teams problems. With three players over six feet, Pellicane knows that the Fords will face plenty of zone looks this season, so keeping the ball hot is key.

“We’re trying to teach movement without the ball and good passing to try and get high percentage shots. Some of these guys are learning and starting to buy into that and we’re able to have success.” Pelicane said. 

The Fords generated open looks all night, attacking the glass on misses. Using their size advantage Haverford dominated the boards, creating easy second chance opportunities which led to layups or free throws. 

Dotsey finished with 13 of her own rebounds, Mollie Carpenter had nine and Rian Dotsey finished with six. Rian Dotsey, a sophomore and Caroline’s younger sister, was the second-leading scorer for the Fords with 13 points; Newman finished with seven and Carpenter with 6.  

“We wanted to utilize our size, running the high low action as much as we could,” Pellicane explained. 

“We did the best we could in terms of trying to block out, even though they obviously had the size advantage.” Garnet Valley head coach Joe Woods said. “They positioned themselves very well and with their strength, they could move us you know, underneath the basket and you know, go over the top a little bit without fouling.”

Woods wanted to force Haverford to shoot from the outside. The Fords knocked down four threes, not hitting a high percentage, but it worked out because they were able to get offensive rebounds.

After two games decided by 10 points against Garnet Valley last season, Haverford knew they had to be ready. The Fords knew Garnet liked to shoot from the outside, so they emphasized preventing open looks from three point range. They also zeroed in on Haylie Adamski trying to shut down the skilled sophomore.

Adamski led Garnet with 12 points, but 10 came in the second half when the game was out of reach. The sophomore had to carry the load offensively with Emily Olsen, a starter from last year injured. Outside of Savannah Saunders, no Jaguar had more than four points.The Fords played air-tight defense, contesting each of Garnet’s shots in the paint and rebounding the basketball.

“We pride ourselves on defense,” Pellicane said. “At the end of the season you’re going to win games if you defend and rebound. That’s a daily reminder for us, we’ve got guys who have that mentality.”

After losing in the District quarterfinals and in the first round of the state tournament last year, Haverford knows what it takes and is ready to make another run.

“They're gonna have a special year together,” Pellicane said. “We have different types of players, but they play well within each other, they look for each other and know each other's strengths, so it's fun to watch. They compete non-stop in practice and in games. 

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By Quarter
Haverford:       18  |   9   |  17  |  13  ||  57
Garnet Valley:  9   |   5   |   9   |   7   ||  30 

Scoring
Haverford: Dotsey 22, Dotsey 13, Newman 7, Carpenter 6, Eberhart 5, Foley 2, Wright 2 

Garnet Valley: Adamski 12, Saunders 5, Zebley 4, Zipperlen 3,Daubenberger 3, Mulholland 3