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Gabby Casey's monster night propels Lansdale Catholic in PCL opener

01/06/2023, 12:45am EST
By Sean Barnard + Josh Verlin

Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

Gabby Casey was unstoppable. 

The 5-foot-9 Lansdale Catholic senior was a one-woman wrecking crew on Thursday night in South Philadelphia, the Crusaders visiting Neumann-Goretti in the Philadelphia Catholic League season opener. It was like she was on a different setting from everybody else on the court — them on slow, her on fast; a nonstop bundle of energy working its way around the court, not stopping until finally called to the sidelines with a couple minutes to play.

Casey had her fingerprints all over the 76-54 victory over Neumann-Goretti, putting up a monster stat line: 40 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a pair of blocks. It was the second time she’d scored 40 in her career — both against Neumann-Goretti, doing so in a win over the Saints at Lansdale Catholic last season, but the rebounds were a new career best.


Gabby Casey (above) had a huge night at Neumann-Goretti with 40 points, 21 rebounds and more. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“And the 40 that she had last year, she got the last one at the buzzer in a 12-point win,” Lansdale coach Eric Gidney said. “This year, she probably could have gotten more. I said, ‘I’m sorry that I took you out — you’re going to have to get 42 in some other game.’”

It was just the second time that Lansdale Catholic has beaten Neumann-Goretti, the defending PIAA Class 3A state champs, in the 16 seasons that the school has been part of the Philadelphia Catholic League. The first was last year; the Saints got revenge, beating the Crusaders in the Catholic League quarterfinals, pulling the upset in the 4 vs. 5 matchup.

That wasn’t lost on Lansdale’s girls this time around.

“We really came back with a vengeance,” Casey said. 

Building off a 19-8 record last season and returning four starters, expectations are high for Lansdale Catholic, now 7-1 on the season. They brought in some notable additions this season such as Jaida Helm, who transferred after three seasons at Abington, and Ali Johns, who missed the entirety of last season with an ACL tear. 

But at the heart of everything is the play of Casey, who delivered in the team’s Catholic League opener.

Casey downplayed the performance saying she did not expect the scoring output and pointing to how often she got to the free-throw line. While she did connect on 14-15 of her attempts at the charity stripe, she also was 13-20 from the floor overall, scoring the ball in a variety of ways. She notably made an impact when getting out on the fast-break which she pointed to as one of the most impressive areas of her game. 

“I think that, like for me personally, that's like the easiest way to score just because you know, my momentum is going,” Casey said. “I think that's really like the best part of my game.”


Casey (above) got to the basket with ease time and time again, and grabbed seven offensive rebounds. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The senior is committed to Saint Joseph’s, where she will continue her basketball playing career playing for Cindy Griffin. The Hawks are off to a 12-2 start on the year, giving her an extra burst of motivation, and she’ll jump right into the thick of it next year. 

The Hawks’ top three scorers are freshmen or sophomores, and they already have turned the program around a great deal from their 13-17 record last year. Casey attended the season-opening victory and has hopes to get back to another game soon, but has been following along for win after win, including their first two Atlantic 10 games this week.

“It's amazing just to see how their playing style is just so good,” Casey said. “The way they push the ball and get down the floor and just to see how everybody contributes as a team in all areas. So yeah, I'm really really excited.”

Casey mentioned Laura Zeigler and Talya Brugler, two of the team’s impressive young forward,s plus sophomore guard Kaylie Griffin, a Gwynedd Mercy product, as current players she has connected with. Casey also says she regularly talks with Penn Charter wing Aleah Snead, who also will be joining the Hawks next season, giving them another burst of local talent to add onto their already youthful core. 

For now, her focus is on helping Lansdale Catholic and kicking off the Catholic League with this victory is the exact start Casey and the team were hoping for. While he admitted it is difficult not to take the high level of play for granted at times, Gidney spoke especially highly of Casey’s performance in this one. 

“It was a phenomenal game, and a lot of it was just her energy,” Gidney said. “Just nonstop energy, didn’t have to recharge her batteries one time. She wanted this game, she wanted to start off the Catholic League with making an announcement like ‘pay attention to us, pay attention to LC, we’re here to be dealt with,’ she did that.”

This energy she brought showed up in her career-high 21 rebounds with seven of these coming on the offensive end. It also overshadowed some impressive play of a number of her teammates.


Littlejohn (above) wove her way to 20 points, with a terrific handle and scoring ability around the hoop. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Saniyah Littlejohn stepped up in a major way. The sophomore finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and a steal while shooting an efficient 9-13 from the field. Her growth this season has been an important part of the Crusaders’ success. 

“Just in her leadership at practice,” Casey said of Littlejohn. “She's always talking now like, and that's a big step for her, she doesn’t talk very much but on the floor, she's starting to talk a lot. And just her driving ability. It's amazing. I can tell she really put in a lot of work in the offseason and just she gained more confidence and it's really it's really prevailing for her.”

Helm was also essential to the team’s success by adding 12 rebounds to go with her five points, while junior sharpshooter Olivia Boccella added two 3-pointers for six points and sophomore wing Nadia Yemola added three points, four rebounds and three assists. 

Sophomore guard Amaya Scott paced Neumann-Goretti with 26 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, hitting a bunch of shots after the outcome was decided. Carryn Easley added nine points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while Amirah Hackney and Sanej Tyler scored eight each for the Saints (2-7, 0-1).

Lansdale Catholic hopes this victory is a sign of success for the rest of the season, but it’ll take a while until they play one of the other projected top teams in the league. Widely expected to be one of the favorites, there are sure to be eyes on Lansdale Catholic when they face off with Cardinal O’Hara, Archbishop Wood, and Archbishop Carroll in their final three games of the season; they will face off with Bonner-Prendie and a young-but-dangerous West Catholic next week. 

Whether the Crusaders want to be considered a ‘favorite’ along with the likes of Wood and O’Hara — who are both defending state championships — and Carroll or still as one of the underdogs fighting for respect is still to-be-determined.

"I think that we’ll figure that out soon,” Gidney said. “I don’t think that we’re necessarily there yet. I personally still think that we need to have a little bit of underdog mentality, but I’m starting to see the girls becoming more and more comfortable with being talked about, with being in the conversation.

“And I’m comfortable with it too, as long as it doesn’t allow us to get complacent and not work hard.”

By Quarter
NG:  8   |  11  |  16  |  19  ||  54
LC:  20  |  17  |  22  |  17  ||  76

Shooting
NG: 21-62 FG (4-27 3PT), 8-15 FT
LC: 28-60 FG (3-19 3PT), 17-21 FT

Scoring
NG: Scott 26, Easley 9, Hackney 8, Tyler 8, Coston 3
LC: Casey 40, Littlejohn 20, Boccella 6, Helm 5, Yemola 3, Allen 2


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