City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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BERWYN — A year ago, Conestoga went into a game against Springfield (Delco) looking to prove itself.

The young Pioneers had gotten off to a good start, but starting a gauntlet of Central League games against a perennial power Cougars team would show ‘Stoga just where it stood. They lost that game, then the next one then three more - all close games, but still losses - and ultimately ended their season in the first round of the district playoffs.

A year ago, ‘Stoga didn’t have Ryann Jennings.

The fearless freshman made the difference this time around, her four-point play in the fourth quarter kicking off a strong finish by the Pioneers, leading to a 39-35 win over the visiting Cougars on Thursday.

“We realized we had to win this game if we wanted to prove we were serious about competing for the Central League,” Jennings, who scored a team-high 16, said. “Even though (Springfield) kept cutting our lead down, we had to keep fighting and keep doing what we do best like shooting and rebounding and playing aggressive on defense.”

Thursday’s win moves Conestoga to 11-3 overall and 9-1 in the Central League, that mark now tying Springfield (Delco)’s 9-1 mark in league for a second place tie behind 10-0 Haverford. The Fords eked out a two-point win over the Pioneers in overtime earlier this season, a game that Conestoga saw as reason to believe it could get that signature win that eluded it last year.

While she wasn’t on the team last season, Jennings knew full well how things had started to come undone after that six-point loss to the Cougars (which oddly enough also fell on Jan. 19) and she didn’t want to see a repeat. The Pioneers don’t start a single senior but they aren’t using youth as a crutch anymore, even Jennings saying she doesn’t treat herself as a freshman.

“We were 10-3 and we couldn’t let up, we had to keep fighting,” Jennings said. “I had to keep playing intense and play my style of basketball, which is shooting, rebounding, playing good defense.”

Pioneers coach AJ Thompson said the biggest growth he’s seen within his team over the course of the season is its ability to fight back. In the season opener against Bishop Shanahan, the Pioneers didn’t fight back once they fell behind but he’s seen that effort consistently ever since, even in games like the loss to Haverford.

“That’s the kind of team we want to have where even when we get down one, our team fought, clawed and scrapped to get the lead back again,” Thompson said. “We’ve got some tough, hard-nosed kids.

“We talked about, yeah we were 10-3 going into this game but we were still looking for that big, signature win that could set us off again.”

Thompson lauded his four seniors — Piper Kienzie, Brooke Braslow, Emma Santello and Elsie Lukens — for the work they did in practice trying to simulate the Cougars’ defense and their leadership behind the scenes. Still, it’s one thing to practice Springfield (Delco)’s defense and another to play it, so understandably there were some struggles on the offensive end.

However, the Pioneers defense gave as good as it got, staying with players and making driving to the basket difficult. The one area they struggled was rebounding and that was only the result of a monster game by Cougars forward Anabel Kreydt, who had eight of her 18 rebounds on the offensive glass as part of a double-double with 10 points.

“They’re really well coached, they play really good defense and even on offense, they run offense and are patient and try to get a good shot on every single possession,” Thompson said. “We’re going to see them again in the Central League playoffs more than likely and maybe in districts as well.”

Jennings had Conestoga’s first score on a three in the first quarter but the Pioneers didn’t take their first lead until the freshman’s longball midway through the second. A traditional three-point play by Marisa Francione and a buzzer-beater by Katrina Valencia gave the hosts a 15-11 halftime lead.

For a while, it seemed like an insurmountable four-point lead with Conestoga answering every time the Cougars got within a point or two through the third quarter. An offensive rebound and putback by Kreydt early in the fourth staked the visitors to a one-point lead with 5:12 to go.

Bella Valencia, who had nine points and several important rebounds late, converted an and-one as the answer, starting a back-and-forth push to the finish.

“We said we have to play fierce and we have to execute our plays,” Jennings said. ““Everyone, even the seniors, they’re always pumping us up like ‘you got this, you’re better than the teams we’re playing.’”

Mia Valerio, Springfield’s energetic lead guard, was limited by foul trouble in the first half but came back with a big shot in the fourth quarter by knocking down a three following yet another Kreydt offensive rebound. Kreydt then grabbed another off a teammate’s miss and got fouled, sinking both at the line for a 29-26 lead with 3:39 left.

Just as it seemed Springfield was going to do what it always does late and find a way to get out of a close game with a win, Jennings and ‘Stoga fought back. The freshman showed her resolve on the next possession, hitting a three as a defender ran into her on the close-out.

Jennings stepped to the line and hit the foul shot, completing the four-point play and putting Conestoga back in front for good.

“I knew they were always going to pressure up on me so if I had a split-second where I was open, I should shoot it,” Jennings said. “I saw the basket and I told myself ‘I’m going to shoot it,’ because I had space and I set my feet and they came at me.

“I felt like that was a big momentum play to bring us back and keep the intensity of play that we had. I think it set the tone for us.”

It definitely started something for Conestoga. Springfield missed a three on the other end, with Francione securing the rebound and eventually getting the ball back on the offensive end wide open in the corner and sinking a three in front of her bench for a 33-29 lead with 2:45 to play.

“It was a big moment there, Ry hits that one for the and-one, Marisa knocks one down and we have kids, they’re fighters,” Thompson said. “We may not have played well but we did a good job of fighting back.”

Saturday, the Pioneers face another quality team in Great Valley. A year ago, the Patriots ended Conestoga’s season in the first round of the District 1 6A tournament, giving the young Pioneers another lesson in big game experience.

But that was last year.

“This was a good game, but we have to keep fighting,” Jennings said. “We’re really supportive of each other, if you hit a big shot, they tell you to shoot the next one, they want you to go down and take another one.”

By Quarter
Conestoga: 7   |   8   |   8   |  16  ||  39
Springfield: 9   |   2   |   8   |  16  ||  35

Scoring
Conestoga: Ryann Jennings 16, Marisa Francione 9, Bella Valencia 9, Katrina Valencia 4, Janie Preston 1

Springfield: Anabel Kreydt 10, Lexi Aaron 8, Mia Valerio 7, Kaitlyn Kearney 6, Taylor Hunyet 2, Grace Ellis 2