City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The Central League playoffs are here, the first round on Thursday, just two days after the end of the regular season. 

On both the boys and girls sides, there’s been a dominant regular-season champion who’s made it to the playoffs unbeaten, giving each tournament a clear favorite heading into the postseason, though that doesn’t mean upsets aren’t possible.

For the girls, it’s Haverford High (22-0, 16-0) that’s been rolling nonstop for the last 10 weeks, Lauren Pellicane’s group beating Abington in January to show just how good they are. Radnor’s boys, who already had high preseason expectations, opened eyes in December by beating Archbishop Ryan; with wins over Lower Merion and Downingtown West under their belts, the Raptors might be the best team in District 1 regardless of class.

Here’s a look at all four first-round matchups: 

Boys First Round: Thurs., Feb. 9 at higher seeds
3) Upper Darby vs. 6) Harriton (5 PM)
Winner gets 2) Lower Merion, 7 PM on Saturday

This one should feature plenty of scoring: when they met the first time around, Upper Darby shot the lights out in an 86-62 win, back on January 7. But the Rams (13-9, 8-8) closed strong, winning seven of 10 since then to qualify not just for the Central League playoffs but the District 1 6A bracket as well, while the Royals (16-6, 11-5) wrapped up those berths a couple weeks back. 

Harriton has gotten a boost from the return of Jadyn Gaskins, the junior guard just days away from returning from a preseason ankle injury the last time the two met, and he’s back at full strength now, where the bouncy 5-9 combo guard can be one of the Rams’ leading scorers. They otherwise rely heavily on another junior Marquis Kubish, but get contributions from a number of upperclassmen, including point guard Aiden Abrams, wing Jack Chodkowski, guard Collin Goerlich — who had 20 points in their regular-season finale win over Marple Newtown — and sophomore wing Calvin Smith, among others. 

Upper Darby is also senior driven, with a quartet of seniors who are really special when they’re all clicking. Point guard Nadir Myers is the table-setter, a lightning-quick lead guard with a terrific shot, while wing Yassir Joyner, wing Khysir Slaughter and forward Niymire Brown are all talents who can go for double figures with regularity. Bob Miller’s group enters the postseason having won six of seven, including one at Garnet, and they’ve also beaten Methacton and Whitehall this season, among others. The tough part for Harriton won’t be getting buckets; it’ll be getting stops.

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4) Garnet Valley vs. 5) Springfield (Delco.) (7:30 PM)
Winner gets 1) Radnor, 5 PM on Saturday

This is actually the second game of a girl-boy doubleheader, playing for the right to take on the league’s favorite in the Raptors on Saturday. Garnet Valley (15-7, 10-6) enters the postseason having lost its last two, including at the buzzer to Haverford High on Tuesday, but they beat Lower Merion at LM on Jan. 31, and they also took Radnor to overtime this season. Springfield (11-11, 10-6) comes into the postseason having won seven of nine, including a win at Haverford on Jan. 24.

The host Jaguars, in their decade-plus under head coach Mike Brown, have become known as a team that’s always dangerous offensively, and this year’s no different. Garnet has a number of different weapons, from 6-2 sharpshooting sophomore Jake Sniras, who’s really coming into his own as an all-around guard, to 6-5 senior wing Logan McKee, 6-2 senior guard Max Koehler (York College), and 6-0 junior guard Quinn O’Hara, while 6-1 senior forward Ryan Faccenda is a terrific screen-setter, backdoor passer and 3-point shooter if left open.

Springfield isn’t quite as high-scoring as Garnet, which has played games in the 70s this season, but the Cougars also have a number of weapons which can make them tough to guard in longtime coach Kevin McCormick’s system. Junior forward Colin Treude is a big-time double-double threat in the post, and he can also step out and knock down shots, while a group of guards including seniors Mike Hoey and Mike O’Donnell plus juniors Jake Adams and Luke Biancaniello. They’ll need a sharpshooting day and also to limit Garnet’s dribble-drive abilities and the upset is certainly possible.

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Girls First Round: Thurs., Feb. 9 at higher seeds
3) Springfield (Delco.) vs. 6) Penncrest (5:30 PM)
Winner gets 2) Conestoga, 2 PM on Saturday

This game’s going to seem quite familiar to both teams, who just played in the regular-season finale on Tuesday, a 43-27 win by Springfield (Delco.); the Cougars (18-4, 14-2) also won the first matchup, 40-28 at Penncrest back in December. That’s been a typical experience for many of Springfield’s opponents over the years, Ky McNichol’s squad playing brutally tough defense at every opportunity — take it from Upper Dublin, a quality squad which managed just nine points against them last weekend.

Second-year Penncrest head coach Larry Johnson, who comes to the high school ranks after 15 years as head coach at Penn State-Brandywine, his college years inspiring him to want to push the tempo. The Lions (14-8, 8-8) are relying on a junior-led core to help get Springfield out of its comfort zone, including 5-7 shooting guard Bailey Garrison, 6-0 forward Katheryn Harding and 5-5 guard Emily Huggins, but has some seniors and sophomores in the mix as well, with a rotating lineup that depends on matchups.

Springfield (Delco.) is driven by a group of seniors that have been playing multiple sports together almost their entire lives, and while only Kaitlyn Kearney (Widener) is the only one playing hoops in college, the rest all know exactly how to play in McNichol’s system. That includes point guard Mia Valerio (Richmond lacrosse), shooting guard Lexi Aaron (Towson lacrosse), wing forward Anabel Kreydt, wing Taylor Hunyet and guard Sophia Ward all seniors; junior guard Cora Fattore and sophomore Alyssa Estep are part of a deep group of reserves as well. 

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4) Garnet Valley vs. 5) Radnor (5:45 PM)
Winner gets 1) Haverford High, 7 PM on Saturday

The opener of the doubleheader at GV should be a good one, as Garnet (13-9, 11-5) and Radnor (14-8, 10-6) enter the postseason having won more games than they’ve lost in their last stretch, Radnor on a three-game win streak and Garnet having won six of its last nine. Garnet Valley got the better of the singular regular-season matchup they had, winning 54-44 at Radnor on Jan. 7; that was part of one of three separate three-game win streaks they’ve put together this season. 

The Jaguars are led by a talented sophomore in 5-11 guard Haylie Adamski, who can shoot with range off the catch or off the dribble, and she’s becoming better at taking the ball to the hoop. She’s part of a sophomore core for Garnet, along with Kylie Mulholland and Savannah Saunders, while junior Jordan Daubenberger and senior Mia Zebley round out the typical starting lineup. 

Radnor is led by 5-8 senior point guard Mary Sareen, a dribble-drive type who really loves coming off screens, though she can also knock down 3-pointers and is a good on-ball defender. Junior guard Katie Gallagher, a West Point lacrosse commit, has helped her out in the scoring column, as have senior guard Meg Dole, junior Caroline Monahan, freshman Anna Reger and senior forward Paige Yurchak, who has racked up some big block numbers this season.