City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The four top seeds in District 1’s Class 5A tournament have already punched their ticket to states by advancing to Friday’s semifinal round. The four squads in the playback bracket will compete for District 1’s  final two spots in the Class 5A state playoff field. 

The semifinal winners will play in the district championship game Saturday, March 4 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center at noon. Here’s a preview of Friday’s action:

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Semifinals

1) West Chester Rustin vs. 4) Gwynedd Mercy Acad.

Neither of these teams were in the Class 5A field a season ago. West Chester Rustin dropped down from 6A this season, while Gwynedd jumps up a class after five-straight Class 4A championships. Nether had much trouble with the Monarchs rolling to a 48-34 win over Upper Moreland and the Golden Knights cruising past West Chester East, 68-34.

Senior Drexel-commit Laine McGurk poured in 37 points in Tuesday’s win over GMA. She’s one of the top scorers in the state (23.7 ppg) and usually leads the way for the Golden Knights offense. As highlighted in the victory over East, there is a lot of balance behind her, including twin sister Elizabeth McGurk, a St. Joe’s lacrosse recruit. Junior guard Riley Stackhouse senior guard Lola Flynn, and junior 5-8 guard Riley Stackhouse is the team’s second leading scorer and senior guards Lola Flynn (3.1 apg, 3.8 spg) and Ava Panetta round out the other big pieces of the rotation.

In contrast to an explosive Rustin offense, Gwynedd keeps most of its games low scoring. Senior point guard and Holy Cross commit Hannah Griffin (10.9 ppg, 5.2 apg, 4.5 rpg) runs the show for the Monarchs. A pair of freshmen, Bailey Balkir (7.9 ppg) and Emilia Coleman (6.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg), follow Griffin in scoring. Coleman, whose older sisters Bianca (Navy) and Sofia (Kutztown) helped the Monarchs to district titles, led GMA with 15 points in their district opener while Balkir and junior 6-foot forward Dylan Burke both had eight and Griffin chipped in seven. 

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2) Bishop Shanahan vs. 3) Villa Maria Acad., 7 p.m.

If Gwynedd Mercy and West Chester Rustin didn’t move classifications, there’s a good chance the matchup between Shanahan and Villa would be taking place in the district title game for the second straight season rather than the semifinal round. The Hurricanes won last season’s title game, 52-38, and the majority of both teams are back for this season’s rematch. Max Preps’ records have Villa winning all seven meetings between the two teams since 2007, including five from 2017 to 2022.

Shanahan senior Alyssa Brown poured in 26 points in the Eagles’ 56-49 opening win over the Mount. Junior forward Sami Blumenthal was a force on the boards. Brown and classmate Abbey Wolfe patrol the paint for an undersized Eagles group. Junior guard Faith Ambrose has been one of the team’s top perimeter threats and senior guard Caydence Oswald, senior forward Kaitlyn Griffin and senior Alexa Bojko help round out the Eagles' balanced attack.

Villa took care of business with a 57-31 victory over Phoenixville in its district opener behind 13 points from Marah McHugh and 12 points from Ella Iacone. McHugh, a 5-10 forward/wing, had 16 to lead the way in last season’s title game. The two seniors are joined in the starting lineup by senior point guard Elaina Guerzon and classmates Clare Cronley (5-11) and Ava Irvine join them in the starting lineup. Juniors Carly Catania and Alice Nash, who added nine off the bench in the district quarters, are strong options off the bench.

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Playbacks

5) Upper Moreland vs. 9) West Chester East, 7 p.m.

The Vikings missed the district postseason in 2022 and Upper Moreland dropped its first two postseason games to miss out on the state playoffs. Both of these squads were District 1-5A semifinalists in 2021, but didn’t make stats due to a reduced playoff field. East last made states in 2020, while it’s been a long, long time since the Golden Bears played in the state tournament.

Upper Moreland earned the three seed in District 1 last season before falling to sixth-seeded Radnor and second-seeded Marple Newtown to keep the Golden Bears from the state playoffs. After a 48-34 loss to Gwynedd to open the district Upper Moreland still has another chance for one of its best teams in recent history to earn a trip to states Junior Holly Gohl has shouldered the load at times. Sophomore Mikel Lancit scored 11 in the loss to GMA. Senior 1,000-point scorer EmmyFaith Wood and sophomore Lilly Hansen and senior Allie Larocco are all recently back from injuries, helping the Golden Bears get back close to full strength.

District top seed Rustin rolled through East, 68-34, so the Vikings will have to quickly reset. Senior three-year starter Mikayla Kushner is the Vikings’ only senior in the starting lineup. East is a balanced group that’s also had 5-9 junior Kernst, 5-3 sophomore Annalise Kubasko, 6-1 sophomore Sofia Keith and junior Kayla Miller (off the bench) in double figures during the postseason. Freshman 5-9 guard Lauren Horan rounds out East’s starting five

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7) Mount St. Joseph vs. 11) Phoenixville, 6 p.m.

The Mount is a program that typically finds itself in the district postseason, often competing for a state playoff spot. The same cannot be said for Phoenixville, which won its first district playoff game in at least a decade with a first-round win over Radnor and is trying to book its first state playoff trip in likely a lot longer.

The Magic kept things tight with Shanahan in a 56-49 loss in their second-round loss and now host the Phantoms with a chance to keep their season alive. Senior 5-10 guard Lauren Hoffman is a reliable 3-point shooter and strong driver to the basket, but like many of the teams in the 5A bracket there are a number of players the Magic lean on. Senior co-captains Georgia Pickett (24) and Kiersten Pumilia (17) combined for 41 in the team’s opening round win over Marple Newtown. Senior point guard Chloe McGrorty is also a threat for the veteran group. Junior Emily Birmingham is the team’s fifth starter, while sophomore Addison Smith provides a bit of youth to the lineup and Carlie Shouldis adds another senior off the bench.

Phoenixville’s size stood out in its district opening win over Radnor as 5-11 freshman forward Riley Ford-Bey recorded a double-double, and 6-foot junior forward Mali Warren was a factor on both ends. Ford-Bey isn’t the only youngster with sophomore Nevaeh Latimore-Beasley, freshman Kayden Baratta and sophomore Ava Gnias a few more key pieces in the rotation. Senior guards Jaime Michaud and Caroline Flick add a pair of veteran guards who have already left a legacy on the program with a Frontier Division championship and a district playoff victory and are hoping to add more with a state playoff trip.