City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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The District 1 6A girls’ semifinals take place Wednesday night, with two league rivals meeting up and an undefeated power facing off against a double-digit seed on a Cinderella run. The four squads are one win away from reaching Saturday’s title game at Temple’s Liacouras Center, two victories from hoisting a championship trophy. Here’s a look at both games, as well as quick peek at the four other District 1 6A seeding games on Wednesday night:

1) Perkiomen Valley vs. 5) Spring-Ford

It was pretty clear before the start of the season these Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division rivals would face each other in the postseason, it was just a matter of how many times. After splitting their regular-season matchups, Perk Valley handled the Rams 51-26 in the PAC championship game on Feb. 15, dethroning the five-time league champions. Spring-Ford now gets a chance to even the season series against the top-seeded Vikings with a spot in the district title game on the line.

Perkiomen Valley made its only title game appearance in 2016 when the Vikings knocked off Downingtown East for their first and only District 1 championship. Spring-Ford has reached the last two district title games, taking down PW in 2021 as the district’s top seed before making a surprise run as an 11th seed last season when it finished as the runner-up. This is Spring-Ford’s fifth straight time in the district semifinals, looking to make a third straight title appearance, which the Rams also did from 2012 to 2014 when they won two titles.

Though it has the much longer track record, Spring-Ford (23-4) comes into this one as the underdog following the lopsided loss in the PAC title game and a 44-37 loss to the Vikings in their last regular-season meeting Feb. 2. Perk Valley (25-1) has been on a roll as of late. After rallying from behind to knock off CB East in the second round, the Vikings handled 8th-seeded Neshaminy, 48-21, in the quarterfinal round. The sophomore-laden group is led by forward Quinn Boettinger, a 6-3 forward who already has an advanced postgame and can knock down open shots from outside as well. Classmate Grace Galbavy is a 6-foot wing with range and guard skills. She’s really hit her stride with double figures in nine straight after figuring out how she fits in with her new teammates. Point guard Bella Bacani is the third Viking averaging double figures, while sophomore Lena Stein brings the energy and a little bit of everything and sophomore Julia Smith adds some 3-point shooting. Lena’s older sister Ella, the team’s lone senior, is the first off the bench.

The Rams do have experience on their side as juniors Anna Azzara and Mac Pettinelli were key pieces on the last two teams to win district semifinal games. Azzara, a gritty guard, is the team’s leading scorer and a tough defender, while Pettinelli is a terrific playmaker who can score the ball when needed as well. The Rams got a big outing from Katie Tiffan (18 points) in a 41-37 victory over fourth-seeded Souderton in the quarterfinal. Spring-Ford will hope its third leading scorer can keep that going after a quiet stretch. Senior forward Meg Robbins (Elizabethtown), who got into early foul trouble in the PAC title game, will be key as she tries to slow down Boettinger. Junior guard Siena Miller is another veteran the Rams hope can knock down shots from deep while anything the team can get off the bench from sophomores Kareena Preuss, Lilly Brescia and Haley Prophet would be a plus.

There’s been a great crowd from both student sections in the matchups throughout the season and the Perkiomen Valley High School gym should be full once again for this district semifinal.

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2) Haverford High vs. 11) Pennsbury

Haverford (26-0) fell to eventual District 1 champion Plymouth Whitemarsh in the quarterfinal round last season while Pennsbury (20-6) was knocked out by the Colonials in the semifinals. While the Fords come in as the top dogs in this one, they are a stranger to this stage, looking to make the first District 1 championship appearance in program history with a win. Pennsbury’s advanced to the semifinal round in three of the last four seasons, reaching the title game in 2020, its only other championship game appearance coming in 1976. Unlike the league rivals in the other semifinal, these programs haven’t faced each other in more than a decade.

Undefeated Haverford has rarely been tested this season with just four games being decided by single digits — two one-possession regular-season wins over Conestoga, an eight-point win over Abington and a four-point win again over ‘Stoga in the Central League championship game. The District 1 tournament has been much of the same with a 47-29 win over Methacton followed by a 56-31 victory over Springfield (Delco). Senior 6-2 forward Caroline Dotsey, a Maine commit, is among District 1’s top talents, churning out double-doubles regularly. She had 18 in the Methacton win, but the Fords showed their depth against Springfield when she had seven. Senior forward Mollie Carpenter, a Catholic University recruit, rebounds and passes the ball well and senior guard Sky Newman steadies the team at the point, while also capable of knocking down shots from deep. Junior guard Aniya Eberhart has gone from the team’s sixth man a season ago to an explosive scorer, while Dotsey’s younger sister Rian, a 6-1 wing, can lead the charge as well when needed, also giving her team another lengthy defender.

After Pennsbury graduated Ava Sciolla (Maryland), the Falcons certainly didn’t come into this season as one of the favorites to get back to the district semis. However, led by junior guard Sofia Vitucci, Pennsbury picked up some big wins over the course of the season, including two over division rival Neshaminy and the two biggest thus far  — a 51-39 win over No. 6 Abington in the second round and a 32-27 victory over No. 19 Upper Dublin in the quarters. Despite being the focal point of opposing defenses all season, Vitucci has had no trouble producing points in a variety of ways. Junior 5-10 forward Layla Matthias isn’t a frequent contributor in the scoring department but she helps out in about every other way. Junior 5-9 wing Danielle Sherman and freshman forward Emily Panaro both made timely buckets in the win over Upper Dublin. Senior guard/wing Neveah Dash can also step up when called upon. Junior Daniella MacDonald and senior Neve Davis are a few others to keep an eye out for.

Haverford has a lot of firepower and not much has slowed the Fords this season, but you can be assured the Falcons will play at a deliberate pace and make things uncomfortable for Haverford. If Vitucci and someone else get hot, there's hope the Cinderella run can continue. 

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District 1 Seeding Games

Eight other District 1-6A teams have already booked their trip to states as well with two more games to determine which seed they grab in the PIAA tournament. The four quarterfinal losers will fall in the fifth through eighth range, while the four others who booked their state trips in the playback bracket will fight for seeds nine through 12. Here are the matchups for those games:

5th/9th Games
7) Springfield (Delco.) vs. 19) Upper Dublin
4) Souderton vs. 8) Neshaminy

9th/12th Games
9) Unionville vs. 20) Garnet Valley
6) Abington vs. 10) Conestoga