City of Basketball Love

Mike Livingston (@liv_twts22)
—

(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2023-24 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

~~~

Not much has come easy for Harriton High girls basketball as of late. The arrival of a talented underclassman has the Rams hoping that their fortunes could be turning around. 

The Rams recorded just a 3-17 record in 2022-23, with a 2-14 mark in the ever-competitive Central League.

On top of that, the team’s top scorer and Division I commit, Felicity McFillin (Air Force) transferred to Archbishop Carroll this summer, joining her younger sisters Maddie and Abbie on the defending state 6A champs. That left a void in the middle of an already-young Rams’ lineup. 

Enter Addison Levensten, a 5-foot-10 sophomore combo guard who comes to Harriton from Germantown Academy. After mostly watching from the bench a year ago, Levensten already looks like she’s going to be a significant piece for the Rams coming off a strong summer with the Runnin’ Rebels 15U squad. The sophomore shined at the CoBL Fall Classic, where she led her new club in points, blocks, and assists while also draining a couple of big-time buckets against quality opponents in Gloucester Catholic (N.J.) and Archbishop Ryan.

“I’m looking to bring team energy, bring this team together, help us to work more as a team and with communication skills,” Levensten said. “Everybody is really close. I think as we keep playing together, it’s going to come together pretty well.”

Levensten shined during her club season with the Running Rebels, a squad she’s played with for nearly three years. The newest Ram posted 20+ point outings on multiple occasions while also showcasing her athleticism with some blocks and nifty passes, Division I schools starting to show some interest.

“I think Addi will be a great addition to our program,” second-year head coach Brian McCloskey said. “She’s been friends with some of these girls for years, the faces aren’t that different for her. So that transition will be easy. She’s a great ball player and a great teammate who knows the game very well, and it has shown. She shouldn’t have too much of an issue fitting right in come December 1.”

She’s not the only new face: junior forward Anna Chimento joins the Rams squad from Archbishop Carroll. The 6-1 center played mainly as a swing for the Patriots, who featured 6-0 Army commit Taylor Wilson dominating all the minutes up front. In preseason action, Chimento has shown the ability to pop out and knock down a 3-pointer, as well as giving the Rams some much-need size around the bucket. 

Sophomore forward Chelsea Poli, who saw minimal minutes for the Rams last season, has been a standout this preseason. Junior combo guard Olivia Gastner has taken leaps on the defensive side of the ball, propelling herself into a possible everyday spot in the starting five.

They all join senior guard Alexis Kanzinger (8.2 ppg, 1.8 spg), the team’s only returning senior.

“I think we're really already close so we play and we bring it out on the court and stuff, we have that chemistry,” Kanzinger said. “I feel like some of our teams in years past, they had a solid two people, or a solid five. I think we have a good team all together, in that when we do sub around, it's not like we're losing (momentum).”

McCloskey has been sure to put an emphasis on his team’s defensive prowess this coming season. Following a campaign where the Rams gave up nearly 60 ppg, there’s no question it’ll be a big point to hit on.

“I’m a really defensive-oriented coach,” he said. “I think that whole thing, ‘defense wins championships’  is true, I think that's a real difference-maker, especially in the Central League with the Conestoga’s and Springfield’s that harp on the defensive side of the ball. I think that's a big emphasis this year. Right now everyone is really pushing.

“We’re just practicing as hard as we can [...] we take them very seriously,” Kanzinger said. “We have high hopes for this year, if we keep the energy up then that's all it comes down to.”

Harriton’s last winning campaign came in the wake of the pandemic in 2022, when the club fell to Marple Newtown in the district playbacks, one game short of qualifying for the PIAA Class 5A bracket.  

The Rams stumbled from the get-go In 2022-23 with blowout losses to multiple league opponents like Penncrest, Conestoga, and Haverford. They finished second from the bottom in the 12-team league, ahead only of winless Upper Darby.

The league suffered some heavy losses in the offseason: defending champs Haverford High lost star Caroline Dotsey (Maine) along with Mollie Carpenter; Springfield (Delco.) graduated its entire starting lineup from a 22-9 (14-2) squad, Radnor lost Mary Sareen (Maryland walk-on), and others suffered heavy graduations. Conestoga (22-8, 14-2), which returns its entire starting lineup, as well as Garnet Valley (15-14, 11-5), which like ‘Stoga has a Division I prospect, will be the favorites in the preseason.

Behind that pair it could be wide-open, and Harriton knows it has what it takes to take a huge step forward, challenge for a top-six berth in the league and a postseason spot in both league and districts, now in the 6A qualification.

“It’s a tale of the tape, obviously, everyone is shooting for a playoff spot and a Central League championship,” McCloskey said. “If they wanna be good, they'll be good.”