City of Basketball Love

By Sean McBryan (@SeanMcBryan)

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(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.)

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When Ky McNichol took over as Springfield girls basketball coach in 2014, the program was in need of a rebuild.

The Cougars lost their first 11 games and finished 6-15 in McNichol’s rookie season as she implemented her system and figured out each player’s strengths. But it didn’t take long to see results: the next year they went to the Central League final and qualified for the district tournament.

Fast forward to 2023, and McNichol’s Cougars have set lofty standards after winning three District 1 championships (2017, 2020 and 2021) and qualifying for the state tournament in six straight seasons.

“I think these girls all know what it takes to be part of Springfield basketball,” McNichol said. “And, you know, we're definitely gonna fill some big shoes that we lost from last year, but I think this group is up for the challenge.”

The high-impact senior class of Lexi Aaron, Taylor Hunyet, Kaitlyn Kearney, Anabel Kreydt, Sophia Ward and Mia Valerio gave McNichol six experienced players to intermingle in the lineup last season. That luxury is gone, as is nearly all of the Cougars’ scoring output.

Figuring out who will replace them and where they all fit, McNichol conceded, is something Springfield hasn’t experienced since those early days in her tenure. 

“We have the same goals,” McNichol said. “We thrive on defense, playing team basketball, sharing, moving the ball and making sure that we're all being good teammates.”

Springfield bumped up to Class 6A last season and still had success; the Cougars claimed the No. 7 seed in the District 1 Tournament, received a first-round bye and defeated Conestoga before falling to two-seed Haverford in the quarterfinals.

The Cougars finished eighth in District 1, qualified for the PIAA Tournament and advanced to the second round before losing to Abington.

“It was definitely a challenge to bump up to 6A last year, but I thought we did a really great job and had a great showing in (the) 6A playoffs,” McNichol said. “We had a huge win in districts and then carried that over to states and finished in the top 16, which we were proud of in our classification.”

One thing that should help: senior point guard Cora Fattori gained valuable playoff experience in filling in for Valerio after she went down with an injury at the end of last season. Fattori has been the clear leader on and off the floor in some impressive performances with the Cougars throughout the offseason.

“She did a great job,” McNichol said of Fattori filling in for Valerio. “Hopefully, that'll carry over to this season for her. We got a lot of confidence in her, and she's got a lot of confidence in herself.”

Seniors Grace Ellis, Corinne Guyton-Williams and Kylee O’Donnell (Ohio State lacrosse commit) will be thrust into larger roles, as will juniors Molly Clifford and Alyssa Estep.

“Grace and Alyssa were behind Kreydt and Hunyet last year, so they’re going to step into those roles,” McNichol said.

Ellis played in limited minutes last season and has been in the program for three years. Guyton-Williams and Estep played limited minutes as well, including last year’s state playoff loss after Valerio’s injury and other starters got into foul trouble.

Clifford has shown more confidence in her jumpshot during the offseason, and McNichol hopes that development continues as the season progresses.

McNichol is also excited about the incoming freshmen class, spearheaded by guards Abigail McFarland and Megan Zane. Springfield High School recently underwent a reconstruction as the district grows, and McNichol hopes an influx of younger players will move into the district in the coming years.

The goal is to remain near the top of the Central League standings, where the Cougars finished 14-2 last season en route to a 22-9 overall record.

They finished behind Haverford (16-0, 27-2), which graduated first-team All-Central League selections in Caroline Dotsey (Maine) and Molly Carpenter, and Conestoga (14-2, 22-8), which didn’t take much of a graduation hit, in the league last season.

Springfield opens the season with home games against West Chester Rustin and Bishop Shanahan before league play starts Dec. 7 at Harriton. Conestoga travels to Springfield Jan. 12, and the Cougars head to Haverford a week later.

They are entering a territory they haven’t been in for nearly a decade, but McNichol has built a program capable of sustaining success regardless of roster turnover. The Cougars expect to have their name written multiple times in the district bracket come late February — anything less now feels like a disappointment.

“Our goal is to get better every day, get in the gym as much as we can in the fall,” McNichol said. “The ultimate end goal is to win the league. And then, obviously, we want to make a run in districts and states. Our goals and mentality don’t change. Our kids just step up into bigger roles every year.”