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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Archbishop Ryan girls basketball went to six straight Philadelphia Catholic League championships from 1972 to 1977 and won titles in 1973 and 1975. 

The Ragdolls haven’t been back since.

Second-year head coach Jullian Rattliff hopes to change that and continue improving a program that bumped its PCL record from 1-9 in 2021-22 to 3-7 last season in his first year at the helm.

“It’s all about the culture,” Rattliff said. “I’m not here to say we’re going to win X more games or reach a certain point in the PCL. We made the playoffs (last year), and that was a byproduct of the standard of the work the girls have been putting in. We’re not working toward a score. We’re working toward a standard.”

Ryan finished 8-16 last season after falling 53-27 in the PCL quarterfinals to eventual league and state champion Lansdale Catholic and then 59-36 to Abington Heights in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A Tournament.

The Ragdolls are still aiming for their first PCL semifinals appearance since 2015, but the PIAA appearance was the program’s first since 2010 when it fell in the championship game to Mount Lebanon. That’s something to build on.

“Making the playoffs is all good and dandy,” Rattliff said. “Those are accomplishments and accolades that people on the outside see and might be surprised that we did it like we did last year. We’re not surprised because we’re putting in the work.”

All-Catholic League second-team selection Delaney Finn, a 5-foot-6 combo guard who led the Ragdolls with 11 points in the PCL quarterfinal loss, returns for her senior season after averaging 10.5 points per game and hitting 69 3-pointers as a junior. She broke a school record with 10 3s last season in a win over Little Flower.

Reynah Rattliff, a 5-7 guard and Jullian’s daughter, returns for her junior season after averaging seven points, four rebounds, 4.5 assists and two steals per game. Rattliff transferred to Ryan after spending her freshman season at Archbishop Wood. She has impressed with her versatility on both ends of the court during the offseason and has the speed and athleticism to get to the basket and skill to create for her teammates.

“Reynah attracts a lot of defenders and attention,” Jullian Rattliff said. “So when that happens, we need her to involve the other girls. Reynah can finish at the basket too, but we need the offense to flow and move, whether that means driving and kicking for an open shot or making the extra pass.”

Rattliff expects 5-11 senior forward Haley Davis, who averaged seven points and five rebounds last year before tearing her ACL, to return at full strength at some point this season.

Senior 6-foot forward Eliana Szatowski, who also plays volleyball, returns after averaging seven points, seven rebounds and two assists last year. Senior 5-7 guard Jenna Gontz and junior guard Riley Lukach, a captain on Ryan’s soccer team, will also play an important role in the backcourt. 

“She’s going to play a lot of point guard,” Rattliff said. “Reynah can do so much on the court, we can’t just have her be on the point [the whole time] like last year.”

Finn, Rattliff, Davis, Szatowski, Gontz and Lukach are an experienced top six with only one senior from last year’s team, Maria Tierney, graduating. Freshmen Amaiya Thurmond, Kylee Martin, Jules Croumbley, Amber Rothley and Kennadie Lapacinski will also have an opportunity to win minutes. 

“We expect some things from (the freshmen) to help us out,” Rattliff said. 

The Ragdolls tip off the season at home Dec. 1 against Pennsbury, which won a 6A state playoff game last season. They’ll head to Audenreid, which won a 4A state playoff game last season, the next day.

Next up are Academy of the New Church, Upper Dublin, Mount St. Joseph and Gwynedd Mercy before PCL play gets underway against defending champion Lansdale Catholic.

“I wasn’t here a couple years ago when the team went 1-9 in the PCL,” Rattliff said. “Ryan hasn’t been to a PCL championship since 1977. We want to be able to build a program where our name won’t be forgotten. And then continue meeting that standard.”