City of Basketball Love

Finn Courtney (@FCourtney27)
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BERWYN — Since first meeting her in seventh grade, AJ Thompson saw the potential for a special player in Marisa Francione.

She’s taken that potential and turned it to reality, becoming Thompson and Conestoga girls basketball’s best player and leader. 

“I kinda knew it then, it was just a waiting game to get her here,” Thompson said. “But the minute she stepped on the floor, [she’s] been leading us ever since. From Day 1, we knew she was gonna be our point guard, [and] when she came in last year as a captain as a junior it’s been a natural gravitation to her — she never backs down, she’s not afraid to speak up and with her play, she’s a leader by example."

That leadership was on display Thursday night in a 47-38 win over Haverford. Francione, who averaged 11 points per game and shot 51% as a junior, finished with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals against Haverford — 10 of those points coming in the second half alone after a first half to forget for the whole Pioneer roster. 

“In the locker room, a couple of our main points were picking up the intensity level on the defensive end and calming it down on the offensive end,” Francione said. “We definitely did that as a team, and we knocked down big shots and we got big rebounds when they counted the most.”

She played tough from tip-off to the final buzzer, with multiple clutch free throws in a rematch of last year’s Central League championship.

Fresh off a Hoop Group Summer League championship with the Lady Runnin Rebels 17U team, Francione has her eyes on the Central League title this year. She also had no intention of losing a fourth straight to the Fords.

“We did not want to lose to them four times in a row, especially in our home opener,” Francione said. “We wanted to make sure we pulled out this win, and it wasn’t our cleanest game but we got the job done.”

For Thompson, Thursday was nothing new from the sidelines as he watched her do what he’s seen since meeting her.

“She’s definitely the leader of our team; we have four great seniors with Bella [Valencia], Katrina [Valencia], Arielle [LePage] and Marisa, but when Marisa is on the floor, she’s our engine, she makes everything go,” Thompson said. 

Francione will play collegiately at Scranton, a school she already has ties to. Thompson played high school ball with the Bucks’ coach, Ben O’Brien. She’ll also join Rebels teammate and friend, Notre Dame senior Lizzy Halligan, who also committed.

“[O’Brien] was one of the first coaches to reach out to me in the recruiting process, so we’ve had a good relationship since then and over the course of the recruiting process we got to know each other real well,” Francione said. “When I went on my visit, I could just really see myself there, [and] Lizzy’s a great person, great teammate, really good basketball player. I’m really excited.”

Haverford was unable to hold an early lead over Conestoga, despite a 20-point, four-rebound game from junior Rian Dotsey, who is fresh off receiving an offer from Holy Cross and an All-Central League Second Team selection last season.

The Pioneers struggled with turnovers in the first half, with several sloppy passes leading to more possessions for Haverford. Despite their early offensive woes and losing junior Janie Preston to foul trouble, the Pioneers cut it to a one-possession game at halftime on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Bella Valencia.

A four-year starter for Conestoga, along with her sister Katrina and Francione, Valencia finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists. 

“Bella’s one of those kids for us that she’s extremely intelligent on the floor, she has a great basketball mind,” Thompson said. “She sees things that other kids don’t see, and I told her before the season, ‘You’re one of the keys for us to go out and win.’” 

Valencia proved her mettle Thursday, knocking down two important free throws and sealing the win with a powerful rebound.

“That last rebound at the end was really clutch, and I think she had a great game with getting down rebounds,” Francione said. “It’s important for everyone else to contribute, and I think everyone did their role today and it worked out in the end. Definitely we like everyone to contribute in points but sometimes that doesn’t happen, so they contribute in other categories [and] that really helps us as a team.”

By Quarter

Haverford: 15  |  9  |  6  |  8  ||  38

Conestoga: 9  |  12  |  9  |  17  ||  47

Shooting

Haverford: 15-40 FG (4-12 3PT), 4-8 FT

Conestoga: 15-41 FG (3-15 3PT), 14-19 FT

Scoring

Haverford: Rian Dotsey 20, Aniya Eberhart 8, Ashley Wright 6, Natalie Wright 4

Conestoga: Marisa Francione 12, Ryann Jennings 10, Bella Valencia 10, Katrina Valencia 4, Janie Preston 4, Ruth Lanouette 4, Maggie Neary 3