City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The inaugural CoBL Girls’ Winter Classic took over the courts at Jefferson University’s Gallagher Athletic Center on Sunday, with 14 games across two courts bringing together some of the best girls’ talent from the region.

Here’s a brief recap of all seven games from Court One:

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Click HERE for recaps from Court Two
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Game One: Conestoga vs. Great Valley

Stifling would be a good word to sum this one up.

The Pioneers turned in an outstanding team defensive effort to stifle the Patriots in a 47-11 decision to kick things off Sunday morning. Conestoga switched, rotated, rebounded and limited Great Valley to just two points in each of the first three quarters.

Isabella Valencia defended well inside, while Marisa Francione and Ryann Jennings were all over the perimeter keeping GV senior Julia Curran in check. Great Valley shot just 5-of-25 in the game, the Patriots often running through some intricate offensive sets that forced Conestoga to defend for long stretches.

“We talked about it in the preseason, we knew we’d be able to score but we wanted to really turn up the intensity on the defensive end as the thing that was going to get us to the next level,” Pioneers coach AJ Thompson said. “After we lost in the first round of states last year, we said defensive intensity is what was going to be the difference-maker this year.

Francione led ‘Stoga with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, the Scranton-bound senior scoring seven points in the third quarter. Jennings and Janine Preston each had nine with Preston adding eight rebounds.

Isabella Valencia added four points, four rebounds and a steal plus a pair of terrific assists to Jennings cutting to the rim in the third quarter.

By Quarter
Conestoga:    9   |  11  |  13  |  14  ||  47
Great Valley:  2   |   2   |   2   |   5   ||  11

Scoring
C: Marisa Francione 14, Ryann Jennings 9, Janie Preston 9, Libby Brown 5, Isabella Valencia 4, Katrina Valencia 3, Maggie Neary 2

GV: Kacee Magee 4, Julia Curran 3, Lauren Chain 2, Kate Weikert 2

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Game Two: Cardinal O’Hara vs. Penn Charter

PHILADELPHIA — Strong defense. That was a point of emphasis Cardinal O’Hara junior wing Molly Rullo said the Lions set out for in Sunday’s contest against Penn Charter.

O’Hara did just that as it held the reigning Inter-Ac champions to under 29% shooting from the field en route to a 57-37 win. But the Lions also didn’t hold back from showing that they were playing with some extra motivation either after last year’s 53-50 overtime loss to the Quakers. 

“Our kids had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder,” head coach Chrissie Doogan said. “We lost to those guys last year in a heartbreaker, so they came in with a goal and they really wanted to (win).” 

O’Hara’s offense clicked early as senior guard Greta Miller hit a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the first quarter to put the Lions up quickly 14-3. 

“It is a huge difference when we can knock down some threes, which we haven't done in our first four games,” Doogan said. “We really stressed boxing out and (3-point shooting) this week so I'm proud that we were able to talk and practice a lot about taking one drill and moving it into live play.”

O’Hara didn’t take its foot off its pedal as it entered the fourth quarter with a 26 point lead, 50-24.

Alongside Rullo, O’Hara senior forward Carly Coleman stood out on the defensive end, as both came up with several steals and a few blocks throughout the day. 

Rullo, the Drexel commit, led the Lions with 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field while going an efficient 9-of-11 at the charity stripe. The 5-11 wing said early on ball movement was key for her to find her rhythm offensively. 

“They played a zone with really athletic guards at the top so knowing that they had what they had in the back end, squaring up, turning, facing  and then deciding from there,” Rullo said. “Not predetermining anything.” 

Doogan added: “She can beat you off the slips and she can go one-on-one a little bit more now. … She's playing well.” — John Leuzzi

By Quarter
Cardinal O’Hara:  18  |  15  |  17 |  7  ||  57
Penn Charter:  8  |  9  |  7  |   13   ||  37

Shooting
Cardinal O’Hara: 19-54 FG (5-19 3PT), 12-18 FT
Penn Charter: 15-52 FG (2-7 3PT), 5-13 FT

Scoring
Cardinal O’Hara: Molly Rullo 21, Greta Miller 11, Carly Coleman 10, Megan Rullo 3, Brezhae Davis 3, Joanie Quinn 2, Brigid MacCillivray 2, Brigidanne Donohue 2, Carly Wakefield 2, Sophia Stellabotte 1

Penn Charter: Ryan Carter 13, Kaylinn Bethea 6, Marleigh Jackson 5, Ashlie Johnson 4, Kait Carter 4, Natalia Modzweiweski 

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Game Three: Neumann-Goretti vs. Spring-Ford

PHILADELPHIA — Spring-Ford trailed once in handing Neumann-Goretti its first loss this season, 71-54, behind a game-high 22 points from 5-8 senior guard Anna Azzara (Wright State) at the City of Basketball Girls Classic at Jefferson University.

The Rams (4-1) received balanced scoring, getting a season-high 18 points from senior Aaliyah Solliday and 12 from Katie Tiffan. Neumann-Goretti was led by the junior backcourt combination of Amya Scott and Carryn Easley, who each scored 13 for the Saints, while Reginna Baker chipped in 12, and Kamora Berry finished with 11.

The Rams trailed once, 2-0, and once Solliday nailed the first of her four three-pointers, they never trailed again.

With slightly over five minutes left in the second quarter, Spring-Ford had opened a 29-14 lead, but the Saints chiseled that down to 31-29 with :33 left in the half. The Rams then exploded for a 29-point third quarter to take command of the game, shooting 11 of 15 from the floor, hitting five three-pointers. Meanwhile, Neumann-Goretti went frigid, going just 2-for-15 in the quarter.

Spring-Ford hit the 30-point mercy rule on a step-back trey from Azzara early in the fourth quarter, and led by as much as 71-39 with less than three minutes to play.

The Rams are going to be a very tough team to stop this season. The performance against Neumann-Goretti, Rams’ veteran coach Mickey McDaniel admitted, was the best his team looked this young season.

“It’s the best we looked all around,” he said. “Our goal is to get better each day.” — Joseph Santoliquito 

By Quarter
S-F:   23  | 11  |  29  |   8   ||  71
N-G:  14  | 15  |   5   |  20  ||  54

Scoring
Spring-Ford: Anna Azzara 22, Aaliyah Solliday 18, Katie Tiffan 12, Mac Pettinelli 7, Siena Miller 5, Christine Tiffan 4, Kareena Preuss 3.

Neumann-Goretti: Amya Scott 13, Carryn Easley 13, Reginna Baker 12, Kamora Berry 11, Tori Richardson 3, Ikera Ellison 2.

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Game Four: Friends’ Central vs. South Shore (Mass.)

Despite having six players on their roster, South Shore (Mass.) defeated Friends Central School 48-45. 

Kelian ‘ KC'’ Cedano (Temple) and Amany Lopez (Rider) kept their small group together and left it all out there. They played smart and made enough plays down the stretch to overcome FCS’ Logyn Greer’s 17-point 13-rebound double-double effort.

A 5-foot-9 senior, Cedano had 12 points, seven rebounds, and one block. Lopez contributed all of her 11 points in the second half. She also pulled down two boards and notched a block and a steal. 

Trailing 31-30 in the waning seconds of the third quarter, Cedano bagged an and-1 layup. With a 32-31 lead going into the fourth. South Shore never looked back. 

They opened the final frame with a 6-0 run behind a Zariah Otterly free throw after an aggressive take, a Cedano three-pointer, then a slashing drive by Lopez. 

Their first sustained run of the game provided enough of a cushion against the 6-foot-3 Greer, who began asserting herself late in the fourth quarter where she scored 10 of her 17. Senior Brianna Mead’s free throw with 12 seconds left made it a three-point game and Ottley’s on-ball pressure prevented FCS getting a shot off before the final buzzer. 

“These are the types of games you kind of expect from your seniors,” head coach Devin Hill said. “To find a way to win, to make some of the big plays, big free throws, they did that tonight. 

“I was proud of them.” — Jared Leveson

By Quarter
FCS: 8 | 9 | 14 | 14 || 45
SS: 7 | 12 | 13 | 16 || 48 

Scoring
FCS: Logyn Greer 17, Kaiya Rain Tucker 10, Nal’la Bennett 8, Saniyah Washington 6, Londyn Mayo 3

SS: Kelian Cedano 13, Amany Lopez 11, Brianna Mead 11, Josephen Vebiu 9, Zariah Ottley 4

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Game Five: Westtown School vs. Blair Academy (N.J.)

It seemed like an easy day at the office for Westtown who got out to a hot start against a talented Blair Academy (N.J.) squad and didn’t look back, cruising to a 60-38 win. Freshman guard Jessie Moses set the tone scoring eight of her game-high 14 points in the first quarter as the Moose led 14-2 just minutes in, eventually going up 24-7 at the end of the first.

Jordyn Palmer was also aggressive early, scoring six of her 12 points in the first. Westtown proved to be too much for Blair who grew into the game as it wore on, but couldn’t make a big enough run to make it competitive. Five Blair players finished with at least five points, but only Ava Fajardo finished in double figures with 10 including two 3-pointers. 

Westtown continued its dominance the rest of the half, leading 37-15 at the break. Outside of Moses and Palmer, Savannah Curry (Temple)  had a strong game with 13 points along with Aiden Langley (8). With Westtown holding a commanding advantage, most of its starters stayed on the bench for large portions of the second half. 

Blair did well to play even with Westtown in the final two quarters,  but the Moose did their damage early, cruising to a 22-point win; the Bucs were without senior wing forward Kennedy Henry (Virginia Tech) due to injury.

“I feel like it started with our energy in the beginning,” Moses said. “In past games, we have not started with good energy. So I feel like keeping that energy throughout the whole time was good.” — Zak Wolf

By Quarter
Westtown: 24 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 60
Blair: 7 | 8 | 13 | 10 || 38 

Scoring
Westtown: Moses 14, Curry 13, Palmer 12, Jones 7, Langley 6, Olak 5, Vanesko 3
Blair: Fajardo 10, Ozel 6, Archer 5, Grant 5, Ponnam 5, McLain 4, Rodriguez 3 

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Game Six: Archbishop Carroll vs. George School

PHILADELPHIA — Archbishop Carroll had a game plan for The George School and executed it almost to the tee, as the Patriots took down the Cougars with ease 53-40.

“All we wanted to do (today) was try and figure out who we were,” Patriots head coach Renie Shields said. “We had a plan to execute offensively and defensively to make sure to take away what they do well and box out. We did a good job (at that).” 

Carroll found its offensive groove early and didn’t look back, as sophomore guard Alexis Eberz caught fire from the field showing off some range from deep and inside the paint. Eberz dominated in the first half as she connected on 6-of-12 shots from the field for 17 points.

Eberz shot the deep ball rather well as well, knocking down half of her shots behind the arc. 

“Take a lot of pride in that. Put a lot of work into it,” Eberz said. “I've been working on my release because it used to be fairly slow. (So) just (been having that) mindset of, ‘Every shot's going in, every shot's going in.’”

But perhaps one of the bigger picture takeaways from this game was how well Carroll defended and handled George School’s 6-foot-5 forward senior Gianna Johnson. Despite being undersized by almost six inches against Johnson — with Carroll’s tallest player being at 5-foot-9— the Patriots held Johnson to 11 points on the afternoon, nine of which came in the fourth quarter as Shields started going more to her bench in the final minutes.

“Everything’s about being proactive rather than reactive so we really work with the girls on being proactive and I think that really worked (today defending  her),” Shields said. 

Eberz added: “She's a really good player. She's big and the weak side had to come over and help because we were fronting her. Then we got stuck behind her a lot of times and that's when she just went up and made layups and stuff. So we have to adjust and work on that (because we are going to) play taller people in the PCL.”  — John Leuzzi

By Quarter
Archbishop Carroll  11  |  15  |  12 |  15  ||  53
The George School:  10  | 6  |  5 |  18 ||  40

Scoring
Archbishop Carroll: Alexis Eberz 21, Abbie McFillin 11, Brooke Wilson 9, Brooke Olender 6, Cate Schumarcher 2, Bridget Archbold 2, Maddie McFillin 2

The George School: Gianna Johnson 11, Zamiya Lowe 9, Maya Ravindranthan 8, Angela Dawson 7, Basha Harrington 3, Sophia Martinez 2

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Game Seven: Upper Dublin vs. Council Rock South

A three-headed monster in the form of sisters Amy Ngo and Megan Ngo, and freshman Tamia Clark is starting to take shape in Upper Dublin. The three stole the show against Council Rock South, dominating their SOL opponent 50-28. 

Upper Dublin never trailed. Their full-court press sped up Council Rock South’s offense, exhausting them and making it challenging to shoot threes, which they rely heavily on.

Megan’s full-court pressure set the tone immediately, and CRS never found a rhythm offensively. The sophomore point guard played a complete game and finished with 16 points, 14 coming in the first half, recorded five rebounds, four assists, and four steals. 

Older sister Amy took the scoring baton from Megan in the second half, scoring 13 of her 19 total points. The Holy Family commit shot the lights out in the second half and went 9-of-11 from the field. 

“I thought Megan controlled the pace of the game,” 12-year head coach Morgan Funsten said. “I told [Amy that] I thought, decision making wise, it was the best game she had ever played.” 

Amy dropped two dimes to Clark, who had 16 points on seven-of-eight shooting.

“I think everyone in the gym saw what type of special player Tamia Clarke is,” Funsten continued. “She’s just explosive. She’s a great kid, a great teammate.” — Jared Leveson

By Quarter
UD: 12 | 13 | 16 | 6 || 50
CRS: 4 | 11 | 9 | 4 || 28

Scoring
UD: Amy Ngo 19, Megan Ngo 16, Tamia Clark 16, Bridget Di Martile 1

CRS: Lily Bross 7, Camryn Gregory 6, Katie Papura 5, Fiona Reckner 4, Lily Metrick 2, Miranda Cantor 2, Sarah Freeman 2

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