City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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It’s new territory for Springfield (Delco.).

The Cougars have been a consistently strong program in the Central League, in District 1 and even in the PIAA during coach Ky McNichol’s tenure. That’s the hope again this season, although McNichol knows it may take a little bit of time.

There are a lot of new faces in the lineup for the Cougars, but they know the deal.

“They trust each other on the floor,” McNichol said. “They get excited for each other, they’re really good teammates, they’re as excited for the kid next to them as they are for themselves. They’re starting to buy in on the defensive end of the floor, really get what it means to defend and they’re doing a better job of understanding our offenses.”

Springfield, currently 3-4, is set to finish the 2023 portion of its schedule as part of the eight-team field in Cardinal O’Hara’s holiday set for Thursday and Friday. The Cougars will face Upper Dublin in the first of Thursday’s four-game slate at 12:30, then take another team undergoing the process of rebuilding in Souderton at 2 p.m. on Friday.

Archbishop Carroll, Villa Maria Academy, Audenried and host Cardinal O’Hara round out the field for the two-day event.

Senior Cora Fattori got an in-depth appreciation for it last year when she took over as the starting point guard after Mia Valeiro got injured. It’s not surprising the guard is one of the team’s captains this year, joining fellow seniors Grace Ellis and Corinne Guyton-Williams.

Fattori had a career-high 25 in the team’s season-opening loss to West Chester Rustin, but that’s been an outlier with this group. Springfield’s had a good balance in the scoring column all year, a hallmark of Cougars teams in past years, and that’s more the way Fattori wants to see it.

“We’re so close as a team, even outside of basketball we hang out all the time, so I think that just shows on the court,” Fattori said. “I think that’s what makes it so easy for us to play together.”

With so little back in terms of on-court experience, the captains said the biggest thing they’ve tried to do is just instill confidence in their teammates. Guyton-Williams saw playing time off the bench last year while Ellis didn’t get a ton of minutes, but both seniors have the right mentality of pumping up everyone around them.

“We can push each other in practice because we’re comfortable with each other,” Ellis said. “We’re able to be competitive and then stay really good friends after it.”

Juniors Molly Clifford and Alyssa Estep have also filled out the starting lineup and freshman Megan Zane has played well offensively and as a rebounder. The Cougars aren’t looking for any one person to carry them this season, they’ll go someone’s way if they’re having a good game, but instead want to play to the group’s strengths.

“I love my team, I love the bond. There’s so much chemistry, we just know each other really well,” Guyton-Williams said. “Every game we improve, correct our mistakes.”

McNichol added that she keeps having to remind herself how little experience this team has, but it’s only making her coaching staff more engaged with teaching them. It’s a group that comes ready to work every day

“They understand what it takes,” McNichol said. “When you put on a Springfield jersey, we expect you to play hard and they absolutely understand that part of it. Now it’s just putting all the rest of the pieces together.”

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Here’s a quick look at the other teams in the two-day event:

Archbishop Carroll
The Patriots are 4-2 and playing in a good rhythm. Senior Brooke Wilson, an Army recruit, and sophomore Alexis Eberz have led the way as the two returning starters from last year’s PIAA 6A championship team. Carroll’s got a deep group this season including the McFillin sisters - senior Felicity, junior Maddie and freshman Abbie - junior Olivia Nardi and junior Brooke Olender among those playing roles in the rotation.

Audenried Charter
The reigning Public League champions are 7-3, having dropped games to Friends Central and Penn Charter in the week prior to Christmas. Still, the Rockets are a contender in the Pub again led by junior Shayla Smith, the D-I prospect putting together another terrific season averaging a sliver more than 21 points per game. Aniyah Howard and Senaya Parker are both scoring around 12 per game while freshman post Nasiaah Russell has played well early on with about nine points per game.

Cardinal O’Hara
The host Lions are 8-0 with a couple quality tune-ups on tap before Catholic League play fires up in early January. Recent Drexel pledge junior Molly Rullo and La Salle signee senior Joanie Quinn lead an O’Hara team that plans to contend for PCL and state titles. Seniors Carly Coleman and Greta Miller have started the season well while sophomore Megan Rullo has adapted well to her first season as a starter.

Germantown Academy
GA sits at 8-1, the Patriots having won seven in a row after a three-point loss to Friends’ Central. First-year coach Lauren Power has a group that is deep and experienced with a fleet of guards and wings able to mix and match as needed. Bucknell commit senior Isabella Casey, Kutztown recruit senior Jess Aponik and junior Jess Kolecki had led the way while junior Gabby Bowes, senior Sam Wade and senior Jenna Aponik have filled out the top end of the rotation.

Souderton
It’s new ground for Souderton, which is 1-6 overall. Senior Brooke Fenchel, a Messiah recruit, is the only returner from last year’s state playoff team and veteran Lynn Carroll has an extremely young group around her. Freshmen Liv Herron and Kiera Fadden have been dropped right in while juniors Emily Dick and Jac Bermel and sophomore Madison Bealer are getting their first look at varsity roles.

Upper Dublin
The Cardinals have played well early, sitting at 8-0 and atop the SOL Liberty. The Ngo sisters - Holy Family bound senior Amy and sophomore Megan - are thriving in their first full season playing together while coach Morgan Funsten has gotten a boost from freshmen Tamia Clark and Bridget DiMartile. Senior twins Nora and Brighid Brady, both Neumann recruits, are solid complementary players for a UD squad a bit faster than years past.

Villa Maria Academy
VMA brings a 6-2 record into its final two games of 2023, the Hurricanes off to a nice start despite replacing a good part of last year’s AACA champions. Senior Carly Catania, a New Hampshire recruit, leads the way for longtime coach Kathy McCartney. Sophomore Sophia Tray and senior Emma O’Hare have put together some good performances early on while junior Abby Ferry has been a defensive presence at point guard.

Cardinal O'Hara Holiday Tournament
Thursday 12/28
12:30 p.m. - Upper Dublin vs Springfield (Delco.)
2 p.m. - Archbishop Carroll vs Villa Maria Academy
3:30 p.m. - Audenried vs Cardinal O’Hara
5 p.m. - Souderton vs Germantown Academy

Friday 12/29
12:30 p.m. - Villa Maria Academy vs Upper Dublin
2 p.m. - Springfield (Delco.) vs Souderton
3:30 p.m. - Archbishop Carroll vs Audenried
5 p.m. - Germantown Academy vs Cardinal O’Hara