City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The Cardinal O’Hara Holiday Tournament — which, despite the name, is a set-matchup showcase featuring eight local teams — wrapped up its two-day affair on Friday with four highly-competitive games. 

Click here to read about who won; read on to discover who stood out:

Isabella Casey (2024 | Germantown Academy)
There’s nobody in the area who’s as good at the stickback as Casey, who makes a habit out of getting offensive rebounds and popping them right back up off the glass and into the hoop. The recent Bucknell commit finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, getting three of those on the offensive end, at least a couple winding back up in the bucket. Casey was 9-of-17 from the floor, hitting a few mid-range jumpers as well as finishing at a high clip around the rim, and she also grabbed a couple steals.

Alexis Eberz (2026 | Archbishop Carroll)
Carroll as a group struggled from the floor in its loss to Audenried Charter, and while Eberz wasn’t completely immune from that, the talented 5-9 sophomore guard was the only member of the Patriots who had something going offensively. Her 21 points came on 19 shots, certainly not an overwhelming amount, but we’ve seen her 3-point shot (1-of-6) be much more reliable on average; that being said, she found other ways to produce, grabbing three offensive rebounds, hitting a few mid-range pull-ups and a few floaters, and did a great job of handling the Audenried press and moving the ball upcourt. 

Cora Fattori (2024 | Springfield Delco.)
Fattori nearly out-scored Souderton by herself, putting in 27 points during a 50-29 win. She was Springfield (Delco.)’s offense for almost the entire first half, scoring all 12 of the Cougars’ first-quarter points and 16 of their first 18 as Springfield led from start to finish. The 5-7 combo guard started the game off with an and-one, going from right to left as she finished an off-balance bucket, then followed that up with a steal and layup, a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, and the day was off. She finished 11-of-16 from the floor, hitting her only 3-point attempt and all four of her foul shots; she also came up with four steals. 

Megan Ngo (2026 | Upper Dublin)
Ngo set the tone instantly in Upper Dublin’s win over Villa Maria, coming up with a couple steals and assists to help the Cardinals out to a 7-0 lead in the game’s first 40 seconds. It wasn’t quite that easy for UD, who had to hold off a strong second-half Villa push, but Ngo closed as strong as she started, going 7-of-8 from the foul line down the stretch. The 5-3 sparkplug point guard finished with 16 points, six assists, five steals and four rebounds, always playing engaged defensively and generally getting where she wanted on the offensive end.

Megan Rullo (2026 | Cardinal O’Hara)
Rullo and her sister — who we’ll get to in a second — do so much differently but so much the same, including their non-stop motors and ability to just power through and get things done. The Lions’ 5-9 point guard finished with nine points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals in O’Hara’s win, getting a few buckets at the rim and going 3-of-4 from the foul line, but her scoring was tertiary to her passing and defense; Rullo had to do a lot of the ball-handling against GA’s tough defense, then was finding open shooters to power O’Hara’s late win.

Molly Rullo (2025 | Cardinal O’Hara)
The older Rullo sister’s Friday was similarly stat-stuffing, as Molly went for 13 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists. Those five steals weren’t accidental — she was constantly throwing herself in front of passes in the full-court press, diving on a few loose balls and otherwise being a disruptor on both ends. The 5-10 Drexel commit knocked down a 3-pointer in the first quarter but otherwise got her production within 15 feet, hitting a couple of tough buckets through contact, though she wasn’t rewarded with any trips to the line for her physical play.

Shayla Smith (2025 | Audenried Charter)
Smith was undoubtedly the day’s individual MVP, the Audenried junior guard going off for a season-high 37 points on a Carroll defense that couldn’t do anything to stop her. The 5-9 guard had 10 at halftime but then went bananas in the third and fourth quarter, missing only three shots in the final 16 minutes (making 10) as she knocked down deep 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers, off-balance runners through contact, you name it; on display were here top-notch handles and ability to get to her spots with ease, finishing a couple change-of-pace Eurostep layups to boot. Smith was absolutely unconscious, showing why she’s got double-digit Division I offers and why she’s one of the top scorers around. 

Sophia Tray (2026 | Villa Maria)
Villa Maria looked dead in the water early against Upper Dublin and nearly pulled off a fantastic comeback in large part due to the efforts of Tray. The 5-9 sophomore scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, including a trio of 3-pointers, each one getting the Hurricanes closer and closer. Tray grabbed eight rebounds, her only offensive board going for a put-back bucket, plus four assists and a steal, going 7-of-11 from the floor (3-4 3PT, 3-4 FT); she’s also an outstanding lacrosse player.

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Honorable Mention
Nora Brady (2024 | Upper Dublin), Carly Catania (2024 | Villa Maria), Brigidanne Donohue (2027 | Cardinal O’Hara), Brooke Fenchel (2024 | Souderton), Abigail McFillin (2027 | Archbishop Carroll), Amy Ngo (2024 | Upper Dublin), Emma O’Hare (2024 | Villa Maria), Heaven Reese (2026 | Audenried Charter)