City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The 17th annual Hoops for Hope charity event will take place this Sunday, January 14, at Arcadia University.

The seven-game girls’ high school hoops showcase, held last year at Ursinus College, makes its Arcadia debut with some of the area’s best high school teams participating, including defending District 1 6A champs Perkiomen Valley, last year’s PAISAA runner-ups Penn Charter, a couple Catholic League contenders in Archbishop Carroll and Archbishop Wood, and more.

All proceeds from Hoops for Hope go towards Morgan’s Message, a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to helping student-athletes with their mental health. It was founded in memory of Morgan Rodgers, a former Duke lacrosse player who took her own life in 2019. 

Here’s a look at each of the seven games:

Mt. St. Joseph vs. West Chester Rustin (10 AM)
The Magic are going through a rebuild after most of last year’s starting lineup and rotation graduated off a senior-heavy state playoff team. Sunday will also be the Mount’s third game in four days, starting with a Thursday night duel against archrival Gwynedd Mercy Academy before a Saturday road game at Penncrest. Senior forward Audrey Kukla has been a leader for MSJA this season, senior forward Emily Birmingham is a returning starter and junior guard Audrey Rocks has taken on an expanded role after getting a few starts last year. Rustin, which has weathered the departure of Drexel freshman Laine McGurk better than expected (8-3), features senior guard Riley Stackhouse, daughter of head coach Lauren Stackhouse, the only returning starter from last year’s Ches-Mont and District 1 5A champs; seniors Kailey Barry and Gia DiMichele plus junior Sara Betchyk and sophomore Jenna Kraft have all stepped into much-expanded roles. 

Haverford High vs North Penn (11:30 AM)
As of this writing (late Wednesday night), this is a matchup of top-five teams in the District 1 6A standings, Haverford High coming in at No. 3 (10-2) and North Penn two spots behind at 8-2. The Fords, which recently had an eight-game win streak snapped, feature do-it-all junior wing Rian Dotsey, who can play all five positions, plus senior guard Aniya Eberhart (Millersville), senior forward Natalie Wright, and more. North Penn has only lost once since a season-opening defeat at Germantown Academy, with quality wins at Neshaminy and Bishop Shanahan in the last couple weeks. The Knights feature Jefferson commit Caleigh Sperling, a do-it-all wing guard, as well as Cincinnati soccer commit Liv Stone and fellow senior Kelly Donnelly. The matchup of Sperling and Dotsey, even if they don’t always defend each other, will be a fun one to watch.

Notre Dame vs. Conestoga (1 PM)

The Central League frontrunners take on one of the best in the Inter-Ac as Conestoga and Notre Dame square off. The Pioneers, 11-0 and No. 1 in the District 1 6A rankings as of this writing, are led by senior Marisa Francione, the Scranton-bound point guard and two-way dynamo, but she has plenty of help from senior twins Bella and Katrina Valencia, junior forward Janie Preston and sophomore guard Ryann Jennings, all in the starting lineup. Francione’s teammate with the Lady Runnin’ Rebels and her future collegiate teammate, Lizzie Halligan, is the only senior starter for the Irish, who have a pair of junior guards — Chloe Knox and Catie Kelly — and a pair of freshman — Riley Davis and Grace Nasr — along with her. They’ve also been getting strong production of late from junior guard Sophie Hall, a Delaware soccer commit. Keep an eye on the post battle, where the 6-1 Preston and 6-3 Nasr will go head-to-head.

Archbishop Carroll vs. Germantown Academy (2:30 PM)
There’s going to be a little bit of the Spiderman looking at itself meme happening here, as there’s a good bit of similarities between Carroll and GA in terms of roster makeup and how they like to play. Neither team plays a true post but love to play with a five-guard lineup full of players who can get a bucket and don’t mind playing tough inside. Carroll’s got that in senior point guard Brooke Wilson (West Point) and sophomore guard Alexis Eberz, a Division I recruit, plus the three McFillin sisters — senior Felicity, junior Maddie and freshman Abigail — all of whom see a lot of time. GA’s got its own deep core including senior twins Jess and Jenn Aponik, Bucknell-committed wing Isabella Casey, senior point guards Jess Kolecki and Sam Wade and junior wing Gabby Bowes.

Archbishop Wood vs. Perkiomen Valley (4 PM)
Archbishop Wood has picked up some big wins this season so far, including one over nationally-ranked McDonogh School (Md.), one of seven out-of-state opponents the Vikings played in December. Now they’[re taking on one of the best in District 1 — another group of Vikings, whose only loss thus far came to a powerhouse Gill St. Bernard (N.J.) squad down in Florida. Both teams are deep with plenty of talent: Wood features senior guard Ava Renniger (Fairleigh Dickinson) and junior wing Emily Knouse (St. Joe’s) plus seniors Lauren Greer and Alexa Windish (Kutztown); Perk Valley is junior-heavy, though Windish’s future college teammate Anna Stein (Kutztown) brings some senior experience; juniors Quinn Boettinger (Navy), Grace Galbavy, Bella Bacani, Lena Stein, Julie Smith and Grace Miley otherwise dominate the rotation. 

Penn Charter vs. Gwynedd Mercy (5:30 PM)

Gwynedd Mercy (11-1) has been rolling ever since a mid-December loss to Villa Maria, nine straight victories as of this writing. But the Monarchs haven’t played anybody with the talent of Penn Charter, which has two of the best guards around in junior Kaylinn Bethea and freshman Ryan Carter. The pair of Division I prospects are a potent 1-2 punch for the Quakers, two athletic scorers who can handle and defend at high levels, with a number of multi-sport athletes around them to provide defense and toughness; sharpshooting sophomore Marleigh Jackson has been coming on strong of late.Gwynedd Mercy’s brightest spots are sophomore guards Bailey Balkir and Emilia Coleman, but they’ve gotten good contributions this season from junior guard Megan McDonnell and others as well.

Souderton vs. Villa Maria (7 PM)
The night ends with one final District 1 battle. Villa Maria has proven it can hang with anybody around, coming within a few points of upsetting Upper Dublin in December, the Hurricanes coming off a District 1 5A title. New Hampshire commit Carly Catania, a 5-11 wing, is their leader, though sophomore Sophia Tray, a multi-sport standout, has had some big outings, and a number of other guards (Emma O’Hara, Liz Sharp, Abby Ferry and more) can handle the ball, make shots and defend. Souderton relies on senior Brooke Fenchel (Messiah) to set the tone for a young group that starts two freshmen (Liv Herron, Kiera Fadden) and two juniors (Emily Dick, Jac Bermel), but they’ve won their last two games after dropping nine straight.