City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The opening round of the District 1 6A girls’ tournament begins on Friday night with eight first-round elimination matchups. All eight losers are done for the season; the eight winners advance to face the top eight seeds in the second round, whose winners advance to the state tournament (and district quarterfinals) while the losers go into play-back games for even more state qualifiers. 

Here’s a look at the eight first-round games:

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District 1 6A First Round (Girls)
Fri., Feb. 16

16) Pennsbury (16-7) vs. 17) Bensalem (15-8), 7 PM
Winner gets 1) Perkiomen Valley

The rubber match between the SOL Patriot rivals will be a finite one, with only the winning team getting to continue its season. That means it’s either the end of the line for a veteran Falcons team used to lengthy playoff stays or a Bensalem group making its first postseason trip together. For Bensalem, this was the vision when Steve Johnson took over the program four years ago and when Amber Howard first walked into the gym. Howard, the North Carolina A&T recruit, has been the program’s torch bearer and the gifted 6-foot wing brings her teammates along with her. Mikayla Donohue and Peyton Miller, the team’s other seniors, have been selfless all season and made it easier for their teammates to shine. Juniors Talia DiMichele and Devon Bell have both put together their best seasons, adding complimentary scoring on a consistent basis while sophomore Grace McShane has earned the coaching staff’s trust as a defensive catalyst while also chipping in her share of points.

Pennsbury’s home playoff record over the last four years speaks for itself and no group will be more determined to defend the Nest than this one. Senior guard Sofia Vitucci has been one of the best scorers in the SOL the last three years and she’s had some impressive late game feats to go with that. Layla Matthias has excelled without being a predominant scorer, her relentless efforts as a rebounder and defender earning a lot of extra possessions. Sharpshooter senior Daniella MacDonald and classmate Danielle Sherman space the floor, senior Oliveah Gilchrist, junior Maggie Burns and sophomore Ava Jordan get after it defensively and freshman Joley Hohman has come into her own at point guard.

9) Neshaminy (20-4) vs. 24) Ridley (11-12), 7 PM
Winner gets 8) Central Bucks East

It’s the start of the last run for a trio of Neshaminy seniors who kept the program’s tradition of winning strong. Reese Zemitis has scored more points than anyone in program history, the Bucknell recruit rounding out her game as an inside-out threat with Lola Ibarrondo, the Holy Family recruit a 1,000 point scorer too, playing a perfect complementary lead role. Ava Irizzary, the team’s third senior, has made the most of her first year starting as a dependable presence and outside shooter while junior guard Alena Cofield delivers every game with tenacious defense and energy. The team is supported by a skilled freshman class that includes Ashlyn Duffy, Grace Weyler, and Mia Raivitch.

Ridley punched its playoff ticket with a pair of wins in its final two games, including one over fellow bubble team Lower Merion, after a four-game skid against the top four teams in the Central League interrupted a six-game win streak in January. The Raiders dipped their toe into the postseason already in the Central League playoffs. Senior Kyla Carney will lead the charge, but classmate Kailiyn Bell (Gwynedd Mercy) is out with a broken hand. Nadia Henkel, Nikki McMenamin, Morgan Smith and Keira Small are some of the others who will try to step up to pull off the major upset..

13) Abington (17-6) vs. 20) Great Valley (11-11), 5 PM
Winner gets 4) Haverford High

Abington is playing in the first round for the first time in three years, but there’s still a lot of playoff experience on a roster expecting to make it back to the state tournament. It starts with the guards, junior Maya Johnson one of the top passers in the district and an opportunistic defender who can cause turnovers while senior Piper McGinley has been terrific all season scoring, rebounding, passing and defending. Sophomore Mikiaya Durham has upped her scoring and can really shoot the ball, as can senior Jordyn Reynolds. Harper McGinley, Piper’s twin sister, has produced plenty while senior Sarah Oleary helps anchor the defense as one of the taller players on a roster that’s on the smaller side.

That might not be a huge deficit against a Great Valley side which only has one girl listed as 6-0 on the roster, but first-year head coach Todd Frederick starts five girls 5-7 or shorter. Senior point guard Julia Curran is the engine that makes them go, a top-notch defender and ball-handler, and she and Kaela Buzan are the most experienced members of an otherwise super-young rotation that also includes sophomores Reilly Lackman and Kacee Magee plus a trio of freshmen, with Kate Weikert in the starting lineup. It’s a group that was picking up a little steam as the season went on, winning three of their last four coming into the playoffs.

12) Kennett (17-7) vs. 21) Plymouth Whitemarsh (13-9), 7 PM
Winner gets 5) North Penn

After a 16-win regular season, Kennett came within an overtime of the Ches-Mont championship, a strong improvement from last year’s nine-win squad which got smacked by ‘Stoga in the opening round of districts. This group is full of veterans, including versatile 5-11 senior forward Mia Matthews, who can score inside or out; she and point guard Mary Carroll are the most critical pieces for head coach Vince Cattano, who also starts senior guard Greta Burns and juniors Sarah Miller and Quin Simmons.

The Colonials planned on being here, despite having one of the least experienced rosters in the area in terms of varsity basketball experience. PW didn’t have AJ Avery for most of the stretch run, the sophomore one of just two returners from last year alongside classmate Kenna Winland. Sophomore Joslyn Perez broke out in her expanded role while her older sister Marissa, the team’s only senior, has provided all sorts of intangibles and unheralded type of plays in her lone season of hoops before she heads to East Stroudsburg to play softball.

15) Unionville (15-8) vs. 18) Council Rock South (14-8), 7PM
Winner gets 2) Conestoga

Unionville won 21 games and made it to the state tournament a year ago, having to win a first-round game and then a few playback contests to get there. The Longhorns have a good chunk of that group back, including junior Elle Johnson, as well as senior point guard Milana Amoss, senior Shannon Megill and senior Savannah Lang, all returning starters. Johnson, a 5-10 left-hander with a rainbow 3-point shot, is their biggest offensive threat, but it’s a group with good overall team size coming off a Ches-Mont semifinal appearance. 

It’s three straight years in the district playoffs for the Golden Hawks, but the team’s senior and junior core is still looking for its first postseason victory together. There are plenty of options within that group, but it’ll start with junior point guard Kathryn O’Kane setting the tone on both ends of the floor. Junior Fiona Reckner and seniors Katie Purpura and Cam Gregory have been tough on the defensive end while seniors Lily Bross and Haley Thompson came on strong down the stretch. Senior Miranda Cantor and junior Liliana Metrick really help things go on the offensive end, both able to get going on the perimeter very quickly.

10) West Chester Henderson (19-5) vs. 23) Central Bucks South (12-10), 7 PM
Winner gets 7) Central Bucks East

The Ches-Mont League champions, Henderson has won 14 straight entering the district playoffs, Greta Neff’s Warriors playing no doubt their best hoops of the year. It starts with the inside-out senior duo of forward Jackie Shea and guard Whitney Evans, who almost evenly combined for 33 points in the title win over West Chester East, with Shea adding 15 rebounds and four blocks. Junior point guard Ari Rivera made some big plays down the stretch, and they’ve gotten timely shot-making from junior Lilly Bertrando, freshman Bailey Schalleur and more.

Central Bucks South, which secured its postseason berth with a win over Penncrest last week, has largely alternated between wins and losses this season, playing steady ball throughout the year. Titans coach Beth Mattern has a senior point guard to handle the rock in Yordana ‘Yoyo’ Samayoa, a strong ball-handler and 3-point shooter who likes to set her teammates up. They also have a promising young forward in sophomore Jules Tropea, an athletic 6-footer with good touch and toughness around the rim. Senior guard Casey Balkir and juniors Ella Wheeler and Mia Klein round out the starting lineup. 

14) Coatesville (15-8) vs. 19) Penncrest (16-8), 7 PM
Winner gets 3) Upper Dublin

Coatesville had to play shorthanded on the road last postseason due to PIAA transfer rules. The Raiders have earned a home opener this season and are looking to make some noise with their full squad. Senior 5-7 guard Serenity Burgess is a big-time scorer with senior guard Alexis Fields is another experienced guard capable of popping off for a big night. Senior forward Kate Ward adds a veteran presence up front. Fields had 26 in the district playoff loss to Methacton last season, but Burgess didn’t get the chance to play. 

Penncrest 6-2 forward Kathryn Harding, a Temple lacrosse commit, is a game changing presence on both offense and defense. The Lions have a pair of veteran guards in seniors Emily Huggins and Makayla Johnson, Huggins hitting a game-winner in the team’s Central League playoff win. Junior guard  Alex Bruce, who can knock down shots rounds out the lineup for a squad that has shown its capability of hanging with the top togs as the Lions handed Haverford one of its three losses this season.

11) Downingtown East (17-5) vs. 22) Downingtown West (11-11), 7 PM
Winner gets 6) Spring-Ford

There isn’t a matchup in the area of two teams more familiar with one another. In addition to sharing a district, East and West met twice this season, including in the season finale; East won both games, 50-40 at East on Jan. 11 and 24-21 just last Monday. They enter the postseason with different amounts of momentum; East won its last four games going into the playoffs, shaking off a three-game losing streak before that as the Cougars have won nine of 12 overall. The Whippets, meanwhile, have lost their last four games and eight of 10 overall.

Both groups are young. East coach Darren Domsohn doesn’t start a single senior, relying on 6-0 sophomore guard Charlotte Aldridge as one of it’s primary offensive initiators, while sharpshooter Grace Hodges and point guard Chloe Hodges — both sophomores — have taken big steps forward, and freshman Kendall Chiavelli looks like she’ll be an All-Ches Mont selection most if not all of her high school career. West’s Mike Young has a promising freshman guard in Hayden Blair, whose brother Dylan was a four-year standout for the Whippets; he also relies on junior wing Caitlin Grant and a pair of sophomores, Ellen Dexeter and Kelsey Meenan, alongside senior guard Bridget Rymer in the starting lineup.

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Second Round
Wed., Feb. 21

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Quarterfinals
Sat., Feb. 24

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Semifinals
Wed., Feb. 28

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Championship
Sat., March 2
At TBD

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