City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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The Bishop Shanahan senior class has chased history for the past three seasons, trying to become the first Eagles team to hoist a District 1 championship.

Sam Blumenthal, Faith Ambrose and Abbey Wolfe will have one last opportunity Wednesday night in the District 1 5A girls championship game at West Chester University’s Hollinger Field House.

Standing in their way is the team that denied the dream in each of the last two seasons, Villa Maria.

“I think we were kind of looking forward to get the school one and maybe get these girls to be able to say they were the first ones,” Bishop Shanahan head coach Jim Powers said. “The three seniors going out this way, it would be nice if they can finally get over the hump. Villa did beat us in the championship two years ago. They did knock us out in the semis last year, so it’s been kind of a get past VIlla type thing. It should be a good one, and it’s a hill we got to climb with VIlla Maria.”

Villa, which has five championships in nine appearances since 2011, defeated Shanahan in the title game at Temple’s Liacouras Center in 2022, which marked the Eagles’ first championship appearance since 1994. Last year, the Hurricanes took down the Eagles in the semifinal round before falling to West Chester Rustin.

Shanahan (13-11) and Villa (17-8) opened the season against each other this year when the Eagles picked up a 33-22 win Dec. 1. Wednesday will mark the fourth meeting in three seasons between the two Chester County Catholic schools that are separated by about 20 minutes.

“We know each other and the kids play against each other because we’re local,” said Villa head coach Kathy McCartney, a Shanahan alum. “The kids know each other from club teams and great middle school teams and stuff. It’s a pretty nice neighborhood rivalry.”

Villa was the No. 7 seed and Shanahan the No. 4 seed when the teams met in the title games two years ago. The teams entered the tournament as two of the favorites in the tournament last year with Villa the No. 3 seed and Shanahan the No. 2 seed.

Both teams made underdog runs this season.

Shanahan went on the road and took down No. 8 Upper Moreland, No. 1 Gwynedd Mercy and No. 4 West Chester Rustin to reach the district final for the third time in program history. With just one player — senior Carly Catania, a New Hampshire commit — back from last season’s runner-up rotation back, Villa took down No. 11 Sun Valley in the first round before road wins against No. 3 Radnor and No. 2 West Chester East.

The Hurricanes have leaned on Catania, but sophomore Sophia Tray and senior Emma O’Hare have made big shots, senior Liz Sharp has been a needed frontcourt presence and junior Abby Ferry has added toughness at the point in their first district run in the postseason.

“They were a complete blank slate when we started the season, and I didn’t know what we were gonna get,” McCartney said. “To watch them come along, and play so well together, to enjoy each other’s play on the floor has been really, really fun.”

With its three seniors back in the fold, Shanahan was considered a contender in the Ches-Mont and district preseason. However, the Eagles finished 8-13 overall and 4-8 in a seven-team National Division that sent six teams to districts (four to states).

The Eagles ended the regular season on a four-game losing streak Feb. 5 with 11 days until their district opener against Upper Moreland. Powers, who has rarely had his top seven players all available this season, gave his team four or five days before they returned to practice trying to prepare for a postseason. All five starters — Blumenthal, Ambrose, Wolfe and sophomores Carmel Ambrose and Lauren Foster — have had big nights during the run to the championship.

“There was no real feeling that it was going to happen,” Powers said. “The idea that it could happen was always there with the talent we had with the three seniors. So it was always a possibility., It was just a matter of whether we can string it together. I think four or five days off for the kids to get away from basketball and just get healthy was probably a good thing. It gave them a chance to get healthy because we’ve had a lot of injuries, and just kind of take a step back and refocus.”

Both teams recognize the challenge at hand. Powers praised Catania’s offensive rebounding, mentioning it’s important not to let her steal extra possessions for herself and her teammates. McCartney highlighted the fact that a strong shooting Shanahan squad is red hot right now.

“We’ve been making shots, we’ve been executing,” Powers said. “If we can continue and keep them somewhat under control, we have an opportunity. We have a shot, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Blumenthal played major minutes in the title game as a sophomore two years ago, but Wolfe was a bench piece and Ambrose was out with an injury. However, McCartney said that senior group’s experience over the last three years is the biggest difference heading into the game.

“We’re excited for the opportunity,” McCartney said. “And we know we have a big challenge ahead of us because Shanahan is way more experienced than we are at this level of the game. When we beat them a couple years ago, it was the reverse. I brought in an experienced squad to their young squad. This year it’s the complete 360 of that.”