City of Basketball Love

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Spring-Ford will face Central Dauphin in the quarterfinals. It also incorrectly identified Spring-Ford coach as Mickey McDonald; his last name is McDaniel. This story has been corrected to reflect the right opponent and McDonald's name.

Logan Moyer (@ByLoganMoyer)
––

BELLEFONTE — The Spring-Ford girls basketball team had a problem.

For whatever reason — maybe nerves, or the three-plus hour bus ride to Centre County — the team that is nearly entirely composed of guards and reliant on shooting couldn't hit a shot.

The stakes were high. The Rams were taking on Peters Township, the bronze medalist out of the WPIAL that won its first 20 games of the season, in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs at Bald Eagle Area High School.

The Rams are led by a strong core of four seniors who have been playing together since they first picked up a basketball. After failing to score for the first three-plus minutes of the game and allowing 17 points in the first quarter, those seniors knew they needed a spark if they wanted to keep the journey going.

The spark arrived late in the first half when the Rams started on a 15-0 run that stretched well into the second half, igniting a flame that was never put out in Spring-Ford's 74-53 win over Peters Township.

"We saw what the score was like, and we knew we had to lock in," Spring-Ford senior Aaliyah Solliday said. "We had to play our game, we had to stop worrying. We had to play our second half."

Solliday took that message to heart. After scoring just twice in the first half, the 5-foot-8 guard exploded for 21 points in the second to pace the Rams and fend off a comeback attempt from their opponents.

"It feels good," Solliday said. "I just knew that I had to get it going."

"We just started really playing defense and started moving the ball on offense," Spring-Ford coach Mickey McDaniel said. "We were a little sluggish in the beginning. Once we got into a rhythm, that catapulted us forward."

Taking down Peters Township is no "small" task; it rosters two 6-3 forwards, juniors Natalie Wetzel and Daniela Radulovich. Nobody on the Spring-Ford roster stands taller than 5-11. Wetzel, who can shoot the ball like a guard, boasts over 20 Division I scholarship offers, including Villanova.

"They've got size, and we're not very big," McDaniel said. "We have a couple girls who work hard in defending the post, even though they’re out-sized."

If the two oversized forwards weren't enough of a challenge, enter Gemma Walker. She is Peters Township's leading scorer and is headed for St. Francis next season. She exploded for 30 points in her team's first-round 69-49 win on the road at Lebanon.

"She's a very good player," McDaniel said of Walker. "The main thing was (that) we didn't want her to get them into executing their offense, because they run a very good offense.”

Walker paced her team with 24 points Tuesday night, knocking down two 3-pointers. Wetzel scored 14, also converting two triples.

Once the Rams sprung into the lead, they never looked back. Along with Solliday, Lynn-bound Katie Tiffan added 21 points on three triples to help pace the Rams. Kareena Preuss (13 points) and Anna Azzara (10) also posted double-digit scoring totals.
"I felt pretty good," Tiffan said. "Sometimes it just happens."

The core four seniors — Azzara, Solliday, Tiffan and Mac Pettinelli — all play unique but important roles for the Rams. Azzara and Solliday are usually the scorers, while Tiffan and Pettinelli are elite-level ball distributors. The latter is averaging more than five assists per game.

"I think it's hard for other teams to scout us," Tiffan said. "If there's other players, like we have, who can score and be combo guards who can score from any place on the court, it works really well."

The win qualifies the Rams for the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2022. They'll play District 7 champ Norwin, a 54-29 winner over Chartiers Valley on Tuesday, on Friday at a neutral site and time to be determined.

This group of seniors were freshmen on the Spring-Ford team that went to the PIAA title game in 2021 and have qualified for the state playoffs every year since. That experience at this level is vital, McDaniel said.

"There's nothing like experience," he said. "That experience helps with your wisdom, your basketball IQ, and it helps you to know what to expect in these kinds of situations. Maybe if we didn't have that past experience, maybe things don't go our way when we were down in the first quarter."

By Quarter

Spring-Ford: 13 | 19 | 20 | 22 || 74

Peters Township: 17 | 10 | 11 | 15 || 53

Scoring

Spring-Ford: Aaliyah Solliday 25, Katie Tiffan 21, Kareena Preuss 13, Anna Azzara 10, Mac Pettinelli 5.

Peters Township: Gemma Walker 24, Natalie Wetzel 14, Bri Morreale 6, Melanah Khalil 3, Peri Cendroski 3, Daniela Radulovich 3.

~~~

PIAA 6A Girls (local games)

First Round (Fri., March 8)
1-5 Haverford 66, 12-3 Dobbins Tech 28
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara 49, 1-8 Upper Dublin 17
12-1 Archbishop Carroll 58, 1-11 West Chester Henderson 37
1-1 Perkiomen Valley 78, 3-6 Manheim Township 33
2-1 Hazleton Area 63, 1-9 Pennsbury 48
11-1 Parkland 41, 1-10 Downingtown East 34
3-2 Dallastown 43, 1-7 Central Bucks East 36
1-3 Conestoga 45, 3-4 Wilson 29
3-1 Central Dauphin 41, 1-12 Kennett 23
1-6 Garnet Valley 58, 11-2 Easton 50 (OT)
1-4 North Penn 48, 11-3 Emmaus 34
1-2 Spring-Ford 71, 3-5 Northeastern 37

Second Round (Tue., March 12)
1-1 Perkiomen Valley 64, 1-5 Haverford 50
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara 55, 2-1 Hazleton Area 46
12-1 Archbishop Carroll 37, 1-3 Conestoga 33 (OT)
1-6 Garnet Valley 52, 3-1 Central Dauphin 46
1-4 North Penn 56, 7-2 North Allegheny 54 (OT)
1-2 Spring-Ford 74, 7-3 Peters Township 53

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 15)
1-1 Perkiomen Valley vs. 12-2 Cardinal O’Hara
11-1 Parkland vs. 12-1 Archbishop Carroll
1-6 Garnet Valley vs. 1-4 North Penn
1-2 Spring-Ford vs. 7-1 Norwin