City of Basketball Love

Evan Smith (@EvanRGSmith)
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STATE COLLEGE — State College High School’s north gym felt like it was packed for a Norwin home game. 

The Knights entered Friday night’s PIAA Class 6A girls basketball quarterfinal game with confidence backed by a loud contingent of fans, riding a 14-game winning streak. 

However, Spring-Ford refused to be intimidated as it held the game in its hands for its entirety, advancing to the state semifinals with a 60-47 victory over the District 7 champions. The Rams, the District 1 runners-up, advance to the state semifinals, where they will face District 1 six-seed Garnet Valley on Monday at a site and time to be announced. GV beat North Penn 58-51 in another quarterfinal.

The win marks the second victory this year for the Rams (24-5) over Norwin, having beat the Knights (23-4) in December in the same building during the State College Tip-Off Tournament. 

Spring-Ford head coach Mickey McDaniel used that experience to guide his team’s strategy in the rematch.

“Back in December, they got back in the game when our defense and transition game wasn’t where they needed to be,” McDaniel said. “Once we got going tonight we were taking care of business.”

On offense, the Rams focused on ignoring the vocal Knights fans, controlling the pace and making the right decisions to keep the advantage from tip-off until the game came to a close.

The focus on controlled play resulted in an offense that got all its points from four starters: Katie Tiffan (19 points), Aaliyah Solliday (13), Kareena Preuss (15) and Anna Azzara (13).

And on defense, Spring-Ford’s No. 1 priority was slowing down Norwin star Kendall Berger.

“She’s just a terrific player, (Berger) is,” McDaniel said. “She’s tough to defend … we had to do our best covering her in screens.”

That responsibility fell on Solliday, who tore her ACL last season and returned to basketball in June.

“She’s been working her tail off since she missed her junior year. … She’s confident, and that's why we’re seeing the results that we are,” McDaniel said. “She’s just been a leader and loves the game.”

Berger scored a game-high 20 points Friday night, but she was held to just eight in the first half as the Rams built a 30-21 lead. Solliday was hit with four personal fouls in pursuit of Berger, with each foul coinciding with a Norwin scoring run. But Spring-Ford kept control throughout.

“We were just rushing at some points,” Solliday said. “Once we slowed down the team did good overall.”

Spring-Ford started off with a 7-2 run that featured an aggressive defensive approach.

Norwin battled back to cut the lead down to one at the end of the first quarter, exciting its fans. However, Solliday silenced the majority with a gutsy corner 3-ball, extending the Rams’ lead to 13-9 as the first-quarter buzzer sounded. 

“It was fun to get them to quiet down at points,” Solliday said. 

Solliday and Preuss hit three straight 3-pointers to extend the lead in the second quarter, forcing a Norwin timeout. The shot selection, specifically from beyond the arc, was a difference-maker.

“We thought if we play smart basketball, don’t take ill-advised shots or reach in, we would control the second half,” McDaniel said. 

The Rams used that approach to carry a 44-34 lead into the fourth quarter. And Tiffan took over, scoring 10 points in the frame, including four successful free-throw attempts, as the offense played keep-away to prevent a last Norwin comeback.

“We stayed in it, pushing through and hustling on defense,” Solliday said. 

By Quarter

Spring-Ford: 13 | 17 | 14 | 12 || 60

Norwin: 9 | 12 | 13 | 13 || 47

Scoring

Spring-Ford: Katie Tiffan 19, Kareena Preuss 15, Anna Azzara 13, Aaliyah Solliday 13 

Norwin: Kendall Berger 20, Ava Kobus 11, Bella Furno 7, Lauren Palangio 4, Bailey Snowberger 3, Ava Christopher 2

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PIAA 6A Girls

Quarterfinals (Fri., March 15)
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara 49, 1-1 Perkiomen Valley 35
11-1 Parkland 48, 12-1 Archbishop Carroll 37
1-6 Garnet Valley 58, 1-4 North Penn 51
1-2 Spring-Ford 60, 7-1 Norwin 47

Semifinals (Mon., March 18)
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara vs. 11-1 Parkland
1-6 Garnet Valley vs. 1-2 Spring-Ford

Championship at Giant Center (Fri., March 22)
TBD, 6 p.m.