By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The 3rd Annual CoBL Girls’ Fall Classic brought more than 50 area high school teams to Spring-Ford this past weekend for a busy weekend of hoops, in what was certainly our best girls’ preseason event yet.
We had writers watching full games for standouts and doing interviews for season previews, but I spent most of the weekend popping around from court-to-court, taking pictures and some general notes on as many area teams as possible.
Here’s just a few quick takeaways I had from this weekend, focusing on teams from the CoBL coverage range (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties), in some kind of chronological order:
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Coatesville smothers opponents
Tina Nicholson (above) has her Coatesville squad playing some uptempo defense. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
The most impressive thing I saw Saturday morning was the way Tina Nicholson had her girls playing defense. The Raiders’ coach, a legend at Downingtown High (before there was East and West) and then Penn State, was known as a tenacious defender and passer who made it to the WNBA despite her 5-foot-2 frame; she’s certainly got her squad playing in her style.
Deploying a full-court press in both of its games, Coatesville was a constant blur of defensive motion, forcing deflections and steals all over the court, converting quite a few turnovers into opportunities the other way.
Coatesville’s young this year, with only two seniors in the group that was at Spring-Ford this weekend, and a number of underclassmen were very much involved. That included 5-3 freshman point guard Milan Bryant, 5-4 sophomore Makiah Datil, 5-7 freshman Jenasia Holmes and more. Seeing the buy-in defensively was impressive, and a good sign for Coatesville moving forward.
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Phoenix frontcourt adds more intimidating pieces
Friends’ Central already had a strong presence up front with 6-3 senior Logyn Greer and 6-1 Kaiya Rain Tucker, a one-two punch of Division I prospects that can play inside and out for the Phoenix.
Now it’s more like 1-2-3-4. Joining Greer and Tucker are 6-2 sophomore Zya Small and 6-1 freshman Faith Watson, and suddenly Friends’ Central has a big presence no matter who’s out there. Multiple opponents found that out the hard way, as driving guards found themselves up against a wall of defenders, time and time again.
Small, who played at Scranton High as a freshman, comes to the Main Line with an already-impressive list of offers that includes Villanova and Arizona thanks to her ability, similarly to Greer, to play multiple frontcourt positions and impact the game in all sorts of ways. Watson doesn’t have quite that pedigree yet, but there’s already a lot to like about the young post, who establishes position well on the block and has good hands and footwork. And that’s before we even think about Stony Brook commit Nal’la Bennett, who knocked down five 3-pointers in the span I watched her play on Saturday afternoon.
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Look out for Germantown Academy, Shipley youngsters
Eigthh grader Azzure O'Connor (above) impressed for GA on Sunday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Two area private schools with a host of impressive youngsters, both Germantown Academy and Shipley School got contributions from those in 10th grade and younger in both of their games.
Germantown Academy graduates a ton off last year’s Inter-Ac co-champs, though Lauren Power still has holdovers Jess Kolecki and Gabby Bowes to set the tone. With Bowes not available on the weekend, it was freshmen Molly Beggs and Taylor Williams as well as sophomores Jo Owens and Claire McKee and 8th grader Azzure O’Connor who made sure the Patriots were plenty competitive. Owens, a 6-1 post whose parents both played Division I hoops, was really impactful defensively, while O’Connor’s ball-handling and Beggs’ shooting, as well as Williams’ presence on the block, all stood out. And while she's not an underclassman, George School transfer Sylvie Harrington was knocking down shots all day long for the Patriots, adding good length and scoring ability on the wing.
As for Shipley, Ellen Bair’s got a standout 8th grader of her own in Melody Vaughn, a 5-10 guard with a ton of potential, and the younger sister of Gators junior Gabby Vaughn, a 6-0 wing/forward. Senior guard Mallory Farr brings some experience to the table, but otherwise the Gators were young, getting big minutes from freshmen Halle Newsome and Cidney Stanfield, both 5-10 guards.
Both play in tough leagues and neither will likely be a preseason league favorite, but both have some exciting youth to build around, for sure.
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Upper Dublin impresses in wins
We’re nearing the start of what looks like a big year for Upper Dublin basketball, both the boys and girls. The Cardinals looked good on Sunday, beating two quality programs in Conestoga and Shipley, doing so despite playing four freshmen and without a couple multi-sport athletes.
Lexi Ngo (above) is following in her sisters' footsteps at Upper Dublin. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Playing point guard was a familiar name in freshman Lexi Ngo, the third in her family to put on an Upper Dublin uniform over the last few years. The 5-1 point guard will need to adjust to the physicality of the high school level, but she’s every bit as tenacious and high-IQ as her sisters — Holy Family freshman Amy Ngo and junior guard Megan Ngo. Two other freshmen, Ella Morris and Caroline Stoffel, chipped in as well.
Also certainly notable was the shooting of sophomore Tamia Clark. The 5-8 wing had a productive freshman year as more of an undersized ‘4,’ scoring a ton around the rim. But on Sunday, she hit multiple jumpers, including a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the wing and a pull-up baseline jumper, with her form looking smoother and more confident by a good shot compared to a year ago.
There are still two major x-factors for the Cardinals.
The first is the eligibility of Emilia Coleman, the junior wing and Division I recruit who transferred in from Gwynedd Mercy this offseason. The second is the health of Megan Ngo, the dynamo point guard and fellow D-I recruit who tore her ACL midway through last season. If Coleman is eligible and Ngo is able to return sooner rather than later — she could be cleared as early as November, though will still need a fair bit of time to get back to speed — then Upper Darby could be a really tough out this season.
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Other Random Thoughts
— Neshaminy senior guard Alena Cofield plays hard, and is one of the most athletic guards in District 1; she rebounded well but also knocked down an outside shot, which hasn’t been her bread-and-butter throughout the years. The third-year contributor will play a big role for Neshaminy this year, and she looked ready to play that part this weekend.
Kennedy Hall (above) adds a post presence at the '5' for Westtown. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
— Westtown added another big-time weapon just ahead of the school year in senior forward Kennedy Hall. The 6-3 Boston College commit previously went to Shabach Christian (Md.), which closed, so she’s finishing up her high school years in West Chester. Hall brings a different post presence to the Moose, a true ‘5’ who can post up and score in a variety of ways, and also defends the rim. Just another problem for the rest of the PAISAA squads (and, frankly, anybody else on Westtown’s schedule) to worry about.
— Kayden Baratta led Phoenixville to two quality Sunday morning wins over Bensalem and Hill School. The junior guard showed her ability to get to the hoop and also bomb away from deep, and she can square up and launch off her fingertips in what seems like one smooth motion — almost too quick — but her form stays consistent and she was hitting from deep. The Phantoms also got some nice contributions from youngsters, including freshmen wings Tessa Tackett and Charlie Campbell plus sophomore Maggie McCoy.
— Okay, they’re not from Philly, but keep an eye out for Hazleton Area. Head coach Joe Gavio (who’s only in his 49th year as head coach) has a terrific group of sophomores to build around, though they already compromise most of his starting lineup and production. Sophia Benyo, Kaitlyn Bindas, Mariah Marolo and Leah Myers paced the group of second-year high schoolers who led Hazleton to wins over Downingtown West and Upper Moreland, with senior Sophia Shults, junior Kylee Forschner and others contributing as well in a deep group; junior Alexis Reimold was particularly impressive in the win over Downingtown West, getting to the hoop on a number of occasions and finishing with at least 12-14 points.
Tag(s): Home High School Girls HS Ches-Mont National (G) Coatesville Friends' Schools (G) Friends' Central Shipley School Westtown Inter-Ac (G) Germantown Academy PAC (G) PAC Frontier (G) Phoenixville SOL Liberty (G) Upper Dublin SOL Patriot (G) Neshaminy