City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Today — Friday, November 29 for those still shaking off Thursday’s holiday festivities — is the first day of the 2024-25 PIAA basketball season, the first day where most teams around the state can play their first official games. 

That makes this as good a time as any to look at a few prime-time matchups coming up in the opening week of the season (Nov. 30-Dec. 5), games we’ll be keeping a close eye on for some early takeaways. 

We’ll have another post up next week looking at that weekend’s (Dec. 6-8) various tournaments and events.

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Listed in chronological order; home team listed first

Girls: Lansdale Catholic vs. Council Rock South
Fri., Nov. 29, 5:30 PM (Conwell-Egan)

Two teams with new coaches debut against one another as Tom Lonergan (LC) and Steve Polinski (CRS) see what they’ve got to work with. Both teams have high expectations despite the new faces on the sideline; LC has a pair of Division I commits in Grace McDonough (James Madison) and Sanyiah Littlejohn (George Mason) while CR South is senior-laden with the likes of Lil Metrick, Kathryn O’Kane, Fiona Recker and twins Sarah and Maria Freeman. Opening of a double-header that also includes Egan and Pennsbury playing afterwards.

Boys: Lower Merion vs. Upper Dublin
Sat., Nov. 30, 1:00 PM 

The defending 6A champs (Lower Merion) take on last year’s 5A runner-ups (UD) as both teams have hopes of championships in the spring. Upper Dublin might just be the best team in all of District 1, but that means going through the likes of Lower Merion and a few others in the non-conference, with Ryan Mulroy, Idris Rines + Co. getting a chance to pick up a big one in their opener. Lower Merion will be a new cast once again, but Carson Kasmer, Sam’i Singletary and the rest have looked up to the task in the preseason. 

Girls: Audenried Charter vs. Westtown School
Sat., Nov. 30, 3:00 PM

Two of the area’s girls powerhouses get things underway on Saturday as Shayla Smith and the Rockets host a Moose squad that’s hoping to prove itself as the best in the country come March. This might be Kevin Slaughter’s best Audenried squad, with sophomore forward Nasiaah Russell back in the fold after a knee injury cost her most of her freshman year, but they still have a tough task against a group led by Jordyn Palmer, Jessie Moses, Atlee Vaneskoa, Kennedy Henry (Villanova), Aidan Langely (Towson) and more. 

Boys: Chester Charter vs. Constitution
Mon., Dec. 2, 6:30 PM

It’s kind of like a Public League game, with former Math Civics & Sciences coach Lonnie Diggs — and a good helping of his roster — now at Chester Charter following MCS’ closing after the last school year. Diggs and Constitution coach Rob Moore have gone head-to-head a number of times in postseason action, but facing each other this early in the season will be a new look for both of them, especially in a non-league matchup. Still, this should be a fun, uptempo, competitive contest between two quality teams.

Boys: Coatesville vs. Lower Merion
Tues., Dec. 3, 7:00 PM

I know, we already mentioned Lower Merion, but this is too juicy of a matchup to pass over. Two 6A powerhouses who’ve both had a lot of postseason success both in the recent past as well as over the decades before, going head-to-head at Coatesville’s well-sized gymnasium on Tuesday night. The Raiders will be big up front with 6-7 juniors Larry Brown and Jonas Chester, and the addition of senior guard Nasir Williams gives them a big-time scoring presence to help take some heat off talented freshman Colton Hiller.

Girls: Notre Dame vs. Conestoga
Weds., Dec. 4, 5:30 PM

Just a really enjoyable, high-level non-league game here between the Irish and Pioneers, with a number of interesting individual matchups to watch as well. That includes Notre Dame’s 6-3 sophomore Grace Nasr and Conestoga’s 6-1, West Point-bound senior Janie Preston, as well as Conestoga junior and Division I recruit Ryann Jennings up against Notre Dame sophomore Riley Davis, both of whom play with the Comets. And both teams have good talent around their stars, with the ability to play stiff defense as well. 

Girls: Downingtown East vs. Phoenixville
Weds., Dec. 4, 6:45 PM

Both Downingtown East and Phoenixville have league titles on their minds, East’s in the Ches-Mont and the Phantoms up in the PAC, so this could be for a little bit of league bragging rights when things get down to it later on. Phoenixville has a good variety of weapons including junior guard Kayden Baratta and senior wing Emine Ulcay, while East’s got an intriguing mix of length and shooting including sophomore Kendall Chiavelli and juniors Charlotte Aldridge, Chloe Hunold and Grace Hodges.

Girls: Upper Dublin vs. Council Rock South
Weds., Dec. 4, 7:00 PM

Another mention for the Golden Hawk girls, though this time in a game that could be a preview of the Suburban One League championship game. Upper Dublin got two major boosts this offseason — not just the arrival of junior wing and Division I recruit Emilia Coleman from Gwynedd Mercy, but the news that junior guard and FDU commit Megan Ngo will be ready for the beginning of the season after tearing her ACL back in February. With those two in the fold, plus sophomores Tamia Clark and Bridget DiMartile — and freshman Lexi Ngo, Megan’s younger sister, chipping in — the Cardinals will be right there in the mix at the top of the SOL and District 1 6A. 

Boys: St. Joe’s Prep vs. Imhotep
Weds., Dec. 4, 7:00 PM

This might just be the crown jewel of the week, and a preview of a potential District 12 6A championship game, depending more on how the season goes for Prep than how it goes for Imhotep, which is almost certain to be playing for that crown come February. This matchup of powerhouses pits the Prep senior-laden group of Jaron McKie (Dayton), Jordan Ellerbee (FGCU) and Olin Chamberlain against the Imhotep gauntlet, led this year by senior Carnell Henderson, juniors RJ Smith and Zaahir Muhammad-Gray and sophomore Zion Green, who at 6-8 could be a tough matchup for the Hawks. 

Boys: Downingtown West vs. Cardinal O’Hara
Thurs., Dec. 5, 5:00 PM (West Chester)

There’s a tripleheader at WCU on Thursday night, with Unionville taking on Malvern Prep after this followed by Reading vs. Coatesville to close it off. But the opening game might just be the best — Downingtown West star Donovan Fromhartz is finally a senior after a productive career in a Whippets uniform, while junior Brady Moore is coming off a strong offseason as well. O’Hara’s got a brand-new look under first-year head coach Ryan Krawczeniuk, led by junior guard and D-I recruit Milak Myatt and a host of other newcomers.