City of Basketball Love

Matthew Allibone (@bad2theallibone)
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Lilly Brescia considers herself a different player than she was two years ago.

More aggressive … more confident … more inclined to trust herself to take over a game.

She’s discovered this new mentality despite missing last season with a torn ACL that shattered her psyche in the moment.

Now Brescia is one of the leaders of a Spring-Ford team determined to remain one of the top Class 6A teams in the state after graduating a dominant and decorated senior class. The 5-foot-8 senior led the Rams with 25 points in an eye-opening 75-47 home win over Phoenixville Tuesday night that improved the team’s record to 2-1.

It was also an eye-opening performance for Brescia, who scored a combined 14 points in Spring-Ford’s first two games of the season.

“It feels great to be back,” Brescia said. “I feel like such a changed player, but it’s for the better.

“Now I feel like I’ve got to give everything I have whenever I’m on the court.”

Brescia still remembers how scared she felt in the moment.

It was the beginning of AAU season in April 2023. Brescia was coming off a successful sophomore campaign in which she got varsity minutes for a Rams team that went 25-6 and won a state playoff game.

She turned a corner rapidly and felt her knee bend awkwardly.

“Immediately I knew I hurt something,” she said. “I was crying. It was scary.”

She doubted she’d be able to get back to her previous level of play. When she started physical therapy, she couldn’t bend her leg at all. She admitted she allowed herself to get overcome with frustration.

The mental side of recovery was another challenge.

Brescia watched from the sideline as Spring-Ford advanced to the PIAA Class 6A title game without her, ultimately losing to Cardinal O’Hara. She was cleared to play almost immediately after the season ended.

“It was tough,” she said. “But I was happy to support my teammates.”

Despite playing a full season of AAU this past offseason, Brescia said she didn’t completely feel like herself again until this fall. However, she isn’t exactly playing like her old self.

The guard was a pure shooter as a sophomore. She admitted she used to be scared to drive to the basket.

But she displayed a complete skillset against Phoenixville Tuesday, draining five 3-pointers while also rolling to the rim with confidence on pick and rolls. Brescia and fellow senior Kareena Preuss, who finished with 21 points, showed off a strong two-man game the Phantoms had no answer for.

“I missed playing with Lilly,” Preuss said. “I can always count on her to knock down 3s, but we’re really flowing and using each other well right now.”

Spring-Ford head coach Mickey McDaniel has always known Brescia could put everything together the way she did Tuesday.

He saw the potential during her freshman year.

“That year her strength was driving to the rim. Then her sophomore year she was our best 3-point shooter by percentage. So we knew what we had in her,” McDaniel said. “This year we’re putting the two together. She’s feeling more confident in the knee and she’s starting to spring off of that.

“I think it’s just her mindset. We talk a lot about having no fear of failure and overcoming adversity. I think she finally has that belief in herself.”

Brescia agreed that her confidence has come from the support of her coaches and teammates.

The Rams could have entered this season expecting to rebuild. For the first time in a while, they didn’t have established high-level recruits to rely on. Spring-Ford graduated a six-player class highlighted by Division I recruits Anna Azzara (Wright State) and Mac Pettinelli (St. Bonaventure) last season.

But the Rams haven’t lowered expectations. They’ve won two in a row after an opening loss to reigning District 3 Class 5A champion York Suburban and throttled a talented Phoenixville team Tuesday.

Phantoms star Kayden Baratta picked up three early fouls and spent the majority of the first half on the bench Tuesday, which helped the Rams extend a six-point lead at the end of the first quarter to 20 points by halftime.

But Brescia and Preuss were both unstoppable during Spring-Ford’s second and third quarter domination, and the Rams also got solid nights from Christina Tiffan (10 points) and Devon Chamberlain (nine points) Tuesday. A 5-foot-4 guard, Chamberlain also missed the majority of last season with an injury.

McDaniel said the Rams aren’t setting any specific goals right now. The goal is to steadily improve so they’re playing their best basketball by March.

That’s how Brescia feels individually. She still has moments of doubt because of her knee but is feeling more confident every game.

Even with a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, Brescia remained on the court until finally exiting with a few minutes remaining. After missing last season, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Coming back was tough, but it feels so good now,” she said. “We just need to stick together as one. Keep playing together as one.”

By Quarter
Spring-Ford    9   |  29  |  23  |  14  ||  75
Phoenixville    3   |  15  |  17  |  14  ||  47

Scoring
Spring-Ford: Brescia 25, Preuss 21, Tiffan 10, Chamberlain 9, Maloney 5, Kaercher 4, Hokanson 2, Platt 1

Phoenixville: Baratta 14, Meyers 11, Ulcay 5, Gnias 5, Breisblatt 5, Chain 3, Ford-Bey 3, Campbell1