City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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BERWYN — There were no surprises about where Ryann Jennings stood.

Walking into the lobby at Conestoga High School, there was a table set up front with pre-made signs celebrating the Pioneers junior’s impending 1,000th point, as she entered Tuesday night’s game against Radnor just three points from the milestone. 

It took her less than a minute to get there. 

On Conestoga’s second offensive possession, a ball out-of-bounds gave head coach A.J. Thompson the opportunity to draw up a play designed to get Jennings an open look from the corner — and she buried it. A group of 20 of her friends sitting on the bleachers directly opposite where she hit the shot lost their minds; Jennings quickly celebrated with her team before the game resumed, a longer celebration coming at the end of Conestoga’s 57-41 win in a battle at the top of the Central League.

“It was so exciting,” Jennings said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. It was great, coming off for a 3, it was perfect.”

“We had the perfect play for it,” Thompson said. “We wanted to get it early, that way she wasn’t thinking about it after the first one, so I was happy the first one went down.”

By scoring 1,000 points in a Conestoga uniform, Jennings joins a select group of Pioneers. It’s a group so small there isn’t even a banner in the ‘Stoga gym honoring them, though Thompson knew that 2017 grad Ellie Mack was the last Pioneers girl to hit the mark. 

That Jennings got to the 1,000-point was of no surprise to anybody around. The third-year starter and Division I recruit entered this season with more than 875 career points, the eventual fourth digit on her scoring total a “when” and not an “if.” Jennings was vaguely aware she was close, but didn’t know just how close until after scoring 10 points against Haverford High on Friday night, then asked her dad where she stood. 

“He was like you’re three away, and I was like, ‘oh my gosh,’” she recalled. “It definitely was on my mind for this past weekend, I was getting really excited, and when it came, all the adrenaline was just there and it was a very great moment.”

Jennings worked her way to 17 points in the win over Radnor (9-2, 5-1 Central League), her impressive athleticism showing as she grabbed 11 rebounds and four steals while also doing a strong job defensively on Radnor star Nyah Yao (11 points). But her offensive output wasn’t the most notable of the evening.

After Jennings opened the game with a couple buckets, Conestoga’s offense fell silent for several minutes, Radnor tying the game at 5-5. The Central League leaders and 5A program came into the game ready to prove they belonged with the league’s three 6A powerhouses in ‘Stoga, Garnet Valley and Haverford.

Instead, it was Pioneers junior Libby Brown and sophomore Lu Misener who stepped up, big-time. The two combined to hit four first-half 3-pointers on five attempts, helping Conestoga (7-3, 5-1) grow its lead to 28-16 at halftime even as Jennings spent most of the second quarter on the bench with two fouls.

Brown and Misener hit another 3-pointer apiece in the third quarter, junior wing Maggie Neary (11 points) getting into the mix with one of her own as the lead grew to 46-27. 

Brown, a 5-foot-5 point guard, finished with a season-high 15 points, while Misener added nine points, five rebounds and four assists in her best overall outing of the season. Conestoga finished the game 10-of-23 from 3-point range, those two leading the way.

“I normally don’t shoot that much, but tonight my shots were falling,” said Brown, who finished the game 5-of-8 from the floor, 3-of-5 from downtown, hitting both of her foul shots while grabbing three rebounds and three assists. “It feels really good and then it brings up my confidence to be able to shoot like that.”

On a team that’s struggled with its depth since starting guard Ruth Lanouette went down with an ankle injury three minutes into the season, Brown and Misener’s contributions are critical alongside Jennings and Janie Preston (West Point), who had five points and six rebounds against Radnor. 

“It was great to see them have a little bit of a breakout, because we’ve been struggling to shoot the ball,” Thompson said. “So to see Libby and Lu really step up and knock down some big shots when we needed them to was really great. Good for their confidence, good for the season moving forward. Hopefully it’s a little bit of a momentum boost for them and continue that onto the next couple games.”

Conestoga also dominated the glass, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds  to Radnor's four, as the Pioneers took 17 more shots than their opponents.

Anna Reger led Radnor with 13 points. 

The Raptors’ schedule doesn’t get any easier, as they turn around and have to play co-leader Haverford High (7-1, 5-1) on Thursday at Radnor. Conestoga plays Penncrest that same night; the Pioneers don’t play Garnet Valley and Haverford again until Feb. 1 and Feb. 4, the last two games of the regular season. 

Things are certainly trending up for ‘Stoga, with Lanouette participating in warmups on Tuesday and hoping to be cleared by Thursday’s game, if not by the weekend. The 5-7 combo guard and recent MIT commit was the team’s top reserve a year ago but should slide into a starting spot when she retakes the court.

“We’re really excited to get her back, she gives us an added dynamic to our team with speed and athleticism that at times we’re missing,” Thompson said. “We’re excited to get her back, for sure.”

By Quarter
Radnor:  5   |  11  |  11  |  14  ||  41
Stoga:   13  |  15  |  18  |  11  ||  57 

Shooting
Radnor: 11-31 FG (6-12 3PT), 13-24 FT
Stoga: 20-48 FG (10-23 3PT), 7-8 FT

Scoring
Radnor: Anna Reger 13, Nyah Yao 11, Sadie Boulden 6, Mia Gjorven 5, Bree Simpson 4, Ally Kreg 1, Riley D’Entremont 1

Stoga: Ryann Jennings 17, Libby Brown 15, Maggie Neary 11, Lu Misener 9, Janie Preston 5