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Kaercher, Spring-Ford girls outlast Springfield (Delco.) in overtime

01/12/2025, 11:55pm EST
By Josh Verlin

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

COLLEGEVILLE — Emma Kaercher is well-steeped in Spring-Ford basketball. 

As a third grader in the Royersford-area school district, she went to see Lucy Olsen play for the first time, the future Villanova and Iowa standout then just a sophomore with the Rams. And a spark was lit.

“I was inspired and I just wanted to be just like her, play in front of everyone,” Kaercher said. “It’s been a dream to play and to help bring a PAC championship back there.”


Emma Kaercher (above) and Spring-Ford beat Springfield (Delco.) in overtime on Sunday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Throughout her elementary and middle school years, she cheered on a Spring-Ford program which won the state championship in 2021, Olsen’s senior year, then developed another pair of Division I prospects in Anna Azzara (Wright State) and Mac Pettinelli (St. Bonaventure). She arrived as a freshman last year, eager to contribute, but knowing it wouldn’t be immediately, spending her first year of high school ball swinging between the junior varsity lineup and the end of the varsity bench. 

Led by Azzara and Pettinelli, Spring-Ford made it to the 6A state title game last year before losing to O’Hara, Kaercher getting a close-up view of what it takes to win, and to win often. 

This year, it’s her turn to be one of those Rams players she watched on the court as a kid, moving right into the starting lineup for Mickey McDaniel’s program. And those lessons on how to win paid off on Sunday,as Kaercher made several big plays down the stretch to help Spring-Ford past Springfield (Delco.), 60-58 in overtime to cap off the CoBL Winter Classic at Ursinus College. 

The 5-foot-4 guard scored 11 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Rams outlasted the Cougars in a game that featured no shortage of late-game drama. 

Spring-Ford (9-4) trailed by three with less than 10 seconds left in regulation when senior Haley Prophet knocked down a corner 3-pointer, the reserve forward’s only bucket of the day. That capped off an opening 32 minutes which saw the programs tied at 33 after three quarters, Spring-Ford wearing down Springfield (6-7) by getting to the line over and over, the Cougars responding with some key shot-making led by junior Lil Ditrolio (18 points) and sophomore Abbie McFarland (11 points, three 3’s). 

Spring-Ford countered with a 17-point, 17-rebounding effort from senior wing Kareena Preuss, Kaercher joining her in double figures. Molly Clifford added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists for Springfield. 

“Kudos to Ky [McNichol] and her team,” McDaniel said. “They came off a (30-point) loss to Conestoga last night, and it’s easy for a team to not get up the next day for a game that’s not in their league or anything in that nature, and she had her girls prepared and they came and played a hard 36 minutes."

Kaercher took over in overtime, getting to the basket twice for a couple layups and going 4-for-4 from the foul line once Springfield was forced to foul in the final minute. She ended up going 10-of-12 from the foul line for the game, a product of the work ethic she’s had since before getting to high school.

“What she did tonight is what she’s been doing all year,” McDaniel said. “For a sophomore, she’s a tremendous leader by example. She works extremely hard defensively, she takes every challenge you give her to heart and she wants to win every challenge you give her [...] She does all those little things that make a big difference. She’s just been a spark plug for us that makes that engine run, and we’ve been really pleased with her effort and her game this season.”


Kareena Pruess (above) had a 17-point, 17-rebound double-double. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

McDaniel said Kaercher, who plays her summer hoops with the Lady Runnin’ Rebels, is one of the players on his team who’s regularly asking him to come in early in the morning and shoot or who sticks around after practice to continue to hone her craft. 

For a youngster with plans of playing college basketball in a few years, she knows that’s a major part of the equation. 

“I think the reason I was able to hit the free throws today and make some of the shots I did and make some of the reads I did is because of how hard I work,” she said. “I work extremely hard to get to where I’ve become in all aspects of the game, and I take pride in being the hardest worker.”

Kaercher benefited greatly from being around last year’s senior class, headlined by Azzara and Pettinelli but also including Aaliyah Soliday (West Chester) and Katie Tiffan (Lynn), even if she didn’t get many minutes. 

“I loved competing against them and getting better against them in practice, trying to fill a spot and trying to get better,” she said. “I learned what it takes to get to the next level [...]  and playing hard against each other at practice and how hard you should compete to get to where you want to.”

The Rams resume PAC Liberty play on Thursday with a trip to Phoenixville, their toughest test remaining coming at defending league champ Perkiomen Valley on Jan. 24; the Vikings won the first matchup between the two, 64-31. But Perk Valley’s stacked lineup of seniors graduates this spring, and the league could be wide-open next year. 

For now, they’ll be happy with five wins in six games and an improving standing in the unofficial District 1 6A rankings, now No. 15 heading into play on Monday, fractions of a point behind Neshaminy, who they play later this month. 

“I think it builds confidence and it shows us [that] when we come together and play together and play with confidence, that great things can happen,” Kaercher said. “And we’re a very resilient group and we just need to build on that.”

By Quarter
Spring-Ford: 10  |  10  |  13  |  14  |  13  ||  60
Springfield:    5   |  11  |  17  |  14  |  11  ||  58

Shooting
Spring-Ford: 14-35 FG (2-7 3PT), 30-40 FT
Springfield: 20-45 FG (8-20 3PT), 10-13 FT

Scoring
Spring-Ford: Kareena Preuss 17, Emma Kaercher 16, Miley Maloney 9, Devon Chamberlain 6, Christina Tiffan 5, Haley Prophet 5, Brynn Stiles 2, Lilly Brescia 2

Springfield: Lil DiTrolio 18, Abbie McFarland 11, Molly Clifford 10, Alyssa Estep 7, Delaney Kearney 5, Adi DiTrolio 5, Eva Lemiux 1, Megan Zane 1


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