City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
—

The time of the season where losses become more than temporary setbacks has all but arrived. 

Haverford High’s girls had what they hope was their final such complication for a good while on Thursday, a disappointing loss at Garnet Valley that should keep them from the top seed in the Central League playoffs. But a veteran group in hand led by St. Joe’s commit Rian Dotsey knows how to bounce back, and that’s what they did on Saturday with a lockdown defensive effort at Lower Merion. 

With Dotsey leading the way offensively, the Fords held the Aces to their second-lowest point total of the season in a 43-25 win.

“We’ve gone into every game with the same idea, just trying to come out strong and not putting any team above any other team,” Dotsey said. “We have four seniors who’ve been able to lead our team, so that’s been super-helpful, especially with team morale and stuff like that.”

Dotsey toughed her way to 18 points, the Lower Merion defense collapsing on the 6-foot-1 wing every time she touched the ball in the paint, making her really work for her buckets while also going 8-for-8 from the foul line. Though the Fords got contributions from others throughout the afternoon, she was their only consistent source of scoring; it was the defense that won the day. 

Lower Merion (12-9, 8-7 Central League) found open shots few and far between, needing the work the ball inside and out to try to get a good look against Haverford’s man and zone looks. Junior guard Alexa Braslow led the Aces with 11 points, chipping in five rebounds and three assists, but had to work hard for it. 

The Fords also forced 15 turnovers while committing just three of their own. 

“Yeah, we really focused on our energy and I thought we came out with a lot of intensity, which was really good for us, that’s been a focal point throughout the whole year,” Dotsey said. “Coming out with that, being aggressive on defense, not giving them any looks and eliminating their main options, was the goal.”

Haverford High led 14-9 after one quarter and 24-14 at halftime, getting a couple first-quarter buckets from freshman Grace Maloney (7 points) and a trio of first-half layups from senior Natalie Wright (8 points). In the third, it was junior forward Maura Gilroy (7 points) who found the hoop three times as the Fords lead stretched to 36-23. Throughout, senior point guard Megan Kelly was strong on the ball, dishing out six assists and grabbing three rebounds.

“It’s so awesome to see everyone stepping up,” Dotsey said. “It’s towards the end of the season, everyone’s put in so much work over the long season, so it’s so great that everyone steps up.”

Haverford slammed the door shut by allowing just two points in the fourth quarter. 

The win sets Haverford (17-3, 13-2) up for a clash with Conestoga (16-5, 13-2) on Tuesday for the No. 2 seed in the Central League playoffs, assuming Garnet Valley takes care of Ridley that night. That’s an important distinction: it determines who will get a bye into the league semifinals and host what’s likely to be the third matchup between the two schools, with Conestoga taking the earlier-season matchup 38-32. 

“That would be huge for us,” Dotsey said, “just another day of practice, to prepare for whoever we have ahead.”

It also has District 1 implications. Before Saturday’s win (and one earlier this week against Ridley) made it into the District 1 system, Haverford was No. 8 in the district rankings and Conestoga No. 9, with the top eight seeds getting a bye into the second round. 

A little lower down the rankings but also postseason bound are the Aces, who at No. 19 in the rankings look likely to go on the road in the opening round of the tournament. Lower Merion’s also going to be the No. 5 seed in the Central League playoffs if it takes out Upper Darby on Tuesday, having already done so 60-32 in their first meeting a month prior.

That’s a major accomplishment for a program that hasn’t made the postseason in any way, shape or form since 2011-12, when it lost in the opening round of the district tournament. The Aces haven’t been to the league playoffs since a 25-6 (18-0) league championship season in 2010-11, with current Haverford High coach Lauren Pellicane in charge.

“They know, they know,” sixth-year Lower Merion coach Erin Laney said. “At the same time, our expectation [to make the playoffs] was always there. Knowing the talent that we had coming in, knowing the returning talent that we had, our expectation was playoffs, was postseason. It’s a conversation, but I want them to feel like that’s where they’re supposed to be. The kudos will come once we’re there.”

Laney’s got good reason to be excited about the direction her program is heading. The Muhlenberg College alum has had a freshman leading the team in scoring most of the year in Natalia Kasmer, the primary focus of Haverford’s defensive efforts. Another two freshmen, Ella Liberatoscioli and Clara Rendle, are the first two off the bench. Sophomore Harper Gust, a defensive specialist, was out with an ankle injury, and her classmate Arry Glover knocked in a pair of 3-pointers. 

They’re definitely building on a 10-12 season from a year ago. Taking on the top programs in the league is the next step. They’ve been within single digits of Conestoga and Garnet going into the fourth quarter this year, but the top teams have Division I recruits to go to in crunch time, and Lower Merion at this point does not. 

“This group has more basketball talent than this program has seen in a very long time, and we’re definitely leaning into that talent, and the talent is young,” Laney said. “Against those Big 3, if we’re going to compete, it’s going to be on the defensive end, and they really bought into our defensive package and what we’re trying to do.”

By Quarter
HH:  14  |  10  |  12  |   7   ||  43
LM:   9   |   5   |   9   |   2   ||  25

Shooting
HH: 16-41 FG (2-9 3PT), 9-10 FT
LM: 10-32 FG (2-11 3PT), 3-5 FT

Scoring
HH: Rian Dotsey 18, Natalie Wright 8, Maura Gilroy 7, Grace Maloney 7, Mya Foley 3

LM: Alexa Braslow 11, Arry Glover 6, Ella Liberatosioli 6, Megan Walters 2