City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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We’re down to eight teams in the running for the 2025 District 1 6A girls crown, including all of the top six seeds and a couple others in the top 10 moving through.

Each of those eight has already punched their ticket to the PIAA tournament, so even the quarterfinal losers still have at least three more games after that: two to determine seeding and a first-round state playoff game. The eight teams in playbacks all have to win their next two games to qualify for the PIAA bracket, with the losers of those games done for the year.

Here’s a look at all four quarterfinals, with a quick peek at the four playbacks:

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1) Perkiomen Valley vs. 9) Conestoga (Feb. 21, 6:00 PM)

Perkiomen Valley’s been a singular force in District 1 basketball this season, reminicent of the unbeaten Plymouth Whitemarsh squad from 2021-22. The Vikings have won every single game they played against District 1 competition this season by at least 33 points, with most of the deficits much larger — including a 52-6 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh in the second round; their only losses have come to a few national powerhouses. Conestoga presents more of a challenge than PW, but even the Pioneers are going to struggle against a group that’s by far the favorite to win the district crown and a strong favorite to contend the state title. 

Conestoga coach AJ Thompson does have a pair of Division I recruits to start with in senior forward Janie Preston (Army) and junior guard Ryann Jennings (Lehigh), who will go up against each other in the Patriot League a couple years down the road. The 6-1 Preston is a quality inside scorer with a face-up game, and Jennings is a 1,000-point scorer who can hit 3s and attack the bucket. Senior guard and MIT commit Ruth Lanouette is an athletic 5-4 point guard, junior wing Maggie Neary gives them defense and shooting and junior point guard Libby Brown adds more ball-handling, shooting and defense. 

They’ll have their hands full with a Vikings starting five that John Russo turns out and lets loose. The frontcourt is as good as any around in 6-3 Navy commit Quinn Boettinger and 6-1 Wake Forest commit Grace Galbavy, who both have terrific impacts at both ends of the court. The backcourt has three scholarship-level guards in Bella Bacani (Jefferson), Lena Stein (West Chester) and Grace Miley, with another senior in Julia Smith giving them even more experience off the bench. 

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4) Central Bucks East vs. 5) Downingtown East (1:00 PM)

This is a rematch of a Jan. 4 non-league game at Downingtown East, the Cougars beating the Patriots 55-44 thanks to a 25-10 opening quarter on their home court. The Patriots (21-5) took that loss and one six days later to Pennsbury but have won 12 of 14 since, getting to the Suburban One Championship game before losing to Upper Dublin, then beating Spring-Ford in the second round of the district tournament. Downingtown East (22-3) was in the 13-game win streak at that point, then bounced back nicely from a one-point loss in the Ches-Mont championship to beat Ches by 13 in the second round to qualify for states again.

Both teams are built somewhat similarly, with a variety of athletes and an impressive sophomore guard having a breakout year, and both are well-coached groups that move the ball and spread the wealth around. For CB East, that’s Haley Moran, the 5-4 point guard who’s a strong outside shooter that knows how to finish in various ways around the rim. She and junior Jess Lockwood, a 5-11 sharpshooter, have had some big scoring games for East this season; up front, senior Sydney Ralph and junior Natalie Berndt give them length, rebounding, and inside scoring as well as the occasional jumper, and junior Emma Penecale does that as well.

Downingtown East’s junior core is its strength: Charlotte Aldridge (6-0) had 17 points against Chester, with guards Chloe Hunold, Grace Hodges and Jazlyn Boyd all starting alongside her. Sophomore guard Kendall Chiavelli has gained a lot of confidence this season to put the ball in the hoop, as she had 18 points against Chester. Head coach Darren Domsohn doesn’t go too deep into his bench, but junior guard Mya Johnson gives them quality minutes as well.

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2) Garnet Valley vs. 10) Haverford High (1:00 PM)

It’s a Central League rubber match with the most at stake yet this season between the second-seeded Jaguars and the tenth-seeded Fords. They’ve each won on their home courts: Haverford by a 47-28 final back on Dec. 17, Garnet Valley by a near-identical 43-26 result on Jan. 30. A Conestoga win over Haverford (20-5) in the Central League semifinals prevented a third GV/Haverford meeting in the Central League championship, which the Jaguars (24-1) won before beating North Penn 54-38 in the second round. Haverford, meanwhile, beat CB South in the opening round before taking down Downingtown West on the road in the second to get back to states.

It won’t be a surprise to either side who leads the scouting report. Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods’ biggest worry is Haverford’s Rian Dotsey, the 6-foot-1 Saint Joseph’s commit who can play all five positions for the Fords. Lauren Pellicane and her staff have to pay close attention to Garnet’s Hayley Adamski, the 6-0 wing and sharpshooter who can light it up from downtown and then attack the rim when defenders start flying at her to close out. It’s the supporting casts, instead, which will make the difference.

The last time these two met, Garnet Valley’s Savannah Saunders stepped up with a career-high 16 points, the St. Joe’s lacrosse commit out-scoring Adamski by four points. That was crucial on a night where the Fords did a good job defensively on senior guard Kylie Mulholland, the 5-3 point guard recently committing to Jefferson University. Sophomore guards Addison and Kylie Adamski, Hayley’s younger sisters, round out the lineup. Haverford’s strength is in its frontcourt, with 5-11 senior Natalie Wright and 6-2 reserve Maura Gilroy joining Dotsey up front; senior guards Mya Foley and Megan Kelly and freshman Grace Maloney play most of the perimeter minutes.

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3) Upper Dublin vs. 6) Cheltenham (2:30 PM)

It was just two weeks ago to the day that these two matched up in the Suburban One League semifinals, Upper Dublin running away from Cheltenham in a 75-45 win. The Cardinals (22-4) can’t escape SOL opponents, playing Pennsbury in the second round (54-28) to set up this rematch. That semifinal loss was the Panthers’ first since Jan. 11, an 11-game win streak, but Cheltenham (21-3) bounced right back with a nine-point win over Abington in the second round. 

UD coach Morgan Funsten is without one of his top weapons from this season, as 5-11 junior wing and La Salle commit Emilia Coleman didn’t receive eligibility for the postseason following a transfer from Gwynedd Mercy Academy last offseason. The Cardinals still have plenty of punch in junior point guard Megan Ngo (5-3), sophomore wings Bridget DiMartile (5-11) and Tamia Clark (5-8) and freshmen Ella Morris (5-8) and Lexi Ngo (5-0), who moved into the starting lineup for their second-round win. Ngo, a skilled ball-handler, defender and scorer, pairs well with the tough, athletic Clark, who’s really upped her game this season, and DiMartile is turning into a knockdown shooter with length.

Cheltenham has made a massive surge under first-year head coach Monique Boykins, who has the Panthers as strong as they’ve been in recent history. They’ve already got 10 more wins than a year ago, with senior wing Jiah Price leading a strong group of juniors in guards Maya Simmons and Paige Powell plus junior forward Zoe Thompson giving Boykins a talented quartet to build around, a few others chipping in here and there. Despite the earlier blowout loss, this is a group that has what it takes to pull the upset if things go its way.

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Playbacks
8) Council Rock South vs. 16) Plymouth Whitemarsh (Feb. 21, 4:00 PM)

This is a rematch of a Jan. 14 game at Plymouth Whitemarsh, which CR South won 48-45, part of an 18-game win streak by the Golden Hawks, who’ve lost their last two to put themselves in a playback situation. CR South features seniors Fiona Reckner (F&M), Lil Metrick (Widener), Kathryn O’Kane (Scranton soccer) and twins Sarah and Maria Freeman, quite a group for first-year head coach Steve Polinsky. PW’s Dan Dougherty relies on juniors AJ Avery and Kenna Winland to lead the way, and 5-10 sophomore forward Eliza Meersman has been giving them quality minutes up front.

12) Chester vs. 13) Spring-Ford (2:00 PM)

Chester’s deeper in the playoffs than it’s been in a decade, the Clippers aiming to get back to the state tournament as well. Spring-Ford’s no stranger to the PIAA bracket, the Rams making it to the 6A state championship game in 2021 and 2024. Spring-Ford’s led by seniors Kareena Preuss, Devon Chamberlain and Lilly Brescia plus sophomore Emma Kaercher at point guard, while Chester features Imani Dorsey and 1,000-point scorer Jordan Dennis along with senior Ja’Mya Muhammad as the core for Marvin Dukes Sr. The Clippers already beat one PAC Liberty squad to get here in Methacton, downing the Warriors by 20 in the first round; they’ll need to make it another to stay alive.

7) Downingtown West vs. 15) North Penn (Feb. 21, 6:00 PM)

The Ches-Mont champs, Downingtown West’s in danger of missing out on the state playoffs, though Mike Young’s program is in good position to be highly competitive in the district for the next few years thanks to some quality young. Sophomore point guard Hayden Blair, junior wing Ellie Dexter, freshman forward Kylee Domsohn and others have all produced for the Whippets. North Penn is in a similar boat, with versatile 5-11 sophomore Lily Brown putting together a quality high school career already long with senior guard Cam Crowley, while Tallie Smink scored 10 points in the opening-round win over Phoenixville.

14) Pennsbury vs. 22) Abington (TBD)

The Falcons and Ghosts already met once much earlier this season, Pennsbury beating Abington 43-33 on the same court they’ll play this weekend. Frank Sciollas’ Falcons are getting contributions from all four classes: seniors Ava Jordan and Maggie Burns through freshman Alyssa Thomas, with junior Emily Parano and sophomore Sammie Haws playing big roles as well. Abington’s driven by senior point guard Maya Johnson, a terrific ball-handler and defender who’s also the program’s all-time assist leader; juniors Mikaiya Durham and Aniyah Williams are Allison Lawson’s other two primary offensive options. 

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