City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2025-26 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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Last season, CB East was able to say it had a good year but this season, the Patriots are aiming for a great year.

There’s a definite difference between the two and East’s veteran team saw how small the difference can be during an extended campaign that ended in the first round of the state tournament last March. 

The Patriots know they can be good, what they’re after is great.

“We talk about this a lot, that the enemy of great is good,” East coach Liz Potash said. “So it’s nice to be good but it’s that next level that’s really hard to achieve. We’ve done a nice job the last couple of years but they have bigger goals this season.”

East returns four starters from last season’s 22-8 team that claimed an outright SOL Colonial title, made its first appearance in the SOL championship game, finished fourth in District 1’s Class 6A and got to host a first round state playoff game. That reads like a really good resume and the Patriots certainly look at it that way but they’re also a competitive group that knows they left some things out there.

There will be some very good teams across Class 6A in District 1, and CB East will play quite a few of them even before the postseason, but the Patriots feel like they belong in that same group. Ask any of the team’s vets and they’ll say confidently they expect to contend for everything from an SOL Colonial division title to an SOL tournament crown to the district championship and beyond.

Basically, they aren’t settling on just having a good season.

“Every year, we’ve gotten further and further,” East senior Jess Lockwood said. “From going to states and it’s away then last year going to states again, it’s a home playoff game so this year, we’re hoping to go even further. It’s special because it is our senior year and we’ve taken that next step each year.”

Last year, East advanced to the district semifinals, where it ran into a juggernaut in Perk Valley, dropped the third place game to Upper Dublin and saw its season end against Cardinal O’Hara in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. While those were three very talented opponents, closing a good campaign with a three-game losing streak put things in perspective for the players that would be coming back this winter.

“We felt like last year, we put ourselves in a really good spot and ended up with a really tough draw in the first round of states so they know fourth in the district isn’t good enough, which is hard to say,” Potash said. “So, again, they have big goals and it’s exciting because we’ve got a nice group to be able to go do it, there’s so much experience they have playing together.”

Senior Natalie Berndt is returning for her fourth year in the starting lineup after cracking it early as a freshman and never leaving. She’s a tremendous defender who shoots the three at an above 40 percent mark and has proven to be an invaluable piece for a team that’s gone to states in back-to-back seasons.

“We have a lot to build on from last year,” Berndt said. “Just taking the four returning starters and adding, it just builds our team chemistry so we’re taking that and trying to go as far as we can.”

Lockwood, who played the last two summers with the Comets on the GUAA circuit, also returns for her senior season. A starter the last two years, Lockwood is a terrific outside shooter and has added more to her game with each passing season.

As a team that relied on its outside shooting quite a bit last year, there were stretches when the Patriots couldn’t get anything to drop and struggled to score. They know there will be times this year where shots aren’t going either but as a more experienced team, the players feel more prepared to deal with those stretches and not let them affect how they’re competing on the floor.

“Even last year, we had the days where nothing would go in, layups, nothing and I think this year we know we just have to keep pushing through,” Lockwood said. “Eventually, something will fall and then we’ll get back in the swing of things. As a team, we just need to not get in our heads if we have that tough stretch.”

Junior point guard Haley Moran was the breakout player for the Patriots last year. After coming off the bench as a freshman, she seized the starting point guard role and her ability to handle the ball and put pressure on the rim opened up a lot of looks offensively.

After spending the summer playing with the Comets 16U team on the GUAA circuit for the first time, Moran picked up her first Division I offer from Rider and is drawing other interest at the next level.

“When I came in as a freshman, that was the first time we’d gone to states in a few years,” Moran said. “Now, I just want to go further. We’ve been there twice now, so we know what it takes to get to that point and we can definitely get there but we’re looking to take it past that.”

In the starting lineup, the Patriots will have to replace Sydney Ralph, a multi-year starter who made her mark defensively and with a knack for a timely shot. Savannah Hayes is the team’s top loss from last year’s bench unit and both she and Ralph excelled at playing within their role, something this year’s group is trying to emulate.

With an established and experienced group, the players know what to expect. Potash pointed out, they expect the ball to be in Moran’s hands most of the time, they expect Lockwood will be the look on a big shot, they expect Berndt to draw the top defensive assignment 

“We know how each person can contribute to our team and make us the best we can be,” Moran said. “We’re trying to work together, build that team chemistry with the new people coming in but also rebuild and improve what we had last year.”

Emma Penecale rounded out the Patriots’ starting five last year and grew as a player throughout the season, giving the team another option as a shooter and determined defender. 

“There isn’t a lot of ego because at the end of the day, they care what the final score is and they don’t care how we got there,” Potash said. “We’ve been really lucky to have kids who were able to do that and it’s a big point of emphasis: excel in your role and we will find a spot for you.”

Delaney Long provided a spark off the bench for East last year. Potash is looking for junior Maddie Thompson, who was the backup goalkeeper on East’s state title soccer team and junior Haley Helmstetter, a standout softball player, to fill out the team’s bench.

The new name to watch in Buckingham is freshman Payton Williams, who already looks ready to make an impact. Williams played up a year this summer with the Philly Revolution’s talented 2028 group, more than holding her own and the guard has already impressed her East teammates and coaches.

“Adding her into the mix, she’s got pieces I’ve never seen in a freshman,” Potash said. “I’ve been here 13 years now and we’ve never had a freshman come in this complete, it’s impressive. You just watch her sometimes and it’s like ‘holy smokes,’ so we’re excited to have her with us.”

Potash didn’t shy away from giving her team some challenges this season. The Patriots face Chester and Easton in their first three games and visit Germantown Academy on Dec. 13 before taking part in Cardinal O’Hara’s holiday showcase against Archbishop Carroll and Springfield Delco at the end of the season’s first month.

East faces Pennsbury and Gwynedd Mercy Academy on the road in January, welcomes Upper Dublin on Jan. 16 and Downingtown East on Jan. 24 and ends the month with a visit to a Wilson team that should be a top contender in District 3.

“The biggest thing for us, we just have to stick together through everything,” Berndt said. “We know once it gets to the middle and the end of the season, things get harder and you’ll start to get in your head and everyone is mentally tired, we have to stay together. If we keep the hustle and the effort up and control what we can control, that’s what will give us a chance every game.”