City of Basketball Love

To the naked eye, the Central League’s girls basketball standings are somewhat jarring to process. 

Entering Tuesday night, six out of the league’s 12 teams held conference records of either 7-3 or 8-2 — four were tied for first with the latter record — with a seventh sitting at 6-4. 

And, of note, only six teams make the league’s playoffs. 

“Anybody can beat anybody, at this point,” Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods said. “All the teams are very, very competitive — a lot of good players on the teams.”

Call it parity, call it depth — but when push comes to shove and a single game separates the league’s leaders from the league’s middle ground, every single win carries serious weight. Woods’ Jaguars made sure to pick up one of their own Tuesday night, toppling a fellow member of the Central League’s many-horse race, Radnor, 38-34 at home. 

As Woods noted, Garnet Valley spent much of the night playing from behind, trailing by as many as “eight or nine” points in the second half. 

“It was a great game, a defensive battle,” Woods said. “At some point we were down eight or nine in the third, beginning of the fourth. Radnor’s got a really good team, and Nyah Yao, their best player, she gave us fits.”

Yao did, in fact, have a very productive game, leading the Raptors with 19 points and connecting on five of her nine three-point attempts. 

Coming out of the half down up by three, Garnet Valley scored just three points in the third quarter to enter the final frame trailing 29-24. That’s when the Jaguars — and, namely Reagan Leydig — turned on the defense, holding the Raptors to just five fourth-quarter points.

“(Leydig) she did a great job defending,” Woods said. “We went full-court man, and she picked (Yao) up, with a lot of help from her teammates as well, she did a great job.”

As for Garnet Valley’s outputs, Kylie and Addie Adamski combined for 28 of the Jaguars’ 38 points; Kylie had 17 including 10 in the last quarter. 

Garnet Valley entered the night tied with three other teams atop the Central League, and will play two more of those three — Conestoga and Haverford High — before the regular season’s end.

But with such volume of genuine title contenders, it sure is nice to keep pace. 

“It’s kind of neat, it’s cool, I like it,” Woods said of the Central League’s parity. “The league’s a little bit stronger and anybody can beat anybody… It’s good for the league.”

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HS Girls: Springfield (Delco) 39, Lower Merion 34

Speaking of the Central League's parity, two of the other teams locked in the conference's six-way race met up Tuesday night, with Springfield picking up a win to keep pace with Garnet Valley's win at 9-2. Lower Merion, like Radnor, fell to 7-4. Alice Murphy led Springfield with 18 points, while also logging an impressive eight steals. 

HS Boys: Robeson 67, Northeast 50

Robeson moved to an impressive 10-0 in conference Tuesday night, maintaining its place atop the Public League ‘B’ division and moving into sole possession of first following a close loss by Lincoln against Future — both of those teams are now 9-1, tied for second. Robeson was led by Jasir Tyler’s 18 points, while Hanai Williamson and Mekhi Anderson each chipped in a dozen, while Tahir Williams led Northeast with 15.

HS Girls: Neshaminy 47, Council Rock South 42

Neshaminy gained some breathing room in the Suburban One Patriot standings, breaking a tie with CR South — one the two shared with Bensalem, all entering the night at 3-2 — to maintain second place. Bensalem also won Tuesday night, as did undefeated division-leading Pennsbury, so the two remained tied two games behind the Falcons, but Tuesday’s was still a key victory to help Nesh maintain footing. It was a balanced scoring night for Neshaminy, which got 13 from Nicole Trespalacios, 12 from Hayley Kolk and 10 from Mia Raivitch.

HS Girls: Archbishop Wood 39, Lansdale Catholic 22

Wood was absolutely dominant defensively in Tuesday’s win, holding Lansdale Catholic to 1-of-13 three-point shooting and just 20 percent from the field. The two were tied at seven after the first quarter, but Wood outscored Lansdale 23-7 combined over the next two frames. Abbie Kelly led the Vikings with 13 points, to go with four rebounds and two blocks. 

HS Boys: Haverford School 68, Germantown Academy 34

The Fords made a statement Tuesday night, doubling up Germantown Academy to improve to 4-0 in Inter-Ac play; for context, GA entered the night tied for second at 2-1. Haverford held the Patriots to just three first-quarter points and led 26-13 at the break, before outscoring GA by 21 in the second half to really pull away. Silas Graham impressed with a game-high 24 for Haverford — complemented by Dillon Gamble’s 13 — while Mick McKee chipped in 15 for Germantown. 

HS Boys: Malvern Prep 74, Penn Charter 48

Malvern and Penn Charter entered Tuesday night as part of a three-way tie for second place — with Germantown Academy — in the Inter-Ac. By the end of the night, the Friars had broken that tie with the Quakers — emphatically. Most notably, Malvern Prep played dominant third-quarter defense, outscoring Penn Charter 20-7. Nick Harken led the way for the Friars with 25, while Logan Chwastyk added 22.

HS Boys: SCH Academy 55, Episcopal Academy 53

The Blue Devils picked up their first Inter-Ac win in a battle of previously winless-in-league teams, edging Episcopal thanks largely to a strong third quarter; SCH held the Churchmen to just seven in that frame. Alex Ormond was a major difference maker for SCH Tuesday, leading the way with 20 points; he had 13 in the first half to help keep pace, as the Blue Devils trailed by four at the break. Timmy Dennis led EA with 15.  

HS Boys: Methacton 70, Pope John Paul II 60

Methacton gained a massive win for purposes of its standing atop the PAC Liberty, taking down Pope John Paul II by double digits at home to increase its lead to two games over the Panthers. Methacton opened up a 25-13 lead after the first frame to help build its early lead. John Leet (28) and Wes Robinson (27) combined for an impressive 55 points for the Warriors, while Jason Green paced PJP with 21. 

HS Boys: Spring-Ford 68, Norristown 29

Speaking of the PAC Liberty race, Spring-Ford earned a dominant win over Norristown to move ahead of PJP in the standings; the two entered the night tied at 4-2, one game behind Methacton. Behind a balanced effort that saw eight players score between five and 12 points — Blake Turner’s dozen led the way — the Rams stayed within striking distance of first.

HS Girls: Notre Dame 63, Agnes Irwin 37

After an undefeated Inter-Ac title last year, Notre Dame continues to cement itself atop the league this season. Notre Dame improved to 6-0 in conference play, dominating the league’s only other undefeated team behind a 20-8 first quarter; the Irish also held AIS to just two points in the third frame. Emma Anthony had a team-high 19 points for Notre Dame, while Agnes Irwin junior Simone Harvey had 17 of her own in defeat.

HS Girls: Gwynedd Mercy 54, Villa Joseph Marie 44

Gwynedd Mercy picked up a key win to keep pace in the AACA standings, moving to within a game of first-place Mt. St. Joseph with Tuesday’s victory. While Bailey Balkir led the way with 24 points for Gwynedd Mercy, Chloe McCarthy did a little bit of everything, adding 11 points, three rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.

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D-I Women: Temple 86, South Florida 83

The Temple women picked up a much-needed win Tuesday to snap a three-game losing streak, hosting a South Florida team that won five of its first six American Athletic Conference games. Temple trailed by five entering the final quarter, but an 8-0 run — featuring all buckets by Saniyah Craig and Jaleesa Molina — helped flip the game in the Owls’ favor. Kaylah Turner led Temple with 23 points, while Craig had 22 points, six boards and four assists, and Molina scored 19.

D-II Women: Chestnut Hill 75, Jefferson 69

Chestnut Hill started off hot and went on to snap Jefferson’s three-game win streak Tuesday, riding 26 points from Sara Tamoun, who shot 9-of-17 from the field and made five threes while adding six assists, four rebounds and four steals. Chestnut Hill has won four of its last five since starting the season 5-7, and is fully in the thick of the CACC race at 7-3 in league. Jefferson, which fell to 6-4 in CACC play, got a combined 43 points from Gabby Recinto and Central Bucks West alum Emily Spratt.

D-II Men: Chestnut Hill 95, Jefferson 87

Jefferson made it three losses in a row Tuesday to fall to just one game above .500 overall and 5-5 in league play. For Chestnut Hill, though, Tuesday’s win marked its third in the last four, all by single digits; the Griffins led by 12 at half, and saw their lead fall to as few as three points with 12 minutes to go, before opening things back up. Kamal Lee had a game-high 25 points for Chestnut Hill, on impressive 8-of-12 field goal shooting and 7-of-10 from distance, while Jeremiah Dorsey led Jefferson with 22.