Gwynedd Mercy routs Springfield-Montco in District 1-AAA quarters

LOWER GWYNEDD >> Gwynedd Mercy has visions of repeating as the PIAA District One Class AAA girls basketball champs.

After Friday night, those visions look pretty realistic.

The top-seeded Monarchs rolled up a 23-point, first-quarter lead, then rolled past Springfield, 56-14, in a mismatched quarterfinal district meeting at Gwynedd Mercy Academy.

Brigit Coleman led the way with 19 points, as Gwynedd never even came close to trailing.

The Spartans, while game, did not notch their initial field goal until the 5:27 mark of the second quarter while the Monarchs got the 40-point clock running early in the third quarter.

“It’s always good to start the playoffs with a good win,” said Gwynedd head coach Tom Longergan. “All week we worked on playing defense, especially against (Springfield’s Molly) Dugan, who was averaging about 22 points per game.

“We really got after it in practice, and I think we did a pretty good job defensively tonight.”

Indeed, the Monarchs came out of the gate like a thirsty man chasing a canteen, with Coleman scoring 10 points, recent 1,000-point scorer Erica DeCandido adding eight and the home team led, 24-1, after eight minutes.

“They have a strong team and a lot of talent,” said Spartans head coach Bill Krewson. “Our primary goal was to stay composed, to not throw the ball all over the place. But their players are long and very athletic, and their size was a big factor.”

While the Spartans were trying to stay composed, the Monarchs attacked Dugan and her teammates.

And Springfield, a very young team, sagged.

By the half, the Monarchs led, 39-4, and the 40-point clock was achieved mere moments into the third period.

“(Dugan) is a great player,” said Gwynedd’s Lizzie Ferguson, “and we focused on shutting her down. We all worked hard in practice on our defense, and it paid off.”

By early in the third quarter both sides had emptied their respective benches, and the Monarchs were already thinking ahead to the next round.

And while not pleased with the evening’s results, Krewson was pleased with the Spartans’ season.

“We had a great season, and we have a great group of girls,” the coach said. “We’re getting stronger and stronger in Suburban One, and our goal is to go even further next year.”

For the Monarchs, however, the future is now and a district-championship repeat remains the primary goal.

“I think it’s doable,” Ferguson said. “We just needed to get that first win, and now that we’ve gotten it, it doesn’t matter.

“It’s on to the next game.”
DRABS AND DRIBBLES >> DiCandido was honored before the game, after becoming only the second 1,000-point scorer in the program’s celebrated history in the team’s last regular season game against Episcopal Academy.