In practice and games, Woodton and Hightower are Academy Park’s answers
SHARON HILL >> Mahya Woodton stood at the free-throw line. Her teammates offered words of encouragement.
“You have to make both,” yelled Academy Park coach Ron Bright.
If she missed, it meant more wind sprints for the Knights, who were hoping to end another grueling practice. Woodton was out of breath, but she sucked it up and made both shots.
Practice over.
Woodton has done her fair share of shot-making this season. She leads Delaware County girls in scoring with 17.2 points per game. Her junior classmate and fellow guard Shantalay Hightower is third in Delco with 15.5 points.
Together, they have been the driving force for the Knights, who earned a piece of the Del Val League championship and return to the district playoffs for the first time since 2010. The 12th-seeded Knights (11-11) hit the road to face No. 5 Rustin (14-9) in the opening round of the District 1 5A tournament Tuesday at 6 p.m.
“We really wanted it,” said Woodton.
To ensure a berth in the playoffs, AP needed a win against Penn Wood, the tournament’s ninth seed, on the final night of the regular season. The Knights scored 88 points in a resounding victory that gave them a share of the Del Val crown with Penn Wood and Interboro. Woodton exploded for a career-high 35 points.
“We played as a team, we worked hard and we wanted it more than them,” said Hightower, who has a 33-point game on her resume this season.
With Woodton and Hightower showing the way, the Knights believe they can make some noise in the postseason. They embrace the role of underdog and are looking forward to the challenge that Rustin presents.
“It definitely will give us more experience, playing in the playoffs,” Hightower said. “We’re going to come ready and we’re going to come prepared.”
Bright, who previously served as an assistant coach on the Academy Park boys team, was hired in October to take over the girls program. Bright instilled his brand of coaching; more drill sergeant than ballroom dancing.
In his first season at the helm, Bright was able to get the Knights to play well enough to crack the postseason and get a sense of what it’s like to become a champion. Woodton and Hightower both noted that Bright is the type of coach that brings the best out of everyone.
“The last couple of years, they were right there and just missed the playoffs,” Bright said. “For the seniors, Elisha (Hernandez) and Terae (Mason), I wanted them to get the experience of the playoffs and winning the Del Val. The last one was 2011 and none of them were here then. Just getting to feel what winning is like — this is all new to them. In one sense, they might be a little nervous but at the same time excited. In a way that’s kind of good because there’s not really a lot of pressure on them. You try to approach the same way, like any other game. Go out and play basketball and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Bright is a big believer in Woodton and Hightower, who were the team’s top scorers last season when the Knights finished 12-11 and narrowly missed the district playoffs in the old Class AAAA division.
“With Mahya, I wanted her to be able to use more of her skill. She’s a very skilled player,” Bright said. “If you watch her game, she gives everything: points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks. I wanted to put her in position to do that. And Shantalay is doing a lot of those same things for us.”
Now Woodton and Hightower have a chance to show District 1 what everyone in the Del Val League already knows. These girls can flat-out play.
“We just want to give our best,” Woodton said. “That’s it. Just give it all that we have.”
In other Class 5A first-round games:
Pope John Paul II (10-12) at Springfield (19-4)
The Cougars earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Led by seniors Maggie O’Connell and Amanda Hopkins, sophomores Jordan D’Ambrosio and Belle Mastropietro, and freshman Alyssa Long, the Cougars enjoyed a streak of 14 consecutive victories this season. They lost to Conestoga, the No. 6 seed, in the Central League semifinals last week.
The 16th-seeded Golden Bears have been paced by Monica Rapchinski, a 5-9 junior forward, who is averaging more than 11 points per game. They placed third in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division.
Penn Wood (10-11) at Upper Merion (14-8)
The ninth-seeded Patriots closed an uneven regular season with back-to-back losses to Academy Park and The Christian Academy, a pair of District 1 playoff squads (TCA is the No. 2 seed in Class 1A). Carle Andrews, who is second in Delco with 16.4 points per game, and newcomer Brianna Moore power the Patriots, who claimed at least a share of the Del Val title for the fourth consecutive season.
No. 8 Upper Merion fell to Methacton in the Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinals, Junior Jordan Wilson is a scoring threat from all areas of the floor for the Vikings.
Interboro (12-10) at Radnor (16-6)
In the only all-Delco matchup of the first round, the 13th-seeded Bucs make their first District 1 playoff appearance since 2012 to face the No. 4 Raiders, who are perennial postseason participants under longtime coach Mark Jordan.
Led by senior guard Gina McNamee (10.6 ppg), the Bucs got a piece of the Del Val championship for only the second time in program history. Senior guard Amber Seamen is the second-leading 3-point shooter in Delco with 50.
Senior guard Nicole Massimino has enjoyed a breakout season for the Raiders. Fourth-year starting forward Allison Lanzone is having another productive season inside the paint.
Penncrest (9-12) at Villa Maria (14-9)
It’s been a tale of two seasons for the 14th-seeded Lions. After a 7-0 start, the Lions dropped nine in a row and finished with two wins in their final 14 contests.
Junior forward Grace Harding and sophomore Megan Arndt have been Penncrest’s top scoring weapons.
No. 3 Villa Maria was blown out by St. Basil, 41-21, in the Catholic Academies title game last week. The Hurricanes advanced to their first league final since 2012 with a dramatic overtime win over Mt. St. Joseph’s. Freshmen Paige Lauder and Morgan Warley have keyed a young team.
