With senior leaders lacking, Abbonizio, Conran lead way for Springfield

NEWTOWN SQUARE — As Jordan D’Ambrosio played on one good ankle Saturday, Springfield teammate Belle Mastropietro erred on the side of caution.

D’Ambrosio took a hard fall to the floor, but kept going after Haverford at less than 100 percent. Mastropietro picked up her fourth foul early in the third quarter, even though the officials called for a foul she didn’t commit on two occasions.

For three quarters, it was an agonizing, crummy, day for Springfield’s senior captains.

So, it wasn’t a big surprise the Cougars were involved in another defensive and low-scoring slugfest with Haverford, the second year in a row the teams clashed in the Central League semifinals at Marple Newtown. D’Ambrosio and Mastropietro weren’t in tip-top form, but Springfield came back to win, 33-30, and will take on No. 1 Garnet Valley for the league championship Monday at Harriton.

While Mastropietro was glued to the bench, D’Ambrosio stayed on the floor and scored, as it would turn out, the game-winning basket with 5:50 left on the clock. Fun fact: it was the last field goal made by either Springfield and Haverford.

The rest of the quarter required patience from the players, coaches and fans. Or maybe it was an exhibition in physical endurance. Either way, the action was minimal.

Without D’Ambrosio and with Mastropietro neutralized, sophomores Alexa Abbonizio and Rachel Conran played excellent defense down the stretch, and made key shots, to help the Cougars rally past the Fords.

“We had grit on defense and we really wanted to win,” said Conran, who made a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with eight points. “We knew we had to get a stop to finish it out, we knew we had to step up.”

Junior guard Alyssa Long and Abbonizio each had a steal in the final seconds. But let’s rewind to immediately following D’Ambrosio’s go-ahead basket to give Springfield a 30-29 edge. Haverford gave the ball away, one of 17 turnovers, which enabled Springfield to take a huge bite out of the clock. For nearly four minutes, the Cougars dribbled and passed, dribbled and passed, dribbled and passed, all while daring Haverford to play up, take a risk or foul.

This, the Cougars insisted, was not something they planned.

“We wanted to get a layup and score,” Abbonizio said.

Jordan D’Ambrosio with the go ahead score @SFDgirlsbball pic.twitter.com/0sArd5ywN9

— Matt Smith (@DTMattSmith) February 9, 2019

But the Cougars couldn’t find a decent opportunity. Haverford guards Erin Doherty, Annalena O’Reilly and Erin Kelly took away the perimeter. Down in the low post roamed forwards Lindsey Lane and Sara Walsh, who ensured the Cougars didn’t get a clear lane to the hoop.

The Cougars didn’t try to force anything. However slow and boring it might’ve been, it was a smart strategy.

“We wanted to hold as long as possible, but it didn’t feel like we were stalling,” Conran said. “We were just moving and they did a great job. But we did a great job, too, at moving the ball around and keeping the ball away from them.”

Jordan D’Ambrosio beats the buzzer with a layup. @SFDgirlsbball 8, @Fordsgbball 8 after one quarter. pic.twitter.com/MTIwZF7iOG

— Matt Smith (@DTMattSmith) February 9, 2019

D’Ambrosio was hacked with 42 seconds to go – Haverford had five fouls to give when this ball-handling seminar began – and made one free throw. Quickly, the Cougars pressed the half court and forced one of five Fords turnovers in the fourth quarter. Mastropietro was fouled and hit one of two at the line. The Cougars were very good at doing the little things in the fourth period.

“We had to step up at the end of the game. We didn’t want them getting the ball down to (Erin) Doherty so she could shoot a 3. We didn’t want to end up fouling,” Abbonizio said. “We wanted to keep them in the frontcourt and make them turn the ball over.”

With the Cougars up by three, Abbonizio was cited for an intentional foul on O’Reilly with nine seconds left. O’Reilly missed both foul shots, but Lane extended the possession and was fouled. She accounted for the Fords’ only point of the quarter.

Following a D’Ambrosio free throw, the Fords had 1.4 seconds on the clock and no timeouts. O’Reilly chucked a shot from beyond half court but was well off the mark.

“I think we showed a lot of mental toughness because nothing was going our way,” said D’Ambrosio, who had a team-high 11 points. “Belle had four fouls … and we just couldn’t score. We told ourselves we had to play tougher and we had to play better on defense.”

Doherty scored five of her 11 points in the third quarter. Haverford attempted two field goals in the fourth quarter, one by Doherty, the other O’Reilly’s desperation heave as time expired.

“I think we faced a lot of adversity today and we had to find ways to dig deep and battle back from being down,” Springfield coach Ky McNichol said. “We had to put kids into positions that they’re not used to. Rachel Conran stepped up and played a really good defensive game. We put her on Lindsey Lane, a kid she’s not used to guarding, and she did a really good job at not only hitting shots but playing defense. The kids on floor did their job and did what they needed to do in order for us to win. Belle being in foul trouble hurt us, but our team dug deep and overcame that.”

Springfield is going after its second straight Central League title, but standing in the way are the Jaguars. Last year the Cougars ended the Jaguars’ four-year championship reign.

“It’s the top two teams in the league,” McNichol said. “We’re excited to play for a championship again. The kids are pumped. We’ll be ready to go for Monday and give them all we got.”