PAC Girls Basketball Championship Preview: Methacton vs. Spring-Ford

The Pioneer Athletic Conference girls basketball championship will take place on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Spring-Ford High School as the league’s reigning champion and most decorated program, Spring-Ford, takes on its most frequent bridesmaid, Methacton. Here is a look at Wednesday’s championship game:

Methacton (3) vs. Spring-Ford (1)

Records >> Methacton: 7-3 PAC Liberty, 13-3 PAC, 20-4 overall; Spring-Ford: 10-0 PAC Liberty, 16-0 PAC, 20-2 overall

Head-to-head >> On Dec. 13, Spring-Ford defeated Methacton 41-36 in a tight contest in Fairview Village. On Jan. 17, Spring-Ford completed the season sweep with a 48-35 home win.

Playoff history >> Methacton is hoping to finally get over the hump as Pioneer Athletic Conference champions after reaching the final five times, most recently 2016-17, and five times settling for runner-up. Three of those defeats were to Spring-Ford, a trilogy between 2011-12 and 2013-14. … Spring-Ford is the defending champion after defeating Perkiomen Valley 54-45 in last year’s title game at Boyertown. The Rams are 7-time PAC champions in the playoff era (starting 2005-06), including two 3-peats.

On Methacton >> The Warriors may have been slightly overshadowed by Spring-Ford’s unbeaten run in the PAC, but Methacton has already accumulated a 20-win season, a true mark of excellence and it’s only the second week in February. The No. 3 seeds needed two playoff wins to reach the final, a 67-41 win over Phoenixville on Feb. 7 and a 54-46 win over Frontier Division champion Pottsgrove in the semifinals last Saturday.

Coach Craig Kaminski has established a complete team with players that really fit together. Freshman guard Nicole Timko has already shored up PAC Rookie of the Year honors (if it existed) with the capable outside shooter averaging a team-high 12.6 points per game and shooting 39-percent from 3-point range. Junior forward Sydney Tornetta averages 11.1 points and leads the team in rebounding. Methacton’s only senior starter, Abby Penjuke, transitioned from forward to being a 5-9 point guard this year, and has handled the task capably while averaging 8.7 ppg. Junior forward Sydney Hargrove averages 7.4 ppg and regularly looks capable of a breakout game, as does 6-0 junior forward Caroline Pellicano (4.8 ppg). The Warriors’ first players off the bench are freshman Tori Bockrath and sophomore Allison Hazlett. Methacton earned the No. 9 seed in the District 1-6A playoffs and will host No. 24 Unionville on Saturday (3:30 p.m.).

On Spring-Ford >> The Rams have backed up last year’s semi-surprising PAC championship and PIAA tournament qualification with a superb regular season and 20-2 record, both losses coming to out-of-state competition at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, Ariz., in December. After a 16-0 PAC run in the regular season, the Rams eased past suspension-stricken Pope John Paul II in the PAC semifinals, 71-21, last Saturday.

Sophomore point guard Lucy Olsen has built on her Mercury All-Area first team freshman season and is scoring 16.0 points per game, second-best in the PAC. She has become and inside-outside threat, adding 3-pointers to her repertoire to the tune of 41 made (37.6 percent from 3). Senior wing Cassie Marte is another outside shooting threat and averages 8.8 points per game. Sophomore 5-9 guard Emily Tiffan averages 6.9 ppg and is considered the Rams’ top defender. The deep-rostered Rams’ rotation also features senior forward Olivia Olsen (3.9 ppg), who has worked back from injury, junior Skylar Sullivan (5.3), and reserves Abbey Boyer, Alyssa Yuan, Meghan Moore, Gabs Alessandroni, Ariana Magazzolo and Hailey Hudak. Spring-Ford earned the No. 4 seed and first-round bye in the District 1-6A tournament. It will face the winner of North Penn-Haverford on Feb. 20.

Matchup >> Spring-Ford won both regular season meetings, but Methacton was right there in both, especially the Dec. 13, 2018 matchup that the Rams escaped, 41-36, in comeback fashion. The Rams started dominantly in the second meeting, going up as much as 23-6, but the Warriors rallied all the way back to 25-24 in the third quarter only for S-F to regain control down the stretch. There’s little doubt Methacton can hang, but getting its nose in front and staying there is a different proposition. Spring-Ford hasn’t been tested since Jan. 22, in part due to the cancellation of a meeting with Pa. No. 1 North Allegheny, and will need to embrace the pressure situation whereas Methacton got a good challenge from Pottsgrove in the semifinals. It’s a fitting finale for the PAC with the two best teams over the course of the season matching up. It’s hard to argue with history though, especially when the experience advantage is on Spring-Ford’s side.

Prediction >> Spring-Ford 52, Methacton 46