Clutch foul shooting pushes Haverford past Upper Darby

UPPER DARBY — Haverford made enough free throws in the fourth quarter Friday to seal a 56-49 victory over the rival Royals.

The Fords’ performance at the charity stripe wasn’t perfect, but collectively they were accurate. Addison Brodnik, Chiara MacGillivray, Caroline Dotsey, Emma Rowland and McKenna Walsh combined to go 12-for-18, including a 6-for-8 effort in the final 60 seconds.

“For me, it was more about making sure that my teammates believe in themselves when they head to the line,” said MacGillivray, who made two foul shots in the final quarter. “We practice our foul shots a lot and we all believe that we can handle a little pressure.”

The Fords twice missed on the back end but managed to maintain possession and complete their scoring at the foul line.

Moments earlier, UD senior guard Gabby Liberio had pulled the Royals to within a point at 50-49. The Royals had a chance to go in front, but rushed a look inside to senior forward Hannah Asaka and the ball rolled out of bounds. Haverford then scored the game’s final seven points at the line.

MacGillivray buoyed a balanced scoring attack by the Fords (12-7), who inched closer to clinching a spot in the Central League playoffs and District 1 Class 6A tournament. The sweet-shooting junior and first-year varsity starter poured in 22 points and hit on five 3-point field goal attempts.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game tonight,” said MacGillivray. “They’re a very competitive team. They had some of their students in the student section and we knew it was a big game. We knew that No. 2 (Liberio) was back for them and she didn’t play the last time we saw them.”

From the get-go, this was an entertaining Central League game. UD led by as many as five points in the second quarter before the Fords closed the opening half on a 7-1 run. Walsh drilled a 3-pointer with three seconds left to cut Haverford’s deficit to one point at intermission.

The teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter. Rowland was particularly excellent for the Fords. The sophomore came up with a steal and made a three-point play to give the Fords a 32-30 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. Brodnik, who was 8-for-8 at the foul line and amassed 12 points, made a pair of free throws to give the Fords a 34-32 advantage with less than two minutes to play in the period.

Despite an admirable effort by the Royals, the Fords wouldn’t relinquish the lead.

UD was hobbled by foul trouble in the second half. While the Fords strolled to the free-throw line with frequency, the Royals attempted just four foul shots in the final eight minutes.

“In a game like this, where we’re in it the whole way and fighting the entire time, it comes down to execution,” UD coach Nick Liberio said. “We got in a bit of foul trouble, which hurt us, and a few times we just weren’t able to execute when we had our chances.”

Brodnik collected 12 points, while Rowland contributed eight points, nine rebounds and two steals. Maddie Williams (four assists) and Walsh (five points) also excelled in reserve roles for the Fords.

The Fords also did a good job defending senior guard Jasmine Forrester, who is the No. 1 scorer in Delco at nearly 18 points per game. Forrester scored five points in the first quarter, but was held to seven the rest of the way.

“They did a real good job of face-guarding Jasmine, which is something that every team does,” Nick Liberio said.

With Forrester kept at bay, the Royals leaned upon a solid starting core led by Gabby Liberio, who heated up in the fourth quarter. The senior co-captain scored eight of her 10 points in the final eight minutes.

Forrester made a triple to cut Haverford’s lead from six points to three before Liberio made a layup to make it 50-49.

“We’re all working hard and we’re coming out and competing against these good teams,” Gabby Liberio said. “Even in the beginning of the season, the first time we played Haverford, they beat us by a lot more than this. We came out in this game really strong and I feel like we’re playing really good defense. It definitely hurts when you come up short, but I think this is going to push us to get a few more wins and get into the playoffs.”

Sophomore guard Aubrey Ennis added seven points and four rebounds. Kaitlyn Johnson flourished on defense and tossed in seven points, five boards and one steal. Sara Sullivan posted eight rebounds and five points off the bench.

In the Inter-Ac League:

Notre Dame 62, Agnes Irwin 19 >> Eleven players tallied at least two points for the Irish (15-5), who led 29-4 at halftime. Sophomore guard Maeve McErlane led the way with 17 points and senior guard Allie Lynch chipped in with 12 points.

Mikayla Dever and Katie Halligan added six points apiece for Notre Dame.

Katie Anderson paced the Owls with 12 points.

In the Catholic League:

Archbishop Carroll 48, Archbishop Ryan 22 >> The Patriots raced out to a 15-0 lead after one quarter and held Ryan to single digits in the final three periods.

Karli Dougherty and Erin Sweeney netted nine points each for the Patriots (13-8, 7-6). Taylor Wilson pitched in with seven points.

In nonleague action:

Marple Newtown 54, Sun Valley 42 >> Haley Levy went off for a game-high 20 points to help the Tigers defeat the Vanguards. Mackenzie Hilden added 13 points and Katie Scali tossed in eight.

MN pulled away with a 21-5 burst in the second quarter.

Sun Valley received double-digit scoring performances from Aliceia Whitfield (14 points) and Micaylah Heygood (11).