Spring-Ford locks up fourth straight Pioneer Athletic Conference championship

ROYERSFORD >> The celebration was muted Friday night at Spring-Ford.

It could have been because of the limited spectators due to the current occupancy limits amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It could have been the lack of a traditional Pioneer Athletic Conference playoff championship game.

Or it could have just been that the outcome was apparent since opening night.

With a 65-27 victory over Perkiomen Valley, the Spring-Ford girls basketball team ripped off its 13th straight win to clinch a fourth consecutive Pioneer Athletic Conference championship, becoming the first league program to achieve a fourpeat.

“No championship ever gets old. We’ve started since freshman year and we’ve kept it going and haven’t let down,” said senior Lucy Olsen said. “Because there weren’t playoffs it’s maybe a little less exciting, but a fourpeat! I’m happy.”

“To be the first team ever (to fourpeat), that’s exciting,” said senior Emily Tiffan.

Spring-Ford completed an unbeaten run through the Liberty Division (8-0) and improved to 13-0 in the league with a game to play. The Rams’ record is now insurmountable in a season where the league champion is being determined by PAC winning percentage (with a minimum of eight games played).

Spring-Ford’s star seniors Olsen and Tiffan were central to the clincher with Tiffan torching the nets for a 15-point first half that staked the Rams a 32-9 halftime lead while Olsen scored 14.

Also getting to bask in the glow of going through their scholastic careers never losing a league title were fellow seniors Abbey Boyer (6 points), Hailey Hudak (2 points) and Mac Maloney, who saw her first action of the season after suffering a torn ACL last spring.

“It’s been a goal of the senior class to have a fourpeat. It was something they were hungry for,” said Spring-Ford head coach Mickey McDaniel. “It’s a great achievement for the senior class and they’ve worked hard to it. They’ve been great leaders for the underclassmen and the underclassmen have worked hard for it so it’s been a whole program effort.”

It is Spring-Ford’s 10th PAC championship and seventh in the past 10 seasons as it has become the league’s premier girls’ basketball program of the past 15 years.

Eleven Rams got on the scoresheet Friday, including a trio of freshmen – starting point guard Anna Azzara (6 points), and reserves Mac Pettinelli (8 points) and Katie Tiffan (5 points) – who have bolstered the rotation in a big way.

“(We’re most successful) if we can all distribute the shots and can all have the opportunity to score,” Emily Tiffan said. “Lucy obviously scores the most and is the most dominant offensive player, but I think we’ve just done a better job this year all doing our job on offense.”

“One of the areas that this group has been fantastic at is ball movement and hitting the open player and being unselfish,” said McDaniel. “They respond to challenges, they respond to what the coaches ask of them and they respond to each other. With this group it’s been a fantastic blend of leadership and people wanting to get better.”

The Rams’ average margin of victory is 40.4 points and have had only one game closer than 20 points – a 42-34 win over Friday’s opponent Perkiomen Valley.

While Olsen was missing after being injured on the opening play of the first meeting on Jan. 27, Spring-Ford was at full strength Friday and it showed from the start.

Tiffan was the hot hand early while scoring all her 15 points in the first half and playing like the two-way force she’s capable of being after missing almost all of her junior year due to injury.

“It was definitely frustrating last year because I missed so much of the season and I didn’t play in the PAC championship,” Tiffan said. “It’s definitely exciting because it’s our senior year. This is a good beginning of the end.”

Emma Miley led Perkiomen Valley (1-4, 4-5) with 11 points and Jennifer Beattie added eight.

With the regular season winding down, Spring-Ford, currently the No. 3 ranked Class 6A team in District 1, is ready to spread its wings. After concluding the PAC slate against Pope John Paul II on Wednesday, it has non-league games scheduled by Central Dauphin and District 1 No. 2 ranked Upper Dublin.

“Personally I’m craving more,” Olsen said. “Every team has put up a good fight so we’ve had to play well to beat them. It wasn’t an easy win no matter what. But I am excited to see a team that is the same skill level as us. I’m excited to see how we react to that.”

 

Spring-Ford 65, Perkiomen Valley 27

PERKIOMEN VALLEY: Beattie 3 1-2 8, Daisey 0 2-2 2, Daye 1 0-0 2, E. Stein 1 0-0 2, Miley 4 3-8 11, Ott 0 0-0 0, Salazar 0 0-0 0, Hallissey 0 0-0 0, Beckman 0 0-0 0, A. Stein 0 2-2 2, Totals 9 8-14 27.
SPRING-FORD: Boyer 2 0-0 6, Olsen 6 2-3 14, Azzara 2 2-2 6, E. Tiffan 6 0-0 15, Lee 1 0-0 2, Engle 0 0-0 0, Pufko 1 0-0 2, K. Tiffan 1 2-2 5, Maloney 0 0-0 0, Hudak 1 0-0 2, Scogna 1 0-0 2, Pizzi 1 0-0 3, Pettinelli 4 0-1 8, Totals 26 6-8 65.
Perkiomen Valley 4 5 15 3-27
Spring-Ford 19 13 24 9-65
3-point goals: Beattie, E. Tiffan 3, Boyer 2, K. Tiffan, Pizzi.