Shanahan, Villa Maria clash at Liacouras Center for District 1 5A crown

Two teams, who at least by seeding, seems like underdogs put a season’s worth of work into one game with a title on the line.
Bishop Shanahan, the fourth seed, faces No, 7 Villa Maria in the all-Chester County affair for the District 1 5A Girls Basketball Championship today at Temple University’s Liacouras Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. and will start off the parade of four district champions who will be crowned.
The Hurricanes (13-11) are in the championship for the first time since 2018 when they lost to West Chester Henderson. The Eagles’ (18-9) title drought dates back at least a generation. It’s been since at least 1994 since a Shanahan girls basketball team celebrated a finals win.
The two teams did meet early in the season with Shanahan winning, 72-50, back on Dec. 11.
The Eagles’ road to Temple included wins over Harriton, after a first-round bye, and an overtime victory over top-seeded Springfield (Delco) in the semifinals.
Coach Jim Powers attributed the strength of their nonleague schedule as a sizeable reason the Eagles are where they wanted to be.
“We had a difficult nonleague schedule. We played Spring-Ford, Gwynedd Mercy and Upper Dublin, among others. We played in tough places and we found ways to win, so hopefully playing at Temple won’t faze them,” said Powers.
Shanahan has an anybody can be a hero mentality. The future is as bright as the present for the Eagles, who boast a lineup of mainly sophomores and juniors.
In the backcourt, Caydence Oswald leads the way. She is the main 3-point threat and can be a terror harassing the opponent’s point guard.Alyssa Brown can also be a threat from the outside, who can also score in the paint. Alexa Bojko has returned from an ankle injury to provide a spark.
Sami Blumenthal and Abby Wolf provide the inside presence for Shanahan.
“These kids are a great group,” said Powers. “They are very unselfish. They don’t care who is the hero from game to game. They just want to play basketball.”
Villa rolled past Upper Perkiomen in the first round, then eked out victories over Marple Newtown and Radnor to make it to the final for longtime coach Kathy McCartney.
Their main scoring threat from backcourt is junior Maura McHugh, who had 14 points in the semifinal win over Radnor. Freshman Elaina Guerzon added 13 clutch points with a pair of 3-pointers.
Ella Iacone was scoreless in the semifinals, but is more than capable of providing some key points.
According to Powers, the key to the game is which young team is able to channel their nerves the best.
“It’s going to come down to the flow of the game and who can put the ball in the basket,” he said. “Who’s going to make plays and which team will the moment not be too big for.”