Main Line high school basketball teams look strong again

Many of the Main Line high school basketball teams enjoyed successful seasons last winter. The top boys teams featured Archbishop Carroll (PIAA Class 4A state semifinalists), Devon Prep (PIAA 3A state champions), Lower Merion (27-4, PIAA 6A state semifinalists), Radnor (23-5, made Sweet 16 of PIAA state tournament for the first time since 1961), Haverford High (18-7), Conestoga (16-8) and Malvern Prep (16-9).
For the girls, the top teams included Villa Maria Academy (PIAA District 1 5A champions), Sacred Heart Academy (District 1 2A champions), Haverford High (20-8, finished first in Central League regular season), Barrack Hebrew Academy (16-4, second in Penn Jersey League). Harriton (16-11), Radnor (16-10) and Conestoga (13-8) all advanced to the PIAA District 1 tournament.
These squads return many of the players who helped them rise to those heights during the 2021-22 season, The Main Line basketball teams have tipped off their 2022-23 season, and here’s a beginning-of-the-season look at the local squads:
Agnes Irwin
The Owls are off to a good start this season, wiining the Lower Merion Basketball Tournament Dec. 2-3. In the championship final, a 49-42 win against Lower Merion, Owl point guard Simone Harvey scored 18 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Teammate Gabrielle (GG) Seibert, a 5-foot-10 sophomore guard/forward, chipped in with 12 points.
Key returnees for the Owls this winter include junior guard Janna Parker, 5-foot-11 junior center Caroline Antik and 5-foot-10 junior forward/center Chloe Costello.
“These three are the only returning players from my team last year,” said Agnes Irwin head coach Shanette Lee. “They are key because they have experience playing in this league and being in my system for a year. Their growth, leadership, and understanding has proved to be invaluable. With seven new players on the team it is important that we have good leadership.”
Other Owls to watch include Harvey, Seibert and sophomore guard Grace Getz, who scored 10 points in the Owls’ 48-45 win against Oxford Dec. 2 in the Lower Merion Tournament semifinal.
Lee said, “Simone is an excellent defender and a solid all around player who can shoot and get into the paint. GG is a great athlete with length. She is a slasher who can also shoot the 3 and GG is a really good defensive player. Grace is an excellent defensive player who does a great job of getting in the passing lanes coming up with steals.
“I think right now our strength is our defense and rebounding. We are trying to create turnovers that lead to scores. And limit our opponents to one shot. Right now I think that Penn Charter is still the team to beat in the Inter-Ac.”
Archbishop Carroll
The Patriot boys’ team has a number of players returning from last year’s PIAA state semifinalists, including 6-foot-6 senior forward Blake Deegan, 6-foot-4 senior guard Dean Coleman-Newsome, 5-foot-9 senior guard Khair Dixon, 6-foot-3 senior guard Seamus Rogers, 6-foot-5 junior guard Su Alleyne and 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Jake West.
Other Patriots to watch include 6-foot-6 junior forward Nolen Gerwer, 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Brendan Horan and a quartet of freshmen – 6-foot-1 guard Nasir Ralls, 5-foot-9 guard Ian Williams, 6-foot-7 forward Drew Corrao and 6-foot-6 forward Luca Foster.
“We are constantly building on our chemistry,” said Carroll head coach Francis Bowe. “We want to play physical and get out and run. Our biggest challenge is depth – young freshmen will play a lot for us this year.”

For the Archbishop Carroll girls, the key returnees were 5-foot-7 junior guard Brooke Wilson, 6-foot senior guard/forward Taylor Wilson, 5-foot-9 senior guard Courtland Schumacher and 5-foot-7 senior guard Meg Sheridan.

Carroll girls head coach Renie Shields said, “With the loss of two key players, Grace O’Neill and Maggie Grant, we’ll look to fill the void with balanced offense and strong defense.”

Baldwin School
“We are a young team in a building phase,” said new Baldwin head coach Betsy Cast.
Key returning players for the Polar Bears include 5-foot-9 junior forward Allie Weiser, who averaged 5 rpg last year and could be a top scorer this year; 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Bela Ahn, a speedy outside shooter who averaged 2 spg last winter; and seniors Grace Brunetto and Megan Adelman, who the team will look to for leadership.
Other Polar Bears to watch include 5-foot-2 freshman guard Devyn Slaughter, who has a strong outside shot and ballhandling skills; junior Cynthia Huang, a volleyball player who brings height, athleticism and versatility; and senior guard Naterrah Ransome, who offers speed, energy and leadership.
“This team is highly coachable, eager to learn and improve,” said Cast. “Our main challenges this year are in the guard positions. We have few upperclassmen returning and many newer players this year and we are all playing at one level — and in the InterAc, that level is high.”
Barrack Hebrew
For the Cougar boys, the key returnees include 5-foot-9 senior guard Benjamin “Benjy” Gelwarg and 6-foot-2 senior forward/center Andrew Meltzer. Other Cougars to watch are 6-foot-1 freshman guard Tal Kahn and 6-foot sophomore guard Ben Makias.
“Our biggest strengths are zone defenses and team chemistry,” said Barrack head coach Marcus Roberts-DeLoach, whose team competes in the Penn-Jersey Conference. “Our biggest challenge is that we have a young core of talent that will have to develop quickly.”
The Cougar girls return two starters from a 16-4 team that reached the PAISAA state semifinals last winter and finished second in the Penn-Jersey League — 5-foot-4 senior Eden Singer (12.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 4.1 spg) and 5-foot-8 senior Jenna Ufberg (6.7 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.8 spg). 5-foot-6 freshman Mikayla Trajtenberg got valuable varsity experience as an 8th grader last winter (5.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.4 spg). 5-foot-6 freshman Sami Neff, 5-foot-6 senior Talia Erlbaum, 5-foot-1 freshman Noa Singer and 5-foot-7 junior Haley Zabusky should round out the rotation.
Barrack Hebrew head coach Sean Rochester said, “We have big shoes to fill with Dayna Felger, Jessie Singer, and Arielle Zabusky graduating, but the returning cast should get tested early in a more challenging non-league schedule that should prepare them to compete for a Penn Jersey championship and beyond. With our lack of height, we have to play a certain brand of basketball to be successful. Our offense relies on constant motion and strong shooting, along with an aggressive defense.”
Conestoga
The Pioneer boys have a new head coach in Sean Forcine, and a new cast of players. Junior point guard Brendan Styer is the only returning player with significant experience from last year. Other players to watch include 6-foot sophomore guard Ben Robinson, 6-foot-3 senior wing Patrick Corr, 6-foot-3 senior forward Abe Dembele, 6-foot-1 senior guard Brian Shubert and 6-foot-2 junior forward Liam Smith.
“We are small and inexperienced, but hungry,” said Forcine. “We are not going to beat anyone with our size this year, but we are looking to play fast and grind out games, and compete every second we are on the court. We’ve got good ball handlers and outside shooting. Radnor and Lower Merion will be tough to beat in the Central League – each has a Division 1 guard.”
The Conestoga girls, who were 13-9 last winter, return several key players – 5-foot-7 junior guard Marisa Francione (9 ppg last winter), 5-foot-8 junior forward Isabella Valencia (4 ppg, 4 rpg), 5-foot-7 junior guard Katrina Valencia (5 ppg), 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Janie Preston (5 ppg, 4 rpg) and 5-foot-2 junior guard Arielle LePage (37 percent from the 3-point arc as the sixth player). Two promising underclassmen are sophomore guard Ruth Lanouette and 5-foot-11 freshman guard Ryann Jennings.
“The Central League is going to be extremely competitive this winter and could be won by 4-5 teams,” said Conestoga head coach AJ Thompson. “Our team was very young last season and we feel the experience gained by making the playoffs and winning some big games will pay off this season. We know in order to reach our goal which is to win the Central League we are going to need to battle some very good teams and resiliency is going to be a big factor into how well we do this season.”
Devon Prep
The defending PIAA 3A state champions are bringing back a lot of players from last year’s championship season, including starters 6-foot-4 senior Lucas Orchard, 6-foot-5 senior Jacen Holloway and 5-foot-9 junior Ty Mishock. Orchard, an all-state player last winter, averaged 14 ppg, 6 rpg and 5 apg. Holloway, an all-state selection last winter, averaged 13 ppg and 7 rpg. Mishock has been the starting point guard for the Tide since his freshman year.
Other players to watch include 6-foot-5 junior Ben Costello, 6-foot-5 sophomore Zane Conlon, 6-foot-3 sophomore Shane Doyle, 6-foot-7 sophomore Reece Craft, 6-foot-7 senior Gavin D’Iorio, 5-foot-8 senior Tyler Scarpulla, 6-foot-2 senior Duke Harrer and 5-foot-8 senior Jack Regan.
Devon Prep head coach Jason Fisher said, “We have a lot of kids back but I’m not sure how we respond after winning the state championship. The Catholic League is so good and there is so much talent, it’s always going to be a challenge. As long as we continuously get better each day at practice we will have a successful season and the results will take care of themselves.
“I would imagine that this year the top teams in the Catholic League would be, in no particular order- Roman, Goretti, Ryan, West and probably Wood.”
Episcopal Academy
The EA boys team has a trio of returning players – 6-foot-3 junior guard Kevin McCarthy, 6-foot-3 senior guard TJ Lamb and 6-foot-5 senior forward Eddie Jones.
Other EA players to watch include 6-foot-1 junior guard Tyler Beaulieu, 6-foot junior guard Murilo Peireira and 6-foot-6 junior forward Calvin Szoradi.
EA head coach Taylor Wright said, “Our guys are very coachable, and are committing to learning and getting better. They seem to really like each other and want to play for one another. Our biggest challenge will be learning some new systems, and building chemistry after losing a lot of seniors who played a lot of minutes last year.
“Everyone in the InterAc is tough this year. The top three teams from last year return a lot of their guys and are all looking to improve.”
The Episcopal Academy girls team, which posted a record of 19-8 last winter, had a promising underclassman in junior forward Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf, who received second team All-Main Line basketball honors last winter.
Friends’ Central
The Phoenix boys have several key returnees – junior point guard Reid Belcher (averaged 12 ppg last winter), 6-foot-4 senior combo Collin Bowman (averaged 11 ppg) junior guard Fazl Oshodi (averaged 11 ppg), senior 6-foot-5 center Liam Foley (averaged 5 rpg), 6-foot-6 junior Isaac Moore, 6-foot-1 guard Joe Green and sophomore 6-foot-2 guard Gabe Moore. Other players to watch are 6-foot-6 sophomore center Nigel Pierman and 6-foot-4 junior guard/forward Muhsin Muhammad.
“We have a tough-minded defensive team,” said Friends’ Central boys basketball head coach Mike Cook. “Our guys come into every game ready to play at a high level and are learning the value of sharing the basketball. We are looking for a top four finish in the Friends Schools League.”
Harriton
The Harriton boys team got off to a good start this season, winning the Phoenixville Tournament Dec. 3, defeating host Phoenixville in the final. Marquis Kubish, who scored 18 points, 11 rebounds and five steals in a one-point semifinal victory Dec. 2, was the tournament Most Valuable Player, and Aidan Abrams was all tournament team.
The season, the Ram boys are returning three starters in 6-foot-3 senior forward Jack Chadkowski, 6-foot-3 junior guard Marquis Kubish (7.8 ppg last winter) and 5-foot-10 junior guard Jadyn Gaskins (7.8 ppg last winter). Another returnee is 5-foot-10 senior point guad Aidan Abrams.
Other Rams to watch include 6-foot-2 sophomore shooting guard Calvin Smith, 6-foot-3 junior forward Cam Sullivan and 5-foot-10 senior guard Collin Goerlich.
“We are starting the season with some tough injuries,” said Harriton boys basketball head coach Jesse Rappaport. “We are hoping to get people back healthy and start to use our quickness and conditioning, to make up for a lack of height.
“Radnor and Lower Merion seem to be the teams to beat in the Central League, especially with their latest transfers.”
The Harriton girls basketball team, which posted a 16-11 record last winter and advanced to the District 1 tournament, has a new coach in Brian McCloskey and a relatively young squad.
Top returnees for the Rams include 5-foot-8 junior guard Felicity McFillin, 5-foot-6 junior guard Sophie Kasmer, 5-foot-8 sophomore forward Maddie McFillin and 5-foot-4 junior guard Alexis Kanzinger.
McCloskey, who was the assistant coach for the Swarthmore College women’s basketball team last winter, said, “Our outlook on the year is going to be one we control and based on what we want to do during practice and games — if we want to adjust or not. We can certainly get out in transition, knock down shots, play tough defense, be physical and have that next play mentality. Our biggest challenge is our height, we have no true center but that can be a blessing and curse.”
Other Rams to watch include 5-foot-6 freshman guard Maddie Bacine and 5-foot-7 sophomore guard/forward Tilly May.
McCloskey said, “I truly see Springfield, Haverford and defending champ Garnet Valley being the teams to beat in the Central League, but I’m not going to sleep on Radnor, Marple, and even others like Penncrest and Conestoga who are young like us.”
Haverford High
The Haverford boys team, who posted an 18-7 record last winter and qualified for the PIAA 6A state tournament, lost starters JR Newman, Nick Colucci and Colin Reynolds to graduation last spring, but return senior guard Googie Seidman and Tommy Wright for the 2022-23 edition of the Fords. Other players to watch include Brian Wiener, Kevin Gannon and Gorman Bright Jr.
“We are an undersized group that when we work hard on both ends of the floor we can compete with anyone night in and night out in our league,” said Haverford head coach Keith Heinerichs. “Our league is very well coached and we need to be focused each night we play.”
The Ford girls, who posted a 20-8 record last winter (13-3 in the Central League), graduated three starters last spring but still return some fine talent, including 6-foot-1 senior forward Caroline Dotsey, a University of Maine commit who averaged 15.2 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 1.5 bpg last winter; and 6-foot-1 senior forward/center Mollie Carpenter, a Catholic University commit who averaged 5.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 2.3 spg last winter. Two other returning players are 6-foot sophomore guard/forward Rian Dotsey and 5-foot-9 junior guard Aniya Eberhart.
Other Fords to watch include 5-foot-6 senior guard Sky Newman, 5-foot-5 junior guard Khue Nguyen, 5-6 sophomore guard Mya Foley, 5-foot-7 freshman guard Mallory Wineberg and 5-foot-9 sophomore forward Natalie Wright.
Haverford head coach Lauren Pellicane said, “Our size and ability to rebound at both ends of the floor will continue to be a major strength. Defensively, we want to control the backboard and limit second opportunities. Offensively, becoming more consistent from the outside and at the foul line will be crucial to our success.”
Haverford School
The key returnee for the Fords is 6-foot junior guard Billy Rayer, who started last winter for Haverford. Other players to watch include 6-foot-7 senior wing Luke Rasmussen, senior 6-foot-4 wing Brendan Leary, 6-foot-6 freshman Manny Butts, 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Duke Cloran and 5-foot-11 sophomore guard KJ Carson.
“We are a skilled team who shares the ball well,” said Haverford School head coach Bernie Rogers. “We have many new players and we needed to use the pre-season to gain chemistry and find out what works for this new nucleus of players. The Inter-Ac will be very challenging this year, Malvern and Penn Charter were co-champs last season and bring a lot of key players back, and Springside Chestnut Hill, GA and Episcopal are very good teams.”
Lower Merion
The Lower Merion boys, who have played in the PIAA state tournament each of the last 12 years — the longest current consecutive streak in Pennsylvania for boys’ basketball — got off to a 2-0 start by the end of last weekend, defeating Parkland 72-57 on Dec. 2, then downing West Chester Henderson 61-56 Dec. 2.
The Aces returnees include 6-foot-2 senior guard Sam Brown, the son of former Sixers coach Brett Brown. Last winter, Brown, a first team All-Central League and All-Main Line pick, averaged 16.4 ppg, hit 66 treys (made 40 percent of his attempts), pulled down 3.3 rpg and converted 77.8 percent of his free throws. Also returning is 6-foot-1 senior guard Sam Wright, a second team All-Main Line selection last winter who averaged 13 ppg during the PIAA tournament; and 6-foot-1 senior guard Justin Poles.
Three other seniors who should see action are 6-foot forward Andrew Coyne, 6-foot-3 guard Jordan Meekins and 6-foot guard Teddy Pendergrass III, grandson of the late R&B superstar.
Two juniors who could make an impact at the guard position are 6-foot-1 John Mobley and 5-foot-9 Owen McCabe.
“John is a Swiss army knife – good at everything,” said Downer. “Owen had a great off-season and is ready to contribute.”
Downer added, “We have a lot of inter-changeability. Our biggest challenge will be a tough schedule, and overcoming cold shooting nights.”
The Lower Merion girls are off to a 1-1 start this season, defeating Chichester and losing to Agnes Irwin in the Lower Merion Basketball Tournament. The Aces defeated Chichester 59-11 to kick off the season Dec. 2, led by senior forwards Eva Taberski (16 points, eight rebounds) and Ava Santilli (nine points) and junior guard Lindsay Gillston (two treys). The following day, Lower Merion lost to Agnes Irwin, 49-42. Senior forward Mckenna Reardon led the Aces with 10 points and senior guard Morgan Debreaux got eight points and four rebounds. Freshman Alex Braslow added six rebounds and six assists.
“We are a super athletic team,” said Lower Merion girls basketball head coach Erin Laney. “We will surprise a few teams with how well we run in transition. Also, our team attitude is the most competitive it’s been in years.”
Leading the way the Aces this winter are a couple of seniors, Reardon and Taberski. Reardon was the Aces’ leading scorer and rebounder last winter (6.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Taberski was LM’s second-leading scorer and rebounder (5.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg).
Other returnees include 5-foot-4 senior guards Taryn Kimmel and Laila Stevens (who led the Aces in assists last winter) and 5-foot-9 junior forward Alex Dore, who led the squad in field goal percentage.
Other players to watch include 5-foot-4 sophomore guard Amaria Brownlee, freshman point guard Alexa Braslow, 5-foot-11 sophomore center Megan Walters, 5-foot-7 senior guard Gabby Jarvis, senior point guard Morgan Debreaux, 5-foot-6 senior guard Ava Santilli and 5-foot-7 senior guard Ella Rumsey.
“We’re a small team in stature, consistent rebounding will be a challenge,” said Laney. “Boxing out has to be a priority. We have new players who will be getting significant minutes; figuring out that team dynamic might take a few games.”
Malvern Prep
The Friars return three starters from last winter’s 16-9 squad – 6-foot-4 senior forward Andrew Phillips (15.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg), 6-foot-3 junior guard Ryan Williams (16.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg) and 6-foot-3 senior guard/forward Hayden Pegg (4.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg). Other players to watch include 6-foot-5 senior forward Charlie Oschell, 6-foot-4 junior forward Tague Davis, 6-foot-3 junior guard Ryan Pegg, 5-foot-11 junior guard Achilles Tucker-Turner and 5-foot-10 freshman guard Rowan Miller.
Malvern Prep head coach Paul Romanczuk said, “Our team’s main strengths are depth on the perimeter and our outside shooting. Our biggest challenge will be consistent point guard play and our lack of size inside to rebound with some of the bigger teams in the area. I think the teams to beat in the Inter-Ac are Penn Charter and Springside Chestnut Hill.”
Merion Mercy
The Golden Bears have five key senior returnees – 5-foot-11 center Mary Kate Gray (second team All-Main Line last winter and averaged 10 ppg and 7 rpg), 5-foot-7 guard Julia Richardson (All-Main Line Honorable mention last winter and averaged 8 ppg and 4 rpg, shooting 38 percent from 3-point territory), 5-foot-10 forward Olivia DeLucca (second on the team in rebounding last season and brings a strong defensive presence to the team), 5-foot-7 guard Annie Conway (second on the team in assists last season and led last year’s team in Assist to TO ratio) and guard Maggie Iannone (shot 40 percent from field last season and one of team’s strongest on the ball defenders).
Other players to watch include 5-foot-10 junior forward Jessica Glancey, 5-foot-7 sophomore guards Caroline Messick and Kaitlin Angelucci and 5-foot-5 sophomore guard Hanna Trepts.
“We’ve been building as a program the last 3-4 years and feel like we are headed in the right direction,” said Merion Mercy head coach JR Richardson. “In terms of strengths, we return four players who were a big part of our rotation last season which gives us a good foundation. The returning players will all have to play a bigger role both offensively, defensively, and as leaders this season for us to be successful, and we’re looking for key contributions from our younger players as well. We have a difficult early schedule, so we’ll have to work hard, compete, and believe from Day One to be successful and establish our identity this season.”
Notre Dame
Academy of Notre Dame head coach Lauren Powers said, “This team reminds me of Allie Lynch’s (Scranton) senior year, with great senior leadership mixed in with young talent and they are hungry to make an impact. That year, we went into the season not knowing who would step up and then Izzy Casale (then a junior with no varsity experience) and Allie helped lead us to a 19-win season and a spot in the state semifinals.
“Our potential, our growth already, and our passion is what stands out. This isn’t a typical Notre Dame team in that we always had multiple defensive presses and relied on our transition game. We know we have to work harder and give more than ever before, and we’ll rely heavily on our two returning senior starters.”
Those two starters are 5-foot-7 senior guard Annie Greek (a Susquehanna commit) and 5-foot-11 senior forward Katie Halligan, a four year starter who received second team All-Main Line honors last winter.
Other players to watch are 5-foot-11 sophomore forward Scarlett Henry, sophomore guard Catie Kelly, 5-foot-9 junior guard Lizzie Halligan and 5-foot-8 sophomore guard Chloe Knox.
“Scarlett and Catie have stepped up, doing all of the little things to make us go,” said Powers. “Lizzie returns from a tough ACL injury and a limited COVID season her freshman year. We really missed her and she is proving her leadership and versatility already – she can play the 1 through 4 for us. Chloe is a hard-nosed player and will help us on both ends of the floor.”
Radnor
The Radnor boys team, which posted a 23-5 record last winter (14-2 in the Central League) and advanced to the District 1 final and the Sweet 16 of the PIAA state tourney for the first time since 1961, have four returning starters in 6-foot-5 senior Jackson Hicke (Princeton commit), Danny Rosenblum (Rochester), 6-foot-1 senior Cooper Mueller (Princeton commit for lacrosse) and 6-foot-4 senior Charlie Thornton. Other Raptors to watch include 6-foot-1 junior Henry Pierce, 6-foot-2 junior Michael Savadove and 6-foot-7 senior Jackson Gaffney.
“Chemistry and focus are the two biggest attributes for this
Team,” said Radnor head coach Jamie Chadwin. “They love playing together, and for one another. I’m looking forward to having strong senior leadership as this group goes after their goals.”
The Radnor girls team returns 5-foot-6 senior guard Mary Sareen, 5-foot-8 senior forward Paige Yurchak, 5-foot-5 junior guard Caroline Monahan and 5-foot-5 junior guard Kate Gallagher. Others to watch include 5-foot-8 senior forward Meg Dole, 5-foot-8 junior forward Sadie Schultz, 5-foot-5 junior guard Sarah Kelley and 5-foot-7 sophomore forward Riley dEntremont.
Radnor head coach Rob Baxter said, “We have some returning players with varsity experience. We hope with the addition of some younger players we can improve and develop into a team that can compete for a playoff spot.”
Sacred Heart
The Lions, who captured the District 1 2A title last winter, graduated four starters last spring. Top returning players include sophomore guards MJ Donohue and Grace Brown, sophomore center Keara McCaffrey, junior guard/forward Maya Walker and junior guard Makenzie Fisher. The top newcomer is freshman guard Megan Donahue.
Sacred Heart head coach Zach Shuler said, “A lot of our younger players gained experience throughout last season due to injuries to three seniors. This team is very coachable and hungry to bring a new era to Sacred Heart basketball. Our challenges will be our inexperience and youth. Last year’s Single A district champion, Faith Christian, moves up to AA and will be a tough team as they return a lot of solid starters.”
Shipley
The Shipley girls team is very young – key returnees for the Gators include three fresmen who saw solid playing time as 8th graders last winter – guard Sanai Johnson, who averaged 10.1 ppg and received all-Friends’ Schools League honorable mention; guard Rikai Williford (6.2 ppg); and guard Taylor Lasky (4.9 ppg). Two other returnees include sophomore guards Ani Proper and Anna Pascale. Two other players to watch are sophomore guard Mallory Farr and 8th grade guard Gianna Jackson.
“We play very fast, and we attempt a lot of 3s,” said Shipley head coach Ellen Bair, whose squad has averaged seven treys per game as of the first four contests. “That’s mostly due to great guard play and quickness in transition. We are very young and very small. In addition, we lack post play and have five guards on the court at all times.”
Villa Maria
The Hurricanes return six of their top seven players from last year’s team, which won the District 1 5A title – 5-foot-8 junior guard Carly Catania (7.4 ppg and 5.8 rpg last winter), 5-foot-10 senior forward Marah McHugh (7.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg), 5-foot-10 senior forward Clare Cronley (8.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg), 5-foot-3 senior guard Elaina Guerzon (4.5 ppg, 2.3 apg), 5-foot-9 senior guard Ella Iacone (7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and 5-foot-7 senior guard Ava Irvine (2.7 ppg, 2.1 spg).
Another returning player is 5-foot-8 senior guard Liv Broadhurst. Coming off the bench this year will be Alice Nash, Emma OHare and Liz Sharp.
Villa Maria head coach Kathy McCartney said, “We return an experienced group this year with tons of potential. If we can continue to grow our team chemistry and fit in some new kids, I think we can have a very successful year. We learned a lot about what it takes to be successful at this level and I hope those lessons pay benefits this year. Our league is highly competitive so our AACA schedule will be fun and we play a tough non-league schedule that should position us for a deep playoff run.”