Defense, depth make it a happy birthday for McNichol, Springfield

CONCORD — Springfield had two things with which to concern itself going into Tuesday’s Central League battle against Garnet Valley.

First, the team was without senior forward Anabel Kreydt, one of the Cougars’ leaders and most well-rounded players. Kreydt was unable to play due to an eye infection, but she shouldn’t miss a lot of time.

The second major factor Springfield players had to think about was winning a big game on the road on coach Ky McNichol’s birthday.

The Cougars handled both scenarios in grinding out a 39-33 victory over the reigning Central League champions. Springfield (11-2) has won seven in a row.

After the game McNichol was forced to answer difficult questions, such as, did the kids do anything special for her birthday?

“They made homemade cupcakes, sang happy birthday in the locker room,” McNichol said. “These kids are the best. It was nice that we celebrated with a birthday win.”

Mia Valerio made sure of it. The senior guard hit four foul shots in the final seconds to seal the victory after Garnet Valley had rallied from a pair of nine-point, fourth-quarter deficits to pull within a bucket.

“As soon as they switched to the 1-3-1 defense, we kind of panicked because I don’t think many teams have played us on a 1-3-1,” said Valerio, whose 10 points led a balanced scoring effort by the Cougars. “We had to work around it. We knew they were going to throw something at us in the fourth quarter because they were down. It kind of took a fourth-quarter battle for it to work out.

“This was a really close game for us. I think we really need wins like this to help us learn what to do in these late game scenarios.”

Kaitlyn Kearney had the play of the day when she recovered from a Springfield turnover and hurried back to block Kylie Mulholland’s layup attempt. At the time, the Jags were clinging to a 35-33 lead with a minute to go.

Haylie Adamski, the Jags’ top scorer, poured in a game-high 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Valerio and fellow senior guard Lexi Aaron did a good job defending her, making her force tough shots and face-guarding her whenever she was off the ball.

But this was a complete effort by the Cougars, who certainly missed Kreydt’s physical presence in the paint. In her stead, Taylor Hunyet (eight points, three steals) played well. Grace Ellis (four points) also produced in a starting role.

“We definitely missed Anabel out there tonight, but all the kids stepped up,” McNichol said.

Kearney hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with nine points for the Cougars (11-2). The Jaguars (7-6) received solid play from sophomore point guard Kylie Mulholland, who had six points, two assists and two steals.

In other Central League action:

Strath Haven 45, Upper Darby 34 >> Chloe Hunold scored 19 points, Olivia Voshell chipped in 11 and Laura Shea grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Panthers.

Chrisaundra Jones paced Upper Darby with 12 points plus seven rebounds Cameron Ross added 10 points.

Haverford 51, Penncrest 23 >> Caroline Dotsey tallied a game-high 16 points, and the Fords defense limited the Lions to 11 points in the first half to take control early. Sky Newman added eight points, and Mollie Carpenter had seven for the Fords.

Emily Huggins led Penncrest with six points.

Ridley 48, Harriton 42 >> Peyton Berger scored a game-high 16 points as the Green Raiders led by 12 at the half and never let the Rams get too close.

Kayla Carney added nine points, and Abbi Hinchey and Macie Clarke chipped in eight each.

Conestoga 47, Radnor 23 >> Mary Sareen scored almost all of the Raptors points with 18 in a weird game in which Radnor led 5-0 after one quarter, then were outscored 30-12 in the middle two frames.

In the Inter-Ac League:

Episcopal Academy 52, Springside CHA 30 >> Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf scored eight of her game-high 18 points in a third quarter in which EA pulled away with an 18-7 margin.

Bella Notaro had five of her eight points in the third, and Ali Dennis added nine points.

Agnes Irwin 44, Baldwin 24 >> Simone Harvey, Jessie Stoudt and Maggie Mullen scored eight points each as the Owls picked up the victory.

In the Del Val League:

Penn Wood 41, Interboro 31 >> Xenia Gillis controlled the paint with 19 points, eight rebounds and five blocks as the Patriots recouped a halftime deficit by outscoring the Bucs, 22-8, in the second half.

Laila Johnson paired eight points with five rebounds, and Anye Caple added six points.

Alaira D’Angelo led Interboro with 11 points. Molly Hughes chipped in six points.

Academy Park 49, Chester 46 >> Emani Banks tallied 18 to go with 12 rebounds, nine blocks and five steals as the Knights won a back-and-forth game. Alaysia Kinlaw added 12 points, and Semaji Young paired eight points with six assists and five steals.

Jamya Muhammad led Chester with 17 points, and Shyne Hall added 16.

In the Catholic League:

Archbishop Carroll 58, West Catholic 34 >> Taylor Wilson hit three 3-pointers on the way to 21 points as the Patriots (4-7, 2-0) notched an away win. Brooke Wilson added 10 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Alexis Eberz chipped in eight points and six boards.

Cardinal O’Hara 63, St. Hubert’s 41 >> Carly Coleman tallied eight points and 10 rebounds as the Lions went on a 38-17 run over the middle two quarters to dash away. Molly Rullo led the way with 20 points. Greta Miller added eight.

In nonleague action:

Sun Valley 64, Chichester 16 >> Jaina Preuhs led all scorers with 16 points as the Vanguards pitched a shutout in the third quarter. Rory Tiedeman added 10 points, and Alison Riley and Anaka Boyd-Volz chipped in eight each for Sun Valley (4-6).