NEWTOWN SQUARE — Haverford’s Natalie Wright was shocked to hear her name announced over the public address system Thursday night at Marple Newtown.
“And the MVP goes to… Natalie Wright!”
The senior forward admitted she had other things on her mind.
“I wasn’t expecting it at that moment, especially,” the Fords’ senior forward said. “I was ready to celebrate with my team.”
Haverford did plenty of celebrating after defeating Conestoga, 44-30, in the Central League final at Marple Newtown High. It marks the second consecutive year the Fords beat the Pioneers for the championship.
It’s not as though Wright was undeserving of the award. A hustling, hard-nosed power forward, she did a little bit of everything against the Pioneers. She played tough defense and grabbed rebounds and, as the Fords’ third-or fourth-best scorer (a role she shares with her buddy Ashley Wright, no relation), Natalie Wright provided seven points, including five points from the free-throw line.
As Aniya Eberhart, the team’s best scorer and one of the top talents in Delaware County, sat the bench with foul trouble, the Fords came together to frustrate the potent Pioneers. And it was because of the gritty, workmanlike effort of Natalie and Ashley Wright, Megan Kelly, Rian Dotsey and Tess Durfee, who excelled off the bench.
It wasn’t until the game was far out of reach in the fourth quarter that Conestoga started to resemble its true self. Sophomore Ryann Jennings scored eight of her game-high 15 points in the final period. But it didn’t matter. Eberhart was electric on the floor, dropping a team-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting. She banked a 3-pointer at the start of the third quarter to extend Haverford’s lead to 22-12. It was her only field goal attempt of the second half. Eberhart fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.
“We are a strong team and we knew we had to continue to play as a team,” Natalie Wright said. “Aniya obviously helps us a lot – I mean, a lot – but we have to be able to step up in those moments when that does happen and still be able to push through.”
Durfee has been a jewel off the bench. She hadn’t played a ton of varsity minutes prior to this season, but is making the most of her opportunities her senior year. Coach Lauren Pellicane called her a glue player, trusting her to play lockdown defense and do the little things to help Haverford win games. Durfee entered early in the first quarter when Eberhart and Kelly both exited with foul trouble.
“I try to stay focused on the game and what roles I am supposed to play,” Durfee said. “I listen to what the coaches say. As a role player.I try to replace them as best as I can.”
Pellicane admitted the Fords didn’t play their cleanest basketball – they committed 24 turnovers – but they showed why they are such a good squad. They disrupted the Pioneers’ offensive timing and forced them into bad shots throughout the night. It certainly helped that Conestoga was 10-for-45 from the field, including 3-for-21 from 3-point range, and failed too often to capitalize on second and third chances. The Pioneeres missed their first 11 attempts in the fourth quarter.
“I think (defense) is our staple. We’ve prided ourselves on the way we’ve come to defend and help each other,” Pellicane said. “Our IQ has certainly increased as the season’s gone on, which has been nice to see. We switched when we needed to switch and instead of giving up an open shot, we helped each other a lot in the lane. It’s all the little aspects of defending – that’s what we come to do. Today at halftime we had a seven-point lead and we held them to 12 points (in the first half). I told them that as poorly as we played on defense, we have a seven-point lead right now and we have a whole other half to improve. … It was a strange game, 24 turnovers, and it was a good thing for us they didn’t start taking advantage until it was a little too late.”
Haverford (21-3) and Conestoga (21-3) each earned first-round byes in the District 1 Class 6A tournament. They will host second-round games Wednesday.
