Bailey Garrison’s and Lila Curci’s clutch free-throw shooting helped No. 19 Penncrest to a 60-59 victory over 14th-seeded Coatesville in the first round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs Friday evening.
Garrison hit two foul shots with two-tenths of a second left in the fourth quarter, tying the game. In the extra session, Curci made one foul to extend the Lions’ lead to three points with 14 seconds remaining. Penncrest power forward Kathryn Harding dominated with 22 points. Garrison (13 points) finished 11-for-12 at the charity stripe, while Emily Huggins and Alex Bruce tossed in 10 points each.
Curci and Makayla Johnson played outstanding defense on Coatesville’s best shooter, Gianna Jackson, who was limited to five points.
Elsewhere in the District 1 Class 6A tournament:
Neshaminy 42, Ridley 31 >> The No. 24 Green Raiders did a nice job defending Bucknell committ Reese Zemitis, it wasn’t enough against the ninth-seeded Redskins.
Ridley senior Kyla Carney had 12 points and four rebounds in her swan song. She averaged 15 points per game this season.
In the District 1 Class 5A tournament:
Phoenixville 57, Chester 42 >> Making their first playoff appearance in 10 years, the No. 10 Clippers (13-9) had no answer for Kayden Baratta, who scored 31 points to lead the seventh-seeded Phantoms into the quarterfinals. Jordan Dennis had 20 points and seven steals in the loss. Shyne Hall had eight points and Ja’Mya Muhammad finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Villa Maria 69, Sun Valley 41 >> The No. 10 Vanguards (11-12) trailed 19-10 and couldn’t keep pace with the sixth-seeded Hurricanes (15-8). Anaka Boyd-Volz had 10 points and Luci Damico eight for the Vanguards.
Boys Basketball
Springfield sent shockwaves through the District 1 Class 6A bracket Friday evening. The 24th and final seed in the tournament, the Cougars defeated the No. 9 Abington Ghosts, 58-42, in a first-round upset.
Colin Truede led the way with 19 points. TJ Valletti and Patrick Flaherty also eclipsed double figures in scoring with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Springfield heads to No. 8 Bensalem for a second-round contest Tuesday.
In other District 1 Class 6A first-round action:
Garnet Valley 57, Harriton 48 >> Quinn O’Hara drilled five 3-pointers in the middle quarters and closed with 19 points, leading the No. 14 Jagaurs to the quarterfinals.
Cole Boruk (15 points) was 6-for-6 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Marquis Kubish tallied a game-high 21 points for the 19th-seeded Rams.
Garnet Valley travels to No. 3 Spring-Ford for a second-round contest.
In the District 1 Class 5A tournament:
Penncrest 50, W.C. Rustin 36 >> The No. 10 Lions trounced the seventh-seeded Golden Knights and play at No. 2 Upper Dublin Wednesday.
Theo Gladue banked four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 13 points. Mikey Mita and Connor Cahill chipped in 11 points apiece. Pat Garrison excelled on defense.
In the Bicentennial League championship:
Dock Mennonite 51, Delco Christian 38 >> Behind AJ Washington’s 28-point performances the top-seeded Pioneers captured their second straight league title. The No. 2 Knights trailed 17-6 in the first quarter and never recovered. Khamai Orange paced DC with 11 points.
In nonleague action:
Episcopal 80, Friends’ Central 79 >> Matt McCarthy erupted for 28 points as the Churchmen won their Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament opener. Kevin McCarthy totaled 16 points in the victory.
Diving
Ridley’s Tyler Reeve earned a second-place medal Friday at the District 1 Championships at North Penn High School. Reeve posted a score of 406.25.
North Penn’s Josh Gratton (438.95) won the gold. Kamren Brown, also of Ridley, placed fifth and Haverford High’s Jeremy Shea took sixth. The top eight finishers qualified for the PIAA Championships.
Bowling
Bonner & Prendergast claimed its second straight Catholic League girls championship with a 1,903-1,764 win over top-seeded St. Hubert. Alexis Horton posted a match-high 575 series and Abby Gannon added a 542 for the Pandas.
