PHILADELPHIA — A year ago, Haverford’s dream season ended in a flash. Twenty-seven wins, then a loss in the District 1 Class 6A final and a first-round states setback, and a season that had marauded through the its first three months evaporated.
The Fords didn’t need a reminder Friday of what can happen when you start a tournament slow. Instead, the group this week let the ghosts of the past lie and focused on the task at hand.
“I think we’re just focusing on this year,” said forward Natalie Wright, after contributing 18 points to a 66-28 elimination of Murrell Dobbins in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament. “New people, new team, just moving forward. … Losing a game like that, you’ve just got to get back up. You can’t have that hanging over you, as the games go on, years go on. You’ve got to get up and give it everything.”
Haverford left nothing to chance in this game against the District 12 opponent at Archbishop Ryan High. The Fords scored 24 of the game’s first 26 points and stretched the lead to 35 late in the first half against an undermanned Dobbins squad. Like any other game, Lauren Pellicane’s team identified the matchups and exploited them – in this case, a marked height advantage that led to a 36-19 edge on the boards and length to find passing lanes off their ball movement.
It helped banish the demons of last year, which had brought about such a swift and unceremonious end. Back then, the Fords dropped a tight game in the District 1 final, 48-44, to Perkiomen Valley. With a westerly route plotted through states and dreams of seeing Perk Valley or a Catholic League power in Hershey, the Fords stumbled at the first hurdle. Down 11-2 out of the gates and 26-13 at one point, their surge never came, on homecourt no less, in a shocker delivered by District 3 fifth seed Lebanon, 48-41.
Dobbins (14-13) didn’t exactly pose the same threat. The Mustangs were drafted into states as a Public League representative when Northeast High forfeited a District 12 game. Haverford spent part of last weekend thinking it may have been playing Cardinal O’Hara, the 2021 and 2022 6A champion and a semifinalist last year, in this round. Dobbins was a slightly different challenge.
The Fords (25-4) still came out and executed, though. Thirteen of their 19 first-half baskets were assisted, and five of the other six came on offensive rebounds. They forced 11 first-half turnovers and 17 for the game while committing seven.
In all, it was 21 assists on 29 made baskets.
“Sharing the ball was big,” Wright said. “They were open. I feel like we were able to hit middle, hit outside, and everyone was able to touch the ball was nice.”
Wright was 9-for-10 from the field for 18 points, plus nine rebounds. Ryan Dotsey added 17 points. Ten of 11 Fords scored, capped by Jasmine Ellerbe on a banked-in shot in the final minute. The only Ford not to score was starting guard Aniya Eberhart, who led the way with four assists.
Ashley Wright and Mya Foley each paired six points with three assists. Maura Gilroy added six points. Haverford shot 50 percent (29-for-58) from the field.
Dobbins (14-13) battled despite just an eight-player rotation. Elnora Span hit a pair of 3-pointers at the end of the first half to get them within 44-15. She had half of the Mustangs points with 14. Ra’Naiyah Marion added six points and 10 rebounds.
The biggest challenge for Haverford this year was not looking ahead: In all likelihood, it entered the Dobbins game knowing that Perk Valley, atop the bracket as the District 1 champion, likely awaits.
“Yeah, you’ve got to take it one game at a time,” Natalie Wright said, betraying a hint of a smile. “But definitely excited if it could be then.”
Until then, the Fords can be content with a rare states win for the program, the latest of the myriad firsts this group has compiled.
“It’s really exciting,” Wright said. “I think it’s a big accomplishment. This is a state tournament. It’s a big thing. Sixteen teams left and we’re one of them, it’s huge.”
