![Cardinal O'Hara's starters prepare to rush the court at the final buzzer of their PIAA Class 6A semifinal win over Parkland High on March 18. (Austin Hertzog - MediaNews Group)
Cardinal O'Hara's starters prepare to rush the court at the final buzzer of their PIAA Class 6A semifinal win over Parkland High on March 18. (Austin Hertzog - MediaNews Group)](https://www.delcotimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_1599.jpg?w=525)
Loading your audio article
If Cardinal O’Hara has anything in common with Spring-Ford, its opponent in Friday’s PIAA Class 6A championship game, it’s that each team has unfinished business.
The Lions were eliminated in the semifinal round of the 2023 tournament, falling by one point to eventual state champ Archbishop Carroll. Meanwhile, the Rams were ousted by O’Hara in the quarterfinals a season ago, and hope to avoid leaving Hershey empty-handed for the second time in four years.
O’Hara (25-4) and Spring-Ford (27-6) are vying for the title of best girls basketball team in PIAA’s highest classification. Tipoff at the Giant Center is 6 p.m.
O’Hara captured Class 5A championships in 2021 and 2022. Those teams were led by two-time Daily Times Player of the Year Maggie Doogan (Richmond) and All-Delco Amaris Baker (Drexel), both of whom have played key roles in helping their college squads to the NCAA Tournament. In 2021, when Spring-Ford lost to North Allegheny in the Class 6A final, Villanova star Lucy Olsen was arguably the best high school player in Pennsylvania.
There is connective tissue on both current rosters linking the teams’ previous state championship runs.
O’Hara seniors Joanie Quinn, Carly Coleman and Greta Miller were sophomores in 2022. Junior Molly Rullo was a freshman starter that season and had eight points, three assists and one steal in the Lions’ 42-19 rout of Chartiers Valley. The aforementioned four are joined by sophomore Megan Rullo in this year’s starting lineup.
Quinn (La Salle) and Molly Rullo (Drexel) are the Lions’ prized Division I recruits.
“Losing last year kind of gave us momentum coming into this year,” said Molly Rullo, who is averaging 13.8 points in four state tournament games. “And this year we had a lot of returners come back and wanted to prove ourselves again. Losing the semifinals in the Catholic League disappointed us. We definitely didn’t come out how we wanted to. But I think going forward, just to know we still had a whole month left, just to trust each other and go into (states) and say, hey, we have one more shot at this especially for the seniors. I think we’ve been trusting each other and we’ve been doing that very well.”
O’Hara has made PIAA championship appearances in 2009, 2016, 2021 and 2022. A third state title would tie Archbishop Carroll for most by a Delco school.
Annie Azara (Wright State), Katie Tiffan, Aaliyah Solliday and Mackenzie Pettinelli (St. Bonaventure) were freshmen the last time Spring-Ford reached the state final. All they’ve accomplished in four years is win more than 100 games and a District 1 title. Not too shabby.
But it’s worth noting Spring-Ford’s failure to beat Perkiomen Valley in four meetings this season. That includes an overtime defeat in the District 1 final earlier this month. O’Hara had one crack at Perk Valley (29-2) and crushed the Vikings, 49-35, in the state quarterfinals.
That should make O’Hara the favorite to take home the trophy Friday night. So one would think.
Spring-Ford has the firepower to compete with O’Hara, which is the best defensive team in 6A. Azara has produced more than 1,600 points in her stellar career. The Rams are scoring an average of 66.5 points and allowing 44.8 per game in the tournament. The Lions are scoring nearly 16 fewer points, but they’ve given up only 33 points per contest.
“Remember that we are a senior team and these guys have played a lot of basketball together. You might say the seniors didn’t play a ton when we played in Hershey two years ago, but they played together and practiced for the last four years. It’s a long season and they’re really trusting each other and that is rewarding for me as a coach,” O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan said. “We’re in that stage of the season where nobody cares who gets the credit, let’s just go win it. We want to win and do whatever it takes to get it “
O’Hara advanced to the finals with wins against Upper Dublin, Hazleton, Perk Valley and Parkland. Joanie Quinn scored a game-high 21 points and Rullo added 18 in the victory over Parkland. They have been a formidable one-two punch all tournament.
Spring-Ford was in a battle with Garnet Valley before pulling away late and earning a 61-42 decision. Azara (17 points, six rebounds, five assists) and juniors Aaliyah Soliday (16 points) and Kareena Preuss (10 points, 12 rebounds) had strong performances.