BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: Lansdale Catholic’s Gabby Casey named PCL MVP
Lansdale Catholic senior Gabby Casey was named the Philadelphia Catholic League Most Valuable Player Thursday.
“It’s truly an honor and blessing to be named PCL MVP this year,” Casey said. “It has been a personal goal of mine over the last couple years to be named amongst the top players in the league. I could not have done it without the support system of my teammates, coaches, trainer, family and LC community.”
Casey, a Saint Joseph’s University commit, led the Crusaders to a tie for first place in the PCL regular season and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. LC will face No. 2 Archbishop Wood in the championship Monday evening at the Palestra at 6 p.m.
Casey became Lansdale Catholic’s all-time leading scorer this season. Some 2022-23 highlights include a 40-point, 21-rebound performance in a win over Neumann-Goretti, a 13-point outing in LC’s first win against Archbishop Wood and 18 points against Archbishop Carroll in the PCL semifinals to send the Crusaders to their first-ever PCL championship game.
LC’s Casey, Jaida Helm and Sanyiah Littlejohn earned first team All-Catholic honors while Olivia Boccella earned a spot on the second team.
Archbishop Wood’s Deja Evans is a first-team selection while Kara Meredith, Emily Knouse, Ava Renninger and Delaney Finnegan are on the second team and Allie Fleming an honorable mention.
Taylor Wilson and Brooke Wilson represent Archbishop Carroll on the first team.
SOUDERTON, UPPER DUBLIN FACE TOUGH CHALLENGES IN QUARTERFINALS
Souderton and Upper Dublin are still competing for the District 1-6A championship. The fourth-seeded Indians host No. 5 Spring-Ford in the quarterfinals Saturday while the 19th-seeded Cardinals visit No. 11 Pennsbury.
Souderton and Spring-Ford both had first-round byes before cruising to second-round wins. Souderton handled No. 20 Garnet Valley, 53-31, behind 25 points from Casey Harter while Anna Azzara’s 20 points helped Spring-Ford beat No. 21 North Penn, 64-45.
The SOL Colonial champion Indians have won eight of their last nine games – the lone loss in overtime in the SOL Tournament championship game against Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Spring-Ford has reached the District 1-6A title game in each of the last two seasons, winning in 2021 and finishing second in 2022.
The Souderton-Spring-Ford winner will face the winner of No. 1 Perk Valley and No. 8 Neshaminy in the semifinals Wednesday.
Upper Dublin and Pennsbury both won first-round matchups before pulling off second-round upsets. The Cardinals beat No. 14 Council Rock South, 53-48, before knocking off No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh, 40-33. The Falcons shut down No. 22 Penncrest, 48-12, before handling No. 6 Abington, 51-39.
Freshman Megan Ngo led the way for Upper Dublin against PW, scoring 22 points, to help the Cardinals avenge two regular-season losses. Pennsbury’s Sofia Vitucci scored 24 points against Abington.
The Upper Dublin-Pennsbury winner will face the winner of No. 2 Haverford and No. 7 Springfield Delco in the semifinals Wednesday.
PW, ABINGTON BATTLE FOR STATE PLAYOFF BERTH
Plymouth Whitemarsh and Abington entered the District 1-6A playoffs with a combined record of 42-7. When the playoff bracket was finalized, the third-seeded Colonials and sixth-seeded Ghosts appeared destined for a fourth meeting this season in the quarterfinals, but Upper Dublin and Pennsbury had different plans.
After the two second-round upsets – Upper Dublin over PW and Pennsbury over Abington – the Suburban One League Liberty Division rivals will have their fourth meeting in the playback bracket. The winner advances to the state playoffs and the loser’s season is over. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. Saturday night at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
Through three meetings, Plymouth Whitemarsh is 2-1 against Abington and each team has scored 147 points. Abington won, 55-53, at home on Dec. 8 while Plymouth Whitemarsh protected home court 49-48 on Jan. 24 and 45-44 in overtime of the SOL Tournament semifinals on Feb. 11.
In the most recent meeting two weeks ago, Abby Sharpe led PW with 22 points and Erin Daley, who missed most of the first half in foul trouble, finished with 17. Cire Worley had 15 points for Abington and Jordyn Reynolds added eight.
Central Bucks East, North Penn and Methacton are also in the District 1-6A playback bracket trying to earn spots in the state tournament. The 17th-seeded Patriots head to No. 9 Unionville, the Knights travel to Garnet Valley and the 15th-seeded Warriors visit No. 10 Conestoga.
JENKINTOWN, FAITH CHRISTIAN GIRLS, DOCK BOYS PLAY FOR DISTRICT TITLES
The Jenkintown and Faith Christian Academy girls basketball teams and Dock Mennonite Academy boys basketball team are playing for District 1 championships Saturday. Jenkintown faces The Christian Academy for the Class-A title at Bensalem at noon. Faith Christian Academy follows at 1:45 p.m. at Bensalem against Sacred Heart Academy for the Class-2A championship. Dock takes on Delco Christian at 1:45 p.m. at Harriton for the Class-2A crown.
All three games are rematches from earlier this season. The Christian Academy won at Jenkintown, 31-15, on Jan. 5. FCA opened its season against Sacred Heart on Dec. 6 and won, 42-41. Dock hammered Delco Christian, 62-34, on Dec. 13.
UPPER MERION PLAYS FOR STATES
Upper Merion travels to Holy Ghost Prep in a District 1-5A playback matchup Saturday. The winner clinches a spot in the state playoffs and the loser’s season is over.
The 11th-seeded Vikings upset No. 6 Pottstown, 55-50, in the first round before losing to No. 3 Unionville, 69-50. No. 7 Holy Ghost Prep beat No. 10 Upper Moreland, 54-36, in the opener before losing to No. 2 Chichester, 71-61.
Upper Merion lost its fourth game of the season to Holy Ghost, 66-53, back on Dec. 8. Adrian Varella put up a game-high 23 points in the win for Holy Ghost Prep while Seamus McDermott (13 points), Brendan Boutillier (11) and Colin Lucas (10) all saw double-digit figures. Colin Hirshorn led Upper Merion with 14 points while Nick Smiley and Elijah Davis each added 10.
The Vikings are 10-5 in their last 15 games.
