It’s Masciantonio’s show in opening win for Carroll

ROYERSFORD >> Molly Masciantonio was just starting to attend classes at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) School in Ridley Township when Chuck Creighton became head girls basketball coach at Archbishop Carroll High.

OLPH became Our Lady of Angels School before Masciantonio graduated and headed to Carroll, where last winter she was a member of the final Patriots squad coached by Creighton, who led three of his teams to Catholic League championships and two to state titles.

This year, veteran AAU coach Tom Nerney has taken over as the head of the Carroll girls hoops program. Sunday afternoon at the fifth Blue Chip Basketball Tip-Off Classic at Spring-Ford High School, Masciantonio was one of Nerney’s starting guards as Carroll opened its season by taking on Abington Friends.

“He wants me to run the offense,” the sophomore said, after scoring 20 points (7-for-9 shooting, including 6-for-8 on 3-point attempts), grabbing seven rebounds, making six steals and adding six assists as Carroll, which struggled in the first period, earned a 53-46 decision.

For her efforts, Masciantonio earned her team’s most valuable player award for the game.

Masciantonio hit three 3-point shots in each half and got three assists in both halves to help Carroll make Nerney a winner in his debut on the bench.

The Patriots fell behind, 18-14, after one period as 6-2 center Alexa Middleton (13 points, eight rebounds) was 3-for-3 from the floor for the Kangaroos. In the second period, Carroll held Abington Friends without a point for the first 7 minutes and 35 seconds while rolling up a 25-18 advantage.

“Molly did a fantastic job,” Nerney said.  “Senior Lexi Kucia (six points, three rebounds, two steals, one assist) did a great job, and Bella (Sorrentino, who scored 10 points) had a good game. Collectively we played hard and competed. We did a lot of things well, but there were some things we didn’t do well when we got tired.

“We have a great group here, and they are hard workers. We know we have another tough game Tuesday against Episcopal (Academy), so we’ll get to work preparing for that (Monday).”

Masciantonio didn’t miss from the floor in the second half (4-for-4, including three 3s). She also had three steals in the third period.

“It’s been great having a fresh start and learning the new stuff we’ve been working on,” said Masciantonio, who played volleyball in the fall. “We’re running some of the things we used to run offensively, and we’re working on some new things, too.

“I think the coaches felt we had a good first game.”

Junior Theresa Kearney chipped in with five points — all in the fourth period — five rebounds, two steals and one assist for Carroll, which shot 18-for-33 (54.8 percent) from the field and 9-for-15 (60 percent) from behind the arc.

In other Blue Chip action:

Cardinal O’Hara 61, Bishop Ireton 31 >> Junior Hannah Nihill scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and junior Mary Sheehan finished with 10 points as the Lions rolled past the visitors from Fairfax, Virginia.

In the Haverford Hall of Fame Tournament:

Norristown 39, Haverford 31 >> Amanda Battista scored a game-high 15 points, but the Fords (1-1) suffered the loss in the championship game. Ashley Murphy chipped in eight points and Brianna Blair, who earned all-tournament honors, added six for Haverford (1-1).