Lansdale Catholic’s Gabby Casey, Souderton’s Casey Harter and Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Erin Daley close in on scoring milestones

Gabby Casey is already the Lansdale Catholic girls basketball program’s all-time leading scorer. Now, she’s closing in on the overall school record.

The senior is 64 points away from matching Mike McGowan’s 1,347 points, a record set in 2003. This week the Crusaders host Archbishop Ryan on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Bethlehem Catholic on Saturday at 2 p.m.

“This program really needed a player like Gabby Casey when she came in her freshman year,” Lansdale Catholic coach Eric Gidney said after she set the girls scoring record last week. “And I hope that Gabby needed the program, too, right? Looking back to when she first gave me that decision in the summer before her freshman year to now, and just seeing how much she loves being a part of this program, playing the game, her selflessness. She’s a kid that even though does so many remarkable things that deserve the spotlight, isn’t always really comfortable in that said spotlight which is always just sort of amazing to me.

Sixty-four points in two games is a tall task, but not an unreachable one for Casey. The Saint Joseph’s University commit has two career 40-point games under her belt, both against Neumann-Goretti. She totaled 40 points and 21 rebounds in a win over the Saints on Jan. 5.

Lansdale Catholic is 9-1 overall this season and 3-0 in the Philadelphia Catholic League.

HARTER NEARS 1,000

Casey Harter is close to adding her name to the banners flying in Souderton Area High School’s gymnasium. The senior guard needs 15 points to reach 1,000 for her career.

Harter, a Northwestern University commit, will have a chance to reach the milestone at home Tuesday night, when the Indians host Council Rock North at 6:30 p.m. Following that, Souderton travels to Council Rock South Friday night at 7 p.m.

“She’s scoring in every way,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said of Harter after she scored 27 points in a win over North Penn in December. “She’s hitting threes, she’s attacking, her teammates are finding her on cuts, she’s just playing great for us right now.”

She’s helped lead the Indians to the top of the Suburban One League Colonial Division and the fifth spot in the District 1-6A rankings with a 12-2 record overall and 8-1 record in league play. She totaled 22 points and played lockdown defense last week when Souderton went 1-1 in SOL crossover games against Pennsbury and Neshaminy.

DALEY CLOSING IN ON 1,000

Erin Daley has been on a tear in the new year. The Plymouth Whitemarsh senior has scored 33, 34 and 29 points in her last three games. In four games in 2023, the forward is averaging 27 points per game.

Daley is now 46 points away from 1,000 in her career. The Colonials travel to William Tennent Tuesday at 7 p.m. before hosting Upper Moreland Thursday at 7 p.m.

“I think Erin’s natural position is the four,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said earlier this season. “The last couple of years with (2022 graduates) Lainey Allen and Jordyn Thomas on the floor for us, we used her athleticism as the three. Her more-natural position is the four and that’s why I think she’d be a college four, also. Not many kids can score with their back to the basket and she can. She has post moves to score with her back to the basket. At the high school level that’s hard to defend. It’s hard to tell a kid which way you’re supposed to turn and all that kind of stuff.”

Daley, who’s also one of the top defenders in the area, has helped lead Plymouth Whitemarsh to a 12-2 start this season and 8-1 record in the SOL Liberty Divison. The Colonials are ranked No. 7 in the District 1-6A standings.