Mueller maintains family tradition for Radnor

RADNOR >> Ellie Mueller has been dribbling a basketball ever since … well, she was too young to remember.

“Oh yeah,” the Radnor sophomore said. “From day one.”

Mueller is the daughter of Christopher “Kit” Mueller, the former Princeton University standout who played professionally in Switzerland. ESPN once ranked him as one of the top-five players in Princeton history.

Mueller is a chip off the block. She’s following in her dad’s footsteps, too — kind of. She’s actually committed to playing lacrosse at Princeton.
If Mueller could, she would be a dual-sport athlete in college. For now, though, her focus is to become the best high school basketball player she can be for Radnor High School.

She’s already a good one.

Mueller, an athletic forward with plenty of tools, poured in a game-high 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to help Radnor claim a 71-48 Central League decision over Ridley Friday.

Thanks to her bloodlines, Mueller has an advantage over most players. But she is continuously trying to improve and absorbs everything her dad tells her as it relates to basketball.

“He’s been my mentor throughout my whole life; he helps me out after every game,” Mueller said. “He helps me keep improving.”

And what’s the best advice she’s received from dear old dad?

“Pump-fake and drive,” she said. “That’s his favorite thing.”

Mueller entered Friday as the 10th-leading scorer in Delaware County, averaging 14 points per game. Mueller

headlines a starting lineup at Radnor that consists of juniors Audrey Rosenblum and Holly Holtsberg, sophomores Mueller and Missy Massimino, who is the granddaughter of the late Rollie Massimino, and freshman Brienne Williams.

“We’ve had some slow starts in games this year, “ Mueller said, “but we’re really good at coming back and keeping up the pressure.”

You can say that again. Ridley (3-12) jumped out to an 8-0 advantage and held a 16-8 lead midway through that first period. With Mueller leading the way, Radnor (8-5) roared back. She racked up 15 of her 18 points in the first two quarters and Radnor outscored Ridley, 20-2, in the second period.

Once Radnor amped up the pressure defensively, and was able to run the floor with success, Ridley had a difficult time keeping pace.

“It’s been a struggle this year, we’re kind of a young team after losing some very important seniors,” Mueller said. “We just have to focus on what we know how to do and what we’re good at, like our defense and our pressure.”

While Radnor committed 22 turnovers, it also forced 25 takeaways. Rosenblum had a tremendous floor game on both ends (nine assists, five steals).

Another bright spot for Radnor is Williams, who has the potential to be a special player. The freshman guard has a good feel on how to run the offense when needed, can drive to the basket and spot up from long range. She chipped in with 12 points and drilled two of the team’s five 3-pointers.

For Williams, she is happy to be contributing on varsity and getting the opportunity show what she can offer.

“It’s definitely exciting, starting on varsity once in a while,” said Williams, who was 5-for-11 from the floor and added three assists and two steals. “I’m super grateful for that and I couldn’t have asked for anything more out of Coach (Mark) Jordan, who really knows what to do with the team as a whole and how to help us succeed individually as well.”

After a fast start, Ridley was outscored 45-13 in the middle two quarters. Freshman Lindsay Boyd netted eight points and senior guard Dana D’Ambrosio finished with six points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Shannen Hinchey (six points, seven rebounds) and Morgan Chapman (seven points) played well off the bench.

Julia Rigolizzo tossed in 12 points in a reserve role for Radnor. Holtsberg added five points, six rebounds and two blocks.