Girls’ Basketball: Spring-Ford knocks off District 7 champion Norwin to reach PIAA 6A semifinals
The Spring-Ford girls’ basketball team spent the week making itself the center of attention in Centre County.
For the second straight game, Spring-Ford traveled three hours northwest to the State College area to pick up another victory on Friday night. This time around, it was a 60-47 quarterfinals triumph over Norwin — the top seed from District 7 — at State College High School, the team’s third straight win overall after losing the District 1 final to Perkiomen Valley.
Going great distances is fitting right in for the Rams, which are two steps beyond last year’s round of 16 run and now into the PIAA semifinals for the first time since 2021 when the program reached the state final.
Senior Katie Tiffan scored 10 of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, while junior Kareena Preuss added 15 and seniors Anna Azzara and Aaliyah Solliday chipped in 13 apiece.
The Rams, the runner-up in District 1, advanced to Monday’s semifinals to take on Garnet Valley, District 1’s sixth seed. The Jaguars ousted fourth-seeded North Penn 58-51 on Friday.
“The girls really gutted it out tonight,” head coach Mickey McDaniel said by phone during the team’s commute back home. “We had a lot of good energy tonight, and the effort on the floor was fantastic. Our game plan was to come in and play good execution basketball on both ends, and we found our way.”
The Rams (26-6) jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and stemmed the tide anytime Norwin made a run. Spring-Ford led by nine at halftime and by 10 after three, playing clean, consistent basketball throughout. After their third straight states win by 13 or more points, the sadness of the district championship loss is a distant memory.
“I was hurting so much for the girls,” McDaniel recalled. “But we moved away from that game and ripped the rearview mirror off, because the windshield is larger than the rearview mirror. This was always their goal, but they had to reset their minds and get that mindset in the right order to get to where we want to go now. The biggest thing now is focusing on the task at hand, and that’s film and a light non-contact practice tomorrow morning. Then we’ll come back and get ready for Monday.”
McDaniel has been around long enough to have coached some memorable Spring-Ford teams that have gone on deep runs in districts and states. He also knows full well that any team that makes it to the state semifinals has good players and the same goals that his team does, so the Rams can’t take anything for granted. Luckily, this particular group is experienced in the postseason and full of upperclassmen, so it’s unlikely that any of the players are about to let up now.
“This group is special because they keep things right in front of them without looking ahead or behind them — the only place they’re looking is the right now,” McDaniel said. “We know Garnet Valley is well-coached and has good players that will be ready to play really good basketball. They have the same goal in mind. It’s all about Hershey now, and the next win gets you there. We’re going to stay focused in the moment and get better each day. You can’t ask for any more from a group than that.”
