Wed. Pa. boys’ and girls’ roundup: GA title streak hits 13
Groundhog Day was last week, but for Inter-Academic League girls' basketball fans, it might as well have been this Wednesday as the same champion emerged for another year.
Groundhog Day was last week, but for Inter-Academic League girls' basketball fans, it might as well have been this Wednesday as the same champion emerged for another year.
Behind senior captain Dana Lotito's 16 points, Germantown Academy won its 13th straight title with a 49-38, clinching win at Episcopal Academy.
The Patriots (21-3 overall, 11-0 league) finished unbeaten once again in league play and have been unbeaten in the league since 1999.
They also got nine points and 11 rebounds from Kiernan McCloskey.
Friends Schools. Temple-bound senior point guard Monaye Merritt had 15 points and added seven assists as host Friends' Central rolled to a 49-24 win over Abington Friends.
Merritt distributed the ball well enough that two teammates reached double figures, with Maria Conyers-Jordan adding 12 and Sydney Frank 10.
The Phoenix will play in the championship game on Friday (7 p.m.) at Haverford College against Shipley.
The Gators (15-7) earned their title shot with a 72-41 win over visiting Germantown Friends in the other semifinal behind Aja Ellison's 33 points and 17 rebounds. Freshman point guard Sox Alexander added 16 points, 11 assists, and 7 steals.
Public. Lincoln got 22 points from Nefertitti Huckaby and 16 more from sister Nefertarri Huckaby in a 56-29 win at Washington.
Both sisters scored 10 points in a first half in which the Railsplitters took a 29-15 lead.
Catholic. Host Little Flower waited until the penultimate game of its season to pick up its first league win, 44-31, over Hallahan. Julie Deegan, a 5-foot-11 forward, scored 13 points to lead the Sentinels (4-15, 1-10). They travel to Archbishop Carroll for the season finale on Thursday.
Catholic Academies. Villa Joseph Marie won at Sacred Heart, 40-31, behind Lexi Stershic, who scored 12 of her 13 points in the first half.
Tri-County. Sarah Engman scored 14 points to lead host Woodlynde past Collegium Charter, 23-15.
The Warriors saved their best quarter for last, outscoring the Cougars, 13-7.
Tamara Moskowitz scored 23 points to lead Barrack Hebrew to a 47-28 win at West-Mont Christian.
The Wings were led by Nicole Davis, who scored 15 points.
Nonleague. Friends Select got nine points apiece from Gabby Gibson and Grace Finkbiner to win, 37-28, at city neighbor Masterman.
William Tennent got 17 points and 11 rebounds from Ashley Alden in beating host Northeast, 51-19.
Alden scored nine points in the first quarter as the Panthers (15-4) jumped out to an 18-7 lead. The Vikings fell to 10-3.
Nadiera Hodge had 26 points for Hope Charter in a 50-36 win at New Media Charter.
Stephanie Schultz had 16 points for host Hill School in its 60-39 win over Agnes Irwin.
Boys' Basketball
Friends' Central earned a spot in Friday night's Friends Schools League championship game with a 58-34 semifinal win over visiting Westtown behind Devin Coleman's 17 points.
The other semifinal features ANC and AFS, which ended too late for this edition.
The Phoenix held Westtown's 6-foot-11 center Daniel Ochefu to just 14 points.
Tri-County. Mercy Vocational placed four starters in double figures, led by Rasheed Morrison's 16 points, in a 53-42 win at Woodlynde. The Warriors got a season-high 20 points from Brian Chamberlain.
Nonleague. Howard Sellars had 18 points for Church Farm in its 64-51, nonleague win at Devon Prep.
Grant Fiorentinos, a 7-footer committed to Tulane, dunked with 20 seconds left to give host Hun School (N.J.) a two-point lead in a 57-53 win over Germantown Academy, overcoming five three-pointers and 23 points from the Patriots' Jimmy Hammer.
Senior forward Jaylen Bond had six rebounds and five blocked shots for host Plymouth Whitemarsh in its 53-20 win over West Catholic.
Boys' Swimming
Catholic League champion La Salle, which clinched last week, got individual wins from Sean Regan, Joe Maginnis, Chris Szekely, David Speese, and Eric Schultz in a 58-36 win at runner-up St. Joseph's Prep.
Regan took the 200 individual medley, with Szekely winning the 200 freestyle, and Speese taking the 100 breaststroke. Also, Schultz posted a blistering 54.14 to win the 100 backstroke.
La Salle has now won 23 consecutive league titles.