Wed. Pa. girls’ roundup: Hill looks fresh in victory over Episcopal

An extra couple of days of rest evidently paid off for the Hill School's girls' basketball team on Wednesday.

The Blues used fresh legs to run away to a 52-44 Pennsylvania Independent Schools Tournament quarterfinal win over visiting Episcopal Academy as Stephanie Schultz scored 17 points and Deanna Mayza added 15.

Schultz and Mayza and three other starters were given the day off in the opening round as the Blues coasted to a 48-19 first-round win over Academy of the New Church.

The Hill School was coming off a grueling three-day playoff weekend in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League championships. The Blues reached the final on Sunday and lost to Blair Academy (N.J.), 66-42.

The starters were needed in a more competitive game against the Churchwomen (15-10), particularly by the fourth quarter, when the Hill School broke a tie and outscored Episcopal Academy, 15-7.

Schultz also led the Hill School (17-6) with 11 rebounds.

The Hill School advanced to a semifinal date against top-seeded Germantown Academy on Friday (3 p.m.) at Friends' Central.

Germantown Academy topped visiting Friends' Central, 64-22, as Dana Lotito had 26 points. Lotito made all eight of her free throws.

Shipley won its quarterfinal game at Penn Charter, 59-55, as freshman point guard Sox Alexander made eight of 10 free throws in the final quarter and finished with 21 points. Another freshman, 6-foot-2 center Aja Ellison, added 13 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots for the Gators. Shipley as a team made 13 of 16 fourth-quarter free throws.

Alexander made 11 of her 14 free-throw attempts for the game. She also had nine assists.

Pioneer Athletic. Boyertown needed three overtimes to down Spring-Ford, 56-51, and take the title in a classic at Perkiomen Valley.

Jess Schlesman led Boyertown with 17 points and teammate Kaitlyn Eisenhard added 14.

The Bears (22-2) trailed both at the half, 20-13, and the end of the third quarter before forcing the extra sessions. The teams split a pair of regular-season games.

The game reflected a couple of regular-season outcomes between the teams as Spring-Ford won the first meeting, 36-35, and Boyertown needed overtime to win the second, 68-62.

The Rams are now 20-5.

Tri-County. Mercy Vocational began a busy three-day stretch with a 29-16 win over visiting Del-Val Friends in its final regular-season game.

The Monarchs, who compete in two leagues, will have a Tri-County playoff game on Thursday and a Penn-Jersey championship game on Friday.

They secured second place in the Tri-County League standings and will play Kimberton on Thursday in a league quarterfinal.

They will host Solebury School for the Penn-Jersey League title on Friday.

Barrack Hebrew finished in first place with a 13-1 record after beating West-Mont Christian, 43-36.

The Cougars got 12 points apiece from Tamara Moskowitz and Sophia Shoulson.

The Wings' Nicole Davis led all scorers with 24 points.

Barrack Hebrew will host a first-round playoff game on Thursday against Del-Val Friends.

Bicentennial. Kendra Stum posted her fifth double-double of the season for host Calvary Christian in its 38-29 win over MaST Charter in the final regular-season game of the year for both teams. Stum had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Cougars (3-18). Maria Farrell led MaST with 14 points.

Nonleague. Visiting Phil-Mont Christian finished with a winning season, spoiling senior night at Friends Select with a 40-29 win behind Katie Siebert's 16 points. The Falcons finished 12-11.

Calvary Christian opened the second half with a 12-6 run to take a 28-17 lead.