All-Catholic

NORTHERN DIVISION

First Team
Carmen Tyson-Thomas, Jr., Conwell-Egan (MVP)
Ashley Robinson, Jr., Archbishop Wood
Rosie Tarnowski, Sr., Archbishop Wood
Lisa Strack, Sr., Archbishop Wood
Kim Hollawell, Sr., Archbishop Ryan

Second Team
Taylor Peltzer, Sr., Archbishop Wood
Megan Tole, Jr., Archbishop Ryan
Sarah Delcasale, Sr., Saint Hubert
Towanda Sutton, Jr., Cardinal Dougherty
Mary Grace Lux, Sr., Bishop McDevitt

Third Team
Theresa Griffin, Sr., Conwell-Egan
Alyssa Parsons, Sr., Archbishop Wood
Danielle Foreman, Sr., Archbishop Ryan
Hilary Cloonan, Sr., Conwell-Egan
Najah Prescott, Sr., Cardinal Dougherty
Janelle Delbuono Kennedy-Kenrick Jr.

SOUTHERN DIVISION

First Team
Stephanie Holzer, Jr., Cardinal O’Hara (MVP)
Kerri Shields, Jr., Archbishop Carroll
Meghan Pearson, Sr., Archbishop Carroll
Danielle Smallwood, Sr., West Catholic
Alysha Womack, Jr., Cardinal O’Hara
Ashley White, Jr., Neumann-Goretti

Second Team
Alicia Manning, Jr., Cardinal O’Hara
Alison Nelson, Sr., Neumann-Goretti
Bernadette Moran, Sr., Archbishop Prendergast
Melissa Downey, Sr., Cardinal O’Hara
Natasha Cloud, So., Cardinal O’Hara
Brittany Scanlon, Sr., Archbishop Prendergast

Third Team
Kaitlin Cole, Jr., Archbishop Carroll
Erin Shields, So., Archbishop Carroll
Jackie Thomas, Sr., Little Flower
Kristen Galanti, Sr., John W. Hallahan

All-BAL

Bicentennial Athletic League 2007-2008
Girls Basketball All-League Team

INDEPENDENCE DIVISION

Co-Players of the Year
Lindsay Alexander, Jr., Lower Moreland
Breanna Derstine, Sr., Christopher Dock

Co-Coaches of the Year
Tim Ehst, Christopher Dock
Rich Becker, Lower Moreland

First Team
Alysa Isler, So., New Hope-Solebury
Breanna Derstine, Sr., Christopher Dock
Rakita Thomas, Sr., Bristol
Lindsay Alexander, Jr., Lower Moreland
Nicole Cataline, Jr., Lower Moreland

Second Team
Zena Tracey, Sr., MaST Charter
Keisha Thomas, So., MaST Charter
Tannia Nieto, Jr., Christopher Dock
Taylor Cullen, Fr., Bristol
Nicole Dougherty, So., Lower Moreland
Kristen McKale, Sr., Lower Moreland

Honorable Mention
Nicole Adamson, Jr., Bristol
Brittany Cohen, So., MaST Charter
Kait Seelig, Jr., Christopher Dock
Jenessa Derstine, Fr., Christopher Dock
Dennah Althouse, Fr., Christopher Dock
Harley Miller, Sr., Lower Moreland
Laura Greenfield, Jr., New Hope-Solebury


CONSTITUTION DIVISION

Player of the Year
Hilary Liefson, Jr., Jenkintown

Coach of the Year
Sabrina Allen, Girard College

First Team
Hilary Liefson, Jr., Jenkintown
Carolyn Smith, So., Jenkintown
Veronica Brandon, Sr., Morrisville
Sharae McCottry, Sr., Girard College
Shaniquia Farlow, Sr., Girard College
Madeline Romig, Sr., Philmont Christian

Second Team
Christina Blye-Coleman, Fr., Girard College
Emily Steiger, Sr., Philmont Christian
Maddy Hoffman, So., Calvary Christian
Jody Pour, Sr., Morrisville
Natalie Swartley, Sr., Plumstead Christian

Honorable Mention
Bethany Johnson, Sr., Calvary Christian
Kelli Reichenbach, Fr., Calvary Christian
Ticoia Adams, Jr., Philmont Christian
Tanya Argueta, So., Morrisville
Kaitlyn Hamilton, Jr., Jenkintown
Alexandrea Brill, Jr., Plumstead Christian

D1 Semifinals

Class AAAA

No. 2 Methacton 60, No. 3 Spring-Ford 45

Link to Times-Herald game story

No. 1 Downingtown East 52, No. 13 Norristown 38

Link to Times-Herald game story

Link to Daily Local game story

Final - Friday at 7 p.m. at Villanova

Notes: Downingtown East (26-1) lost to St. Mark's on Dec. 8. The Cougars have not given up more than 46 points all season. They've given up 124 points in four district tournament games (31.0 points a game). Methacton (28-0) hasn't lost in a full year, since a 39-32 loss to Downingtown East on Feb. 21, 2007, in the second round of last spring's district tournament. Methacton has scored fewer than 46 points twice in 28 games and is averaging 55.8 points in the district tournament.

Class AAA

No. 1 Mount St. Joseph 45, No. 5 Pottstown 32

Link to Evening Bulletin game story

No. 2 Villa Maria 46, No. 3 Oxford 43

Final - Saturday at 6 p.m. at Villanova

Notes: Mount (24-2) has beaten Villa Maria (20-6) three times this season, on Jan. 3 (48-39), Jan. 22 (44-42) and Feb. 8 (45-39).

Class AA

No. 4 St. Pius X 55, No. 1 Lower Moreland 38

No. 2 Delco Christian 40, No. 3 Christopher Dock 37

Final - Saturday at 2 p.m. at Villanova

Class A

No. 4 Sacred Heart 55, No. 1 Faith Christian 36

No. 2 Girard College 41, No. 3 Jenkintown 26

Final - Saturday at Noon at Villanova

Catholic League Semifinals

Cardinal O'Hara 65, Conwell-Egan 40
Archbishop Carroll 54, Archbishop Wood 46

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL (54)
Erin Shields 1 2-2 4; Kerri Shields 5 4-4 14; Kaitlin Cole 1 2-2 4; Deanna Kelly 2 1-2 6; Megan Pearson 5 2-2 16; Gabby Capuzzi 0 2-2 2; Hollie Mershon 0 0-0 0; Lauren Comly 2 2-2 8; Lauren Wells 0 0-0 0; Marlee Hagan 0 0-0 0; Mary Kate McCann 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 15-16 54.

ARCHBISHOP WOOD (46)
Ashley Robinson 4 7-9 15; Alyssa Parsons 1 0-0 3; Lisa Strack 3 0-0 7; Taylor Peltzer 2 0-0 6; Rosie Tarnowski 4 5-8 13; Jen Maxwell 0 0-0 0; Laura Caron 0 0-0 0; Ashley B'Oris 0 0-0 0; Jenelle Hudson 1 0-0 2; Grace Gallagher 0 0-0 0; Kelly Young 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 12-17 46.

AC 18-13-10-13--54
AW 9-7-16-14--46

Three-point goals: Pearson 4, Comly 2, Kelly (AC); Peltzer 2, Parsons, Strack (AW).

***

CONWELL-EGAN (40)
Mourer 3 0-0 7; Moore 1 0-0 2; Griffin 0 1-2 1; Cloonan 2 0-0 4; Tyson-Thomas 6 2-3 15; Breslin 0 0-0 0; Watson 3 2-2 11; Howell 0 0-0 0; Rongione 0 0-1 0; Chase 0 0-0 0; Moonan 0 0-0 0; Ewing 0 0-0 0; Lubey 0 0-0 0; Ralph 0 0-2 0. Totals: 15 5-9 40.

CARDINAL O'HARA (65)
Cloud 4 0-0 9; Womack 5 1-1 11; Manning 2 2-2 6; Downey 0 2-2 2; Holzer 10 4-6 24; Callahan 3 0-0 7; Johnson 0 2-2 2; Duffin 0 0-0 0; Henson 2 0-0 4; Brown 0 0-0 0; Mattera 0 0-0 0; Kilday 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 11-13 65.

CEC 8-11-7-14--40
CO 16-15-19-15--65

Three-point goals: Watson 3, Tyson-Thomas, Mourer (CEC); Cloud, Callahan (CO).

EIGHT THINGS

1. O'Hara (24-2) took a 14-0 lead. Carroll (19-7) took a 10-0 lead. Conwell-Egan (20-6) never got closer than five points. Wood (23-3) never got closer than seven points.

2. O'Hara junior center Stephanie Holzer had 24 points and 17 rebounds. Conwell-Egan junior guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas had 15 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.

3. Senior guard Megan Pearson led Carroll with 16 points and hit four 3-pointers. Junior guard Kerri Shields scored 14 points, while senior guard Lauren Comly scored eight points and hit a pair of 3-pointers.

4. Wood junior 6-foot-3 forward Ashley Robinson scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Senior forward Rosie Tarnowski finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds.

5. Carroll shot 47.1 percent (16 for 34) from the floor. They hit 50 percent (seven for 14) from beyond the 3-point arc. Carroll also shot 93.8 percent (15 for 16) from the free throw line.

6. Wood is 1-9 in the PCL semifinals in the last 10 years. The lone victory was last year against O'Hara.

7. Carroll led by 15 points at halftime, 31-16, but never did really put the game away until the closing minutes. For most of the second half, Carroll's lead fluctuated between eight points and 13 points.

8. O'Hara led by 12 at halftime, 31-19. Holzer scored 12 of her points in the third quarter as the Lions opened up a 49-23 lead and put the game away.

D1 AAAA Quarterfinals

No. 1 Downingtown East 46, No. 8 Lower Merion 36

Recap: The Cougars (25-1) fell behind early, but came back in the second quarter. Kristen Blye had 13 points and 11 rebounds for DTE.

Link to Daily Local game story

No. 13 Norristown 57, No. 4 Great Valley 52

Recap: Guard Heather McHugh hit three 3-pointers in the last four minutes of the game for the Eagles (21-6).

Link to Times-Herald game story

No. 2 Methacton 46, No. 7 Abington 41

Recap: Methacton senior star Renee Womack scored just one point, but Lauren Ruhl scored 16 points and Rachel Meier added 13 points for the Warriors (27-0).

Link to Times-Herald game story

Link to Mercury game story

No. 3 Spring-Ford 51, No. 22 Downingtown West 48

Recap: Spring-Ford (25-2) was down 10 points early, but outscored the Whippets 42-29 over the last three quarters.

Link to Daily Local game story

League records in the first three rounds:

Ches-Mont Nat.	6-2
PAC	4-2
SOL American	5-3
SOL Continental	5-4
Central	3-3
Ches-Mont Am.	2-3
SOL National	3-6
Del-Val	0-4
Independent	0-1

Conwell-Egan 51, Arch. Ryan 37

ARCHBISHOP RYAN (37)
Laura Grow 2 4-4 6; Missy Milanese 3 0-0 6; Danielle Foreman 0 5-6 5; Jess Kosi 2 0-6 4; Kim Hollawell 2 2-4 6; Kate Keal 1 0-0 3; Sarah Strybuc 2 2-3 7; McArdle 0 0-0 0; Smith 0 0-0 0; Heisse 0 0-0 0; Shaw 0 0-0 0; Jerdan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 13-23 37.

CONWELL-EGAN (51)
Kaitlyn Maurer 2 0-0 4; Rachel Moore 1 0-0 2; Hilary Cloonan 1 7-8 9; Theresa Griffin 1 4-6 7; Carmen Tyson-Thomas 8 5-5 22; Kate Chase 1 0-0 2; Rebecca Howell 0 0-0 0; Jenny Rongione 1 0-1 2; Trish Watson 0 3-6 3; Kim Breslin 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 19-26 51.

AR 7 9 7 14--37
CEC 12 14 8 17--51

Three-point goals: Keal, Strybuc (AR); Griffin, Tyson-Thomas (CEC).

Link to Courier Times game story

Link to Friday's Courier Times girls basketball notes

SEVEN THINGS

1. Conwell-Egan (20-5) will face Cardinal O'Hara (23-2) in the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night at St. Joseph's University. Conwell-Egan hasn't been to the PCL semifinals since 1998.

2. CEC junior guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas had 22 points for the Eagles. Senior center Hilary Cloonan scored nine points and senior guard Theresa Griffin added seven points.

3. “This is the best,” Griffin said, “to come all this way. The support we got from the school makes it even better. We were hoping to get there. We worked hard for this. Ryan is a great team, but we wanted this real bad.”

4. “It’s not something we usually do, so it’s a big deal for us,” Tyson-Thomas said. “We played hard this year, and this is what we deserve. We’ve been playing like you’re supposed to play. We’re playing as a team. That’s the way to win games.”

5. Archbishop Wood faces Archbishop Carroll in the other PCL semifinal in a rematch of last year's PCL championship game (Carroll won).

6. Conwell-Egan has won 13 of its last 14 games since Dec. 27. The Eagles only loss during that span was to Wood on Jan. 22.

7. Conwell-Egan jumped out to a 12-3 lead and never trailed. Ryan didn't get closer than nine points in the second half. CEC beat Ryan three times this season.

Second Round AAAA Thoughts, Plus ...

A few observations on the District One Class AAAA and Catholic League playoffs ...

1. Really big wins for Great Valley and Methacton. Many people questioned Great Valley's schedule, but the Patriots reached states with consecutive wins against North Penn and Cheltenham. Methacton reached the state tournament for the first time with a tough victory over visiting Council Rock-North.

2. Downingtown East is rolling. The Cougars haven't been in a close game since a 32-31 win over Wilson on Jan. 19. Their last seven wins have been by an average of 26.3 points. All of those victories were by at least 20 points.

3. Norristown's upset of Conestoga isn't really a shock. The Pioneers were vulnerable and the Eagles were underseeded. How did the SOL Continental not have a team seeded in the top 12 again? Norristown won. Tennent lost by only two to Spring-Ford. CR-North led Methacton in the second half and was down by three points late despite leading scorer and rebounder Sarah Kiely missing almost the entire game with foul trouble. The system needs to be reevaluated again. If you want to use the power rankings, fine. Although they are horrifically labor intensive for the people who have to calculate them. But use power rankings as one of several factors. Do I need to remind the district that there was usually only minor grumbling, if that, after the old seeding meetings? I sat in on the final one and found it very fair. The system was not broken for the girls. It is now.

4. The PCL playoffs started on Thursday with Archbishop Carroll's 64-43 win over Neumann-Goretti and Cardinal Dougherty's play-in win over St. Hubert. Tonight, Wood hosts Dougherty, Conwell-Egan hosts Archbishop Ryan, and Cardinal O'Hara hosts Archbishop Prendergast.

5. Some Bucks County PCL facts: Wood won its 12 PCL games by an average margin of 35.1 points. The Vikings scored 741 total points in 12 games and allowed 320. Wood averaged 61.8 points a game in the league and allowed an average of 26.7 points. Conwell-Egan’s 10 PCL wins were by an average of 20.3 points. The Eagles won three Catholic League games by 40 points or more. They averaged 59.2 points a game in 12 PCL games and gave up an average of 43.4 points a game.

6. The PIAA and District One need to do something to improve the quality of officiating in the girls games. I really respect the hard work and effort of the officials. But questionable calls and inconsistent officiating have too much impact on playoff games, I believe. One or two bad calls can completely change a game. It's too much of a factor, and the situation is getting worse.

7. Lower Merion is also rolling. The Aces have won 16 of 17 since Dec. 19.

8. Norristown guard Bryn Cotteta seems to be a real clutch shooter. She beat Conestoga with a last-second 3-pointer on Thursday. A few weeks ago, she hit two big 3-pointers down the stretch to beat CR-North.

9. Abington's defense and size could mean trouble for Methacton. It's going to be a close, low-scoring game. And Renee Womack was able to avoid fouls on Wednesday by jumping over CR-North rebounders when she didn't have position. She won't be able to do that against the Ghosts.

10. At 14-10 against one of the top schedules in the district, Downingtown West obviously deserved better than a No. 22 seed. The Whippets played the third-toughest schedule in the entire district. Tweaks to the power rankings must include much more credit for scheduling--and not necessarily beating--very good opponents.

11. League records in the first two rounds:

Ches-Mont Nat.	5-1
Central	3-2
PAC	3-2
SOL American	4-3
SOL Continental	4-4
Ches-Mont Am.	2-2
SOL National	3-5
Del-Val	0-4
Independent	0-1