Girls Basketball: Radnor eager to step up, Garnet Valley looking to stay on top of Central League

RADNOR — With Mark Jordan’s booming voice reverberating throughout the Radnor gym, it’s clear the District One champion coach is in midseason form.

“He hasn’t kicked any balls yet, so that’s good,’ said Katie Jordan, the coach’s daughter and senior point guard. “He usually has by now.’

The intensity with which Jordan runs practice is a reminder that the Raiders don’t receive a free pass just because they took the local hoops scene by surprise a year ago by winning the school’s first district title. This season, the Radnor girls moved up to PIAA Class AAAA, so technically the team doesn’t get the opportunity to defend its District One Class AAA crown.

Last year’s squad came on like gangbusters toward the end of the regular season, recovering from a slow start to finish 14-13 overall. They needed a late-season surge just to squeeze into the district playoffs.

All-Delco Myonie Williamson took her talents to Dickinson College, so the Raiders need to replace her 17.3 points per game. Jordan, senior guard Lauren Pacifico and forwards Kristin Hamill (junior) and Allison Lanzone (sophomore) all flourished in big moments and are looking forward to new challenges that surely await them.

“Instead of having Myonie lead the team, this year we’re all kind of helping each other out,’ Katie Jordan said. “We were all together last year, and we’re used to one another, so we’re just trying to build off of that.’

Hamill shined in the district championship against Merion Mercy, grabbing rebounds at will. Hamill (5-10) added a few wrinkles to her game, just in case.

“When I play AAU, they have me play guard, so I’ve been working on my outside shot a lot,’ Hamill said. “That doesn’t really help me here, because I play down low a lot. But it’s something I’ve practiced doing a lot in the summer.’

Pacifico is expected to shoulder a little more responsibility in the scoring department. She was a clutch performer in the district final from beyond the arc, and looks to have an expanded role this year.

“I’m willing to be more of a scoring threat, definitely,’ she said. “We have a lot of triathletes out there, so it’s been a struggle to get girls to come out and play basketball year-round … but I like our team.’

As their motto goes, the Raiders are hungry for more.

“We’re not the best in any certain area,’ Katie said. “We’re not the best shooters, we’re not the tallest or the strongest, but we’re fast, athletic and feisty. That’s who we are.’

One season after going unbeaten in the Central League, Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods welcomes back his entire starting lineup save for Haley Warden, the 2014 Daily Times Player of the Year in girls lacrosse. Many believe the Jaguars are still the team to beat in the Central after posting 26-3, 17-0 record.

Sisters Jordan (senior) and Maddie (junior) Ireland make a formidable duo in the Jags’ backcourt. Senior Macy Goldbach, a Haverford College commit, is an outside shooting threat along with junior Sam Tomasetti, an All-Delco softball player. Jordan Ireland is committed to New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Irelands, Goldbach and Tomasetti are the Jags’ team captains.

Other players hoping to make contributions are juniors Emily Mathewson, Michelle Kosinski, Kerry O’Donoghue and Kylie Young. Mathewson, who is committed to Vanderbilt for lacrosse, helped GV win a state title in the spring and earned All-Delco and All-America honors in the sport.

The Jags will participate in some of the top showcases in the area this winter, including the 14th annual Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic at Philadelphia University and the Blue Chip Super Sunday Classic at Spring-Ford High School.

Three Central League programs in the county are being run by new coaches.

Bryant McCombs takes the helm at Ridley, which qualified for District One Class AAAA playbacks and lost to Garnet Valley in the Central League title game. McCombs, a Ridley graduate, was a freshman boys basketball coach at Kennett last year and also coaches in the Ridley ABA organization. Jamie Haigh stepped down after coaching at Ridley the previous five seasons.

All-Delco guard Bree Mulhern and Mary Kate Rumbaugh (Mansfield) left big shoes to fill. Kristen Saraceni, a senior two-guard, and junior small forward Mel Malseed are expected to be significant contributors on the offensive side.

Ky McNichol is in charge at Springfield — replacing Kim Smith, who retired after 20 years. McNichol will rely upon senior guard and captain Sam Tamaccio, junior guard Madison D’Ambrosio and sophomore guards Maggie O’Connell and Amanda Hopkins, all of whom earned varsity playing time last winter.

McNichol, an assistant coach for the AAU Comets program, is the daughter of longtime Academy of Notre Dame head coach Mary Beth McNichol and former Haverford High boys head coach Terry McNichol.

Bob Higgins makes his return to the Penncrest girls bench after spending the last eight years as an assistant for Mike Doyle on the boys team. Higgins is tasked with rebuilding a program that went 3-19 last year. Among his key returnees are seniors Sam Martino (5-9 forward), Brittney Hickman (5-4 guard), Kaitlyn Conrad (5-5 guard) and Erin Dougherty (5-6 guard).

Haverford improved drastically last year under third-year coach Bridget DiCave, posting a 14-7 record and qualifying for the District One Class AAAA tournament. Junior guard Mollie Reynolds, senior wing Rosie O’Halloran and senior center Amanda Battista give the scoring threats inside and outside the paint.

Marple Newtown senior guard Rylee Power is closing in on 1,000 points for her career. Power and fellow seniors Carley Hamilton (6-2 forward) and Nicole Smythe (5-9 forward) give the Tigers a solid nucleus, as coach Mike Colgan expects to improve upon an 11-11 mark.

Strath Haven coach Pat Keaveney is excited to have sharp-shooting junior guard Katie Fisher and 6-1 center Rachel Vresilovic, an All-Delco volleyball player, back in the mix. Ami Iannello, a senior guard, also will play a big role on a team that went 14-8 and qualified for the District One Class AAAA tournament last winter.

Upper Darby looks to rebound from an uneven year in second-year coach Diamon Beckford’s system. Beckford was an All-Delco for the Royals in the 2000s.