McCaughan making most of Ridley switch

RIDLEY TWP. — Dakota McCaughan never wanted to leave Bonner-Prendergast, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t happy to be playing basketball for Ridley High School.

The senior guard and former All-Catholic League selection was excited to join her hometown high school. But it took McCaughan a little time to adjust to the new environment.

And it was emotional at times.

“To be honest, the first week of volleyball preseason was really bad,” McCaughan said. “I would go home and have anxiety attacks about coming back. It’s not that I didn’t want to see people I grew up with; it was just so different. I just wasn’t used to it at first.”

McCaughan was a three-year starting point guard at Bonner-Prendergast, where she developed into one of the top talents in Delco. She helped the Pandas advance all the way to the semifinal round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament last March.

McCaughan and her family decided she wouldn’t return to Bonner-Prendergast for her senior year.

“The volleyball preseason was so awkward for me. I was new here,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave Prendie, but I had no other option. … So, it was awkward, but the basketball team made it so much better for me. They welcomed me like family, and we’re all genuinely good friends outside of school.”

After Tuesday’s 64-24 rout of Penncrest, the Green Raiders have won nine in a row are tied for first place in the Central League.

McCaughan takes a lot of pride in making her teammates better players.

“They needed glue and I feel like I’ve been able to come in and help with that,” said McCaughan, who shot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 14 points. “They had the talent, but now we’re putting all the pieces together.

“I just wanted to make an impact on the team … and I knew I had the ability to.”

One player who has benefited from McCaughan’s addition is Shannen Hinchey, an athletic junior forward who has the ability to drive, post up and defend. Hinchey tallied six points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal Tuesday.

“With Dakota coming in, it’s really great to have an actual point guard, that really does help us a lot,” Hinchey said. “Also, coach (Roe) Falcone is amazing and she is always making sure we are doing the right thing.”

Falcone is having a blast coaching the upstart Green Raiders in her first season as a head coach. The Ridley product and former softball star is a member of the Delco Athletes Hall of Fame.

“I think we’re really fortunate this year and I feel we are a deep team,” said Falcone, who has guided the Green Raiders to a 10-1 record. “I think we’re a team that is able to run a lot and not worry about kids getting tired and we can play a lot of people. We focus on a transition game.”

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Ridley’s Dakota McCaughan drives on the basket in the first quarter Tuesday evening. McCaughan, an All-Catholic point guard at Bonner-Prendergast who is spending her senior year at Ridley, led the way with 14 points in a 64-24 win over Penncrest. (PETE BANNAN – MEDIANEWS GROUP)