Rowland, Fords finally hand Springfield a league loss

HAVERFORD — Emma Rowland and the Haverford girls basketball team spent a lot of time practicing their foul shooting this week. The Fords have been inconsistent in that area this season.

“Two practices ago, all we did was practice our foul shots,” said Rowland, a senior guard. “If we missed, we ran.”

A trot around the gym seems like the appropriate penance for a missed freebie, especially a team intending to make a run at a Central League championship.

It had been a long while since Haverford (or anyone else, for that matter) had beaten the Cougars. Prior to Friday, they had won 25 consecutive Central League games dating to the start of the pandemic-shortened 2021 campaign.

The last time the Fords defeated the Cougars was Jan. 17, 2018.

“A long time,” Maddie Williams said.

Williams ensured that streak wouldn’t extend another day. The senior guard was 5-for-6 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter as Haverford claimed a 33-28 victory at Juenger Gymnasium.

“I’ve been working on free-throw shooting a lot, probably for about an hour the last few practice, so I stepped up to the line with a lot of confidence and I was really ready to put them in,” said Williams, who got all of her points from the charity stripe.

This was a signature win for the Fords (10-4), who have tough losses against Conestoga, Marple Newtown and Radnor this year. Their battles with Springfield in recent years were close, too. Last season, for instance, the Fords fell on a buzzer-beater by Alexa Abbonizio.

“For the seniors, we have not won against Springfield and we were preparing for this game for weeks now,” said Rowland, who scored a team-high seven points and grabbed eight rebounds. “It means so much to us that we finally overcame our weakness.”

It wasn’t pretty, but the Fords accomplished their mission Friday.

In typical Haverford-Springfield style, the defenses came to play from the jump. The opening quarter featured more combined turnovers (six) than total points (four). Springfield point guard Mia Valerio made two free throws and one field goal. That was all … for both teams. The score was 4-0 Cougars.

Haverford trailed 7-0 before it cracked the scoreboard with a Sky Newman free throw 5:14 before halftime. Aniya Eberhardt made a runner with 4:11 left for Haverford’s first field goal.

“We knew the shots were going to start to fall,” Williams said.

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Haverford’s Emma Rowland, left, shoots during the first half of the Fords’ Central League game against Springfield Friday night. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)