Grace McShane had a team-high 16 points in Bensalem’s landmark playoff victory (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL).

McShane continued to lead the offense as she has throughout the season, but Johnson said the win would not have been possible without the play of sophomore point guard Mischa Ellzy and junior forward Sydney Daut. Ellza had nine points and seven rebounds. Daut had eight points, with the help of a pair of putbacks among her six rebounds.

“Mischa did not play like a sophomore,” Johnson said. “She played very controlled. She had a couple turnovers that she would probably like to take back, but she really grew up in this game, especially in a high stakes situation.

“And, Sydney was tremendous on the glass, both offensively and defensively.”

It all added up to a special night at Bensalem.

“It’s been a long time coming and I’m really excited for the girls,” Johnson said. “We have freshmen and seniors on our team and most of them never got to experience a playoff game in any sport, let alone a playoff home game win, which is very exciting to have for us.

“I’m very proud of our program, our girls, our coaching staff, the community, everybody.”

In other District 1 Class 6A first-round games:

9) William Tennent 40, 24) Council Rock South 34

Avery Kocur and the entire William Tennent team recovered from a slow start for the program’s first playoff win since 2011. Kocur finished with 20 points after being held scoreless while Council Rock South was taking a 12-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. William Tennent took a 20-17 halftime lead behind 12 second-quarter points by Kocur. Megan Volz added 10 points in the win. Lillian Martin hit three 3-pointers, two of them in the first quarter, to lead Council Rock South with nine points.

11) Conestoga 60, 22) Upper Merion 42

Ryann Jennings poured in 40 points with the help of big first and third quarters that carried Conestoga into the second round. Jennings, who has 1,836 career points — nine off the school’s all-time record, boys or girls — had 15 in the first quarter as Conestoga took a 20-10 lead. She made three 3-pointers in a 19-point third quarter when the lead grew from 34-19 to 56-29. Maggie Neary added 10 points in the win. Kennedy Coles scored 23 points and Levayda Fuqua added 11 for Upper Merion.

10) Neshaminy 55, 23) Souderton 40

Freshman guard Nicole Trespalacios scored 21 points to lead Neshaminy to the victory. Junior forward Hayley Kolk added 13 points. Alaina Picard had 14 points and Maddie Nestrel 13 for Souderton.

14) Haverford High 39, 19) Great Valley 36

Haverford High gradually built a lead then held off Great Valley in the fourth quarter. Haverford was up 10-7 after one quarter, 17-11 at halftime and 29-19 going into the fourth. Taylor Gleason led the way with 12 points while Keira Hanson, Maura Gilroy and Grace Maloney added nine each.

Phoenixville 57, Cheltenham 35

Kayden Baratta scored 20 points as Phoenixville rolled over Cheltenham. Baratta buried three 3-pointers while the Phantoms were building a 28-12 halftime lead. Paige Powell had 19 points and Maya Simmons 14, but the rest of the Cheltenham lineup produced just two.

District 1 Class 5A

6) Sun Valley 41, 11) Pottstown 31

Sun Valley wiped out a nine-point halftime deficit by outscoring Pottstown 24-5 in the second half for its first playoff win since 2015. Luci Damico beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer for a 33-31 lead, then Sun Valley shut out Pottstown in the fourth quarter. Ana Heygood Corrales led the way with 18 points while Damico added 15. Pottstown’s Maliyah Newman had 14 points in the first half, but Cadence Ogurko’s defense held her scoreless in the second half.

8) Radnor 44, 9) West Chester Rustin 23

Nyah Yao scored 23 points to lead Radnor’s victory. Radnor outscored Rustin 11-2 in the second quarter to take a 17-7 halftime lead. Bree Simpson added nine points in the win. Rustin got nine points from Jenna Kraft.

5) West Chester East 51, 12) Pottsgrove 26

Freshman forward Kayla Holman led the way with 21 points as East held Pottsgrove to a single point in the first quarter, cruising to a big win and advancing to play Marple Newtown. It was 14-1 after one quarter and 24-9 at halftime. Siena Sweeney added 10 points for WC East, which had eight in the scoring column.