The last 16 minutes put Gilroy, bound for Division III powerhouse Scranton, on track—and hopefully, the Fords, who are now 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the Central League, with two losses coming in the final seconds.

“I think sometimes for a lot of our games, it takes us some time to get going, and after we talk some things out, is we get going,” said Gilroy, who committed to Scranton in October. “I was beating myself up a little bit at halftime, because I knew I could play better. It was frustrating, because of the double- and triple-teaming. Going into the second half, I needed to come out with more aggression and we needed to play more as a team. I was the last one after everyone left to go back to the court at halftime. I just sat there and figured some things out.”

Revitalized, Gilroy scored Haverford’s first four points in the second half and four of the Fords’ first six points in the fourth quarter.

Gilroy committed to Scranton on October 11, and went public with her commitment a week later. She said finding a college destination before her senior basketball season eased pent up tension many high school senior athletes confront.

She knows where she is going, she knows she does not have college recruiters watching her every move, and it has been a great relief.

“It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders knowing college coaches believe in me,” said Gilroy, who plans on majoring in nursing. “It was truly a great inspiration for me, knowing that Scranton coaches came to watch me play against Lower Merion, and it was very stressful trying to get recruiter. This is a huge relief.”

Also to Fords’ coach Lauren Pellicane.

Pellicane liked how Gilroy responded in the second half.  

“First and foremost, Maura is a wonderful kid, and she is one of the best teammates I have seen in my coaching career, because she puts everyone else first,” Pellicane said. “She is a team-first player, and she had to play behind many very talented players, so she had to wait her turn. This is Maura’s team. She struggled in the first half, and in the second half, let the game flow through her.”

Gilroy received considerable help early on. Fords’ 5-10 lefty sophomore Keira Hanson showed flashes of brilliance on both sides of the court, causing Penncrest’s smaller guards to alter their shots, and displaying a deft shooting touch, scoring eight of her 10 points in the first quarter. It was Hanson who helped get Haverford out to a 9-0 lead.

But Penncrest, under second-year head coach Chris Zambito, did not go away that easily.  The Lions, led by a team-high eight by senior Emily Crumlish, and some stellar defense by 5-10 junior Emily Wernert, who blocked a couple of Gilroy’s shots, kept the Lions close. It was a Crumlish trey that put the Lions within 12-9 early in the second quarter when both teams were struggling to score.

“It seems getting that one basket to get things down to two or three has hung out the whole year,” said Zambito, whose team dropped to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the Central League. “We’ll get there. We’re inexperienced. We’re working hard. I cannot fault the effort. These girls would run through a brick wall for me. Wernert did a great job on Maura. She’s a great athlete.”

Zambito liked the effort, but what led to the Lions’ undoing were the turnovers. Penncrest turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter.

“We try to speed things up too much,” Zambito said. “If you noticed at one point in the second half, we told the girls to take their time, pass, pass, pass. We did that and wound up with a layup from Mia (Henry). The next time down court, we shot a long three on the second pass. Our impatience on offense hurts us.”

Pellicane is dealing with some patience herself. She started sophomores Hanson, Taylor Gleason, Grace Maloney, along with senior Lucy Ardizzi. Pellicane plays five sophomores in her top-seven rotation. This is one of the youngest team she’s ever coached.

“They are being thrown right into the fire and they have responded well,” said Pellicane, who has created a winning culture at Haverford. “They are basketball players and this is a team that focuses on the next game ahead.”

By Quarter

Haverford (6-4, 4-2 Central League):  12  | 8  |  9  |  10 ||  39

Penncrest (4-7, 3-4 Central League):  6  | 6  |  8  |  4 ||  24

Scoring

Haverford: Maura Gilroy 10, Keira Hanson 10, Taylor Gleason 8, Grace Maloney 8, Scottie Capello 3.

Penncrest: Emily Crumlish 8, Tessa Gladue 5, Emily Wernert 4, Mia Henry 4, Maddux Morgan 3.

~~~

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on BlueSky here.