The Springfield Spartans are living out a dream.
The Spartans, seeded fifth out of six teams in the District One AA Tournament, have defied the odds with their magical post-season run, and on Friday night, they will be playing on the big stage when they face St. Pius X in the title game at Villanova University’s DuPont Pavilion (5 p.m.)
“Words can’t even describe how excited we are,” coach Sarah Gibbs said. “It’s unbelievable. We’re just so ecstatic.
“I have never seen this kind of energy from them. Even in the community and within the school, I have never seen such excitement. People are really paying attention, and they’re excited for them. Everyone is so impressed by their heart and their commitment. They’ve proved themselves as competitors, and their hard work is finally paying off.”
That excitement is understandable.
Four days after rallying from a 14-point deficit to down New Hope 55-53 in an opening round game, the Spartans spotted Lower Moreland a 17-3 lead in Tuesday’s semifinal but rallied for a 51-43 win.
It was a far cry from Springfield’s 62-35 non-league loss to that same Lion squad on Dec. 22, 2008.
“I was really disappointed with how we played the first time,” Gibbs said. “We let their aggressive nature just get to us. We didn’t fight back like we did this time.
“I just think that they were ready for them. They knew exactly what they did well, and we had a plan to stop it. They really bought into the plan and were ready to do it.”
On the Spartans’ behalf, they weren’t at full strength in the initial meeting between the two teams – Elise DiFilippo was under the weather.
In Tuesday’s rematch, the Spartans switched from their traditional zone to play man defense, and it paid big dividends.
“We had Morgan Smith, who’s our best defender, and we put her on (Lindsay) Alexander,” Gibbs said. “The last time she had 16 points, but it wasn’t even so much her points as she just created so much.
“One of our goals was to let Morgan keep the ball out of her hands, and she did that.”
Alexander had just two points, and those came in the fourth quarter. Nicole Cataline, who had 21 points in the initial meeting, was limited to 14 points.“We really worked on our help defense and boxing out and keeping her off the boards,” Gibbs said. “She’s a force on the inside, and Briana Scafidi was on her a lot, and she really helped keep her off the boards and kept the ball out of her hands on the drives.”
Things certainly didn’t look promising when Lions jumped out to a 15-2 lead at the end of one quarter.
“After the first quarter, we just regrouped,” said Gibbs. “At that point, they had to get it together. They knew what they had to do. They just had to go out there and do it.”
The Spartans, who trailed 25-16 at halftime, won every quarter after that and went into the fourth quarter trailing by five (36-31). That number is turning out to be a lucky one for the Spartans, who trailed by five entering the final quarter of their game against New Hope.
The Spartans won the game with a 25-7 scoring explosion, which included a 20-7 fourth-quarter outburst. DiFilippo hit a pair of big treys in the third quarter, and Taylor Koroncai, who came off the bench to score a game-high 14 for the Spartans, added a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
“Taylor has given us some minutes on varsity but not a lot,” Gibbs said. “But in this game, a ton of fouls were called on both ends, so everyone was in foul trouble.”
The Spartans lost a pair of starters to fouls. Senior Maggie Canavan fouled out in the third quarter and Smith, who had 13 points, picked up her fifth foul two minutes into the fourth quarter.
“Taylor stepped right in,” Gibbs said. “She hit two three’s and hit some big foul shots.”
Koroncia was six-for-eight from the charity stripe. DiFiliippo, who finished with 12 points, was six-for-eight from the foul line in the fourth.”
“We have always believed they had it in them to do something great,” Gibbs said. “But I think that after they played New Hope they found it in themselves, and they saw they could really do it.
“Now they have their sights set on the goal, and they believe. Confidence is a huge piece of it. They showed such persistence in both of these games, coming back. They just took it one basket at a time, and they just kept fighting and chipping away.”
The Spartans will face a formidable opponent in Pius X. The Winged Lions have won six straight district titles.
“It’s definitely the underdog Cinderella type story,” said Gibbs.
It’s the kind of story Gibbs dreamed about when – after coaching the jayvee for one year – she took over the helm of the varsity three years ago.
“I remember thinking, ‘I just want these girls to feel the excitement of a basketball season,’ and to put themselves in this situation and to have that excitement and have that fun is nice,” Gibbs said. “The whole time I’ve been thinking, ‘It’s going to pay off. It’s going to pay off. We have to stick with it. We have to be persistent.’ This year we’re seeing it happen.”
The Spartans have already ensured themselves a spot in the state tournament, so win or lose, their season will continue.
A familiar spot – It’s been three years since Cheltenham played in a district title game. That doesn’t sound like much to most teams, but for a program that is making its 10th trip to the District One AAAA title game in 16 years, three years is a longer break than usual.
Still, few would have picked Cheltenham to be back at Villanova this year with a squad that was 15-11 last year, but that’s exactly where the Lady Panthers will find themselves on Friday night when they will take on Downingtown East as they try to win the program’s fifth district crown.
“No one outside our kids and coaches thought we would be here,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “Most years, everybody puts us down and says we won’t be anywhere or do anything, and they did again this year.
“They were all talking about all these teams with all these seniors, and here we are. I guess you would have to say our kids are overachieving again. We’re delighted to be here. We wish we were at full force, but I’m sure the kids are going to play their hearts out.”
The Lady Panthers take a 24-game winning streak into Friday night’s title game against Downingtown East (7 p.m.). They will be just 48 hours removed from a gutsy 34-33 overtime win over Lower Merion that saw them survive a forgettable 16-for-61 shooting effort from the floor (26 percent).
Shayla Felder, Monet Constant and Jenna Peoples combined for just 14 points with Felder accounting for a team-high 10 of those.
“We have to make some baskets,” Schaefer said. “We can’t shoot the way we shot against Lower Merion.
“We hope we can get the game moving. Is it possible to shoot worse? We’ll see what happens.”
The Lady Panthers, according to Schaefer, will once again be without senior co-captain Dayna McCrewell, who is ineligible.
“We have never been known to quit,” the Lady Panthers coach said. “We’ll push it the whole game and see how it works out. We need the perfect storm to pull this one out.”
Stayin’ alive – Abington is one of two teams still standing in what began as an eight-team quest for one state playoff berth. The Ghosts remained in the hunt with a 52-48 win over Chester on Wednesday.
“Any time we would go up by 12 or 14, we would make a mistake, and they would capitalize on it,” coach Dan Marsh said. “They hit some tough shots, and they just hung around. They never went away.
“We were leading the whole game, and there were a number of times when I thought we would blow them out, but we made a mistake here and there, and they capitalized on it. They didn’t quit, but they didn’t have any answer for Emily.”
Emily Leer had another monster performance, collecting a triple double – 21 points, 15 rebounds and 12 blocked shots.
“They were literally driving into the lane all day, and she was blocking them,” Marsh said. “She was phenomenal.”
Ajanae Boone added 12 points for the Ghosts, who will be facing Great Valley in a winner-take-all showdown for the final state berth on Friday at Plymouth Whitemarsh at 6 p.m.
Jen Kelly, who took a blow to the face in the Chester game, will be a game-time decision. If she is unable to go, Aijannah Peal will be back in the starting lineup.
“We’re hoping we can suck it up for one more and play through injuries and get after it,” Marsh said.
Great Valley – thanks in no small part to an 18-7 fourth-quarter surge - brought an end to Bensalem’s season with a 43-31 win. Kristen Gilroy led the Owls with 11 points.
Central Bucks East downed Council Rock North 41-36 in an all-SOL consolation round contest. East won the game with a 25-17 second half effort. Caitlin Vasey led the Patriots with 15 points. Juliann Fricke led the Indians with 13.
On Saturday, Central Bucks East will face West Chester Henderson – a 91-80 winner over Upper Darby - in a battle for fifth place at Wissahickon at 1 p.m. Rock North will face Upper Darby at Plymouth Whitemarsh at 1 p.m. in the seventh place game.
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