Previewing Tuesday’s PIAA-AAAA girls’ basketball state semifinal games …
THE GAME: District 3 No. 3 seed Cumberland Valley Eagles (26-5) vs. District 1 No. 4 seed West Chester Bayard Rustin Golden Knights (25-6).
WHERE/WHEN: Tuesday Warwick HS, Lititz, 7 p.m.
THE COACHES: Bill Wolf guides Cumberland Valley; Leah Kim pilots Rustin.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Cumberland Valley defeated District 1 No. 5 Central Bucks West (46-43), District 12 champ Archbishop Carroll (34-28) and District 3 runner-up Dover (45-36).
Rustin defeated District 3 No. 4 Manheim Township (71-47), District 11 champ Parkland (56-36) and District 1 champ North Penn (55-40).
COMMON OPPONENT: Manheim Township. Cumberland Valley beat the Blue Streaks 64-52 on Feb. 27 in the District 3-AAAA third-place game. Rustin knocked out Manheim Township in the first round of the PIAA playoffs, 71-47.
ABOUT CUMBERLAND VALLEY: Eagles won the Mid-Penn Commonwealth with a 13-1 mark and then beat previously undefeated Greencastle-Antrim in the Mid-Penn semifinals before topping Mechanicsburg in the conference championship game. CV reached the District 3 semifinals as the No. 2 seed, falling to eventual runner-up Dover. Eagles won the third-place game vs. Manheim Township. CV has won eight of its last nine games, and is looking for a return trip to the state finals, after falling to Spring-Ford in last year's PIAA title game.
ABOUT RUSTIN: Golden Knights zoomed through the Ches-Mont League, going 12-0 in league play while winning by an average of 39 whopping points per game. Rustin beat Bishop Shanahan in the league semifinals before topping Downingtown East to capture league honors. Golden Eagles reached the District 1 semifinals, falling to eventual champ North Penn. Rustin lost to Mount St. Joseph in the third-place game, but has roared back with three PIAA wins in a row, including a rematch payback win over North Penn in the state quarters. Golden Knights have won 13 of their last 15 games.
KEY KIDS
For Cumberland Valley, the Eagles’ 1-2 scoring punch of Maddie Torresin and Kelly Jekot continue to sizzle in the state playoffs. Torresin is scoring at an 11.7 clip, and had a team-high 17 points in the win over CB West, and Jekot is averaging 12.3 points, including a team-high 16 points in the win over Archbishop Carroll.
For Rustin, an excellent inside-outside duo of senior post Adashia Franklyn and junior backcourt scorer Noelle Powell. Franklyn, a St. Joe’s recruit, pumped in 31 points in the Golden Knights’ win over Manheim Township. Powell pumped in 18 points in Rustin’s win over North Penn in the state quarters. Franklyn is a 1,000-point scorer.
QUOTABLE: Manheim Township coach Sean Burkhart prepped for CV and Rustin this season. He shares his thoughts here …
Burkhart on the matchup — “CV will obviously look to get its transition game going; when that is clicking, they’re very difficult to stop. If they are able to get out and run and start using their athletic ability and bench depth to their advantage, they’ll likely see success in this matchup. For Rustin, they’re probably playing their best basketball of the year right now, Adashia Franklyn is one of the best post players I've come across in the last few years, and she’s a handful to stop defensively because not only does she have size, but she also has strength and speed to go along with it. Rustin is really playing with confidence and when you combine that with their solid team play and skill sets, you have a dangerous team.”
Burkhart on keys to the game — “To me there are a few things to look at in this matchup. I feel like whichever team gets better guard play out of the combos of Sneidman/Falconer for CV or Powell/Warley for Rustin will have a slight edge. Everyone knows about Jekot and Torresin, and taking them away is easier said than done. The same can be said for Franklin for Rustin. I think that CV might be slightly deeper than Rustin so that could play into it as well, depending on how the game goes. Both teams will use presses to try and create turnovers, so again whichever team gets better guard play in handling I think will have the upper hand.”
FUN FACT: Kim is in her second season as Rustin’s head coach. She is a former standout college baller for the University of Sciences in Philadelphia, where she was the first women’s player in the Division II history to post 1,600 points, 900 rebounds and 250 assists.
THE PLOT: Cumberland Valley has yet to run into a post player quite like Franklyn, who is averaging 20-plus points during the state playoffs, including her whopper game vs. Manheim Township plus 19 points and 14 boards against North Penn in the quarters. Torresin and Meghan Rhoades will be called upon to tangle with Franklyn in the paint. Should be a lot of action around the rim in this one. Meanwhile, Rustin must contend with CV’s transition attack; Golden Knights can’t let Jen Falconer and Taylor Sneidman get run-outs, or let Jekot dribble-drive to the baseline for easy looks. And keep an eye on the perimeter; CV sizzled from 3 vs. Dover, knocking down six first-half treys.
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THE GAME: District 1 runner-up Spring-Ford Rams (26-6) vs. WPIAL No. 4 North Allegheny Tigers (25-2).
WHERE/WHEN: Tuesday at Chambersburg HS, 6 p.m.
THE COACHES: Mickey McDaniel is in his first season as Spring-Ford’s coach. … Sherri McConnell leads North Allegheny.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Spring-Ford defeated District 3 No. 5 Red Lion (51-45), District 3 No. 6 Mechanicsburg (42-35) and District 1 No. 6 Abington (50-40).
North Allegheny defeated WPIAL champ Penn-Trafford (64-39), District 6 champ State College (58-44) and WPIAL runner-up Hempfield Area (73-47).
Funny how it worked out, but Spring-Ford drew a 5, a 5 and a 6 in its first three games, while North Allegheny had to play a pair of district champs and a runner-up — including a pair of WPIAL neighbors, most notably Penn-Trafford, which knocked NA out of the District 7 playoffs.
ABOUT SPRING-FORD: Rams won their third Pioneer Athletic Conference championship in a row, with a semifinal win over Upper Perkiomen and a victory over Methacton in the title game. Spring-Ford advanced to the District 1 championship, but was unable to defend its title; North Penn beat the Rams 63-51 in the finale. Rams have won 11 of their last 12 games, including victories over PIAA qualifiers Cumberland Valley, CB West and Mount St. Joseph.
ABOUT NORTH ALLEGHENY: Tigers roared to the WPIAL-AAAA Section 3 championship with a 12-0 record — five games clear of Shaler and Seneca Valley. North Allegheny’s two losses: To PIAA qualifier Mt. Lebanon (60-58) in the title game of the Tigers’ tip-off tourney way back on Dec. 7, and then to Hempfield Area (60-44) as the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL semifinals — snapping a 21-game winning streak.
KEY KIDS
For Spring-Ford, keep an eye on the Rams’ dynamic duo of senior point guard Sammy Stipa, a Lafayette recruit with 1,341 career points, and senior F Shelby Mueller, who gets the job done on the blocks. Mueller (12.8) had 18 points in the quarters vs. Abington. Stipa (13.7, 38 3s) is Spring-Ford’s catalyst. She can pop the 3, direct traffic and set up her teammates for open looks. If she’s making shots from the arch and getting through the key for layups or make easy dishes, look out.
For North Allegheny, plenty of balance to go around. Steady-as-she goes backcourt features soph point Abby Gonzales and junior sniper Devin LaBarge, the Tigers’ top scorer at 13 points per game, plus Taylor Brennan, who popped in 13 points in the quarters vs. Hempfield Area. Frontcourt is also in good shape with Danielle Wall and Taylor Lake. Against Hempfield Area in the state quarters, Wall pumped in 20 points and Lake chipped in with 17 points.
FUN FACT: Spring-Ford is in the state semifinals for the third year in a row. Rams beat Cumberland Valley in last year’s state championship game, and are looking to get back to the finals — and perhaps for a gold-medal rematch vs. CV, which is playing in the other state semifinal.
THE PLOT: A lot of eyes on Ms. Gonzales in this one; can the Tigers’ soph point curtail Stipa and not let the Rams’ facilitator, well, facilitate. When Stipa is moving and grooving, Spring-Ford is tough to stop, especially if Mueller and Maggie Locke (8.2) are finishing off Stipa feeds. Rams must also D up in this one; LaBarge can shoot from deep, and Wall and Lake have enjoyed success in the key during North Allegheny’s state run. Terrific matchup, no matter how you slice it or dice it.