Haverford Gives Central League Champ A Scare

It was a little hard to tell which team won and which lost Thursday night at . The Fords walked off to a standing ovation from one of their largest home crowds this year, while Lower Merion coach Lauren Pellicane was raving about them, as was their own coach, John Berardoni.

After the one-year transformation they made, they deserved it.

Haverford gave Lower Merion all it could handle, before losing, 49-42, which  gave Lower Merion its second Central League title in the last three years. But the loss came with a consolation — the fact that Haverford finished 14-8 overall and 10-6 in the league was a light-years leap from last year's forgettable 3-19 ending.

What’s more, Haverford will be playing in the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs for the first time in many years, while Lower Merion most likely will secure a top-five playoff berth after going 16-0 in the league and 19-3 overall.

“That’s the best I’ve seen Haverford look in a while,” said Pellicane, who’s a guidance counselor at Haverford High School and knows the players on the Fords. “They gave us a real battle, they really tested us. They’re so much better than they were in the beginning of the season.”

It’s what Berardoni was looking for.

“Lower Merion was a team with no weakness, this game was a lot of fun,” Berardoni said. “I told the girls before the game to give it everything they had. On offense, we wanted to attack them. The pressure was on Lower Merion and we didn’t back down. I couldn’t be more proud of a group of girls than I am of these girls. I congratulate Lower Merion from the bottom of my heart, but I couldn’t be prouder of my team. They fought, they never quit. In the beginning of the season, I have a goal and that’s to be better than we are than in the beginning of the season. These girls did that.”

It started easy for Lower Merion, then the Fords made it hard. Lower Merion got out to a 23-10 lead in the first quarter and led by 13 again in the second quarter. But Haverford, led by 10 points from junior Jackie Gantz, came clawing back to tie it at 32-32 midway into the third quarter.

Lower Merion held a tenuous lead until the Aces' Lila Jones hit a three-pointer with 2:30 left to play giving Lower Merion a six-point edge. Jones led all scorers with 23 points, followed by Sheba Hall, who finished with 10 for the Aces, while Jesse Porter chipped in with seven.

Lower Merion is likely to get a top-five seed in District 1, where the Aces advanced to the district finals two years ago—the last time they went undefeated in the Central League. But guess who will be joining them—Haverford.

“We’re really working together and working as hard to be as good as we can be,” Gantz said. “This is the first time in a long time that Haverford has been to the district playoffs. There is a big difference since last year. I couldn’t wait for last year to end, and I don’t want this season to ever end. We’re doing well. We’re having a fun time because we’re winning. We all understand that we’re a good team.”

When Haverford left the court to rousing applause from its home crowd, Gantz heard it.

“It was rough walking off the court knowing [Lower Merion] won the league on our court, but we almost caused them to lose their undefeated streak,” Gantz said. “It was bittersweet. I realized our fans were standing for us, but I was more focused on the fact that we lost. Now we’re going to be playing into February, and I had a very good feeling that we would be. We know we’re going to be a challenging team to beat.”