Posted January 8, 2009

By John Knebels
Special to The CS&T

Through Jan. 5, every girls’ basketball team in the Catholic League has garnered at least one win and seven have overall winning records.

But while the collective competition is definitely impressive, there is clearly a disparity of the haves and have nots. But then again, that seems to be the way it is every year.

Below is a team-by-team look at Philadelphia Catholic League girls basketball in alphabetical order that includes at least one highlight from the first full month of the season.

Archbishop Carroll began the year with an eight-game winning streak before losing to Cardinal O’Hara. In a 72-61 win over highly touted Bishop Gorman (Nevada) – the third straight win over national competition – the threesome of Erin Shields (24 points), Kaitlin Cole (21) and Hollie Mershon combined for 63 points.

Archbishop Prendergast is 5-5. In a 39-35 win over Neumann-Goretti, the Pandas blanked the Saints, 4-0, in overtime to notch the victory. Three days earlier, Kathleen Durkin scored 18 in a 48-30 triumph over West Catholic.

Archbishop Ryan blitzed to a 6-0 start and is now 9-1. The Ragdolls dispatched four Catholic League teams, with Sarah Strybuc emerging as the go-to performer.

Archbishop Wood’s 5-4 record includes key wins at a tournament in Pickering, Ohio, with Ashley Robinson leading the way with 25 points against Knoxville’s Webb School.

Bishop McDevitt is 2-9 but showed positive signs in a 46-42 non-league win over always competitive Abington Friends. With Chelsea Burroughs, Asha Davis and Nicole Piluso each scoring 10 points and Mary Templeton adding 9, the Lancers outscored the hosts 15-7 in the fourth quarter to emerge victorious.

Cardinal Dougherty fans might want to get their blood pressure checked. The 5-3 Cardinals edged Neumann-Goretti, 65-62, in overtime behind Brenna Coll’s 28 points and Towanda Sutton’s 21. In a 42-40 victory over St. Hubert’s, Sutton scored a game-high 25 as the Cards erased a nine-point halftime deficit.

Cardinal O’Hara has garnered the most ink of all Catholic League teams, and for good reason. They Lions are ranked among the top six teams of the country and are a perfect 10-0 despite rugged non-league competition. Their recent 61-44 win over Archbishop Carroll served notice that it would be a major shock if the Lions are ultimately unable to successfully defend their Catholic League crown. A team of all-stars pretty much top to bottom is led by Stephanie Holzer and Alicia Manning.

Conwell-Egan is 7-3. In a 61-38 win over Cardinal Dougherty, Kaitlyn Mourer and Jenny Rongone netted 12 points and Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 11.

John W. Hallahan, now 1-5, romped past Friends Select as Shannon Mack scored 16, while Danielle Trout added 13 and Kyrstin Franz, 10.

Kennedy-Kenrick’s 1-9 record includes a 43-32 win at Highland in which Angela Sortino and Megan Demutis both scored 8 points while Courtney Donovan added 7.

Lansdale Catholic (3-7) has been competitive behind the trio of Angie Palmerio, Shea Wassel and Jackie McCarron.

Little Flower (4-3 overall) defeated St. Hubert 47-45 and Conwell-Egan 43-39 as part of a four-game winning streak. Sara Cayer’s 14 points led the way against Conwell-Egan, particularly impressive considering that C-E is 7-3 overall.

Neumann-Goretti has struggled to put together a win streak, but the Saints are a decent and perhaps misleading 5-5 because two of their losses occurred in overtime. Ashley White and Adriana Sciascia have provided much of the offense.

St. Hubert now 3-8 overall, answered an 0-6 start with a three-game winning streak, including a victory over Bishop McDevitt during which a balanced scoring attack included 12 points from Chrissie Gana, nine from Kate Maguire and eight from Megan Decker.

West Catholic is 1-5, but in a 48-32 win over McDevitt, the Burrs were buoyed by Maya Nelson’s season-best 20 points.

John Knebels can be reached at jknebs@aol.com.