By Dan McCarty • Posted February 28, 2025

The second-seeded Sacred Heart Academy basketball team has produced a three-peat championship this year. The Lions took home the third consecutive PIAA District 1A trophy for the Bryn Mawr Catholic school with a 49-28 rout of the first-seeded Delco Christian Knights in the title game Feb. 22 at Harriton High School.

“It takes a lot of confidence,” said Sacred Heart’s Megan Donahue. “I think we were able to settle in, keep working.”

This was not the first time these two rival teams faced each other this year. Just as in their regular-season game, Sacred Heart built an early lead in the championship while Delco Christian gradually clawed back into the game.

The Lions managed to win that earlier contest by just four points but they remained out of the Knights’ reach this time.

“They came back to make it a four-point game,” said Sacred Heart’s Keara McCaffrey. “We knew that they are a team that can come back but I think that just motivated us even more to really lock them down and really show them that we’re winning this title again.”

It was a team effort. McCaffrey finished with a total of 16 points, 26 rebounds and eight blocks. Donahue added a team-high 19 points. Teammates Dani Jeffries and Maddie Campbell added a half-dozen points apiece.

Despite Delco Christian’s effort, McCaffrey was an especially tough match for the district’s top seed on this day.

“I would say it was a great team win,” said Donahue. “We really worked together on defense and on offense, a lot of transition. I’m really proud of us.”

Delco Christian’s Mary O’Donnell tallied 11 points and teammates Ella Stinger (10 points) and Hallie Kees (seven) also contributed.

“We definitely didn’t want to settle too much because Delco Christian’s a great team and they gave us a lot of confidence to keep working and keep playing our game,” said Donahue.

The Lions have come close to capturing the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) state title in several recent years. That is just one more motivation for them to earn that trip to Hershey, Pa. for the finals.

“I think we are all on the same page,” said McCaffrey. “We want to go to Hershey. We want to win that title. We’ve been so close so many years. I feel like this is the team to do it. We have great guards, great shooters and an all-around great team dynamic so I think all together we can come back and win this for our school.”

The PIAA tournament commences on Saturday, March 8. Sacred Heart Academy will face the District 3 fourth seed in round one of the tournament.

“I think they’re all hungry,” said head coach Zach Shuler. “We have a veteran group. We have great senior leadership. We have a great backcourt with Megan and Dani. I think we have an opportunity to do something special this year. This was a great start to the postseason. I think we can build from here and go as far as we can.”