McErlane’s outside work pushes Irish into PAISAA semis

Sophomore guard Maeve McErlane scored 19 points to help Academy of Notre Dame advance to the semifinal round of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association basketball tournament with a 57-42 victory over Shipley.

McErlane buried three 3-point field goals and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the foul line for the Irish, who jumped out to an 18-5 advantage after the first quarter.

Allie Lynch tossed in 14 points and made three longdistance shots. Katie Halligan added 12 points for Notre Dame.

In another PAISAA quarterfinal:

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 61, EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 42 >> Senior guard Jaye Haynes led a balanced scoring attack for the Patriots with a game-high 20 points and junior center Becca Booth added 10.

Episcopal trailed 16-11 after the first quarter, but the InterAc League champion Patriots seized control with a 23-8 run in the second period.

In the season-ending loss, Riley Cassidy paced EA with 12 points. Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf and Bella Pisella contributed nine points apiece.

The non-PIAA, private schools-only tournament will resume Friday evening at Friends’ Central School. Topseeded GA will meet No. 5 Abington Friends at 6 p.m., followed by No. 3 Penn Charter against second-seeded Notre Dame.

The championship contest is hosted by Montgomery County Community College Saturday at 5 p.m.

Boys Basketball

A sluggish third

quarter proved costly for The Christian Academy in its bid to capture the Bicentennial League championship.

The Crusaders allowed an eight-point lead at halftime fall by the wayside as Holy Ghost Prep rallied for a 54-45 victory.

Holy Ghost began the third quarter on an 11-0 run and outscored TCA, 36-19, in the final 16 minutes of regulation. Tyler Mish poured in a game-high 21 points for Ghost.

Grant Sareyka scored 16 points and Sam Geathers chipped in with 10 for the Crusaders.