Eberhart, Dotsey help earn payback win
HAVERFORD » This Central League tournament semifinal was the chance for Rian Dotsey and Haverford to gain a bit of revenge on Penncrest. The Fords admit they never got over their five-point loss to the Lions in early January.
“It was a big redemption game for us,” said Dotsey, the Fords’ outstanding junior forward.
The rematch played out a lot differently. It was all Haverford, all the time.
Aniya Eberhart scored a gamehigh 16 points and Dotsey added 13 as the top-seeded Fords cruised to a 52-32 victory over the No. 5 Lions Saturday night. Haverford takes on No. 2 Conestoga in the Central League championship game Tuesday (6 p.m.) at Marple Newtown. Haverford defeated Conestoga in last year’s final.
“I felt our energy was definitely higher than the first time we played them,” Dotsey said. “We knew they were going to be a scrappy team coming in. So in practice, we worked on taking care of the ball and knew what we had to focus on to pull out the win.”
Eberhart, the electric senior guard, exploded for nine points in a game-defining second quarter in which the Fords (20-3) shot 10-for-12 from the floor and outscored the Lions (15-9), 22-7. Eberhart shot 7-for-9 and finished with four steals.
“I think we came in very wellprepared tonight,” said point guard Megan Kelly, who provided great defense to go with seven points and two assists. “After that loss we really wanted redemption. We knew the first game our defense wasn’t as good as it should have been.”
Haverford’s defense was tough against the Lions, who shot 27.9 percent (12-for-43) from the field. For three quarters power forward/center Kathryn Harding and guard Emily Huggins were the only two Penncrest players to find the scoring column.
Meanwhile, the Fords had success sharing the ball. The Lions were rightfully keyed on limiting Eberhart and Dotsey, but Kelly and Ashley and Natalie Wright (not related) made them pay early and often. Ashley Wright had seven of her nine points in the first half. Both Wrights and Dotsey did a good job down low to combat Harding, who has been a machine in the paint. Harding ended with 14 points and six rebounds.
“The first game I can attribute to us not being ready to play. We didn’t compete the way we normally do and they beat us,” Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane said. “They are a senior led team and (coach Larry Johnson) has done a great job with that program. Harding is an allleague player this year. They’ve had a great year.”
But the Fords are reigning champs in the Central. They knew they were much better than what they showed the first time the teams clashed.
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy,” Pellicane said.
Haverford shot 64.8 percent (24-for-37) from the field. It would be silly to think they can replicate that against Conestoga, as the Fords know they need a game similar to Saturday’s if they want to beat the Pioneers come Tuesday.
“This was a really good team win,” Dotsey said. “If we come out and play like we did tonight, I think it will be a good game.”