Rams advance to District 1 quarters

The Spring-Ford girls basketball team clinched its fifth straight trip to the PIAA Class 6A Championships and a spot in the District 1 quarterfinals on Wednesday with a 48-46 victory over No. 6 seed West Chester Rustin.

Sophomore Anna Azzara scored 17 for the Pioneer Athletic Conference champion Rams and classmate Katie Tiffan had a breakout game with 15 points, including three 3-pointers.

Laine McGurk scored 24 points to lead Rustin.

Spring-Ford shot ahead in the second quarter to take a 32-24 halftime lead. But Rustin closed the gap in a tightly-called game that saw 38 free throw attempts (SF 10-for-15, WCR 11-for-23).

Rustin was within 47-44 with 40.3 seconds to play and had a chance to win on a last-second 3 attempt that missed.

Spring-Ford, the No. 11 seed and reigning District 1 champion, will host No. 14 Garnet Valley, an upset winner over No. 3 Methacton, on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Aaliyah Solliday added eight for Spring-Ford.