Spring-Ford survives CB East, 42-37

Spring-Ford head coach Mickey McDaniel was concerned about the quick turnaround from Wednesday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference championship victory to Friday’s first round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs.

Four minutes into Friday’s visit from Central Bucks East and out to a 13-point lead, McDaniel’s concerns appeared unnecessary.

But the longtime Spring-Ford coach’s instincts were right: every bit would end up necessary for his Rams to advance.

No. 22 seed Central Bucks East rallied from the big early deficit to ultimately gain a third-quarter lead, but No. 11 seed SpringFord came up with enough shotmaking late to survive 42-37 Friday night at Spring-Ford.

“We really had to dig deep for that one,” said sophomore Siena Miller (8 points). “It got nervewracking in the third quarter. Our energy dropped a bit but we really dug deep and brought the energy back up to pull out the win.”

The Rams (19-5) advance to a meeting with No. 6 West Chester Rustin on Wednesday, Feb. 23 and are now guaranteed at least playbacks for one of District 1’s 12 state playoff berths in 6A. Central Bucks East (10-12) saw its season come to a close.

Sophomore guard Anna Azzara scored a team-high 11 points and most crucially the 3-pointer that gave the Rams the lead for good with 4:36 to play. Microwave substitute Aaliyah Solliday added nine points – all in the second half – while sophomores Tiffan and Miller both drained a pair of 3-pointers on the way to 8-point nights.

Senior Elise Duffy scored the Patriots’ first eight points on her way to a game-high 18 points. Duffy, a Drexel recruit in soccer, was the game’s standout bringing the battle to Spring-Ford.

Tiffan’s second 3 with 2:28 left put Spring-Ford up 40-35 and let the air out of what had become a very tense one-possession contest

“I wasn’t 100 percent sure I was going to take that shot,” the sophomore said. “But I was told I should take the shot. Whether it went in or not I was going to have to be OK with it. And it went in so I was really happy about that.”

“That gave us a lot of relief,” said Miller. “And it gave us the energy to pick it up and factor to drive us home.”