The McFillin sisters aim for state title run in final season together at Archbishop Carroll

Tension and anxiety filled the Palestra during this year’s Philadelphia Catholic League girls’ championship.

As the game went into double overtime, Matt and Maureen McFillin gripped their seats in the Archbishop Carroll cheering section.

The nerves intensified as their three daughters — Felicity, Maddie, and Abigail — were on the floor at the same time in the 54-52 loss to Archbishop Wood.

“I said, ‘look up, look at this,’ ” Matt said to his wife. “It’s packed in here. This will never happen again for these girls, all three of them on the same court in front of a sold-out Palestra. I said, ‘Enjoy this.’ ”

The McFillin sisters are three of six siblings. The oldest is Felicity, a senior, followed by Maddie, a junior, and Abigail, a freshman. They have three younger siblings: Frank (an eighth grader), Maren (fifth grade), and Max (third grade).

Felicity and Maddie attended Harriton High School for two years. When Abigail decided to attend Archbishop Carroll, her two older sisters joined.

“I think my parents get a little stressed watching us,” Maddie said. “Especially my mom, she gets really stressed.”

Added Felicity: “Especially when there’s three of us on the court. They’re like, ‘It’s bound for one of us to make a mistake’ … but it’s OK. They love it.”

Felicity and Maddie often were on the same teams growing up since they’re close in age. Abigail typically was too young to play with her older sisters.

The three girls did share the court before high school in a coed summer-league team in North Wildwood. Then, when she entered high school, Abigail fit right in with her sisters and the rest of the Patriots this offseason.

“I’ve watched them since they were little,” Abigail said. “In CYO, they were always playing together. It was fun to realize I’m actually going to be able to play with them.”

Carroll head coach Renie Shields coached a pair of sisters last season in Taylor and Brooke Wilson. She recalls the last time she had three siblings on the same team was in 2009, when she was an assistant to former coach Chuck Creighton with her own daughters, Kerri, Erin, and Shannon, on the team.

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“It’s funny, I get home and I forget they’re sisters because they bring a different perspective to the game,” Shields said. “But yet [they have] that same intensity and that toughness, which is pretty cool.”

On the court, Maddie described herself as the “driver,” Felicity as the “shooter,” and Abigail as the “facilitator.”

“We all know each other so well,” Felicity said. “Playing in practice, we all know what our strengths and weaknesses are, so sometimes we go at each other a little too hard.”

This is the final time the trio will play together. Abigail and Maddie will be key returners next season. Felicity is heading to Colorado to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School, where she’ll continue her basketball career before enrolling in the Air Force Academy the following year.

If the Patriots can repeat their state title run from last season, that would mean five more games for them on the court together. They opened the state playoffs Friday with a 58-37 victory against West Chester Henderson.

Besides the experience at the Palestra, Maddie’s game-winner against Lansdale Catholic in the PCL quarterfinals ranks high on the memories they’ve shared together. A state championship celebration in Hershey would add another for the sisters.

“My wife and I would say this all the time during the ups and downs of the long basketball season, just enjoy it,” Matt said. “Just sit back and enjoy it as much as we can and hope they all do well and play to the best of their ability and have fun doing it.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.