Cardinal O’Hara girls’ basketball team advances to Class 6A quarterfinals

Cardinal O’Hara was looking to put some distance between themselves and Spring-Ford in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A girls’ basketball playoffs on Tuesday night.

Up stepped three sophomores to get the job done.

Guard Nicole Blanch connected for three three-pointers, guard Sydni Scott made all but one of 12 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter, and forward Maggie Doogan controlled the lane to help the Lions beat the Rams, 55-43, at Bensalem.

With the win, O’Hara, the District 12 champion, advances to the quarterfinals for the second-straight year, against Pennsbury, a 50-27 winner over Owen J. Roberts, on Friday, at a time and place to be determined. Spring-Ford, the fifth-place team from District 1, ended its season with a 22-6 record.

“It’s nice that they got a little taste of it last year as freshmen,” Lions coach Chrissie Doogan said of her sophomores. “They’re not really sophomores anymore. I feel pretty comfortable with them on the floor and protecting the ball. They took care of it.”

Rams junior guard Lucy Olsen tried to singlehandedly pull her team to a victory, but Blanch was standing in her way.

Olsen scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the second quarter and pulled Spring-Ford within 13-11 with a pair of free throws. But Blanch knocked down a trey with 4 minutes, 14 seconds left in the half to boost O’Hara’s advantage to 16-11.

Olsen gave the Rams their first lead of the game, 17-16, on a free throw with 1:41 left in the half, but Blanch dropped in another three pointer – this time from the right side – to give the Lions (21-6) a 19-17 lead.

Spring-Ford tied the game, 19-19, on another Olsen free throw, but Doogan nailed a three-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer to give O’Hara the lead for good, 23-19.

The Lions took a 34-29 lead into the final quarter, and Scott made sure her team kept the lead, converting free throw after free throw. She finished with a team-high 14 points.

“Everyone’s equal on our team,” Maggie Doogan said. “We don’t see each other as seniors or freshmen or juniors. We see each other as teammates and friends.”

Spring-Ford 4 15 10 14 - 43

Cardinal O’Hara 11 12 11 21 - 55

SF: Lucy Olsen 21, Emily Tiffan 10, Skylar Sullivan 8, Alyssa Yuan 2, Gabs Allesandroni 2.

CO: Sydni Scott 14, Siobhan Boylan 10, Maggie Doogan 9, Nicole Blanch 9, Annie Welde 7, Amaris Baker 4, Steph Huseby 2.