There’s never any soothing words that can cure the heartache of a high school senior that just played their last basketball game after losing in the state playoffs. coach Mark Weaver wasn’t about to challenge that mantra Wednesday night, but simply remind his team of all the many amazing things that they accomplished this year.
Delco Christian saw its season end with a 52-48 loss to Steelton-Highspire in the PIAA Class A state semifinals at Muhlenberg High School. Steelton-Highspire will advance to the state championship game Saturday, while the Lady Knights will reflect on what they’ve done this season.
Against Steelton, sophomore guard Stacey MacArthur led Delco Christian with 22 points, while Emily Homan scored nine points and had 21 rebounds, Jocelyn Chavous added 12 points, Emily Evans scored four and Hannah Ellsworth chipped in with one.
“I told the girls after the loss that this wasn’t a situation where you need to be upset, they need to be proud of what they did this year,” Weaver said. “I’m certainly proud of them. The reality of it is that we won 28 out of 31 games. We won back-to-back district titles. We went undefeated in our league and we battled back from 14 points down against Steelton and got within two points in the end.”
Weaver was right. The 2010-11 Lady Knights did more this season than any basketball team in the history of Delco Christian. They won a single-season school-record of 28 games, and in advancing to the state semifinals, went further in the state playoffs than any previous team.
“Those are the things I hope the girls can take a step back and be proud of,” Weaver said. “I can understand them being upset, and all the time and effort they put into everything. But they’ve done so much, and have so much to be thankful for.”
Parting with seniors Homan, Evans, Ellsworth and Carley Neal, Weaver said, was the hardest part for him. In Homan, she leaves as Delco Christian’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. The Lafayette-bound Homan did it all, but what Weaver may remember the most about his 6-foot-3 star center is her attitude.
Over the last two years, Delco Christian was a combined 52-8, which includes consecutive District 1 Class A titles. Much of that was Homan's doing.
“Emily was all about winning,” Weaver said. “She would trade all of her stats to win. In her mind, it wasn’t about points or rebounds, it was about winning. I think Emily would tell you, too, she didn’t do it alone. This senior class has done a lot.”
