There has been one particularly difficult hurdle for Spring-Ford’s girls basketball team to clear recently — the District One 6A Semifinals. 

The Rams have made it this far in the district playoffs in each of the last three seasons and each of the last three seasons they have not been able to come out on top.

Wednesday night at their home gymnasium the Rams leaped over that postseason obstacle in a big way as they ousted Upper Dublin, 47-29, to earn a trip to Friday’s championship game against Plymouth-Whitemarsh.

Spring-Ford was led by Lucy Olsen’s team-high 16 points, Abey Boyer’s 11 points, and Emily Tiffan was not far behind with 8 points. 

The Rams were able to jump out to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter and force Upper Dublin to call a timeout after just 2:42 minutes of play behind a Emily Tiffan 3-pointer and some tough baskets from Olsen and Anna Azzara. Although falling behind by only seven, there was a feeling in the gym that the Cardinals’ may be in for a long night.

Those suspicions were quickly realized as the Cardinals’ were not able to slow down the Rams’ offense. Spring-Ford posted a 10-3 run to end the first quarter, leading 17-3, keyed by a pair of signature corner 3’s from Abbey Boyer.

The Cardinals came into this game against receiving shocking news that star player Jess Polin had torn her ACL and would be out for the remainder of the season. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the loss of Polin combined with the lack of success from beyond the three-point arc, and the Rams offensive efficiency would be too much to overcome.

The Rams’ great defensive first-quarter effort would carry into the second as they once again held Upper Dublin to only three points, led by some great steals from Olsen and Tiffan. 

Spring-Ford also continued their strong start offensively by scoring 13 points, highlighted by some amazing layups by Olsen and 3-pointers from Mac Pettinelli and Tiffan. The Rams would close the half leading resoundingly, 30-6.

Following halftime, the Cardinals were finally able to catch a spark from beyond the arc. After going 2-9 from 3 in the first half, Upper Dublin went 2-for-3 in the third quarter — both courtesy of senior Sarah Eskew — making it a score of 37-18 after the third. However, it would not be enough to ignite a comeback as the early lead for Spring-Ford was just too insurmountable. Eskew was able to tally a team high 15 points for the Cardinals. 

Following the win over the fourth-seeded Cardinals, the Rams will now host second-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh in the District 1 6A championship game this Friday, after their commanding 50-19 win over Central Bucks East. 

The Colonials currently have a record of 18-1 and their only loss on the season came to Central Bucks East, the team they just beat to reach the district finals. This sets up an absolutely epic showdown for the district final at RamNation Gymnasium as the two teams have a combined record of 40-1.

Seeing as these teams are the top seeds in the district, it will definitely be one of, if not the toughest game all year for Spring-Ford. If the Rams are able to shoot well from beyond the arc, get out to an early lead, and play their stingy defense they should have a good chance to take down the Colonials in the District Final.