PHILADELPHIA -Beulah Osueke wasn’t completely sure what to expect.

Coming in as the new head coach of West Catholic in 2013, she knew about the depth of the Philadelphia Catholic League and the talent it boasted but it was not until she was actually on the sideline witnessing it firsthand that she realized what it would take to find success. 

She saw the grind of the league and how it shapes a team over the course of the season by constantly challenging players and coaches on a nightly basis. It also prepares them for what comes after the PCL season is over and Osueke immediately noticed that.

“The Catholic League prepares you for the state run,” Osueke said. “When I first started coaching, I didn’t really understand the caliber or level of play but the Catholic League is insanely competitive from top to bottom. There’s always a chance for a new team to emerge or a team that has always been at the top to drop toward the middle.”

Despite finishing eighth in the regular season and suffering a loss to Neumann-Goretti in the PCL quarterfinals, Osueke and the Burrs rebounded to claim their fourth consecutive District 12 title and from there it was onto the PIAA Class 2A Tournament. West Catholic (16-13, 5-7 Philadelphia Catholic League) advanced to the 2A title game before falling to Bellwood-Antis, 45-42.

“Last year, we had a very young team but I intentionally gave us a very tough schedule,” Osueke said. “We have a difficult schedule again this year. Having really tough nonleague opponents on top of playing in the Catholic League in and of itself really does prepare teams for a long run in the postseason.”

Another team that fell in a state championship game was Archbishop Wood (22-8, 11-1). After winning back-to-back state titles 2016 and 2017, the Lady Vikings lost to Mars in the PIAA 5A title game, 36-33. After suffering a four-point loss at the hands of eventual champion Cardinal O’Hara in the PCL semifinals, Archbishop Wood won its fifth straight District 12 title then made a run to the state final, its third runner-up finish since 2014. 

A team that prevailed in a state title game was Andrea Peterson’s Neumann Goretti Saints. After a perfect PCL regular season, Neumann-Goretti (22-7, 12-0) stumbled in the league title game to O’Hara. Instead of faltering, all they did was win all five of their state tournament games by an avg. of 28.8 ppg en route to a fourth straight PIAA 3A title by defeating Bishop Canevin. They were led by PCL MVP and Class 3A Player of the Year Jabria Ingram, now at Hartford. She was the second straight league MVP from Neumann-Goretti joining Chyna Nixon (Temple). Also gone are Honorable Mention All-Catholic Daijah Parmley, Angel Ricks and Chelsea Keebler. 

Expect the Saints to be in the mix for the league title as well as a fifth straight state title behind 5-11 senior forward Tatiana Jones, who avg. 14.0 ppg while being named First Team All-Catholic and Pa. All-State Class 3A Third Team, 5-6 sophomore guard Diamond Johnson, who scored 14 points in the state title game, and 5-7 senior guard Kiara Koger, who was a starter last year.

After another incredible season, Cardinal O’Hara (21-5, 10-2) will be going through a number of changes in the upcoming year. Former head coach Linus McGinty stepped down after winning 11 PCL titles in 24 years at the helm of the Lions and more than 800 games in 36 years as a head coach between Archbishop Carroll and O’Hara. In comes Chrissy Doogan, who was a two-time PCL MVP and had been an assistant under McGinty for the last five seasons. She takes over a team which has won two consecutive PCL crowns including last year’s 54-39 triumph over Neumann-Goretti. The Lions season came to an abrupt end as they lost in the opening round of PIAA 6A Tournament to eventual champion Upper Dublin, 42-35.

There is still veteran leadership under Doogan as senior guard Kerry Patterson, a starter last season, and junior forward Stephanie Huseby, who started last year after transferring in from Shawnee (N.J.), return. They will be joined by senior guard Erin Welde and 5-10 sophomore forward Siobhan Boylan. 

According to Patterson, having had Doogan help build the program in recent years has been instrumental to her transition as head coach.

“She wants us to take it game by game,” Patterson said. “She doesn’t want us to look at the games in the future but rather focus on the little things that we need to work on so that when we do get back to the playoffs and the Palestra we’re not making the same mistakes we did back in December and January.”

Archbishop Carroll (21-8, 9-3) nearly took down Neumann-Goretti in the PCL semifinals but couldn’t close things out, losing 48-47. The Patriots, led by Molly Masciantonio, Wynter Bess, Kate Masciantonio, Kaitlyn Roccio and Alli Dreger, advanced to the PIAA 5A Tournament winning three games in the process before falling to eventual champ Mars, 52-39 in the semifinals. Masciantonio, a First Team All-Catholic and Pa. All-State Class 5A Second Team selection who avg. 16.1 ppg, finished as a 1,000-point scorer and is playing at Holy Family. 

Head coach Renie Shields raved about how the PCL’s depth made the run to the state semifinals possible in a lot of ways.

“The main thing is that every team comes ready to compete and the defensive efforts are always there,” Shields said. “Playing against tough defenses every night really raises the level of every player and then coaches try to strategize to beat those defenses.”

It looked like early on last season as if Archbishop Ryan (17-6, 7-5) was in store for a magical season. They won a school-record 17 straight games to begin the year before succumbing down the stretch which culminated with a 59-36 loss to O’Hara in the league quarterfinals. The Ragdolls will be without two key members of last year’s squad in Second Team All-Catholic forward Caela Russell (Chestnut Hill College) and forward Danielle McCurdy (Scranton).

McCuster understands inserting younger players into the rotation can sometimes shake their confidence but he feels the confidence of this freshmen class will only grow with experience.

“It’s a different atmosphere where you’re practicing pretty much every day and they’re much longer than what they’re used to,” McCuster said. “We try to fit them in with that situation at the beginning of the year. We’re pretty confident in the freshmen coming in and it might take some time to get adjusted but we’re hoping we build our nonleague schedule up to prepare them for the strong play of the Catholic League that they’ll be seeing.”

Steve Prescott and Bishop McDevitt (7-11, 3-9) fell to the Crusaders, 51-40 in the first round of the PCL playoffs. They will have to replace Elan Wali and Second Team All-Catholic Nisea Burrell, who transferred to Westampton Tech (N.J.). Leading the way for the Lancers this season will be senior point guard Nyah Johnson, who had 10 points vs. Lansdale Catholic in league playoffs, and senior forward Dana Mizelle.

St. Hubert’s (8-14, 4-8) begins a new regime under Dave Schafer, who takes over for Katie Linder. Schafer previously was the head coach at Bishop Conwell from 1977-89 then the head coach at Bishop Egan from 1989-93 before the schools merged. He will have to replace Honorable Mention All-Catholic Megan O’Connell and guard Emma Keal (Gwynedd-Mercy). 

Schafer is looking to not only install a new system but a new culture into the Bambies program. 

“What we want to try to do is change the approach to the way the game is being played,” Schafer said. “We’re putting a lot of time in and working to develop the individual then as the individual develops the team will also. We’re emphasizing fundamentals all the time, especially on the defensive end. If we do all of the little things, everything else will come together.”

A few players who will be helping to lead the charge for Schafer will be 5-3 senior point guard Sarah Hartigan, 5-8 junior forward Cassidy Ruk, 5-8 sophomore forward Sarah Spaeth and 5-8 sophomore forward Payton Pugh.

After going winless in 2015 and 2016, Brennan has the program headed in the right direction but he will need help finding players to provide leadership this season.

“We’re missing that leadership because on this particular team we don’t have any seniors,” Brennan said. “We have five juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen. We’re forcing juniors into a role that a few of them just aren’t ready for.” 

Maureen Buchter replaces Jenna Beck, who was the head coach the last two seasons, at Little Flower (4-13, 1-11). Buchter had coached the junior varsity team for the past 21 seasons. The team lost a wealth of seniors including Honorable Mention All-Catholic Nicolette Conway and Carly Huggard (Gwynedd-Mercy) in addition to Nicole Lemongelli, Celeste O’Neill and Ashley Zimmerman. Little Flower will have senior captain Alana Lacombe, junior forward Kelly Bauer, who Buchter coached at the JV level, and junior guard Amylynn Owen in its starting lineup this season.

Buchter, who played at Little Flower, has seen her fair share of PCL contests and recalls what a current Big 5 coach said about what it means to have been a member of this league.

“I can remember being invited to go to the Markward Club to bring a couple of our athletes,” Buchter said. “It was a man’s club but they had opened it up to women. As I sat there, the speaker happened to be Phil Martelli from St. Joe’s and the first thing he said, which rang so true, was how important it is when somebody meets you to say you were a part of the Philadelphia Catholic League. He said, ‘It doesn’t get any better than that.’”

John W. Hallahan (2-18, 0-12) will be under new direction as Mike Gallagher steps in for John Bernhardt, who is now the head coach at the Baldwin School. Gallagher will have some help getting acclimated to his new role with returning players in junior guard Samantha Burns (Honorable Mention All-Catholic) and senior forward Haydin Tomasweski, who is a four-year varsity player.

Gallagher knows there’s work to be done with his team but feels playing against the robust talent in the PCL will benefit his young team.

“We have teams at all different levels going to the state semifinals and championships,” Gallagher said. “Every year when you look at the bracket, we get a couple teams from each district and a bunch always make runs. It’s unlike any other league in the state.”

Last season was one of the best for the PCL in recent memory with six teams advancing to the state playoffs. It’s a league that challenges each team up and down the standings. The teams are constantly taking one another down and by the time the league playoffs come about it’s difficult to determine who has the upper hand. For McDonald, who is in his fourth season as head coach after two years as an assistant, the PCL is the class of PA.

“I’m a firm believer the Catholic League is one of, if not, the best basketball leagues in the entire country but definitely in the state,” McDonald said. “We have teams at all different levels going to state semifinals and championships. Every year when you look at the bracket, we get a couple teams from each district and a bunch always make runs. It’s unlike any other league in the state.”