2023-24 Girls Basketball Season Recap

The Conwell-Egan Catholic Girls Basketball team played the 14^th strongest schedule (of 730 teams) in the state of Pennsylvania this season, and escaped with nine victories, four in the always-tough Philadelphia Catholic League, and qualified for the PCL playoffs.

“Some of our better played games resulted in close losses to very strong teams,” said seventh-year head coach Christopher Brennan. “We lost by six points to Nazareth, who was a PCL Final Four team and reached the semi-finals of the State Championships.”

In the PCL post-season, CEC lost to eventual PCL and PA State champion Archbishop Wood.

The Eagles went 2-0 in the season-opening “She Got Game” Tournament in Washington, D.C. and 1-1 in Wildwood’s Boardwalk Classic. 

At the “She Got Game” tournament junior Lily Milewski was named a Game MVP. Milewski earned All-Catholic League honors this year, averaging a team-high 14.7 points along with a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game.  Milewski also earned the Sportsmanship Award at the Rose Classic Super Jam in Brooklyn, NY. “Lily is on track to score her 1,000^th point early next season,” Brennan added.

Also at the “She Got Game” tournament, senior Brianna McFadden was named a Game MVP. A four-year starter and team captain, Brianna will further her education and basketball career at Gwynedd Mercy University in the fall.

Brianna’s twin sister, Brooke McFadden, who earned All-PCL honors as a junior, will continue her basketball career at The College of New Jersey. Brooke earned Game MVP honors at the Rose Classic Super Jam in Brooklyn, NY and again earned All-Catholic honors after averaging 9.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this year.

Senior Molly Milewski received the Student-Athlete award at the Rose Classic Super Jam.

The squad loses a great deal to graduation, including senior Mya Aizen, who earned All-Catholic honors as a sophomore, leading CEC to the final eight in the 2022 State Playoffs, but has suffered an injury-riddled career on both the hardwood and the soccer pitch. “Even when she was injured, she was a very important part of our team, attending every practice, and was like having another coach,” Brennan said. “She will be missed.”

With just one senior expected on the 2024-25 roster, the young Eagles will look for freshman Brianna Jackson to add a spark.  “She is an incredible guard who brings a dynamic to the team that we had not had since I’ve been here,” Brennan said. “She gave us a spark at both ends of the court.” Jackson averaged a team-high 3.74 assists this year as a rookie playmaker and even received a vote for All-Catholic honors.

“We will be very young next year but very talented as well,” Brennan said. “Many of our players are multi-sport athletes so a big challenge is getting them all together for preseason drills,” Brennan said. “If we can overcome that challenge, we should be very successful.”