Tuesday, May 20, 2025
48 ° Clear
48 ° Clear
Congratulations to the Langhorne Spiders 8th grade girls travel basketball team for winning the Inter-County Basketball Association (ICBA) state championship in mid-March. Langhorne’s hometown heroes beat the Bustleton Bengals of Northeast Philadelphia in a dramatic win in overtime by one point. The final score was 41-40. The tournament was held at Penn State University in State College.
The Langhorne Spiders are part of the Langhorne Athletic Association (LAA) and compete in the ICBA. The seventh annual invitational tournament featured approximately 350 teams of middle school-aged students from fourth through eighth grades that qualify for the tournament throughout Pennsylvania. The eight-member Langhorne Spiders team won the 8th grade division which included 14 teams. They beat multiple teams from various parts of the state to reach the championship.
“This year we had a really good season,” noted team coach Jason Trespalacios of Langhorne, who has coached the team since they were in third grade. The state championship was the final time Jason coached the team in the ICBA as the eighth graders will move on to high school next year. The team only lost two games during the regular season which begins in November and runs through March.
“This year we actually beat the team that beat us three years ago in the championship. This is the first time the Langhorne Athletic Association has ever won it,” Jason said. The Langhorne Spiders are also coached by Mark Hoyas and Fran Costello, both of Langhorne. The team roster includes: Nicole Trespalacios of Langhorne, Grace Miraski of Langhorne, Isla Diviny of Langhorne, Falyn Savage of Bensalem, Emersen Akright of Newtown, Haley Costello of Langhorne, Lauren Smith of Newtown and Tori Smith of Newtown.
“We played some really good teams out there. We played a Pittsburgh team that we actually beat when we were in fifth grade, but we lost to the year before in the states,” Jason said. “So, we really had to go through the gauntlet of some really good teams while we were out there. And, we ended up coming away with a great championship game.”
During the regular season, the team plays travel teams from all over Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties and surrounding areas. Most of the girls on the team have played competitively for their schools, such as Maple Point Middle School in Langhorne or St. Andrew Catholic School in Newtown or in spring or summer basketball leagues such as AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) or CYO (Catholic Youth Organization.)
“Every girl on this team will more than likely play high school basketball next year. They are a pretty solid group of girls,” Jason noted, adding that the ICBA teams in the Philadelphia area are always highly competitive versus other teams throughout the state.
“For the final four teams in the state championship, three were from the ICBA Philadelphia division, and one team was from Pittsburgh. There are good competitive teams in Bucks, Delco, and the surrounding Philadelphia areas.”
The Langhorne Spiders played teams from Cumberland Valley, South Fayette, Huntingdon Valley and Bustleton.
‘We beat Cumberland Valley in the first game. Then we beat South Fayette. Next we beat Huntingdon Valley, and then Bustleton. We were down by 10 in the last three games. In all three games, we came back when we were down by at least 10. Then the girls kept fighting and plugging away. All of our last three games were close against the Pittsburgh team, the South Fayette team, and Huntingdon Valley then Bustleton team.”
Jason recounted the last few seconds of the game: “The way it ended, we were down by two points with 1.5 seconds left, and we had the ball on the sideline. We ran an inbound play and my daughter, Nicole Trespalacios, caught it and shot a three pointer; it missed, and she got fouled. So there was no time left on the clock. She had three foul shots and we were down two. She made the first, then she made the second, but she missed the third. Then we went into overtime. In overtime, it only took one foul shot because the teams were playing very well defensively. One of our girls, Haley Costello got fouled, but she made one of two free throws and we played defense for the next seven seconds. Then, we ended up winning 41 to 40 in overtime. That’s the way it ended.”
The Langhorne Spiders received a championship trophy after the game and each team member and the coaches received a faux-diamond encrusted championship ring. They were also honored by the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors at their regular meeting in early April.
“My heart is still pounding away!” Jason said after recounting the big victory. “It was a nice way to win,” he added.
For more information on the Langhorne Athletic Association and its youth sporting leagues and programs, visit langhorneaa.org.
