The wily veterans prevailed once again as the Philadelphia/Suburban Women's Summer Basketball League wrapped up its 30th season last week. For the fourth straight year, the championship was won by an alumni team with largely the same core of college graduates, with four former Chestnut Hill College players on the roster this season.

Designated Team Cyber Pink this time around, the oldies recorded a 60-49 victory over Team Sky Blue, a squad made up of current players from Holy Family University. Holy Family belongs to the same NCAA Division II conference as Chestnut Hill and Jefferson University, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

Cyber Pink suffered its only loss of 2024 in a regular-season contest against Sky Blue, falling 71-67 to HFU's summer Tigers on July 11. In last Thursday's rematch in the league title game, Sky Blue led by six points late in the third quarter, and was up 40-36 at the end of the period. Pink took command in a 24-9 fourth quarter.

Sly Blue's offense was held under 50 points after scoring 63 in the league quarterfinals and 73 in the semifinals.

Chestnut Hill alums Kait Carter and Cassie Spratt each scored seven points in Pink's victory. A game-high 21 points was logged by Pink's Rylee Derr, Kutztown University's all-time leading scorer, and former University of the Sciences post player Taylor Hamm added 15.

Sky Blue was led by rising sophomore Kara Meredith, with 14 points, and they also received 11 points from an incoming freshman from Upper Dublin High School, Amy Ngo.

The contest was close most of the way, as Sky Blue would go up by a couple baskets and Pink would counter. After Sky led 16-14 at the end of the first period, the teams were tied at 18-18 early in the second quarter. A lay-up and free throw by Hamm moved Pink ahead, 21-18, but Ngo evened it up for Sky Blue with her second three-pointer of the evening.

The Blue bunch led by three points late in the half, then a drive by Derr closed the score up to 30-29 for the intermission.

In a low-scoring third quarter, Blue put up 10 points and Pink managed just seven. With under 90 seconds remaining, Sky Blue's Skyler Searfoss raced downcourt for a transition lay-up and then added a free throw resulting from a Pink foul on the play.

This gave the current collegians a six-point advantage, 40-34. The alums got a pair of free throws from Hamm in the final minute and were down 40-36 at the three-quarter mark.

When they began the final 10 minutes, the Pinksters appeared to have figured out which Sky Blue shooters to guard tightly, and where on the floor to do it. Meredith scored Sky's lone field goal of the fourth quarter when only 30 seconds remained and her team was behind by 10 points. She went three-for-five at the free throw line, and Sky Blue's only other points came on three-for-five foul-shooting by Ngo and one free throw by Ava Morrow.

Kate Connolly's short jumper got Cyber Pink going in the fourth quarter, and after a lone Sky Blue free throw by Meredith, Pink's Derr stuck a three-pointer from the right wing to tie the score at 47-47. On Pink's next possession, Shannon May was handling the ball at the top of the key and noticed that the Sky team had left the lane wide open.

She drove in for a lay-up, drew a foul, and made the free throw to give the defending champs a 44-41 lead, and Pink led the rest of the way. The tally crept up to 48-44, then Pink scored six straight points to lead by 10 with under 90 seconds left in the game. Sky Blue never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Cyber Pink shot 13-for-18 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. In addition to the scorers already mentioned for the champs, Connolly came away with seven points and May with three.

In all, it was another successful summer of hoops competition organized by league director David "Deuce" Kessler, who originally founded the league at Chestnut Hill's Water Tower Recreation Center.