The last time Maddie McFillin stepped on a basketball court sporting “Carroll” across her chest was nearly a year ago to the day.
It was 364 days, to be exact, and her team was in an identical position — the state quarterfinals. The one difference was the game’s result. The 2024 Lady Pats fell to Parkland 48-37, while the 2025 Lady Pats defeated Central Dauphin 42-28 to advance to the state semi-finals.
“I mean, I was a little nervous,” said Maddie McFillin. “Once I started playing, I felt good and I felt like a part of the team again. It was just such an amazing feeling. I was so happy to be back out there.”
Maddie McFillin, who missed the entirety of the 2024-25 season to this point with a knee injury she suffered in the offseason, committed last year to play Division I basketball for the Air Force Academy. She’ll follow her sister Felicity McFillin ‘24, who was an integral part of last season’s Philadelphia Catholic League and state run.
Projected to be a top option on offense and a leader on the floor for a Carroll club that was expected to do big things, the loss of Maddie McFillin hit Carroll hard in the early going. The team struggled through the early parts of the season, going just 3-6 in out-of-conference play while Maddie watched from the sidelines.
The senior guard continued to be present on the sidelines and never strayed far from the team all season long, despite doubts that she’d ever see the floor again at the high school level.
Just before the Catholic League title game where Carroll would fall to Neumann-Goretti 50-43, Maddie McFillin was cleared to practice by doctors and began a brief rehab process that looked to put her back on the floor late during the Patriots’ state playoff run.
“Well, Maddie has been here through it all,” said Carroll head coach Renie Shields. “It was a slow rehab, but she knew about it two weeks ago and it just became a matter of getting her on the court. But it’s no secret Maddie is a great player.”
Maddie McFillin is without a doubt one of the best talents in the PCL in 2025, committed at the Division I level for a reason. Though her team had worked a slight advantage by the time she checked in around the seven-minute mark of the second quarter, she provided a boost and a big one at that.
Carroll trailed 8-7 after the first quarter of play as Central Dauphin began the game on a 6-0 run. The Lady Pats followed that up with a 7-0 run of their own, during which they took charge on the defensive end.
As the second period began, Maddie McFillin would check in and immediately make an impact. During her first high school action in nearly a year, Maddie worked a rebound and three-pointer in her first few minutes. She helped the Patriots to grow their lead to four by the half.
Also helping in the effort were junior Alexis and freshman Kayla Eberz, who both took turns with some big steals that were converted for layups.
“It was obviously really nice to get out there together and make this stuff work,” said Kayla Eberz. “We put together a good first half, but I think the second is where we turned it on.”
In the second half, the Lady Pats turned things on in more ways than one. First, they pulled away from Central Dauphin out of the break. That was fueled by a second run from Maddie McFillin, who finished her day with seven points, shooting three for eight from the field with three rebounds. Kayla Eberz also started knocking down shots at a much higher clip. She closed her day with 16 points and four steals.
Carroll also was able to play the foul game to a tee against the Rams, working Central Dauphin into the bonus on multiple occasions. One of these occasions was in the third period as foul shots began to pile up at the end of the period to assist in Carroll pulling away.
As the fourth quarter began, however, the Lady Pats did not take their feet off of the gas. Alexis Eberz picked things up with a few more huge buckets and some more swipes, which resulted in consecutive buckets on multiple occasions.
As the clock continued to tick through the fourth, Dauphin made a brief run at things, closing the lead back to 10, but Carroll regrouped after a timeout and came back out to pull away for a 14-point victory in what became another example of Carroll’s experience taking precedence.
“I think we stayed tighter as a team really well,” said Kayla Eberz. “I thought we did well, especially in the lower spots. I think just staying together as a team and working together is what did it for us.”
Although it may be Kayla Eberz’s first time in the state semifinals, it’s not for the majority of this team, which took down Cardinal O’Hara 31-30 in 2023. Now Carroll will move on to face District I’s number one-seeded Perkiomen Valley. Friday’s game has yet to be assigned a space or time.