Abington sent District 3 champion Wilson West Lawn home for the season with a 53-43 win in a second round state game on Tuesday night.
COATESVILLE - All season long, it has been the Deja Rawls and Michael Harris show for Abington. Whether it’s Harris dominating the paint or Rawls hitting shot after shot, the two star players have been the key to the Lady Ghosts’ success this season.
Last Friday, it was Bre Bermel getting in on the action for Abington, scoring 16 points while helping the Lady Ghosts to a first-round state playoff win. And on Tuesday night, it was the Gabby Nolan show.
Nolan went off in the first quarter, scoring 10 of her game-high 18 points while leading Abington to a 53-43 win over Wilson-West Lawn in a PIAA Class AAAA second round playoff at Coatesville High School.
“We knew that (Gabby) had it in her and we knew that she could play,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “She’s been phenomenal for us all year.”
Nolan, who just wasn’t missing, said: “Everything was just opening up for me, so I kept taking what was open.”
The win propels Abington to the next round for a Friday night meeting with District One power Spring-Ford.
In Tuesday night’s showdown, Abington wasn’t intimidated by Wilson-West Lawn High School with its four Division One players, its size advantage and its District Three championship. In fact, the Lady Ghosts didn’t just prove that they could run with the Bulldogs, they completely outplayed them on both sides of the court.
In the first quarter, Abington (21-8) traded buckets with the Bulldogs but – sparked by 10 points from Nolan - eventually led 18-12 following the first eight minutes of play. A 14-1 Abington run between the first and second quarters saw the Lady Ghosts go up by as many as 16 points, and they led by 13 at the break (31-18).
After the Bulldogs (23-8) appeared to regain some momentum in the third quarter with two quick baskets, Rawls had an answer, hitting two layups of her own to put Abington back up double digits.
The fourth quarter saw Wilson make a serious run, coming back from down 16 to get to within only five, but Rawls and Harris finished things out on the free throw line.
“Wilson is the No. 4 team in the state,” Marsh said. “They’re going to make a run at you. We withstood it, so I don’t care. It’s a huge win. Right now, we’re worried about the next one and we’re going to enjoy this today and get ready tomorrow.”
Harris finished with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds to help the Lady Ghosts in the winning effort. Rawls added nine points, while Sammy Lochner finished with eight, but the best offensive player on the court on this night was Nolan.
“People doubted us, but they shouldn’t have,” Nolan said. “We’re a good team and it doesn’t matter if you have girls like Wilson has. Everybody came focused and ready to play and it turned into a win.”
Abington will have the next two days off before playing Spring-Ford at a site that is to be determined on Friday night.
“If we play like this, we can play with anybody,” Marsh said. “We’re going to enjoy this one tonight and focus on tomorrow, tomorrow.”
Wilson was led by Ivory Bailey’s 15 points in the losing effort. Carley Brew added 10.
Abington (53): Nolan 8 1-1 18; Rawls 3 3-5 9; Lochner 3 1-3 8; Simmons 0 2-2 2; Harris 6 4-4 16; Bermel 0 0-0 0; Deal 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 11-15 53.
Wilson-West Lawn (43): Jessie Wallace 1 4-6 6; Bew 3 4-5 10; Marz 2 0-0 5; Bailey 6 2-2 15; Ebner 0 0-0 0; Jen Wallace 0 0-0 0; Wright 0 0-0 0; O’Brien 3 0-0 7; Klee 0 0-0 0; Rhodes 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 10-13 43.
Three-point goals: Nolan, Lochner; Marz, Bailey, O’Brien.
Abington 18 13 12 10—53
Wilson-West Lawn 12 6 10 15—43
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