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VILLANOVA – It had been a long, long time between losses for the Cheltenham Lady Panthers.Eighty-three days to be exact.
But a 24-game winning streak that began in early December came to an end at the most inopportune time on Friday night when the Lady Panthers fell to archrival Downingtown East 51-33 in the District One AAAA title game at Villanova University’s DuPont Pavilion.
“It (stinks),” sophomore Tiffany Johnson said. “There’s no other way to describe it. It’s not good.”
Things weren’t good all night for a Lady Panther squad that was once again minus its senior co-captain, Dayna McCrewell (ineligible).
“Dayna is a big factor,” Johnson said. “Nobody can rebound as good as her, and even some of the moves she makes – that’s a big space to fill.”
The Lady Panthers missed McCrewell’s muscle in the paint, and in her absence, the Cougars focused their attention on containing Cheltenham’s high-scoring guards. Juniors Shayla Felder and Monet Constant each had just one field goal and combined for only 13 points. Both players often put up that many points on a bad night.
“You have to make some shots,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “We just were not making shots. We were getting some shots kids could make, and they just weren’t going in.
“We buried ourselves in a hole right away. The last three quarters weren’t as bad as the first, but they’re a very good team, and us not playing full strength certainly hurt us.“It hurt us particularly defensively. Not having our first five out there made it real hard for any of our defenses to really work. People were at places they weren’t supposed to be, but that’s what happens when you don’t have your whole team out there. Think about if (Meghan) Kerrigan or (Kristen) Blye wouldn’t be there for them.”
The win allowed the Cougars to defend a title they had won last year.
“They’re a real tough, competitive team,” Cougar coach Bob Schnure said of the Panthers. “They’re going to play hard right to the end. The scoreboard may look easy, but I didn’t feel like it was easy.”
The Lady Panthers were out of sync from the outset, and after Jenna Peoples gave Cheltenham a short-lived 2-0 lead, the Cougars reeled off eight straight points, a run that was capped by a Ro Gentry trey from the top of the circle.
Constant scored on an off-balance shot in the paint to make it an 8-4 game, but the Cougars closed out the quarter with an 8-0 run that was capped by Kerrigan cutting to the hole for an easy bucket that put the Cougars on top 17-4.
“I don’t know what it was,” Johnson said. “We weren’t ready to come out and play, and they’re a really good team. Once they started hitting all their shots, it was going to be really hard to come back, and we could never come back.”It was a 19-9 game after Felder buried a trey, but the Cougars answered with an 8-2 run. They took a 29-15 lead into the intermission.
“We really tried to emphasize that our guards had to take care of the ball, and I thought Meghan Kerrigan did a great job,” Schnure said. “We knew they’d be coming after her the whole game with real tight man-to-man pressure, and they’re going to try to trap.
“That’s a key – you have to be sure you don’t have turnovers against their pressure. I thought we did a good job with that, and they didn’t really run on us.”
Johnson, who shared team scoring honors with Liz Taliaferro with eight points, scored on a pull-up jumper to make it a 12-point game in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but Blye (12 points) answered for the Cougars.
After a pair of Cheltenham misses, Blye buried a pair of foul shots. Felder did the same for the Lady Panthers, but if there were any doubts about the outcome, those doubts were put to rest when Gentry (13 points) buried back-to-back treys to put the Cougars on top 39-19.
The Panthers never threatened the rest of the way.
“The goal of coming to a championship is to win,” Taliaferro said. “There are 50-some teams in Quad A in District One, and to be here, we have to recognize that’s an accomplishment.“I hope we can move on from here. We want to take this and bounce back. You hate to lose, but we’re ready to win again. After this, it’s one and done. We don’t want to lose any more.”
While the Panthers would have preferred gold medals, their silver medals were a dramatic improvement over last year’s second round exit from districts.
“It’s heartbreaking for the kids and coaches, but the truth of it is – they should be so proud of what they overachieved with mostly underclassmen,” Schaefer said. “They have to keep their heads up – don’t be ashamed. I don’t think anyone thinks they weren’t trying their hearts out, and that’s all you can expect. No one is trying to miss shots.”
The Panthers (25-2) will return to action next Friday when they will face the fifth place team from District Three in an opening round state tournament contest.
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 51, CHELTENHAM 33
Downingtown East (51) – Kelli Joran 1 0-0 3, Biz Matta 2 1-1 5, Meghan Kerrigan 4 2-2 10, Kristen Blye 5 2-2 12, Ro Gentry 5 0-1 13, Taylor Thompson 0 1-4 1, Amber Yacenda 3 1-2 7, Melissa Hummel 0 0-0 0, Becca Moran 0 0-0 0, Sarah Keefer 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 7-12 51.
Cheltenham (33) – Jenna Peoples 1 0-0 2, Monet Constant 1 4-6 6, Tiffany Johnson 4 0-2 8, Sydni Epps 0 0-0 0, Shayla Felder 1 4-6 7, Liz Taliaferro 3 2-2 8, Kira Ogden 0 0-0 0, Lorraine Oliver 0 0-0 0, Ka’Ela Taylor 0 0-0 0, Brenda James 1 0-0 2, Austen Hamler 0 0-0 0, Artavia Sheffield 0 0-0 0, Ciara Andrews 0 0-0 0, Jiana Clark 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 10-16 33.
Downingtown East 17 12 12 10-51
Cheltenham 4 11 8 10-33
Three-point goals: Downingtown East – Ro Gentry 3, Kelli Joran. Cheltenham – Shayla Felder.
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