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EAGLEVILLE – Alexis Piazza was heartbroken.It was of little consolation to the Plymouth Whitemarsh senior that the Colonials had extended defending American Conference champion Methacton to double overtime before falling 46-40 in a spirited battle between the former SOL rivals on Friday night.
“It’s tough,” PW’s senior guard said. “I never, ever cry, but this is hard.
“It was so close. We just got it ripped away from us, and it’s so hard.”
The Colonials might not have won, but they certainly earned some respect.
“Give them all the credit,” Methacton coach Craig Kaminski said. “They outplayed us every which way. I don’t know how they’re 1-8. I don’t know how they’re not winning ballgames.
“Those kids play hard. I give them tons of credit. That’s a great team right there.”
Making the loss particularly devastating for the Colonials was the fact that they had a chance to win it in regulation and the initial overtime period but could not close it out.
Still, senior Meg Piotrowicz wasn’t quite ready write the loss off to the Colonials’ lack of experience in big games.
“By our record, that’s what it seems like,” she said. “But mistakes and turnovers – that’s the name of the game.
“We practice fouls shots all day long at practice, and we just didn’t bring it tonight. I don’t know if you want to say we’re not used to it, but we’re fighting hard out there, and that’s the best we can do.”
The Colonials didn’t help their cause at the foul line. In the fourth quarter, they connected on just three-of-nine, and things only got worse in the first overtime when they were one-of-six from the charity stripe.
In second overtime, the Warriors seized the early lead and never trailed.
Methacton junior Lauren Ruhl stole the tap at the beginning of the second OT and found teammate Melanie Ordway (11 points) for an easy bucket. PW’s Taylor McGarvey answered with a drive at the other end to knot the score, but when Carley Parker scored on a drive at the 2:12 mark, the Warriors had a lead they would not lose.
The Colonials had three opportunities to knot the score but could not capitalize, and when Parker sank one-of-two from the charity stripe, the Warriors led 43-40 with 25 seconds remaining. Ruhl sealed the win by connecting on three-of-four foul shots down the stretch for the Warriors.
Pressure, it seems, is nothing new to Ruhl and the Warriors.
“A lot of the girls on our team play AAU,” she said. “Being at Nationals, your games are always close, and you really have to keep your composure.
“All the girls that were in at the end today, they had their composure.”
Ruhl led the Warriors with a game-high 20 points, but she was not satisfied with her performance.
“It was really frustrating,” she said. “My shot was completely off. I don’t think I have ever missed that many shots in my life.”
Ruhl wasn’t the only one having trouble finding her stride offensively. The Warriors did not connect for their first field goal until the 3:10 mark of the opening quarter. By that time, PW had a 6-1 lead, thanks to baskets by Alissa Butcher and Piotrowicz as well as a pair of foul shots from Angela Branigan.
The Warriors went on top 8-6 late in the quarter after Ruhl buried her first of three treys on the night. PW knotted it up after Katie Jo Walker sank a pair from the foul line, but again, Ruhl answered with a three-pointer.
When Leeann Randall found Mel Ordway cutting to the basket for an easy deuce, the Warriors led 13-8, and by halftime, they extended that lead to 18-11.
Brannigan scored on a strong drive to open the third quarter, and after a Methacton miss, Piazza scored off the dribble to make it an 18-15 game. Ordway buried an outside shot, but Piotrowicz (Butcher assist) scored a fastbreak bucket at the end of the press to make it a three-point game.
“I told them at halftime we were still in,” PW coach John Quinn said. “A couple of players had their heads down, and the first thing we wanted to do was change the attitude.
“We went out of the locker room with a positive attitude, and that carried right over into that quarter.”
The Warriors upped their lead to 26-19 after a Ruhl trey, but the Colonials closed out the quarter with a 10-2 tear. It began with Brannigan burying a jump shot after a Butcher block at the defensive end. Ruhl answered with a jumper of her own, but Butcher scored on a putback for PW.
After a Warrior miss, McGarvey buried a trey, and when Caitlin Mundy sank three-of-three from the foul line, the Colonials led 29-28 at the end of three quarters.
“We came out on fire,” Piotrowicz said. “When we play good defense, we transition into offense.
“Our defense is awesome. We just need to pull it together on offense.”
A bucket by Walker on the low post gave PW a 31-28 lead, and when Butcher sank one-of-two from the foul line, the Colonials led 32-28 with 4:06 remaining.
Ordway broke a Warrior scoring drought of close to seven minutes with a three-point play, and after a PW turnover, the Warriors went on top 33-32 when Ruhl sank both ends of a one-and-one. 
The two teams exchanged foul shots, and when Piazza sank one-of-two with 1:20 remaining, the teams were deadlocked at 34.
“I’ll give the girls at the end that forced the overtime – give Lauren a ton of credit because PW is unbelievable,” Kaminski said. “They have a great team.”
When Butcher buried a trey to open the first OT, PW appeared to have all the momentum, but the Warriors battled back.
Methacton went on top 38-37 at the 1:25 mark after Ruhl came up with a loose ball in the paint, but McGarvey connected on one-of two from the foul line to knot the score, setting the stage for the second and final overtime.
“They played hard the whole entire time,” Quinn said. “Nobody gave up, and that’s what we’re going to take from this game.”
While the Warriors improve to 7-3, the Colonials fell to 1-8, but they left with their confidence intact.
“Playing Methacton – we know they’re one of the best teams that we play, and we had a chance to beat them,” Piazza said. “It shows we can beat anybody.”
Added Piotrowicz,” We fought hard, and look where it took us – double overtime against a team that won our league last year.”
METHACTON 46, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 40 (2 OTs)
Plymouth Whitemarsh (40) – Alissa Butcher 3 1-6 9, Meg Piotrowicz 2 1-5 5, Angela Branigan 3 2-3 8, Alexis Piazza 2 1-2 5, Taylor McGarvey 2 1-2 6, Caitlin Mundy 0 3-3 3, Katie Jo Walker 1 2-2 4, Dori Licwinko 0 0-0 0, Sam Cipar 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 11-23 40.
Methacton (46) – Lauren Ruhl 6 5-6 20, Ali Hammond 1 0-0 3, Mel Ordway 5 1-1 1, Leeann Randall 0 3-4 3, Lindsey Allebach 0 1-2 1, Carley Parker 2 4-8 -8, Amy Klinger 0 0-0 0, Sarah McMichael 0 0-0 0, Maria Numerato 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 14-21 46.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6 5 18 5 4 2-40
Methacton 8 10 10 6 4 8-46
Three-point goals: Alissa Butcher 2, Taylor McGarvey, Lauren Ruhl 3, Ali Hammond.
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