CB West advanced to the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals while Abington saw its season come to an end. To view photos of the CB West/Archbishop Carroll game, please visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/g/031315_cb_west_vs_carroll_dl
(1-1) CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 60, (12-3) ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 45
The moment was brief.
West’s four senior captains, who had just left the court for their final curtain call in Friday’s win, converged at the end of their team bench for a group hug.
Mackenzie Carroll, Corrinne Godshall, Nicole Munger and Peyton Traina, the heart and soul of this year’s squad, have been part of the varsity since they were freshmen, giving early indications they were laying the groundwork for something special.
On Friday night, the four captains and their teammates made history when West earned the program’s first ever trip to the state semifinals.
“You know what – it’s an unbelievable journey,” Traina said. “I was sitting on the bench with my coach, and I said ‘This is the best senior year I could ever ask for.’ It’s an unbelievable journey, and doing it with my best friends makes it that much better. We are so close to our goal, but we’re not there yet.”
Defense was once again the name of the game for the Bucks, who kept the Patriots off the scoreboard until 2:20 remained in the first quarter. By that time, the Bucks had put together a 10-0 run.
“We were just overplaying the passing lanes,” said Carroll, who had a team-high six steals. “We were just on them as hard as we could. We knew every basket counted, and they’re a really good offensive team, so we had to be on top of things tonight.”
The game began with Godshall finding Munger for an easy basket. After coming up with a steal on the defensive end, Maggie Rakowsky buried a jumper to put the Bucks on top 4-0, and another Patriot turnover resulted in a pair of Mackenzie Carroll foul shots.
With just over two minutes gone, the Patriots had turned the ball over three times and had yet to manage a shot. After a Patriot miss, Makenzie Mason’s short baseline jumper put the Bucks on top 8-0 three minutes into the game. The 10-0 run was capped when – after a Patriot turnover – Godshall found Traina for an easy bucket.
West led 14-6 at the end of one quarter. After Carroll delivered a block and came up with the ball on the defensive end on the first possession of the second quarter, Godshall – who was fouled on a follow-up – connected on a pair from the foul line. When Rakowsky found Traina at the end of the press for an easy bucket, the Bucks led 18-6.
Carroll scored on a putback, and after a Patriot turnover, the Bucks turned a missed foul shot into an offensive opportunity as Munger came up with the rebound and found Godshall for a bucket and a 22-6 lead. A pair of Mackenzie Carroll foul shots made it 24-6, and the Bucks’ lead was 20 (26-6) after Mason converted a drive into a basket.
The Bucks took a 30-16 lead into halftime. Carroll – who finished with a game-high 19 points to go along with six steals – led the Bucks with 14 points.
Rakowsky was once again a catalyst on defense for the Bucks, hounding Patriot point guard Keara McNulty all night. McNulty did not score, and the Patriots struggled to get into an offensive flow.
“We pushed them from the top, and we took away their offense basically,” West coach Terry Rakowsky said. “They’re very systematic, and by taking that away, they can’t get that first pass into their offense, and it changes what they do.
“I was very proud of our kids. What we did defensively today I thought was exceptional.”
The Bucks took a 40-24 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Patriots began chipping away, thanks to three straight three-pointers by Jess Carney. Her third made it a 45-35 game with 5:50 still remaining. Traina sank one-of-two from the foul line, and after a Patriot turnover, Carroll buried a huge three-pointer to make it a 49-35 
game. After coming up with a steal, Carroll found Traina with a bounce pass for a layup, and the Bucks led 51-35. The Bucks had punched their ticket into the state semifinals.
“We did this tonight with Munger scoring four points,” coach Rakowsky said. “Our other kids are stepping up. Corrinne is stepping up, Peyton (Traina), Mackenzie Carroll.”
Three West players finished the night in double figures. In addition to Carroll, Traina had 13 points and Godshall had 10 points, 13 rebounds – nine defensive – and four assists. Rakowsky and Mason both added six while Munger had four points and five assists. Meghan Tillger had five rebounds and two points.
“We knew we all needed to step up, and we all needed to contribute,” Traina said. “That’s the best part about our team. Yes, we have a bunch of great players and (three) D-1 girls, but everyone contributes in their own way, and that’s what makes our team play the way we do.
“It’s our team – not just one or two players. Our whole team contributes the entire season.”
If the Bucks are feeling pressure as the stakes get higher, they aren’t letting it show.
“We do know (every game) could be our last game, and we get a little nervous, but that just fuels our fire to come out even harder,” Carroll said. “We don’t want to have a letdown.
“We’re realizing the games are limited now, and we’re only going to be together for hopefully two more games, and we’re really trying to cherish the moment.”
West will face District 3 runner-up Palmyra in a state semifinal game on Tuesday. Palmyra defeated District 12’s top squad, Cardinal O’Hara, 54-42.
Archbishop Carroll 6-10-8-21 45
Central Bucks West 14-16-10-20 60
Archbishop Carroll (45) – Julia Gantz 3 2-2 9; Keara McNulty 0 0-0 0; Lexi Stover 2 1-2 6; Kristen Ryan 0 0-0 0; Ann McKnight 1 0-0 3; Lexi Kucia 4 0-0 8; Bella Sorrentino 4 2-5 10; Jess Carney 3 0-0 0; Molly Masciantonio 0 0-0 0; Totals 17 5-9 45.
Central Bucks West (60) – Mackenzie Carroll 5 8-8 19; Peyton Traina 5 1-2 13; Corrinne Godshall 3 4-4 10; Nicole Munger 1 2-2 4; Maggie Rakowsky 1 4-6 6; Makenzie Mason 2 2-3 6; Meghan Tillger 0 2-2 2; Abby Spratt 0 0-0 0; Maddie Maio 0 0-0 0; Totals 17 23-27 60.
Three-point goals: Archbishop Carroll – Jess Carney 3, Julia Gantz, Lexi Stover, Ann McKnight. CB West – Peyton Traina 2, Mackenzie Carroll.
(3-1) CUMBERAND VALLEY 46, (1-2) ABINGTON (42)
The Ghosts threw a major scare into the defending state champions, staging a heroic fourth quarter comeback to trim a double-digit deficit to three, but they simply ran out of time.
“I was just so proud of the team,” coach Dan Marsh said. “They never quit. We were saying, ‘we will.’ That was our motto – not ‘we can’ but ‘we will.’
“I told the reporters at the game – I don’t think we lost. I think we ran out of time. We had them on their heels. For a (defending) state championship team, they were shaken, and we were coming. We fell a little short.”
Take away a slow start by the Ghosts, and the outcome could have been a whole lot different. The District 3 champion Eagles sprinted to an 11-2 lead out of the gate and led 19-9 at the end of one quarter. Cumberland Valley took a 30-17 lead into halftime.
“They came out like a machine,” Marsh said. “They’re a really good transition team, and we weren’t getting back in the first quarter, and they were getting easy buckets. After the first quarter, they only had two transition points. We really got back and focused.”
“In the first quarter, we missed some open shorts, and we were having trouble establishing the inside”
The Ghosts began to crawl back into the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 10-7 to make it a 37-27 game heading into the final quarter. They made it a 43-40 game with less than a minute to play after a Rawls’ trey, but that’s as close as they would get.
“We were able to get a high-low going a little bit, and they were so worried about that – it opened up driving lanes for Deja (Rawls) and Sammy (Lochner), and we were able to get some layups driving to the bucket,” Marsh said. “Lizzie (O’Leary) and Leah (Simmons) played really well and opened things up for us.
“We’ve been saying to them all year – one possession at a time. We played great defense.”
No one played defense better than Rawls, who held recently named 2015 Gatorade Player of the Year Kelly Jekot to just 10 points.
“Deja did a tremendous job on Jekot, pretty much held her in check,” Marsh said.
Friday’s loss marked the end of a remarkable season for the Ghosts, who received a surprise sendoff in the gymnasium before they left.
“I have coached for a long time, and very few times in your career will you get a team that gets it,” Marsh said. “These kids get it. They sacrifice their individual egos all the time for each other.
“They play really hard, and they have fun, and that’s what it’s all about. I’ve said all along – we want our girls to have a good basketball experience. Winning always helps that, but when they look back in five or 10 years, I’m sure they had a great experience – from helping a family at Christmas to making this run to winning a league championship.
“Their bond and togetherness – they always call each other sisters, and that’s what I’m most proud of. Obviously, they don’t ever quit. They push each other, and they make each other better.”
The Ghosts closed out the year with a 26-6 record (14-0 SOL National).
“Last year we won 21 games and this year we won 26, so I think this could propel us to have a couple more 20-win seasons because these younger kids learn from these older kids how to do it,” Marsh said. “So that’s what we’re looking forward to.
“This group of seniors really turned this program around because when we started them as freshmen and sophomores we were just okay. Now you have to consider us one of the better programs around, and that’s all due to our seniors.”
EXTRA SHOTS: Rawls led the Ghosts with 16 points while Simmons added eight and Lochner, seven. For the Eagles, sophomore Katie Jekot led the way with 16 points, connecting on three of her team’s five three-pointers. Cumberland Valley will face Norwin in a semifinal game on Tuesday. Norwin, the District 7 champion, defeated North Allegheny 51-47.
Abington 9-8-10-15 42
Cumberland Valley 19-11-7-9 46
Abington (42) – Gabby Nolan 3, Sammy Lochner 7, Lizzie O’Leary 6, Bre Bermel 2, Deja Rawls 16, Leah Simmons 8.
Cumberland Valley (46) – Jennifer Falconer 5, Katie Jekot 16, Taylor Sneidman 7, Morgan Baughman 2, Kelly Jekot 10, Meghan Rhoades 6.
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