Abington rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Plymouth Whitemarsh 62-57 at Villanova University on Saturday night. Photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of game photos.
#9 ABINGTON 62, #3 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 57
Abington found itself staring at a 36-25 halftime deficit in Saturday’s District One 6A title game. Listening to coach Dan Marsh tell it – that was hardly cause for concern.
“We’ve been through it all this year,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I was like, ‘Eleven points, that’s nothing. You were down 17 to Council Rock North. You guys can do this,’ and they believe.
“I think that’s the biggest thing. They don’t ever feel like they’re out of it, and that’s really important.”
The Ghosts weren’t out of it, and while the players’ unwavering belief certainly played a role in their comeback, so did a change in defensive schemes by the Ghosts.
Taylor O’Brien spent the first half shredding the Ghosts’ pressure defense with an assortment of drives in a performance that was nothing short of brilliant. When she wasn’t scoring, the junior standout – who finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five steals - was finding open teammates, and she was making it look easy.
“The biggest adjustment was we had to take our press off,” Marsh said. “O’Brien is the best player we’ve played against this year, and she destroyed us. I knew she was good. I had no idea she was that good. (She) was killing us in space, literally murdering us.
“They had a brilliant game plan. They had her attack the gaps and go right at Lizzie (Oleary) to get her in foul trouble. I thought if it came down to it we could play them in a half court, and we were able to do it.”
The second half – or more specifically the third quarter – belonged to the Ghosts. The Colonials manage only five points, all at the foul line while the Ghosts scored 18. Twelve of those points came on clutch three-pointers.
“We’ve been in the same situation in previous games,” sophomore Camryn Lexow said. “Throughout the season, our team has worked hard in practice, pushed each other hard enough to play through it when we’re down.”
Lexow scored on the Ghosts’ opening possession, and a basket by Kassondra Brown pulled the Ghosts to within seven. Oleary scored on a hook shot, and suddenly, it was a 36-31 game. O’Brien buried a pair at the foul line, but a three-pointer by Britney James pulled the Ghosts to within four midway through the quarter.
“My mindset was to just make plays because we were down at the time,” said James. “I just wanted to get my team going. I just had to look to score more and make more plays for my teammates.
“We came out in the second half with a lot more energy than we did in the first half. Our mindset was to stop O’Brien. She dominated the first half, and we just had to stop her. That was the only person that was really doing anything, and once we did that, the game was over right there. We played our game, played at our pace.”
O’Brien buried 3-of-4 from the foul line to give the Colonials a 41-34 lead, but the Ghosts closed out the quarter with back-to-back-to-back three-pointers by Lexow, Tamia Wessels and James. Abington took a 43-41 lead into the final quarter. It was the Ghosts first lead since midway through the first quarter.
“I think in the first half we were all excited, we had nerves – this is a crazy thing playing at Villanova in front of all these people,” said junior Sam Brusha, whose 14 points led a balanced Abington attack. “I think we were pressing, and we weren’t playing our basketball.
“We weren’t running our offense, and our defense was a little shaky. In the second half, we were like, ‘Oh my god, we have 16 minutes to play or we’re losing.’ This is my second time coming here, and I know how it feels to lose. It’s terrible, so I was like, ‘We have to win.’ We all played our basketball. Britney, Tami and Cam hit really big threes to put us up, three in a row. It was amazing. That pushed the guards to have to come out on us, and that opened up the paint, and then we could play our game. We started playing our game with energy and confidence.”
The Ghosts led 47-41 after baskets by Brown (from Oleary) and Lexow (from Brown) to open the fourth quarter. O’Brien – who had eight points in the quarter – twice pulled the Colonials to within four, and it was still a four-point game after a putback by Lauren Fortescue with just over two minutes remaining.
A three-pointer by Ali Diamond with less than a minute to play made it a 55-53 game, but Brown sank one-of-two at the charity stripe. With 23 seconds remaining, O’Brien connected on a pair at the foul line, and the Colonials trailed by just one (56-55). James calmly buried a pair at the other end, Oleary came up with a steal and then sank a pair at the line, and two more foul shots by James put the Ghosts on top 62-55. Only a basket at the buzzer pulled the Colonials to within five.
“They played us in the half court man,” PW coach Daniel Dougherty said. “I felt like we kept getting to the basket. I felt like we kept getting some really nice shots, but we could not get anything to drop in the second half.
“I felt like we squeezed the ball a little bit. When they came out and weren’t pressing us in the second half, our kids lost their focus. It was tough.”
The celebration at the final horn was a jubilant one for the Ghosts and their fans, and after the team’s captains accepted the trophy at midcourt, Oleary – holding the trophy high – ran to the large student section that erupted after every big play and even the not-so-big plays.
“Having the whole school behind us is something that really pushed us,” Oleary said. “All my friends were in the stands and I saw them. Their support means everything to me, and the whole school coming out for this is incredible.”
“It feels amazing,” Brusha said. “Words can’t describe – it’s a dream come true. I’m so proud of everyone. We worked so hard, and it happened.
“It honestly feels like a dream. It’s wonderful.”
While Brusha led a balanced attack that saw all five Abington starters score nine or more points, O’Leary had 10 points, but it was her 17 rebounds – the majority in the second half – that helped swing the momentum of the game.
“We told her at halftime, ‘This is your senior year. Good players take over – you have to find a way to take over, find a way to get yourself some looks, find a way to get some rebounds,’ and she was able to do that,” Marsh said. “I’m really, really proud of her.”
Brown finished with 13 points while James added 10, and Lexow had nine. The sophomore guard also was assigned the task of defending O’Brien.
“She is the most difficult girl that I’ve had to defend,” Lexow said. “She always went left, and that gave me a struggle even though I knew she always went left.
“She was unpredictable because she could go right. I switched with Britney (James) a couple of times because I didn’t think I was fulfilling my role that I was supposed to be playing in the first half. Watching Britney I saw stuff I needed to help defend her, and I think I did better in the second half.”
The loss was just the second of the season for the Colonials (25-2, 14-0 SOL), who along with Abington will return to action next Friday in the PIAA Class 6A Tournament.
“Lots of credit to Abington,” Dougherty said. “We talk about respect your opponent but don’t fear them.
“I think we’re right there with them. It’s one of those games if you play it 10 times, I think each team wins five games. It’s tough. The kids are disappointed. To get there and lose the way we just lost that game is very, very disappointing.”
EXTRA SHOTS: No one can say the Ghosts (22-5, 10-2) didn’t earn this title – their journey to the top of the district included wins over four higher seeded teams – eighth-seeded Souderton, top-seeded North Penn, fifth-seeded Central Bucks West and third-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh…All but lost in the shuffle of the Ghosts second-half comeback was the 13-point first-half effort of Brusha to keep her team within striking distance. “Sam carried us offensively in the first half, for sure, but we know what she can do,” Marsh said. “She’s worked so hard on her game and gotten so much better.”…Making the win doubly sweet was the fact that the Abington boys’ team followed with a 57-51 win over Coatesville. It is the first time both the boys and girls teams have won the large school district titles in the same year since Upper Dublin accomplished that feat in 1985
Abington 12-13-18-19 62
Plymouth Whitemarsh 15-21-5-16 57
Abington (62) – Britney James 2 4-4 10; Camryn Lexow 4 0-0 9; Kassondra Brown 4 5-6 13; Sam Brusha 5 2-3 13; Lizzie Oleary 3 4-5 10; Tamia Wessels 1 0-0 3; Michaela Coyle 1 0-0 3; Totals 20 15-18 62.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (57) – Taylor O’Brien 9 12-17 30; Lauren Fortescue 4 1-6 10; Ali Diamond 1 0-0 3; Laurel Suchsland 1 0-0 3; Lauren Coscia 4 1-1 9; Haley Zygmunt 1 0-0 2; Totals 20 14-24 57.
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