Central Bucks West defeated Abington to capture the program’s first ever District One AAAA title on Friday night at Temple. Check back for photos of all the action; click here or any photo for direct link to gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
PHILADELPHIA – Corrinne Godshall stood in the hallway outside of her team’s locker room in Temple University’s Liacouras Center, patiently answering one question after another from a steady stream of reporters that came her way.
Central Bucks West had just clinched its first District One AAAA title, thanks to its 59-46 win over Abington Friday night, and while Godshall and her teammates didn’t celebrate a whole lot – a shoulder bump with teammate Nicole Munger was about as much emotion as Godshall allowed herself, there was no mistaking this was special.
"Hard work pays is basically what I'd say," said Godshall, clasping the gold medal that hung around her neck. "We know we can take tonight and tomorrow to celebrate, but then we're right back in the gym getting ready for states."
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” senior Peyton Traina added. “We’re so grateful and so happy to be here. It’s awesome.”
This was the program’s first ever district title, and it capped a dominating district run by the Bucks, who won every postseason game by double digits.
“The work that these guys have put in is just incredible,” West coach Terry Rakowsky said. “In fact, we’ll come back in about four weeks and start with our young kids.
“We’ve been there the last couple of years. We were there. We just didn’t do it against some really good teams. They just know if we play our way and play a good game – the other team is going to have to play really well.”
The Bucks, who led 36-27 at halftime, looked as though they were on their way to another lopsided win when Munger turned a steal into a layup to open the third quarter and then – after a pair of Abington misses – buried a short jumper to put the Bucks on top 40-27.
West still led 46-35 after a floater by Munger late in the quarter, but a three-pointer from the top of the circle by Lizzie Lear ignited an Abington run.
After a West miss, Leah Simmons found O’Leary wide open on the opposite side of the basket for an easy bucket, and a West turnover set the stage for a Simmons putback on the third shot of the Ghosts’ possession.
“We kind of just let it go for a second,” West senior Meghan Tillger added. “We stepped back, and we were like, ‘We can’t do this. We have to push through.’”
The Ghosts 7-0 run made it a 46-42 game with just 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
“They are a team of runs,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “It’s what they do, and we knew we had to stop their runs.
“I thought we did a better job defensively in that stretch, and we did a better job getting into what we wanted to do offensively. Most of all, I think we kept them off the offensive rebounds.
“The key to this game, and we told them coming in – you have to keep them off the offensive rebounds, and we didn’t do a good job of that. When you give a team as good as they are second chances, you’re not going to win.”
With 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Mackenzie Carroll saw a seam in the Ghosts’ defense and took it to the hole for a basket that made it a 48-42 game.
“That was really big – that was a crazy shot,” Munger said. “When I’m playing on the court, I don’t realize the score until there’s a stoppage of play, and we go over to the bench.
“I’m just having a lot of fun, whether it’s this or that, with all my friends, and they feel the same I think. I didn’t realize it was a six-point game until I looked up at the scoreboard and said, ‘Okay.’ I think we all just looked at it and said, ‘Let’s play West basketball.’”
The Bucks misfired on three straight shots to open the fourth quarter, but after the Ghosts came up empty at the other end, Munger hit nothing but net on a three-pointer. An Abington miss set the stage for another Munger bucket, this one in close with a Maggie Rakowsky assist. A reverse layup by Makenzie Mason and a pair of foul shots by Munger capped the 11-0 West run and put the Bucks on top 57-42 with 4:28 remaining.
“In the locker room before the game, we talked about – we’re going to have runs, and they’re going to have runs,” Traina said. “It’s just natural in basketball.
“We just couldn’t let those runs get us down. We just had to come back with a bigger run. I think we did that, and that really helped us in the end of the game to pull through and get that confidence that we would pull through.”
The Ghosts managed just four points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks rolled to the district crown.
“I just think our defense was the difference, and our defense translated into our offense,” Munger said. “We just got those boards that we weren’t getting and the 50-50 balls, and I think that definitely translated into that run that we made in the fourth quarter.
“We really stuck together, and we kind of wore them down a little bit. We just played the West way.”
Although the Ghosts came up short, Marsh – whose team gave West its toughest battle – had no complaints about his team’s effort against a Bucks’ squad that is second in the state in the latest Penn Live rankings.
“They’re really good, and I knew we’d have to play well to beat them,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I’m super proud of our kids that we got here.
“We set the goal to get here and play them, and we got to play them. We got beat by a better team tonight. Now we’re going to refocus and get ready for states.”
Both teams will begin play in the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament next Friday.
“We’re not done yet, but we’re definitely, definitely excited about this,” Carroll said. “It’s really big.
“We knew it was going to take hard work, but we knew we had the potential to do this.”
EXTRA SHOTS: Munger led all scorers with 19 points. She also had seven rebounds – six in the pivotal fourth quarter. Godshall added 14 points while Carroll and Traina both had seven and Mason had six points and six rebounds. For the Ghosts, O’Leary led the way with 15 to go along with four blocked shots. Nolan added 10, and Rawls had nine. Simmons had eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Abington 12-15-15-4 46
Central Bucks West 17-19-12-11 59
Abington (46) – Gabby Nolan 4 1-2 10; Sammy Lochner 0 2-2 2; Lizzie O’Leary 5 4-4 15; Bre Bermel 1 0-0 2; Deja Rawls 2 5-8 9; Leah Simmons 3 2-5 8; Britney James 0 0-0 0; Totals 15 14-21 46.
3-point goals: CBW-Nicole Munger 2, Mackenzie Carroll, Peyton Traina; A-Gabby Nolan, Lizzie O’Leary.
Game Notes:
Back to the beginning – Lost in the shuffle of the exciting second half was a first half that saw the Bucks recuperate nicely from a slow start. After Corrinne Godshall scored on a fastbreak bucket off an Abington miss, the Ghosts answered with a mini run. Deja Rawls turned a tough drive into a three-point play, and when Bre Bermel found Lizzie O’Leary for an easy bucket, Abington led 5-2. A pair of West misses set the stage for a pair of Sammy Lochner foul shots, and the Ghosts led 7-2.
The Bucks calmly responded with an 18-5 tear that began with a bucket by Peyton Traina, and after an Abington miss, Traina found Mackenzie Carroll for an easy duece on an inbounds pass. Three straight points from Nicole Munger put the Bucks on top 9-7, and that lead grew to 11-7 after a Traina putback. Maggie Rakowsky turned a steal into a basket and a six-point West lead.
“We are 100 percent a team effort program,” said Traina, who contributed seven points, five rebounds and two assists. “We all have roles, and we all fill those roles.
“I know myself – I’m not a scorer, but on defense, that’s my role. I have to play defense, rebound and bring the ball up. We all have certain roles on our team. Without those roles, we wouldn’t be able to be as successful as we have been. I think everybody did a really, really amazing job today. It’s a great chemistry we have.”
Freshman Abby Spratt turned a steal into a bucket late in the second quarter to put the Bucks on top 34-22 as every player who saw action for the Bucks scored.
Tillger ready for double duty – Meghan Tillger’s schedule will get a whole lot busier on Monday when spring sports practices begin. The senior center, who has committed to Kean College for lacrosse, will be practicing with both her lacrosse and basketball teams.
Although lacrosse is her number one sport, Tillger wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on playing basketball.
“It’s a great experience,” she said. “We’ve worked so hard. Just watching them play varsity my freshman year, knowing I wanted to be part of that.
“Now being a senior and being a part of it and winning a district championship – it’s probably one of the greatest feelings in the world.”
The extra pass – Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the small things in a game, and while Mackenzie Carroll’s driving basket to close out the third quarter was a difference maker and ignited an 11-0 West run and Nicole Munger’s three-pointer to open the final quarter was huge, it might well have been the bucket that followed that broke the Ghosts’ back.
It came with the Ghosts pressuring the ball on the perimeter when Maggie Rakowsky fired a laser pass to a wide open Munger under the basket. The senior guard laid it in, and the Bucks led 53-42.
“The way we pass sometimes – it really kills the defenders,” Carroll said. “It gets people wide open, running around everywhere.
“Sometimes we could take a shot, but we’re waiting for the person who’s even more open."
Next on the schedule – The PIAA Class AAAA Tournament will begin next Friday with West taking on Hempfield, the seventh place team from District 3, while Abington will face Red Lion, the sixth place team from District 3. Red Lion, the seventh seed entering the tournament lost to Mechanicsburg 59-35 in the fifth place game.
Hempfield (17-9) defeated Red Land 54-41 in a battle for the seventh and final state berth from District 3. Hempfield entered districts as the ninth seed.
“We are so, so excited for states to start,” senior Peyton Traina said. “We have been waiting for this since last year when we lost to Cumberland Valley in the first round.
“We are hungry. We really, really want it this year. We have been working on it all season to get to this point, and we’re setting ourselves up for success, and hopefully, we can pull through. We’re working really, really hard.”
Both SOL squads have their sights set high, and Mackenzie Carroll acknowledged Friday’s district title win may have put a bit more pressure on the Bucks..
“Just knowing that we’re kind of the team to beat –we can’t get cocky about it,” the senior captain said. “We have to come in to play every game strong.”
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