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ROYERSFORD – Dayna McCrewell’s shot had just been slammed back at her as time was winding down in the first quarter of Friday night’s PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal game against Downingtown West.Undeterred by that rather definitive block, the Cheltenham senior grabbed the loose ball and scored over a pair of Whippets at the buzzer, putting the Panthers on top 12-5.
It was the kind of relentless effort that typified the Lady Panthers’ performance in their 49-38 win over a Downingtown West squad that had upset defending state champion Central Dauphin three days earlier.
“Everybody stepped up,” McCrewell said. “We all knew we didn’t have Shayla (Felder), and we knew all five of us starters and everybody on the bench had to step up and we all had to give everything we got when we were on the floor.
“Me getting rebounds is something I do every game, so this game I really focused – I had to make sure I got putbacks, I had to make sure I got rebounds, I had to give those intangibles to make sure we gave the extra effort to win.”
That ‘extra effort’ propelled the Lady Panthers into a spot perhaps no one would have predicted when the season began – the Final Four in the state. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers will take on District 7 champion Mount Lebanon, which boasts an impressive 29-0 mark.“Oh my god, they haven’t just achieved – they have over achieved,” coach Bob Schaefer said. “I said to them in the locker room, ‘If we’re going to over achieve, we might as well keep going.’
“I’m just proud of the way they stepped up. When you’re out there without your number one scorer - they played a pretty nice game.”
The Lady Panthers’ number one scorer and SOL Continental Conference MVP, Shayla Felder, is out for the remainder of the season with a fractured tibia in her left leg. Her teammates picked up the slack in her absence and turning in the consummate team effort.
Co-captains McCrewell and Jenna Peoples led the way with 12 points each. Sophomore Tiffany Johnson added 10 while Monet Constant had eight, but it was the Lady Panthers’ defensive effort that was the story of this win.
Whippet point guard Jessica Beswick torched Central Dauphin for 26 points in Tuesday night’s big win. She had just eight in Friday’s game – only two in the first half when the Lady Panthers opened up a double-digit lead.
“We had to make sure she couldn’t shoot three’s,” said junior Liz Taliaferro, who shadowed the Whippets’ sharp shooter all night. “When she’s on, there’s nothing you can do. Even if you take a step on her, she’ll step back and still make it.“Our defense was pretty in sync with the switches. I had to stay on her, but if I got picked, Tiff (Johnson) would step up.”
In the absence of Felder, Taliaferro was thrust into a starting role.
“I was really nervous before the game,” she said. “Shayla scores a ton of points, and I don’t usually do that, so I just made sure I played my game.”
Everyone up and down the Panthers’ lineup played their game.
A three-point play by McCrewell gave the Panthers a lead they would never lose (3-2), and that lead grew to 5-2 after Constant buried a shot just inside the three-point arc. Beswick converted a putback to make it a one-point game, but that was her only basket of the half, and by the end of the quarter, the Lady Panthers – sparked by seven points from McCrewell – led 12-5. Their defense forced six Whippet turnovers.
A putback by Peoples, who spent most of the first quarter on the bench, sparked a 10-2 Panther run to open the second quarter, and for the senior captain, getting untracked offensively was key after a tough first quarter.
“When I was (on the bench) and I saw Sydni (Epps) in there – she’s a freshman, and she’s doing more than I am as a senior, and I’m letting the team down,” Peoples said. “I have to step my game up because we’re missing Shayla.”
Peoples acknowledged she’s had a tough stretch of games in the playoffs.
“Oh my gosh, I have,” she said. “Sometimes I would miss my shot cleanly, sometimes it would go in and out. It’s frustrating to the point that – it’s not that I don’t want to shoot any more, but shooting is the last thing on your mind.“Now I have to stay consistent.”
The Panthers’ impressive run was capped with an Epps basket that put the Panthers on top 22-7. They took a 23-11 lead into halftime.
The second half started on a shaky note for the Panthers, who misfired on four straight foul shots and committed several costly turnovers.
The Panthers still led 29-21 after a putback by Epps, but the Whippets closed out the frame with a 7-1 run to make it a 30-28 game heading into the final quarter. The Lady Panthers connected on just 3-of-10 foul shots in the quarter.
“(Missing) foul shots is what made it get close,” Schaefer said. “We missed 13 foul shots. We’ve been shooting 53-54 percent all season, so I’m not surprised.”
Constant scored on a tough pull-up in the paint, and after a Whippet miss, Johnson scored for the Panthers. A bucket by Peoples after an offensive rebound gave the Panthers a 36-28 lead, and another Peoples’ bucket and a three-point play by Constant capped an 11-0 Panther run and sealed the win for the Panthers, who led 41-28 midway through the final quarter.
For Constant, who had five points and three rebounds in the final frame, finishing strong after a tough stretch of games was crucial.
“It’s all a head game,” the Panthers’ junior guard said. “The last couple games I didn’t have a lot of confidence within myself. In this game, I felt like I had to leave it all out there.“The past couple of games, I didn’t feel like I did that, and that’s why I was so upset with myself because I knew I had more to give. This game I had to give it my all. Whether I’m scoring or not, I have to do what I can for my team.”
And on this night, that mindset – shared by the entire Panther squad – was more than enough to carry Cheltenham into the Final Four.
“The kids played good defense,” Schaefer said. “We held that girl (Beswick) for most of the game, and we certainly took away the flow of their game.
“Liz did a great job stepping in there – played a nice all-around game. Of course, Tiffany did such a great job again. She’s playing at a great level in the playoffs.
“Jenna had a couple of nice baskets for us when we had to have them. Monet stuck a couple of big shots. Sydni gave us some nice energy, and give a lot of credit – McCrewell as always played a very strong game inside. It was a good all-around effort.”
Good enough to win the game decisively and vault the Lady Panthers into the state semifinals.
“We made it this far – we can’t turn back now,” Johnson said.
CHELTENHAM 49, DOWNINGTOWN WEST 38
Downingtown West (38) – Kelly Coker 2 0-0 5, Jessica Beswick 3 0-0 8, Isabel Scott 2 4-8 8, Megan Martin 1 0-2 2, Amanda Donia 4 0-0 9, Jessica Renaud 1 3-4 5, Brittany Sicinski 0 1-2 1. Totals 13 8-16 38.
Cheltenham (49) – Jenna Peoples 5 2-4 12, Monet Constant 3 2-4 8, Liz Taliaferro 1 1-4 3, Tiffany Johnson 4 1-4 10, Dayna McCrewell 4 4-7 12, Sydni Epps 2 0-0 4, Kira Ogden 0 0-0 0, Ka’Ela Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-23 49.
Downingtown West 5 6 17 10-38
Cheltenham 12 11 7 19-49
Three-point goals: Downingtown West – Jessica Beswick 2, Kelly Coker, Amanda Donia. Cheltenham – Tiffany Johnson.
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