PW saw its successful season end with a loss to Spring-Ford in Friday’s District One 6A title game. Photos provided courtesy of Larry Small. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
Class 6A
#1 SPRING-FORD 52, #2 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 36
It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
It wasn’t supposed to end two games before a trip to Hershey they’d their sights set on since last year’s season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic after the Colonials earned a berth in the PIAA 6A quarterfinals.
“It’s so disappointing and upsetting,” senior Anna McTamney said. “We’re really a family, and it’s sad to see it end like this.
“We are a great team, and last year we did get cut short. We really wanted to finish it this year, but it just didn’t work out for us.”
“The team is like my sisters,” senior Gabby Cooper said. “I’m so sad to not be with them next year.”
McTamney and Cooper could not hold back their tears. This was a heartbreaking ending, but despite their disappointment, neither would have traded their experience for the world.
“Even the loss too – all of it, it’s the whole journey, all four years,” Cooper said.
“The connection we have with everyone is insane,” McTamney said. “We haven’t been able to go out because of corona. We can’t risk getting a case on the team.
“All of the girls have been hanging out with each other because none of us are exposed to any outside people. It’s really sad. We’re going to still hang out, but it’s not the same, going to practice every single day and being with each other.”
McTamney and Cooper – both three-year captains – have been the heart and soul of a program that has been a league, district and state power. They have been part of four straight league titles and boast a 50-2 record in league play during that span. The Colonials have a 92-17 record over the last four years, and had this not been a shortened season, it’s a safe bet the number of wins would have been 100.
“Three years ago, we were wondering if we would be a blip or not,” Dougherty said. “We played for a district championship and we were in the state quarterfinals, and we were right there back-to-back years, and then that group graduated – we graduated four seniors and a freshman starting, Anna McTamney. (The following year) we were a layup hanging on the rim away from beating O’Hara in states.
“And then the next year they come back and win the league over a great Upper Dublin team who everyone thought would be the state champion last year, and this group beat them.
“Now this year – we let go of last year being alive in states and to come back, and we couldn’t get games. No one would play us. We were begging teams to play us. Other teams had 22 games – we couldn’t get games. We had an 11-day shutdown because we had a (COVID) case. These kids fought through it all, and we were right there.”
Friday’s title game did not follow the script the Colonials had hoped it would. After connecting on 11-of-17 shots in the first half of Wednesday’s 50-19 district semifinal win over Central Bucks East, the Colonials could not find their offensive rhythm.
The Colonials led 6-0 when Kaitlyn Flanagan scored off a dribble midway through the opening quarter, but a Hailey Hudak basket marked the beginning of a 16-3 Spring-Ford run that included 10 points from Lucy Olsen.
Still, the Colonials were very much in it, and pulled to within three (21-18) after a McTamney bucket late in the half, but Olsen banked in a three at the buzzer to send the Rams into halftime with a 24-18 lead.
“We knew they were going to come out and play us in man, and it was just a matter of execution,” Cooper said. “We, unfortunately, couldn’t execute tonight.”
“They did a good job defensively,” Dougherty said. “In the second quarter when we were trying to push the ball up the floor and get a quick score, they did an excellent job of getting back defensively, taking that first driving lane away, and then we had to try and get into an offensive set. We missed shots, we missed shots in the second quarter that could have kept the game closer.”
Olsen – who finished with 33 points – dished off to Hudak for an easy bucket to open the second half, but Erin Daley made it a five-point game when she buried a 3-pointer. Anna Azzara answered with a three for the Rams, who went on top open up a 37-25 lead after three quarters. The Colonials would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way, and a special season had ended too soon.
“I feel really bad for the seniors that they didn’t get to have this experience at ‘Nova or Temple,” Dougherty said. “I told them, ‘You’ve turned this into a district powerhouse. We went from being a blip to a district powerhouse. In essence, we made it to the district quarterfinal again, a district championship. One of these years we’ll break through.
“They’re the best group of kids, and that’s the hardest part. They make all the time and effort it takes to get to this level so worthwhile because they are the greatest group of kids. They love each other, they’re enjoyable to coach, they’re all (taking) AP/honors classes, they’re all just the greatest kids, the greatest families.
“Even when we’ve had success in the past, we’ve always had to deal with – there’s this one person that’s not happy. Not once in the last two years have I ever dealt with anyone being unhappy, and it makes coaching so much more enjoyable when you just get to enjoy the kids, and they’ve been a great group.”
Friday’s loss left the Colonials wondering what had gone wrong.
“We didn’t come into the game nervous,” McTamney said. “We were excited, we weren’t too energetic where we lost focus, but I feel like it just wasn’t our game.”
“Shots weren’t falling that normally fall,” Cooper said. “It wasn’t our night.”
Extra shots: Daley’s 13 points led the Colonials. McTamney and Flangan each added nine points…the Colonials lose two starters – Cooper and McTamney – from a rotation of seven. “We have a great group coming back, a couple of young kids that are ready to step into roles,” Dougherty said. “You saw Erin Daley – she’s ready to step into Anna (McTamney’s) role. Deja Evans is ready.”…Plymouth Whitemarsh closed out its season with an 18-2 record overall. The captured the SOL Liberty Division title with a perfect 10-0 record.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 9-9-7-11 36
Spring-Ford 14-10-13-15 52
Plymouth Whitemarsh (36) – Kaitlyn Flanagan 3 3-6 9; Erin Daley 5 2-3 13; Abby Sharpe 1 0-0 3; Anna McTamney 2 5-6 9; Lainey Allen 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 12 10-15 36.
Spring-Ford (52) – Lucy Olsen 13 4-5 33; Anna Azzara 1 1-2 4; Emily Tiffan 1 0-0 2; Kylie Lee 0 1-2 1; Hailey Hudak 2 0-0 4; Mac Pettinelli 3 2-2 8; TOTALS 20 8-11 52.
3-point goals: PW – Erin Daley, Abby Sharpe, SF – Lucy Olsen 3, Anna Azzara.
Olsen in a league of her own – Lucy Olsen was, in a word, unstoppable. The Spring-Ford senior tied a program record set by Carolyn Albright in the 1992-93 season with 33 points in a dazzling performance.
“I was just excited,” Olsen said. “Our team was just pumped, everyone was pumped. I think the adrenaline took over. I think because our team is so good it opened more things up for me. We just played as a team, and it left me open.”
It wasn’t nearly as simple as Olsen suggested, but humility is a trait the Villanova-bound senior possesses in abundance, and she’d much prefer deflect the credit to her team.
Try though she might, Olsen could not talk her way out of the spotlight after singlehandedly propelling the Rams to a 24-18 halftime lead. The program’s all-time leading scorer accounted for 18 of Spring-Ford’s first-half points, scoring in every imaginable way. Her three at the buzzer ending the first quarter put the Rams on top 14-9. She had 10 of those points.
“I just wanted to win,” Olsen said. “I wanted to win really badly. I just put my mind to winning. I try to every game, but tonight I needed to help take over to win the game.”
Not that Olsen needed any incentive, but it turns out she hadn’t forgotten about last year’s 56-42 loss to PW in the district’s third place game. She had 14 points in that game, although she didn’t remember.
“Last year, I played really bad, and I didn’t want to play bad again,” she said. “I missed every single shot, and I fouled out. That’s what I remember.
“I didn’t want to lose to them two years in a row, especially to end our season. I wanted to move on, and I want to win states. I guess you could say I’m on a mission.”
On Friday night with her high school season on the line, Olsen would not be denied.
“She’s a great player,” senior Anna McTamney said. “We knew she was going to score, but if we’d kept her to a minimum, that would have helped, but she’s a great player. She came out ready tonight.”
“Shots fell for her,” senior Gabby Cooper said. “She’s an amazing player. She really works at her craft. Kudos to her.”
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