Strong fourth quarter for Basile leads Shanahan over Downingtown East
UWCHLAN – The play wasn’t drawn up the way Bishop Shanahan wanted.
It didn’t seem to matter with Kelly Basile having the hot hand in the fourth quarter. The Shanahan super sub just wanted the ball, especially with teammate Ciara Forde on lockdown with Downingtown East clinging to a two-point lead.
“The certain play didn’t go the right way, so I was wide open,’ Basile said. “I just called for the ball, drove and shot it.’
Basile forced a foul while shooting the lay-up that went in to tie the game for the Eagles with 1:14 left. She hit the free throw to put Shanahan ahead for good.
Basile was the spark plug off the bench for the Eagles once again as she scored eight points in the fourth quarter to rally Bishop Shanahan to a 42-39 victory over Downingtown East in a Ches-Mont National Division game at Downingtown East High School Thursday night.
Basile had 13 points for the Eagles (1-0, 4-0) and put them ahead twice in the final 2:30. Even with Basile’s efforts, Paige Warfel did everything she could to get the Cougars (0-1, 1-2) the victory. Her 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the front of the rim and the second bounce just missed going into the net as time expired.
The game lived up to the hype between the two teams that fought for the National Division title last season.
“It was huge to win a game like this,’ said Shanahan head coach Fran Burbidge. “To beat this team was huge for our program. It was a great game.’
“It was a really good game the whole way,’ said Downingtown East head coach Bob Schnure. There were some surges by us and by them. We fell a little short to a real good team. It was a good high school basketball game.’
The game was set up for a supurb finish with Bishop Shanahan leading 30-28 entering the fourth quarter. There were eight lead changes in the period, most from the hands of Warfel and Basile.
Basile hit a jumper to give Shanahan a 34-32 lead with just over four minutes to play. On East’s ensuing possession, Warfel hit a 3-pointer to give East back the lead at 35-34.
Basile fired back with a 3-pointer of her own to give Shanahan a 37-35 lead with 2:17 left.
Aryah Aungst hit two free throws to tie the game 37-37. After stopping Shanahan on its next possession, Warfel hit a contested jumper to give the Cougars a 39-37 lead with 1:33 to go.
Then, the stage was set for Basile’s heroics.
The sophomore got open on the left side of the court, dribbled twice and put in the layup while being fouled to tie it 39-39 with 1:14 left. Basile hit the free throw to give Shanahan the lead for good at 40-39.
“My adrealine was really rushing in that quarter,’ Basile said. “I just wanted to get out there and help the team out.’
“Kelly is a real big part of our team,’ Burbidge said. “She’s fearless and wants to be out there playing. When you want to be out there, the chances are you’re going to be successful making plays. Some of the other kids wanted to be out there with her as well. That was pretty cool.’
“She (Kelly) was huge tonight,’ Forde said. “We just got all our momentum when she hit the 3-pointer and the layup. It was hard to lose it after that.’
The first half was just as entertaining as the fourth quarter as two of the area’s top players, Warfel and Forde, took center stage. Warfel had 12 of her game-high 17 points in the first half while Forde had 13 of her 15 points in the same stretch.
Round one of the tilt between the National Division heavyweights went to Shanahan. The win was huge for the Eagles in the National Division playoff picture as they took a road victory against the defending division champions.
“Downingtown East is a great team,’ Forde said. “With them being big rivals, I was really hyped for this game. Getting a win here is awesome.’
“In the National Division, you better lace them up every game,’ Burbidge said. “Anybody can beat anybody. This is just one game. It’s a nice one to start off with, but we got a long road ahead of us.’
