Powell steals the win for Rustin
WESTTOWN – Noelle Powell had a chance to a seal a victory for West Chester Rustin with just over 10 seconds remaining.
With the Golden Knights up three points, Powell was sent to the line for a one-and-one opportunity. A made free throw would have won the game.
Instead, the sure-handed Powell missed the free throw, giving visiting Mount St. Joseph’s a chance to tie the game on its final possession.
“Those free throws were really important,’ Powell said. “As soon as I missed the shot, there had to be a way to get the ball back.’
Powell found a way.
The senior stole the ball as she intercepted Caitlyn Cunningham’s pass from Libby Tucka above the 3-point arc and took the ball for a layup as time expired to give West Chester Rustin a 51-46 victory over Mount St. Joe’s in a nonleague tilt between two of the top teams in District 1 Saturday afternoon.
Powell finished with 13 points for the Golden Knights (2-3), but there wasn’t a bigger play she made than that steal to redeem herself from that missed free throw just five seconds earlier.
“As soon as they went down the court, I saw (Cunningham) pass the ball,’ Powell said. “I just ran for it. This game was going to be a fight to the absolute end. That’s just what it was and we just happened to pull the win out.’
Rustin came back from multiple deficits in the this one, but their fourth quarter rally from the 5:35 mark proved to be the difference.
With Mount St. Joe’s up 40-32 after a 9-0 run, Emily Walls hit a 3-pointer (her third of the afternoon) to cut the Golden Knights’ deficit to 40-35.
On Rustin’s next possession, Casey Warley hit a three to make it 40-38 with 4:33 to go.
After a Mount St. Joe’s turnover, Powell hit a three at the top of the key to give Rustin the lead for good at 41-40. Powell then hit a layup on the Golden Knights’ next possession to put them up 43-40 with 3:39 to go.
The Golden Knights went on runs of 7-0, 9-0, and 11-0 in the game. Mount St. Joe’s had a response of their own with 6-0 spurt to start the second half and a 9-0 run between the third and fourth quarter to earn a 40-32 lead, their largest of the game.
But Rustin’s 11-0 spurt came at the most crucial point of the ballgame.
“We knew we had it and couldn’t let this game slip out of our hands,’ said Warley, who finished with eight points. “We needed to play every possession and not take a play off.’
Rustin stretched its lead as Erin Gallagher hit a three, the fourth in a row for the Golden Knights, to give them a 46-42 lead with 2:50 to go.
Walls hit a jumper to give Rustin its largest lead of the day at 48-42 on its next possession.
Mount St. Joe’s (2-1) responded with four unanswered to get within four, 48-44, with 49 seconds left.
The Golden Knights held the ball on the ensuing possession for a chance to go to the line. Annie Pitts hit 1-of-2 free throws to put Rustin up 49-46 with 19.5 seconds remaining.
Pitts missed the back end of the one-and-one, but Powell got the rebound and drew the foul for a chance to ice the game.
In turn, the missed free throw set her up for the heroics to follow. As a result, Rustin walked off the floor with a crucial victory over one of the premier teams in District 1.
The Golden Knights have rebounded with back-to-back wins after a 0-3 start in which they played Central Bucks West, Bethlehem Catholic and Cardinal O’Hara. As they are still adjusting to a new offense under head coach Colette Dugan, a win over Mount St. Joe’s will go a long way toward dictating how Rustin’s season will play out as the team gets into its Ches-Mont American Division schedule.
“This was a big confidence booster for us,’ Walls said. “We’ve been working on playing like a team. We got ourselves together over the last few days. With this win, we can just go on a run from here.’
“It was a rough start for us,’ Powell said. “This win will motivate us and pick us up knowing how good we are. That was a very good team we beat today.’
