Forde, Shanahan defense notches 12 steals in dominant second-half performance against Unionville

WEST GOSHEN — Ciara Forde noticed the momentum shifting in Bishop Shanahan’s favor during the second half, but insisted it wasn’t the scoring her and teammate Grace Phillips were providing the Eagles.

Instead, it was the team defense and full-court press Shanahan head coach Fran Burbidge applied to Unionville after halftime. The strategy worked in Forde’s favor, a defensive stalwart in her own right.

“Defense is just as improtant as offense to me,’ Forde said. “Our defense pretty much won the game for us. We got a lot of steals off the press. I think all of us on the floor had a steal at one point. That’s pretty good for what we play.’

Forde led Bishop Shanahan with a game-high 13 points as the Eagles collected 12 steals and held Unionville to 12 second-half points in a 47-31 win in the first game of the Ches-Mont Final Four Saturday afternoon at West Chester East High School.

The Eagles (20-3) advanced to their first Ches-Mont Championship game in school history with the win and will face Downingtown East on Tuesday night, 7 p.m. at West Chester East. With Shanahan’s 20th win, its the first time the program has had back-to-back 20-win seasons.

The Indians (16-7), making their first Final Four appearance since 2012, will head to the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs. Head coach Fred Ellzy put the loss in perspective, giving Unionville credit for the great season they had to this point.

“They had a phenomenal season, and I told them that,’ Ellzy said. “These girls have nothing to be ashamed of, but we’re not done. We still got the playoffs to worry about.’

With the game tied 19-19 at half, Burbidge made some adjustments to provide some offense and installing his full-court press. Burbidge took out center Devon Adams and installed Kelly Basile, who had nine points in the first half.

That change allowed the Eagles to run the floor and take over the game.