O’Brien, Plymouth Whitemarsh too much for short-handed Springfield-Montco

SPRINGFIELD >> Kind of like Captain Kirk, Springfield-Montco girls basketball coach Bill Krewson doesn’t believe in a no-win scenario.

But admittedly, his Spartans were up against it Friday night when they took on Plymouth Whitemarsh.

Leading scorer Molly Dugan is out, awaiting the results of an MRI which could mean knee ligament damage.

Springfield also had several deep subs who were out, attending a dance at nearby La Salle College High.

And so it was that the Spartans took the court with just nine healthy bodies.

The Colonials built a 12-point lead after one quarter and stretched it to 27 by halftime.

The final was 64-21, but Krewson was still not willing to concede to what was the inevitable

Taylor O‘Brien and Ali Diamond led the way with 25 and 11 points, respectively, as the Colonials just simply didn’t let up, regardless of the lopsided score.

“Even in a game like that, there are things to work on,” said Colonials head coach Dan Dougherty. “I wanted to see if we would still play with that killer instinct.

“We wanted to do what we do best, which is to play up-tempo. We play with four guards, so we have to play that way.”

PW was a runaway train in the first half, stretching its modest lead to blowout proportions by the end of the first half.

O’Brien played a huge role in that run, bucketing 13 second-quarter points, while the Spartans could only manage a Rileigh Serrani field goal.

Springfield hit double figures in the third quarter, but the Colonials just had too much, while the Spartans had far too little.

Still, Krewson was not about to throw in the towel.

“We had to change our game strategy,” the coach said. “This was our first game without Molly, so we wanted to emphasize slowing down our offense, and holding the ball for better shots.”

But chasing 20- and 30-point deficits in the second half did not allow the Spartans the luxury of holding for the good shot.

Meanwhile, Dougherty wanted to see his club increase its offensive pressure.

“When you see the real good teams in our league, you have to be impressed with their communicating on defense,” Dougherty said. “That’s what we’re trying to get to.”

But on this night, defense after the first quarter was far from necessary.