Plymouth Whitemarsh rallies past CR North in District 1-6A quarters
WHITEMARSH >> By now, everyone knows that Taylor O’Brien is the engine that makes Plymouth Whitemarsh go.
What people are starting to realize, or at least should be, is that O’Brien isn’t going to do it all herself. The Colonials have a pretty capable supporting cast around the junior standout and they stepped up to the occasion when PW needed it on Saturday.
Clutch contributions from Lauren Fortescue and Ali Diamond, plus a stout team-wide defensive effort supported a 25-point day by O’Brien as PW rallied to top Council Rock North 56-48 in a District 1-6A girls quarterfinal game.
“I think we just really wanted it more,” Fortescue said. “We never gave up and I think in the second half we came out with more energy.”
The Colonials advanced to the district semis for the first time since 1997 and face the winner of Saturday night’s game between Boyertown and CB South on Wednesday at Bensalem in a doubleheader.
PW trailed the entire game until a pair of free throws by O’Brien with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter and were down by as many as 10 points midway through the second quarter. A combination of nerves and a little too much adrenaline led to a slow start for the No. 3 seeded Colonials, who gave up the game’s first five points and were down 18-10 after the first quarter.
GIRLS BASKETBALL: @PWHSGirlsBBall Ali Diamond buries Q4 3-pointer for 46-41 lead over CR North pic.twitter.com/DtP7J1eLLH
— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) February 25, 2017
Rock North had a size advantage on PW and the Indians used to full effect in the first half, dominating the glass and keeping numerous possessions alive with second and third chance shots with offensive rebounds. Likewise, the PW defense, which played zone from the opening tip, was slow to react at times in the first half, letting CRN point guard Becca Margolis get into the lane and either score or find shooters.
“We were a little nervous being in this environment and a huge moment with all of these fans,” O’Brien said. “It made things very up-tempo and weren’t really prepared for it. But as the game went on, we did our own thing and got back into it.”
North took a 22-12 lead with 4:17 left in the second and at the time, PW looked lost with O’Brien the only offensive player able to gain any traction. The Indians went out their way to make O’Brien’s day as tough as possible, sticking several different players on the PW point guard. Emily Mackin, an athletic wing with good size, got most of the minutes but whoever was on O’Brien played her physical and made catching the ball a task.
PW cut the lead down to 22-19, but a three-point play by Dana Bandurick and a 3-pointer by Margolis quickly wiped that out. The Colonials did get a little momentum back when Diamond nailed a 3-pointer with 12. 7 left in the first half, cutting the deficit to 28-22 at the break.
“We had to overcome some first quarter jitters and some adversity, I guess is the best way to say it, throughout the game and feeling like things were going against us,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “I told the kids it only makes you stronger. Our playoff motto is on to the next play.”
O’Brien started the second half the right way, steal the ball from CR North, driving down the floor and scoring through contact and cutting the lead in half on her foul shot. The junior hit a right corner 3-pointer with 3:45 left in the frame to cut the lead down to 34-33 but Rock North responded with a 5-0 spurt to push the lead back to six.
Then with 1:23 left in the third, Fortescue buried a 3-point shot and the junior followed that up with another trey to start the final quarter, knotting the game at 39-39. Prior to her third quarter make, Fortescue was just 1-of-6 from the floor but finished the game hitting three of her last four.
Fortescue ended the game with 12 points while Diamond, a junior lefty with plenty of range, dropped in 15 on 4-of-6 shooting and scored seven in the deciding fourth quarter.
“We were just trying to make plays,” Fortescue said. “We can’t keep all the pressure on Taylor.”
PW had a wild start to the third, getting called for seven team fouls in the first five minutes of the third, two of them called on inbounds plays before the ball was even put into play. Dougherty was baffled by the fact that a zone defense committed that many fouls in such a short amount of time, but he said he would watch the tape to see how it happened.
But from the 3:03 mark of the third on, the Colonials didn’t commit another foul. Their defense in general got much stronger and they held Margolis, who had nine in the first half, and Bandurick, who had 10, without a point. Victoria Betterly came in off the bench to anchor the middle of the zone and gave PW some strong defensive minutes.
The rebounding was also much better, with O’Brien using her athleticism to go up and snare the ball and Diamond, Fortescue and Laurel Suchsland fighting harder for them underneath.
“We realized we had to attack the rebound and we had to want it more,” Diamond, who pulled down four boards, said. “Rebounding isn’t something you teach, you just have to want it more and we had to go after it and we ended up getting more.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL: @PWHSGirlsBBall Lauren Fortescue with tough finish for 48-43 Q4 lead over CR North pic.twitter.com/4osW6OEL4V
— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) February 25, 2017
Mackenzie Tinner briefly put CRN back in front, but O’Brien found Lauren Coscia for the tying bucket, then after an Indians turnover, she drove and got fouled, sinking both for the first Colonial lead of the day. O’Brien had one more play to make, driving and kicking to Diamond for a 3-pointer and 46-41 lead.
“We went up by five and at that point, I felt the energy in the gym go up,” Fortescue said. “Coach said it was mind over matter, so a lot of it has to do with your mind and desire to win.”
“When they’re trying to shut down Taylor, Fort and I realize we have to step up and help her,” Diamond said. “We can make some plays on our own.”
A tough driving layup by Fortescue with 2:35 left was big, as it kept PW up 48-46 after a Megan Haggerty trey. After that, the Indians had to foul and PW responded by going 8-of-10 at the line over the final 1:03 to ice the victory.
“It means everything to this group and they’re a little disappointed they don’t get to play at Temple too,” Dougherty said. “We’ll put that out there that something’s wrong with that, the boys get to play at Temple and we have to play at Bensalem, they want that same experience. But now if they want that experience, they have to win and get to Villanova.”
PW has already accomplished plenty this season, winning an SOL American title, going unbeaten in the regular season, qualifying for states and now making the final four in the district.
“At the beginning of the year, our only focus was going 22-0,” O’Brien said. “Now, it just seems like all of our dreams are coming true.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 56, Council Rock North 48
Council Rock North 18 10 11 9 – 48
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10 12 14 20 – 56
Council Rock North: Becca Margolis 3 2-2 9, Megan Haggerty 2 0-0 6, Emily Mackin 5 0-0 10, Dana Bandurick 4 2-3 10, Mackenzie Tinner 3 2-2 8, Kaelin Mealy 1 0-0 3, Olivia Boyle 0 2-2 2. Nonscoring: Polinsky, Weiler. Totals: 18 8-9 48.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Taylor O’Brien 7 10-12 25, Lauren Fortescue, 4 2-4 12, Ali Diamond 4 4-6 15, Lauren Coscia 2 0-0 4. Nonscoring: Laurel Suchsland, Victoria Betterly. Totals: 17 16-22 56.
3-pointers: CRN – Haggerty 2, Mealy, Margolis; PW – Diamond 3, Fortescue 2, O’Brien.
Top Photo: Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Ali Diamond drives for the basket past Council Rock North’s Becca Margolis during their District 1-6A quarterfinal on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)
