Young Plymouth-Whitemarsh squad knocks off Methacton, locks up state berth
FAIRVIEW VILLAGE >> Plymouth-Whitemarsh worked awfully hard to regain the lead Wednesday night at Methacton, and they weren’t about to let it get away easily.
The Colonials came back from an eight-point halftime deficit, controlling the ball and limiting Methacton to one point in the final nine minutes, 39 seconds of the game, advancing to states with a 35-30 win Wednesday in the District 1-6A playback game.
Freshman Kaitlyn Flanagan led the Colonials with 10 points, but it was ball control and a defensive switch in a slugfest of a contest that put the Colonials over the top.
The Colonials held the ball for the vast majority of the fourth quarter. If time of possession was a statistic in basketball, they won it convincingly. Meanwhile, coach Dan Dougherty made a late defensive change that swung the game on that end of the floor.
“We put Kate Flanagan onto Sydney (Tornetta, Methacton’s leading scorer with 10 points), and we put Gabby Cooper onto their shooter, (Nicole) Timko. Gabby’s length tends to bother shooters.”
Timko wasn’t excluded, as she went scoreless after an eight-point first quarter with PW’s defensive stopper guarding her.
When the girls’ PIAA 6A state tournament begins next weekend, PW will represent District 1 as either the ninth or tenth seed (to be determined in a playback game with CB West Friday.)
Whatever their seed, they’ll likely be the youngest team in the field. Only one upperclassman saw the court for the Colonials, who start three freshmen and two sophomores.
“Anna (McTamney) was our only starter with varsity experience coming into the season,” said Dougherty. “Honestly? At the start of the season, I thought anything over .500 would be a good year.”
Instead, the Colonials stand at 21-5 thanks in large part to their three fabulous freshmen, Flanagan plus the inside duo of Lainey Allen and Jordyn Thomas, who combined for 16 points and controlled the boards in the fourth quarter, keeping PW possessions alive and limiting Methacton’s offensive opportunities.
“It’s unreal,” said Thomas. “We didn’t think we’d get this far so soon.”
“I think with as much as we have to learn… there’s so much still to be accomplished,” added Allen. “I don’t think we’re done (improving).”
The game was ultimately a story of two long scoring droughts, one by each team. In the second quarter, the Warriors seemed to find an answer for PW’s 6-foot-1 Allen, who scored on the Colonials’ first two possessions and owned the glass on both sides of the court. Methacton junior Caroline Pellicano blocked two of Allen’s putback attempts, while sophomore Allie Hackett came off the bench to neutralize Allen on the boards.
Secondly, after Timko handled the majority of the Methacton scoring load in the first quarter, the Warriors got junior Sydney Tornetta and senior Abby Penjuke involved on the offensive end. Both contributed threes—Penjuke from distance; Tornetta the old-fashioned way—and the Warriors ended the half with an eight-point advantage, 23-15.
Meanwhile, with Allen neutralized PW struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Kaitlyn Flanagan’s jumper broke a six-minute scoreless drought for the Colonials (20-6), but Methacton forced numerous turnovers and blocked four shots in all for the quarter.
But after halftime, the Colonials found answers on both ends. A quick 6-2 run out of the locker room brought the Colonials back within four, highlighted by a Jordyn Thomas three. After a quick exchange of baskets, Methacton’s Tornetta knocked down a short jumper to give the Warriors a 29-24 advantage with 1:39 left in the third stanza.
It would be the Warriors’ last field goal of the night.
Slowly, PW took control through the fourth quarter, as Thomas willed herself to the foul line repeatedly to draw within striking distance. A Flanagan three gave the Colonials the lead for good at 31-30 with 6:31 to play, and the shutdown defense and ball control took things the rest of the way.
“We lost four starters to graduation… Almost 4,000 career points, and Miss PA Basketball (Taylor O’Brien)… we lost a lot,” said Dougherty. “But these freshmen, they’ve been such a wonderful surprise. Gabby’s our glue player, she just wants to defend and rebound. And Anna McTamney, our featured scorer… Methacton did a great job on her tonight. Others picked up the slack.”
For Methacton, Timko was on fire at the start, connecting twice early from deep and racking up Methacton’s first eight points. A late Tornetta three gave Methacton an 11-10 lead after one.
The Warriors played without forward Sydney Hargrove, whose presence was missed in the battles on the boards late in the game.
“It’s always tough to replace a player like Sydney,” said Tornetta.
“As the game went on, we were kind of sluggish. I felt like when they switched up on defense, we didn’t really know what to do right away.”
Methacton (22-7) hosts a showdown with Pennsbury Friday for District 1’s final berth into states.
“It’s do or die,” summarized Tornetta. “And obviously, we want to make it to states badly, so we’ll be ready to go.”
