Bishop McDevitt too much for Lansdale Catholic in PIAA-4A 2nd round

NEW HOLLAND >> Head coach Eric Gidney called the opening few minutes against District 3’s Bishop McDevitt “a little shock and awe.”

After the game, he admitted Lansdale Catholic was not prepared for the McDevitt’s speed and athleticism, something that is tough to judge on film.

And McDevitt used that speed and athleticism to break down the Lansdale on both ends of the court, flying out to a 23-8 first-quarter lead en route to a 70-31 victory in the second round of the PIAA Class 4A girls basketball tournament Wednesday evening at Garden Spot High School.

LC turned the ball over 10 times in the opening frame, which allowed the Harrisburg-area school to outshoot them (attempts: 19-7) and build a quick double-digit lead that would only grow as the game went on.

“It’s quicksand, right?” Gidney said. “I mean, it’s tough to get out of that. And you start finger point, and when you’re a player, you don’t look within. … We just didn’t bring our best effort.”

Bishop McDevitt’s relentless pressure caused some of those turnovers, but District 12’s third seed (16-11) didn’t help their own cause with sloppy passing and other mistakes.

And McDevitt (D3 second seed, 23-4) turned those turnovers into a barrage of early 3s, making four in the first quarter as they attacked the open spots in LC’s triangle-and-two.

“They were playing a triangle-and-two,” McD head coach Kevin Dupes said. “And we saw a lot of film on them where they’re playing triangle-and-two, box-and-one, and we knew where it was going to be wide open. So we put our shooters in those spots, and then we had kids prepared coming off the bench that can shoot to hit those spots as well.”

Senior guard Olivia Fasick started hot with two deep 3-balls, and Jasmine Chisholm and Elizabeth Staub each added one more. Fasick was particularly strong in the first few minutes until LC adjusted and took away some of her chances. The 1,000-point scorer had eight first-quarter points to help build the lead.

“What [McDevitt lacks] in length they make up for in catch-up speed,” Gidney said. “They really close out passing lanes in their pressure. And we did them some favors, too. Our turnovers and our lack of box-outs, and pulling defensive rebounds, it set a tough hole for us to dig out of.”

McDevitt didn’t relent after the first eight minutes.

Treasure George-Morrow, another 1,000-point club member, scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the second quarter, driving hard to the rim and going 4-for-4 from the field during that stretch.

Lansdale Catholic cut down on its turnovers over the final 24 minutes, committing just nine more, but they couldn’t generate consistently open looks as the deficit continued to build.

LC shot 9-of-32 from the field compared to McD’s 22-of-60.

Timaya Lewis-Eutsey and Riley DeVitis led LC with seven points each, and Lauren Edwards added six. Caitlin Rosenberger was unofficially at eight rebounds. McDevitt got 11 from Fasick and 10 points, seven rebounds from Chisholm.

Lansdale Catholic had success getting to the foul line, forcing more than 20 BM fouls, but they couldn’t capitalize, going 12-of-25.

Gidney said this was the farthest an LC has made it in 17 years. After losing two Division II-bound scorers from the 2017-18 team, this season has been a case of “exceeded expectations,” he said.

“This will sting for a little bit, but we’re really proud of that accomplishment,” Gidney said.

“There’s a nice core to build off of. And we’ve got a nice incoming group of freshmen to come off of. And there’s a lot of excitement about where we were. … We need to find a way to get back to this level next year, too.”