Defense helps Rustin roll past Unionville
EAST MARBOROUGH –With a couple weeks left in the girls’ basketball regular season, West Chester Rustin and Great Valley have separated themselves from the rest of the teams in the Ches-Mont American. And the top two advance to the conference tournament.
The only squad realistically capable of getting into the mix, Unionville, was vanquished at home by Rustin on Thursday. And the final score, 57-31, was even more lopsided than when the two met in mid-December at Rustin.
“To be able to come in here and do what we were able to do tonight definitely speaks volumes for my girls,” said Knights’ head coach Lauren Stackhouse. “They were able to rise to the occasion.
“I told them that it was an amazing team win. Everybody contributed. It was just one of those nights where once we got into our rhythm, we were going to be tough to stop.”
The Golden Knights improve to 6-1 in the division (11-4 overall) and scored enough points in the second and third quarters alone (43) to win the clash. But it was defensively where the Knights really excelled. They held the Indians to single digits in each of the four quarters.
“Our defense was what turned it around. It was the spark,” Stackhouse said.
Unionville falls to 4-3 (11-6 overall), and is two full games behind Rustin. Great Valley is 7-0.
“This was a big game for us in order to stay in contention for the top two,” acknowledged Indians’ head coach Fred Ellzy.
“(Rustin) came out and played harder than us. They seemed to do just about everything well and we just didn’t.”
Rustin parlayed a dominant 24-9 edge in the second quarter with a similar 19-6 advantage in the third to turn a two-point deficit into a 26-point lead.
“We knew this was important for Ches-Mont’s, so we gave it all we’ve got,” said Knights’ guard Sam Greer.
“I think our defense started it with turnovers and we just took off from there.”
Rustin actually got off to a shaky start, turning the ball over on six of their first seven possessions. But Unionville was unable to fully capitalize and never led by more than four.
“We came out nervous and excited. But we settled down,” Greer explained.
“Taking advantage is what basketball is all about,” Ellzy added. “You want to try to limit their runs, and when we had our chance, we didn’t capitalize.”
The Knights’ broke it open in the second quarter with a 16-2 rally that concluded with a Greer 3-pointer followed by a steal and lay-in. The senior scored nine of her team-high 11 during the run, and the Knights took a 30-17 lead into the locker room.
“(Our players) did a good job of keeping their composure and not getting rattled early,” Stackhouse said.
“One thing we talk about a lot is that once we hit the gas pedal we don’t want to hit the break again. We want to go.”
When Rustin opened the second half by scoring seven of the first eight, the rout was on. Lola Flynn and Laney Costin scored 10 and nine, respectively, for the Knights, and Laine McGurk added all of her eight points in the third period.
Emma Dempsey had 10 to pace the Indians.
“We turned the ball over and that’s playing right into (Rustin’s) hands,” Ellzy said. “We knew they were going to pressure us and you have to take care of the ball.”
West Chester Rustin 57, Unionville 31
WEST CHESTER RUSTIN – Flynn 3 4-4 10; Betchyk 2 0-0 4; Plona 0 2-2 2; E. McGurk 1 0-2 2; Greer 5 0-0 11; L. McGurk 4 0-0 8; DiCampli 1 0-0 3; Harrison 1 0-0 2; Costin 4 1-5 9; Shivers 2 0-0 6. Totals 23 9-13 57.
UNIONVILLE – Barrett 2 2-2 7; Al. Brown 2 1-2 5; Dempsey 4 0-0 10; Robbins 2 1-6 5; Angstadt 1 1-2 3; An. Brown 0 0-2 0; M. Baughan 0 1-4 1. Totals 11 6-18 31.
West Chester Rustin 8 9 6 8 — 31
Unionville 6 24 19 8 — 57
Three-point goals: Shivers 2, Greer, DiCampli, Barrett, Dempsey 2.
