Plymouth Whitemarsh sizes up to defeat CB West in District 1-6A quarterfinals
WHITEMARSH >> Size still matters.
There aren’t many teams that have the kind of size the Plymouth Whitemarsh girls’ basketball team does and it provides an advantage the Colonials want to make us of. Facing a Central Buks West team that brought plenty of quickness and shooting, bigger proved to be better for PW in Saturday’s District 1-6A quarterfinals.
No. 2 Plymouth Whitemarsh used its size advantage on both ends to take down the No. 10 Bucks 52-32, denying West a chance at a district title repeat.
“Today’s game was going to come down to if our size could defend their speed,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “They usually have five guards out there and we, at times, have four posts out on the floor. I thought our girls did an excellent job.”
Colonials senior Anna McTamney opened the game with a score in the paint, setting a trend for the Colonials. McTamney, who measures 5-foot-10 and 6-foot junior Jordyn Thomas combined for the first 10 Colonials points, then they got bigger when 6-foot-2 junior Lainey Allen came in from the bench and scored a pair of baskets.
Erin Daley, PW’s (17-1) other 6-foot starting forward, ended the first quarter with a hoop right under the basket on a feed from Thomas for a 16-8 lead. Getting offense on the blocks was good, but PW’s defense around the rim on the other end might have been better on Saturday.
“Giving them a step was a major part of not getting beat and allowed us to recover and get back,” Thomas said. “We just focused on being in the way of their drives but not getting into them or fouling them.”
Daley played a tremendous game defensively, blocking three shots to go with eight rebounds and the sophomore disrupted plenty of other looks with her positioning. Guards Gabby Cooper and Kaitlyn Flanagan were plenty disruptive on the perimeter, using their length to full effect.
The teams met on February 6, with PW winning 62-51 but the Bucks (12-6) gave the Colonials all they could handle between Emily Spratt getting to the rim and some sharpshooting from the perimeter. Dougherty said the Colonials knew they wouldn’t be able to stop Spratt, but they wanted to make things as difficult as possible for the West junior while keeping her teammates wrapped up.
West converted just 10-of-41 shots from the floor and 2-of-11 from 3-point range as PW, like Thomas noted, used its size inside as a barrier without necessarily blocking a high number of shots. Bucks coach Zach Sibel noted even as the has increasingly put a premium on perimeter shooting and stretching the floor, having quality post players can still be effective.
“I was joking with their AD, I asked what they had in the water here so I could get some back in Doylestown,” Sibel said. “They’re a really well coached team and they’ve got players. The size hurt us, even looking at the first half their first few baskets were all inside.
“In a game that’s gone more-and-more to 3-point shooting, they do it well on both ends. Even their shooters on the wings have size.”
PW also wasn’t hesitant to switch on defense and the posts did a great job of going out and guarding on the perimeter.
“We knew we couldn’t over-help, so we tried to stay on our girl but also call the switches if we needed them,” McTamney said.
“That’s a big focus, we’re aware of giving them a step because we don’t want to get beat baseline,” Thomas said. “We have good help in the middle but we don’t want to give up that baseline drive and take it away.”
McTamney had 10 points in the first half as PW built a 24-14 edge at the break. The senior, who finished with a team-high 16, felt the Colonials’ ball-movement was the difference-maker offensively.
PW assisted 12 of its 18 made shots and junior point guard Kaitlyn Flanagan led the distribution with six assists in her second game back from a hamstring issue.
“When we drove to the lane, their defense would collapse on the person driving so we always had someone there so we could drop it over to a post player and they would score,” McTamney said. “We did a really good job of keeping our heads up to be able to see that open player.”
While the Bucks weren’t able to go back-to-back as district champions, they did put together a strong season after graduating three starters from last year’s team including Class 6A Player of the Year Maddie Burke. Sibel credited his entire team for the work it put in during an unusual and challenging season.
Seniors Anna Blue, Paige Gilbert and Maggie McCusker continued the West tradition and after the game, Sibel told them to look at all the positive things they brought to the program.
“We let those girls ride to the end because that’s what they deserve for what they bring to our community and it’s example of working hard and playing hard,” Sibel said. “Sometimes thing don’t go your way and shots don’t fall but I’m extremely proud of this group.
“These athletes all over are handling more adversity than they should ever have to and what really stood out to me is the leadership and the heart and passion these kids have.”
PW took a 35-22 lead into the final quarter, where the Bucks went to a scrambling pressure defense to try and cause turnovers. The Colonials were ready for it and got a lift from their free throw shooting down the stretch.
A layup by Gilbert cut the lead to 38-30 with 4:57 to go, but the Bucks would only score two more points the rest of the way. Plymouth Whitemarsh, which isn’t the strongest free throwing shooting team, upped its average by going 11-of-12 at the stripe in the fourth quarter.
Saturday’s win sends PW back to the District 1 semifinals for the second straight year where they will host No. 3 CB East, a 34-29 winner over No. 6 Pennsbury on Wednesday. The Patriots handed the Colonials their only loss this year.
“It’s a tough group of kids,” Dougherty said. “The top thing on our board today was ‘if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best,’ and if they wanted to win a district championship, (West) was the team they had to get through because they had what our kids want.
“To beat them the way we did, it’s really impressive and I’m really proud of them.”
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 52, CB WEST 32
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH16 8 11 17 – 52
CB WEST 8 6 8 10 – 32
PW: Kaitlyn Flanagan 1 2-2 5, Erin Daley 1 4-4 6, Anna McTamney 6 4-4 16, Jordyn Thomas 4 3-4 11, Abby Sharpe 2 0-0 5, Lainey Allen 4 1-2 9. Totals: 18 14-15 52.
CBW: Anna Blue 2 0-0 5, Emily Spratt 4 9-13 17, Maggie McCusker 1 0-0 3, Paige Gilbert 2 1-2 5, Tai Henkels 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 10-14 32.
3-pointers: PW – Sharpe, Flanagan; CBW – Blue, McCusker.
