Kent, Smuda power D-East, Cougars clinch spot in Ches-Mont Final Four

DOWNINGTOWN >> Downingtown East’s Lauren and Ari show will play at West Chester this weekend.
Senior Lauren Kent and junior Ari Smuda combined for all but six of the Cougars’ points during D-East’s 39-26 victory over Downingtown West in a Ches-Mont League National Division girls basketball contest Monday at Robert A. Boyer Gymnasium.
The win clinched a berth for D-East in the Ches-Mont Final Four at West Chester University on Friday. The Cougars improved to 9-2 (16-4 overall) and are tied with Bishop Shanahan for first place in the division. Downingtown East will face West Chester East on Wednesday, while the Eagles travel to Coatesville.
“It’s real exciting,” said Smuda. “That’s super cool that we were able to do that. I couldn’t do it without my team and my coaches.”
“It’s one of the things you think about when you start your season,” added D-East coach Darren Domsohn. “The work’s not done yet. We just have to keep playing and play our style of ball and play together.”
Scoring was hard to by for both teams to start the game. D-West (5-6, 12-7) took its only lead of the game at 6-5 on a 3-pointer by Sami Schurtz. Aly Stauffer completed the 7-0 run on a short jumper a little more than midway through the quarter.
But East came back on two free throws by Smuda, a three from Kent and a basket from Smuda for a 12-10 advantage after one.
The second quarter saw the shooting struggles continue. The Whippets were held to two baskets and committed six turnovers. While East had shooting woes of its own to contend with – they were 2-for-10 from the floor in the quarter – the Cougars held a three-point lead, 18-15, at the break. Kent and Smuda accounted for all 18 points.
“Obviously, both of them played a great game,” said West coach Scott Young. “We didn’t really have an answer for them. So, kudos to them, they played great.”
The third quarter ended up being a miserable one for the Whippets. They were outscored, 12-2, held scoreless until 1:35 left in the quarter, made just one of 10 shots from the floor and turned the ball over eight times.
“We struggled getting into an offense, which hurt us,” said Young. “When you combine that with the way those two played, it was a tough night.”
Smuda heated up in the third period, taking over down low. She scored eight in the stanza and gave credit to a special tutor.
“I prtice with my dad a lot on post moves and stuff,” said Smuda. “He’s helped me get better at that and I appreciate him a lot. We practice at practice being able to feel the defense, and know when to kick out and when to take it down low.”
The Cougars built a 30-18 lead going into the fourth period. Despite having chances to take its deficit under double-digits, D-West was unable to do so.
Smuda finished with 18 points and Kent had 15. Lizzie Grant and Payton Forsyth led West with seven points each. The Whippets won’t have long to dwell on the defeat – they face Collegium Charter today, West Chester Henderson on Wednesday and Phoenixville to wrap up the regular season on Thursday.

Downingtown East 39, Downingtown West 26
Downingtown West: Young 0 0-0 0; Schurtz 1 0-0 3; Stauffer 1 0-2 2; L. Grant 3 1-2 7; E. Grant 0 0-0 0; Arrowsmith 2 0-0 4; Forsyth 2 3-5 7; Heimberger 0 0-0 0; Gibson 0 0-0 0; Meenan 1 1-2 3. Totals: 10 5-9 26.
Downingtown East: Daniel 0 0-0 0; Denning 0 2-2 2; Ardoline 0 0-0 0; Bell 0 0-0 0; Garg 0 0-0 0; Kent 5 4-9 15; Hewitt 0 0-0 0; Comegys 0 0-0 0; Ford 0 1-2 1; Smuda 6 6-10 18; Iannacchione 1 0-0 3. Totals: 12 13-23 39.
Downingtown West 10 4 2 10 — 26
Downingtown East 12 6 12 9 — 39
3-point goals: Schurtz, Kent, Iannacchione.