Bishop Shanahan clinches state tourney berth with win over Harriton
Downingtown >> It was a close battle all the way, but the Bishop Shanahan girls’ basketball team clinched a PIAA 5A state tournament berth with a 42-39 win against No. 5 seed Harriton in their District 1 5A contest Tuesday.
The Eagles advance to the District 1 5A semifinals, where they will face No. 1 seed Springfield Friday.
Tuesday’s matchup featured numerous lead changes and was tied 35-35 with 3:50 to go. Some tough defense down the stretch and timely shooting by Abigail Wolfe (14 points) greatly helped the fourth-seeded Eagles (15-8) earn the victory.
“It was our defense – we made some stops and got some timely buckets at the end,” said Bishop Shanahan head coach Jim Powers. “Abby had a heck of a night – she had a big night when we needed her. And Sammi [Blumenthal] had a big night too, she was just battling inside, and took two big charges when we needed them.
“We tried to mix up our defense – we played some zone and some man against [Harriton], to keep them off balance. It seemed like the man defense was better, because they hit some threes on top of our zone. So give credit to Harriton because they shot the ball well early.”
In the first quarter, Harriton (19-6) took an 11-6 lead thanks to a trio of treys from Felicity McFillin (two) and Annie Aspesi (one). Wolfe came back with a three-point shot of her own, and by the end of the period the Eagles cut the Rams’ lead to 13-11.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair, and the score was tied 22-22 with less than two minutes before halftime. Wolfe then drove in for a score to give the hosts a 24-22 lead, and following a missed free throw by Harriton, Shanahan brought the ball downcourt and began a lengthy series of passes. Finally, with 21 seconds to play before halftime, Alyssa Brown unleashed a trey from the left side to give the hosts a 27-22 lead, their biggest margin of the night.
Midway through the third period, a trio of Eagle starters had picked up three fouls each, and Harriton went on a 7-0 run. McFillin hit a trey, Aspesi scored on a layup with a nice feed from Maretta Smith and Anna Chimento completed the run on a putback to put the visitors up 32-29.
Brown drove in for a layup near the end of the third quarter to cut the Rams’ lead to 32-31, then early in the fourth period Blumenthal’s free throw tied the score at 32-32.
Shanahan’s Alexa Bojko, in her first game back after an ankle injury, nailed a trey from the left corner after a lengthy series of passes by the Eagles to give the hosts a 35-32 lead. Smith tied the score with a three from the left corner, making it 35-35 with 3:50 to play.
Wolfe hit a trey from the top of the key to put the Eagles up 38-35, McFillin’s field goal got the Rams to within one point, then following a travelling violation by Shanahan and a missed shot by Harriton, Blumenthal was fouled and coolly sank both free throws to put the hosts ahead 40-37 with 2:15 remaining.
Chimento scored underneath to cut the Eagles’ lead to 40-39, then Wolfe’s putback made it 42-39 with less than a minute to play. A trey attempt by Harriton was partially blocked, Shanahan got the ball and hung on for the victory.
“Harriton played hard – that’s a good team, they really came hard at us,” said Powers. “They’re fifth in the district for a reason, and that Central League that they play in was up and down this year, everyone was beating everybody. So you can’t take them lightly – they could be a two seed, they’re that tough.”
Five players did all of the Eagles’ scoring – Wolfe (14 points), Brown (11), Caydence Oswald (7), Blumenthal (7) and Bojko (3).
For the Rams, the leading scorers were Aspesi (12 points), McFillin (9), Chimento (8) and Smith (6). Harriton now moves into the playback bracket of the District 1 5A tournament.
“This team is a special group, led by Annie Aspesi and Maretta Smith,” said Harriton head coach Christina Wielgus. “We were not a very good team when they arrived [as freshmen], but they’ve taken us to the district tournament, and they have competed [to the maximum] in every single game that they’ve played. They never give up, and they can be down by 10, and they’ll come roaring back sooner or later, and they’ve brought along a bunch of young kids that are going to fill our future.
“But give credit to Bishop Shanahan, they did a great job, and we had some things [go wrong] down the stretch, missed shots and missed box-outs.”
Bishop Shanahan 42, Harriton 39
Harriton 13 10 9 7 – 39
Shanahan 11 16 4 11 – 42
Harriton scoring: Smith 1 3-4 6, Aspesi 3 4-6 12, F. McFillin 3 0-2 9, Chimento 4 0-0 8, McDonnell 1 0-1 2, M. McFillin 1 0-0 2, Totals 13 7-13 39.
Bishop Shanahan scoring: Oswald 3 0-1 7, Wolfe 6 0-0 14, Brown 4 2-2 11, Bojko 1 0-0 3, S. Blumenthal 2 3-6 7, A. Blumenthal 0 0-0 0, Totals 16 5-9 42.
Three point goals: Harriton – Smith, Aspesi 2, McFillin 3; Bishop Shanahan – Oswald, Wolfe 2, Brown, Bojko.
