Morris pours in 32 as Coatesville downs Avon Grove
WEST GROVE >> “Dejah, I call her “dat girl,” Coatesville coach Tina Nicholson said of her guard Dejah Morris.
The senior lived up to the praise, pouring in a game-high 32 points — 24 in the second half — as Cotesville held off a stubborn Avon Grove team to post a 63-58 victory in a Ches-Mont League National Division girls basketball contest Thursday evening.
“I don’t know if Dejah knows how good she is,” added Nicholson. “I want her to do more and she thinks she does enough. When she does good, good things happen. We win. I need her to keep fueling us. She played an all-round great game.”
The Red Raiders (4-2 Ches-Mont Mational, 8-5 overall) scored 44 points in second half as they kept in contact with Bishop Shanahan in the division race.
Coatesville took a slim 21-20 lead into the third quarter and still held a one-point lead at 23-22 two minutes in when Morris got hot. She started by hitting one of two free throws after Avon Grove coach Bart O’Connor was hit with a technical foul. Morris buried a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to make it 27-22. After two free throws from
Leila Rubin, Morris made consecutive baskets to stretch the lead to 31-24.
The Red Devils (1-5, 4-8) battled back and when freshman Naiya Murphy capped an 8-0 run with a jumper, they had the lead at 35-34.
But, Coatesville closed the quarter on a 7-0 run — the final three points scored by Serenity Burgess — to re-take the lead, 40-36 after three.
“I think overall my team played well,” said Morris. “We were just flowing. We started out a little shaky. We gained moementum and started working well together.”
Coatesville kept Avon Grove at arms length through the fourth quarter and held a 51-45 advantage with 5:16 left.
They led by as much as 10 points at 57-47 and the travelling crowd was loud and raucous, but the Red Devils didn’t quit and kept coming. A basket and two free throws from Rubin, a field goal from Anna Heisler and two free throws from Emma Mills capped an 8-0 run, and suddenly, the deficit was cut to 59-56 with 1:05 left.
However, that was as close as the Red Devils would get. Coatesville made four free throws and a Burgess basket in the final 60 seconds to escape the brand spanking new Avon Grove gym with the win.
“I sat out the last five minutes of the second quarter and that motivated me more and I needed to pick it up more and help my team,” said Morris.
Though he was on the losing end, O’Connor was more than pleased with his team’s effort.
“I am really happy with the effort,” he said. “This is the best effort we had in a little bit. We were sloppy in spots, but overall, I’m real happy with the way we played. Coatesville is a tough, feisty team and we played with them.”
Burgess added 15 points to back up Morris’ offensive explosion.
Murphy led the Red Devils with 16 points, Rubin had 13 and Gabby Beltran chipped in 11.
“We’re getting ready to come back around and we owe some people some stuff,” said Nicholson. “We have to steal some wins on the road and hold serve at home.”
Coatesville 65, Avon Grove 56
Coatesville: Fields 1 5-10 8; Morris 12 6-11 32; Burgess 5 5-6 15; Reese 0 0-0 0; Butcher 0 1-2 1; Love 0 0-0 0; Wah 1 0-0 2; Ward 3 1-2 7. Totals: 22 18-31 65.
Avon Grove: Murphy 5 5-6 16; Rubin 2 9-10 13; Huever 0 2-6 2; Mills 1 4-5 6; Heisler 3 3-3 8; Beltran 2 7-10 11; Stenz 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 29-39 56.
Coatesville 13 8 19 25 — 65
Avon Grove 13 7 16 20 — 56
3-point goals: Morris 2, Fields, Murphy.
Coatesville 3 2 7-5
Avon Grove 1 4 4-7
