Shanahan overcomes slow start to outlast pesky Whippets

DOWNINGTOWN >> At the halftime talk, Bishop Shanahan girls basketball coach Jim Powers probably didn’t tell Faith Ambrose to score all of their points in the third quarter, it just happened to work out that way.
Ambrose scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the third stanza as the Eagles shook off a slow start to beat back pesky Downingtown West, 42-35, at Wagner Gymnasium in a Ches-Mont League National Division contest Thursday.

“I knew that we needed to come out stronger in the second half,” said Ambrose. “On defense, on the press, I knew I had to get up and get involved and get the team going. That’s what I tried to do.”

“Faith, since the O’Hara game (a 47-40 O’Hara victory on Jan. 20) has kind of turned her season around,” said Powers. “She started off slow for a while. She’s a much better player than how she was playing. She kind of got her footing back and has played well for us.”

A quick start may have been in both team’s gameplans, but it didn’t translate to the court. There was only one basket made as the two squads combined to miss 13 of 14 field goal attempts.

The game was scoreless for almost the first three minutes before Bridget Rymer hit a pair of free throws. Kaitlyn

Griffin hit a short jumper for the Eagles’ only points of the quarter and the stanza ended 2-2.

The slow start has Powers concerned that it is beginning to become a habit for his team.

“For the last three or four, maybe even five games, we have not gotten to a good start and we’ve talked about it. We go over some stuff, but for some reason we are not getting off to a goood start,” said Powers. “I don’t know if we’re not locked in. I don’t know if we’re not focused, but again, it’s something to be addressed because we have to get off to better starts. It’s something to fix. If we keep it up, it might get us.”

Shanahan started to warm up in the second quarter. They took the lead on an Alyssa Brown three-pointer on the first possession of the second. With the game tied at 9-9, the Eagles took the lead for good on a Brown layup after a steal.

That started an 11-4 run which ended when Ambrose scored on a layup after Abby Wolf knocked the ball away.

Brown had eight points in the quarter as Shanahan went into the break with a 20-13 advantage.

Ambrose got the second half off to a rip-roaring start, going on a personal 5-0 run to stretch the lead to 25-13.

Ambrose later scored the last three points to end the third quarter, giving the Eagles a 33-22 lead heading into the fourth.

The Whippets (3-7, 7-10) stayed in the game, thanks to their offensive rebounding, led by Rymer, Kaitlin Meenan and Jillian Arrowsmith. Meenan recorded nine points in the fourth as West tried to chip away at the lead.

Trailing 39-31, West had a vital possession with two minutes left following a Shanahan turnover. But, the Whippets threw the ball away and scored two baskets the rest of the way as the Eagles managed to survive.

“Downingtown West played a good game, they really did,” said Powers. “I might even venture to say they outplayed us in the second half. They did a really good job on the offensive glass, keeping opportunities alive. We didn’t do a great job boxing out.”

The win kept Shanahan unbeaten in the National at 9-0 (15-3 overall) and narrowed its magic number to one to repeat as division champion. But, it’s a notion that Powers does not want to entertain.

“I don’t want to think about that,” he said. “If we don’t fix some of our problems, somebody is going to get us. It’s a goal to win the National. I don’t know how much we want to talk about going undefeated, but right now, my focus with these guys is fixing some things and getting ready for the playoff run.”

Bishop Shanahan 42, Downingtown West 35
Bishop Shanahan: Oswald 0 1-2 1; Wolf 0 4-4 4; Brown 4 3-4 13; Bojko 0 0-0 0; Blumenthal 1 1-3 3; Griffin 2 0-0 4; Hubiak 0 0-0 0; Ambrose 7 1-3 17. Totals: 13 9-13 42.
Downingtown West: Young 0 1-2 1; C. Grant 1 0-0 2; Arrowsmith 2 0-0 4; Meenan 6 0-0 14; Rymer 0 3-4 3; Haymond 1 0-0 3; L. Grant 3 2-2 8. Totals: 13 6-8 35.
Bishop Shanahan 2 18 13 9 — 42
Downingtown West 2 11 9 13 — 35
3-point goals: Brown 2, Ambrose 2, Meenan 2, Haymond.