McGurk pushes Golden Knights past Coatesville to defend Final Four title
WEST CHESTER >> The Coatesville girls basketball had favored West Chester Rustin on the ropes, the crowd was rolling with them and the smell of an upset was in the air at West Chester University’s Hollinger Fieldhouse.
But, the gas tank that was so full of energy in the first half, was running on empty by the third quarter, as the Golden
Knights took control en route to a 58-45 victory over the Red Raiders in Saturday’s first Ches-Mont League Girls Basketball Final Four semifinal.
Rustin, the American Division champions, improved to 20-3 on the season and set up a highly anticipated clash with Bishop Shanahan in the championship Tuesday evening back at West Chester. The pair are the top two seeds in the District 1 5A Power Rankings, and they met in last year’s title game, with Rustin being victorious.
“It was a hard game,” said Coatesville coach Tina Nicholson. “We played them great for three quarters and they just kind of ran away with it. I told them at halftime that basketball is a game of runs and whoever has the most runs and keep those runs sustained is going to be the one who wins the game. We kind of fizzled out. We kind of ran out of gas.”
The Red Raiders (14-9) were making their first appearance in the Final Four in Nicholson’s first season.
“This is a huge stage for our guys to be on the first time,” she said. “I’m talking to these guys like they’ve been here before and they haven’t. It was a great ride.”
Two teams who like to get up-and-down the court and play pressure defense ensured that the pace would be lively.
The two saw three lead changes early before Rustin went on a 6-0 run to take a 12-7 lead. Coatesville fought back with an 8-0 run of its own and took a 14-12 lead into the second as Alexis Fields hit a driving layup as the buzzer sounded.
The team’s two leading scorers — Deja Morris for Coatesville and Rustin’s Laine McGurk — staged a two-women duel for most of the game. Morris had 15 points in the half, while McGurk had 12, despite shooting 3-of-9 from the floor.
The Red Raiders’ pressure caused six Rustin turnovers in the first half
Morris recorded two baskets late in the second quarter as Coatesville took a surprise 25-24 lead into the locker room.
She finished with a game-high 28 points.
“She’s amazing,” Nicholson said about Morris. “She’s ‘that girl,’ but I don’t think she thinks she’s ‘that girl.’ Great athlete. Look forward to watching her in college. She did an excellent job. We rode her back all year. She’s a great athlete.”
Morris scored early in the third to put Coatesville up, 27-26, but then the roof fell in.
Rustin went on a 12-2 run to go up 40-29. While McGurk had four points in the spurt. Rustin also got key baskets from Riley Stackhouse, Elizabeth McGurk and Ava Panetta.
“The first half we came in amped up and they got us with their scrappy play,” said Rustin coach Lauren Stackhouse. “They forced us into some turnovers that we were not used to making. We’ve got move the ball, push it and make the extra pass, and that’s what we did in the second half.”
Key contributions also came from Kaitlyn Barry, who scored eight points off the bench.
“It’s always a full team effort,” said Barry. “I feel that everyone is so supportive. Everyone is super unselfish so it made it easy to get those layups.”
Rustin led 42-32 after three and held Coatesville off through the fourth to earn the right to defend its Final Four title.
“We’re happy to be back here again,” McGurk said. “We just have to handle Ches-Monts and whatever comes after.”
West Chester Rustin 58, Coatesville 45
Coatesville: Fields 1 0-0 2; Morris 11 4-6 28; Burgess 2 2-4 6; Butcher 1 2-2 4; Ward 0 3-4 3; Reese 0 0-0 0; Wah 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 11-16 45.
WC Rustin: Panetta 2 0-0 4; Flynn 2 0-0 4; E. McGurk 5 0-0 10; L. McGurk 8 8-9 24; Stackhouse 3 0-0 6; Kraft 1 0-0 2; Barry 4 0-0 8. Totals: 24 7-10 58.
Coatesville 14 11 7 13 — 45
WC Rustin 12 12 14 20 — 58
3-point goals: Morris 2.
