Unionville holds on to knock off Downingtown West
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Nearly a week after being buried under of a barrage of three-pointers from Bishop Shanahan in the Ches-Mont League Final Four semifinals, the Unionville girls basketball team wondered if they were going to face an agonizing case of deja vu in the opening round of the District 1 6A playoffs against Downingtown West on Friday.
The 24th-ranked Whippets made 10 threes to stay with the No. 9 Longhorns, before bowing, 50-44. Unionville (19-5) moves on to face No. 8 Neshaminy in the second round Tuesday.
“Everyone we play seems to shoot lights out,” said Unionville coach Fred Ellzy. “Everyone shoots great in this gym but us and it’s been like that all year.”
Unionville trailed 3-0 early, then went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 8-3 with 3:37 left in the first. West scored all their points in the quarter on three-pointers ‑ two from Kiersten Arrowsmith and one by Bridget Rymer — and trailed 14-9 after one.
“She (Arrowsmith) obviously kept us in it in the first half,” said West coach Mike Young. “I said to the girls, ‘We’re going to keep shooting no matter if they go in or not.’ They’re all good shooters. She kept us in it, then we got some people to make shots later.”
Arrowsmith made four from beyond the arc for 12 first-half points.
Unionville struggled from the floor in the second quarter, missing all 11 attempts. They managaed just five free throws as the Whippets cut into the lead and trailed, 19-18 at halftime.
Unionville came out of the break with the purpose, and immediately went on an 11-2 run to lead 30-20 midway through the third. But, what was looking like a burgeoning blowout, quickly tightened back up.
Arrowsmith hit her lone three of the second half to cut the lead to 30-23. Then, Lizzie Grant hit a jumper to make it 30-25. Unionville built the advantage back to 33-25, then West closed the quarter on a 6-1 spurt to trail, 34-31 after three.
Olivia Young hit two treys in the fourth, but Unionville kept West at arm’s length. Riley Angstadt, who was just 3-of-8 from the free-throw line previously, made three down the stretch to preserve the lead.
“We started out quick, then the game got close again,” said Angstadt. “They were hitting their shots, which was frustrating, but we kept doing our thing, boxing out and attacking the basket. You just have to know you want to be there (free throw line). My teammate Kerri (Menniger) said, ‘it’s just a shot.’ It really is, so I just had to knock it down.”
For the senior, this could’ve potentially been her final home game.
“Definitely a lot of memories here,” said Angstadt. “It’s been a great time.”
Ellzy said he didn’t know much about Neshaminy, but that will change quickly.
“I don’t. I have some film. I’m going to go back over the weekend and study it, but Neshaminy is the area where I’m from, so we’re excited to take that trip and play a team from the Suburban League.”
For Unionville, Angstadt and Elle Johnson paced them in scoring with 14 points apiece. Johnson was cited by Ellzy for her defense on Arrowsmith in the second half.
Arrowsmith led the Whippets, who finished their season at 9-13, with 15 points and Grant added 12.
“I can’t say I’m happy with finishing with a losing record, but I loved the way the girls played to make it into districts and to come to their gym and play them so tough and to have a chance with two minutes left, I couldn’t be happier,” said Young. “Our three seniors, Kiersten, Lizzie and Kaitlin (Meenan) have been great. They’re three-year starters and have been great role models for our program and great players too.”
Unionville 50, Downingtown West 44
Downingtown West: Young 3 0-0 9; L. Grant 5 1-1 12; Arrowsmith 5 0-0 15; Meenan 1 0-0 2; Rymer 1 0-0 3; C. Grant 0 1-1 1; Schuda 0 2-2 2. Totals: 15 4-5 44.
Unionville: Lang 3 0-0 6; Amoss 2 3-3 7; D’Angelo 0 0-0 0; Johnson 5 4-5 14; Angstadt 4 6-14 14; Megill 2 1-2 5; Menninger 0 4-6 4; Baughn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 18-30 50.
Downingtown West 9 9 13 13 — 44
Unionville 14 5 15 16 — 50
3-point goals: Arrowsmith 5, Young 3, L. Grant, Rymer.
