Top seed Rustin cruises past East behind McGurk

WESTTOWN >> The West Chester Rustin girls basketball team is pretty proud of the fact that they know they have enough depth in scoring they can win even if star guard Laine McGurk is having an off night.
Tuesday was not one of those nights.

McGurk was locked in from the beginning as she poured in 37 points as top-seeded Rustin cruised to a 68-34 victory over neighborhood rival West Chester East in the quarterfinals of the District 1 Girls Basketball playoffs in front of a lively crowd.

“We came out really confident,” said McGurk. “We we ready to execute, we’ve been practicing all week. We’ve been sitting around since the (Ches-Mont League) championship. Coming out here, we thought East was a good matchup. We just wanted to dominate.”

“Laine was definitely playing at a very high level,” added Rustin coach Lauren Stackhouse. “That’s what she does and that’s what she’s capable of doing. She rises to the occasion in big games and does what she does.”

The two-time Ches-Mont champs (22-3) advance into the semifinals, whey they will face No. 4 Gwynedd Mercy on Friday evening with the winner getting a berth in the district title game at Temple on March 4.

Sofia Keith scored the opening basket for the Vikings, but that would be the only time they would have a lead. McGurk served notice that it might be her night when she hit three three-pointers in the first quarter as the Golden Knights slowly started to pull away. She ended the stanza with 11 points as Rustin took a 17-6 advantage after one.

“I saw that my defender was giving me a lot of space, which I normally don’t see,” said McGurk. “Normally, I would drive that, but I let it fly.”

Rustin led by as much as 15 points (29-14) late in the second before Kayla Miller drained a three-pointer and a short jumper to slice the lead to 29-19 with a minute left, But, two free throws from McGurk and a driving layup from Lola Flynn just before the buzzer bumped the lead to 33-19 at the break.

The turnovers started to pile up for East — they had five in the first and six in the second — which helped Rustin get its transition game humming like a European sports car’s engine.

“No. It didn’t help and we knew that coming in,” said East coach Erin Listrani. “Rustin’s pressure tries to get you to turn it over and they try to get you out of your rhythm.”

With both teams providing enthusiastic student sections, the atmosphere was lively and loud, befitting a playoff game.

“The energy was insane tonight,” said McGurk. “We love it when the students come out.”

The third quarter started out in frustrating fashion for East. They missed seven straight shots from inside five feet. when Rustin finally got a rebound, McGurk came down and stuck a 15-foot-jumper.

She finished with 13 points to push her over the 30-point mark for the night as Rustin took a comfortable 57-30 lead into the final quarter.

McGurk would get two more baskets before being lifted with 5:47 left to a warm reception from the home crowd, who she will get to perform in front of one more time Friday.

Junior Kayla Miller had eight points in the second quarter and ended up with a team-high 11 for East.

The Vikings wrapped up their season at 13-11, but they have high hopes for next season. They lose just one senior (Mikayla Kushner) from a starting five that saw them hang in the Ches-Mont National and win a district game.

“I think it’s bright. It’s very bright,” Listrani said about the future. “These kids are hard workers, they’re dedicated all year round and they want to be where Rustin is right now.”

WC Rustin 68, WC East 34
WC East: Kubasko 1 2-2 4; Kerns 2 0-0 4; Keith 2 0-0 4; Kushner 2 0-0 4; Horan 1 0-0 2; Miller 4 0-0 11; Legenstein 1 0-0 2; Keefe 0 0-0 0; Flowers 1 0-0 3; Bickle 0 0-0 0; Rogers 0 0-0 0; Cooper 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 2-2 34.
WC Rustin: Panetta 2 3-3 7; Flynn 4 0-0 8; 2 1-2 5; L. McGurk 15 3-4 37; Stackhouse 2 2-4 7; Kraft 0 0-0 0; Loper 0 0-0 0; Boczkowski 0 0-0 0; Betchyk 1 0-0 2; Barry 0 0-0 0; Evangelista 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 8-13 68.
WC East 6 13 11 4 — 34
WC Rustin 17 16 24 11 — 68
3-point goals: Miller 3, Flowers, McGurk 4, Stackhouse.