BERWYN >> Out of sorts offensively and looking for a spark defensively, the Conestoga High School girls basketball team looked to one usual, and one not normally counted on, suspects to step up in the fourth quarter and stave off a spirited upset bid.
Sophomore star Ryan Jennings did her normal stuff, but it was Ruth Lanouette who was a key contributor off the bench in a dominating final period to guide the Pioneers to a 45-29 victory over Wilson West Lawn in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A Tournament on Friday.
The triumph vaults the Pioneers (24-3) into the second round Tuesday where they will face District 12 champion Archbishop Carroll, a 58-37 winner over West Chester Henderson on Friday, at a neutral site and time to be determined.
“It was a tight one,” said Conestoga coach AJ Thompson. “We knew Wilson was going to be solid. They’re super quick, aggressive. You don’t win 20 games by accident. You have to be a really good team.
“I thought they did a real good job taking us out of our stuff early on. We missed a bunch of layups. But, I’m proud of the way we fought and scrapped in the fourth and we hit some big shots.”
The third quarter ended knotted at 27-27. Jennings started the fourth with a foul line jumper to put ‘Stoga in front. The Bulldogs came right back on a 10-foot jumper by Kalinda Hardy. Unbeknownst to Wilson and their well represented cheering section, that would be the highlight of the quarter for them. Marisa Francione scored from in close to make it 31-29 Conestoga. That started a 16-0 run over the final six minutes that turned a close game into one where Conestoga didn’t have to sweat out the finish.
“I was mostly talking about the defensive end,” said Wilson coach Chris Gallo. “Once they took the lead, we started to get a little crazy, taking chances instead of guarding straight up. They took advantage of that and second chances. They must have gotten 10 offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter.”
One big reason for Conestoga’s huge fourth quarter was the defensive play of Lanouette on Wilson star point guard Laila Jones, who had 13 points through three quarters, but was held scoreless in the final frame.
“She’s lightning fast,” Thompson said of Lanouette. “When she uses her feet and is aggressive without reaching, she is a really good defender. She was a big spark coming off the bench for us tonight.”
“It feels great to be moving on,” said Lanouette. “It’s absolutely amazing to win a state game, super exciting. I take a lot of pride in my defense, but it was really a team effort. I can’t stop her (Jones) every single time. She’s an amazing player. If I get beat, I know I have my teammates to help me and if I’m playing good defense I know my teammates are playing good defense so she can’t dish it off to someone in the paint.”
The effort on the defensive end didn’t sap her energy on the offensive side. Her first crucial basket came late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from the left elbow to cut the Wilson lead to 27-25. Jennings followed with a basket off a steal to deadlock the score at 27-27. Her second big three put the Pioneers up 34-29 with 5:39 to play.
“It felt great,” she added. “Sometimes during the season when I’ve struggled with shooting, I focus on layups, but that was not my strong suit in the first half, so I had to try to do something different.”
Jennings then buried two more 3-pointers, and the second one put the Pioneers up 40-31 with 2:21 to go and effectively ended the contest.
“We came out with high intensity in the fourth and started knocking down shots and that started to change the pace,” Jennings said. “I looked up at the clock and we were finally pulling away from them and it was a good feeling.”
Jennings was high scorer again for the Pioneers, finishing with 19 points after only having two in the first eight minutes. Janie Preston added 10 and Lanouette followed with nine.
Kailani Hardy had eight points to go with 13 from Jones for the Bulldogs.
Wilson might be disappointed with the loss, but the team stamped itself as one to look out for in the future. Gallo stated that they will lose just one senior from a squad consisting of mostly freshmen and sophomores.
“I don’t really like to talk about how young we are, but it is a nice experience for the young girls” said Gallo. “First chance playing in districts, first chance playing in states. Hopefully, they will get a feel from it and come back strong next year.”
Conestoga 45, Wilson 29
Wilson: Houck 1 0-0 2; Jones 6 0-0 13; Crocona 0 0-0 0; Moncada 0 0-0 0; Williams 0 0-0 0; Hardy 4 0-2 8; Leaman 2 0-0 6. Totals: 13 0-2 29.
Conestoga: Francione 2 2-3 6; K. Valencia 0 1-2 1; Jennings 6 4-5 19; Preston 3 4-4 10; B. Valencia 0 0-0 0; Lanouette 3 1-2 9; Neary 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 12-16 45.
Wilson 4 15 8 2 – 29
Conestoga 10 5 12 18 – 45
3-point goals: Leaman 2, Jones, Jennings 3; Lanouette 2.
