POTTSTOWN >> The West Chester East girls basketball team was hoping to continue its historic run Wednesday at Pottstown High School, but its shooting, which has been fairly reliable this season let them down.
The Vikings were unable to make major dents in the deficit and fell to Bethlehem Catholic, 46-28, in the second round of the PIAA 5A girls basketball championships
“The second quarter I was upset not with the shots not falling, but the lack of patience,” said East coach Erin Listrani. “We got down a point or two, we do like to play fast, but we didn’t show patience in the second quarter.”
The Hawks improved to 22-5 and will be in the quarterfinals for the second straight season. They fell to West Chester Rustin in the quarters last season. The District 11 champions will face Abington Heights, the second-place team from District 2 at Pleasant Valley High at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
East was held to 26 percent shooting (11-of-42) from the floor as they never led and was no closer that one point early in the contest.
The Vikings did close the first quarter on a 5-0 run on a 3-pointer by Carly Bickle and free throws from Bickle and Annie Kerns, to close the deficit to 11-9.
But, the Hawks took control by outscoring the Vikings, 14-2, to take a 25-11 advantage into the halftime break. Kerns recorded the only basket for East. Bethlehem Catholic received points from six different players, even as the fouls started to pileup on them.
East came out of the locker room looking to cut into the lead. Kerns started them off on the right foot with a 3-pointer. Sofia Keith, held scoreless in the first half, gave the East faithful by scoring her first basket. Lauren Horan followed by scoring on the inside to shave the deficit to 25-18 with 6:22 to go.
“I’m happy they responded to my message and came out strong in the third,” said Listrani. “We just couldn’t sustain it. Kayla Cochran did a great job getting rebounds, bu we didn’t rebound the ball as a team that well. They are a nice club, but we battled.”
“I feel like the shots I could get was between my teammates worked hard and kept their defenders away from me,” added Kerns. “Everything is about the team and they helped me get what I got. We definitely got a reality check at halftime. We weren’t playing well, so we came out with fire under our butts. I feel like we’ve been building it up the last three years”
Two baskets on drives from Ella Bincarosky and a jumper from Aliyah Brahms pushed the advantage back over double digits (31-18). Keith scored her final bucket of the evening, but Bincarosky ended the quarter by scoring as time wound down and the Hawks went into the final quarter up, 33-20.
The Vikings couldn’t make a run to put heat on the Hawks, making just two of eight attempts from the floor, and committing five turnovers.
Bethlehem Catholic didn’t shoot well from the floor either, but six free throws down the stretch to keep the Vikings at bay. Akasha Santos paced the Hawks with 12 points, while Bicarosky had 10. Cici Henrnadez was eight-for-eight from the free-throw line and they were 18-of-23 as a team.
Despite the disappointment of being eliminated, the Vikings were able to look fondly at a season that ended with an 18-9 mark.
“I feel like we’ve been building it up the last three years,” said Kerns. “We had a special group of girls and every single person improved every single year. It’s not even about stats, this is the year we put it all together and went as far we could.”
“I just think that each one of these girls are so special and they bring something different to the team. Altogether, it’s like the perfect team and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” added fellow senior Kayla Miller.
The Vikings will lose seniors Kerns, Miller and Alexa Rogers, but will return a talented nucleus including Keith, Cochran and Annalise Kubasko.
“We’ve had an amazing season and this group of girls is really special,” said Listrani. “I mean it with all of my heart. We faced adversity many times with injury and such, but we continued to fight. This team has nothing but fight in it. These seniors have had a big part in developing the program. We just want to keep going for the future.”
Bethlehem Catholic 46, West Chester East 28
Bethlehem Catholic: Arroyo 0 1-1 1; Santos 4 4-4 12; Nicklscher 1 1-2 3; Brahms 3 1-2 8; Belic 0 0-0 0; Davis 0 0-0 0; Bincarosky 4 2-4 10; Hernandez 0 8-8 8; Jones 1 0-0 3; Lewis 0 0-0 0; Britt 0 1-2 1. Totals: 13 18-23 46.
West Chester East: Kubasko 2 0-0 5; Kerns 4 2-4 11; Bickle 1 1-2 4; Keith 2 0-0 4; Horan 1 0-0 2; Cochran 0 0-0 0; Miller 0 0-0 0; Flowers 0 0-0 0; Sweeney 1 0-0 2; Laurento 0 0-0 0; Rogers 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 3-6 28.
Bethlehem Catholic 11 14 9 12 – 46
West Chester East 9 2 9 8 – 28
3-point goals: Brahms, Jones, Kubasko, Kerns, Bickle.
