Behind Hennessey’s 18 points, Oxford captures first American division title in 10 years

By Bryan Davis
bdavis@21st-centurymedia.com
@btdavis25 on Twitter
WESTTOWN >> For Grace Hennessey and the two other seniors on the Oxford High School girls basketball team, they’ve already waited three years, so what was one more day.
In a game that was postponed from Thursday due to the snow, with the Ches-Mont League American Division title on the line, Hennessey did indeed proved to be amazing.
She dominated the offensive glass and scored a game-high 18 points as the Hornets (11-1) downed West Chester Rustin, 43-33, on Saturday to earn their first division title since 2007.
“I’m most proud of this team,” said Oxford coach Brian Urig. “They bought into what we wanted to do. They set goals in July, and worked hard, they deserve this.”
As the top seed from the American, Oxford will face Bishop Shanahan, the second-place team from the National Division, in the nightcap of the Ches-Mont Final Four on Monday at West Chester East at 7:30 p.m. The evening tips off with Coatesville tangling with Rustin at 6 p.m.
“Excited,” Hennessey said when asked about the prospects of meeting the Eagles. “We know they’re a good team, so we’ll work hard and be ready.”
One of the two major themes on the afternoon was the scoring droughts that Rustin endured. They went through significant stretches of each quarter without scoring, which allowed Oxford to take, then keep, the lead.
The Golden Knights (11-1) jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first quarter with 2:49. Miranda Porreta went on a personal 5-0 run — with a three-pointer and a short jumper — to tie the game at the end of the quarter.
“We were a little nervous,” said Hennessey. “But we have a lot of heart and we give it all we got. We’ll fight to the end.”
A basket by Maggie O’Hare gave Rustin a 12-9 lead with 6:52 left. The Oxford then turned up the heat as the Knights were without a field goal for the rest of the quarter. O’Hare’s two free throws with 14.8 seconds left were the only points they scored as Oxford close the period on a 10-2 spree to take a 19-14 lead at the break.
Rustin missed 10 of 12 shots from the floor in the quarter.
“We made them work hard to score,” said Urig. “The girls executed the plan well.”
Hennessey really went to work in the third, she turned missed shots into points as she often found herself alone under the boards. She had seven of the Hornets’ nine points in the third as they took a 28-23 lead into the final period.
“I wanted it,” said Hennessey on her performance on the boards. “Our ball movement helped me get open.”
The Hornets then kep the Golden Knights at arm’s length in the fourth. When Madeline Williams drove the baseline and scored on reverse layup with 2:10 to play for a 37-27 advantage. Hennessey quited the home further 30 seconds later with a pair of free throws to bump the lead to 39-27. Two three-pointers from Lexi Zavitsky tried to keep Rustin in it, but Oxford held on to lay claim to the crown.
Now the next challenge lay ahead for Oxford with the league semifinals.
“We’re very happy and going to enjor this for a little bit,” said Urig. “Shanahan is a real good team that is well-coached and have a bunch of good shooters. This team believes  it can win, so we’ll be ready.”

Oxford 43, W.C. Rustin 33
Oxford: Shallow 2 0-3 5; Williams 2 0-0 4, Porretta 2 5-7 10; Hennessey 6 6-8 18; D’Aquanno 2 2-4 6; Herrin 0 0-0 0; Hampshire 0 0-0 0; Condon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 13-22 43.
W.C. Rustin: Gallagher 1 0-0 2; O’Hare 3 2-2 10; Zavitsky 3 0-0 9; Daniels 4 0-0 8; Polidore 0 0-0 0; Magrone 0 0-0 0; Costin 2 0-0 4. Totals: 13 2-2 33.
Oxford    8    11    9    15 – 43
W.C. Rustin    8    6    9    10 – 33
3-point goals: Shallow, Porretta, Zavitsky 3, O’Hare 2.