Abington holds off Unionville for District 1-6A ninth seed

ABINGTON >> On the first three possessions of the District 1-6A ninth-place game, Abington’s Abril Bowser hit a three-pointer from the right side, grabbed a steal and hit a three-pointer from the left side.

Those first 50 seconds were a sign of how things would go in the first half. The Ghosts hit seven threes and forced nine turnovers in the first 16 minutes to build an 18-point lead against Unionville.

The Longhorns battled back to within five points in the third quarter and four points in the fourth, but Abington made enough baskets in key spots and went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line in the final three minutes to secure the win, 67-56, at Abington Senior High School.

The win gives Abington District 1’s ninth seed going into the PIAA-6A state playoffs, which start next Friday. The Ghosts will face District 2/4 champion Wyoming Valley West at a site and time to be determined.

“I think that’s perfect for us,” Abington senior Cire Worley, who assisted on both of Bowser’s early threes, said of getting the ninth seed. “We wanted to be (the best seed) we can. For us, nine is the best.”

Worley scored 16 of her game-high 30 points in the second half and accounted for most of Abington’s 23 second-half points. Maya Johnson had the other seven in the third and fourth quarters.

Unionville opened the third quarter with a 13-0 run to cut the 18-point deficit to five, 44-39. Milana Amoss had 10 points in the quarter and Shannon Megill added four.

“We talked in the locker room,” Unionville coach Fred Ellzy said. “We didn’t come this far not to fight. We turned it around, we got some good looks, made some baskets, took advantage of some of the double teams and were able to get back into it.”

Johnson stopped the run with a corner three before Worley knocked down a triple of her own and converted a three-point play for a 9-0 Abington run, getting the lead back to 14, 53-39. Unionville scored the final three points of the quarter to send it to the fourth with an 11-point difference, 53-42.

“For us,” Worley said, “we have to continue to share the ball and continue to move. I think when we stand, that makes it hard for us.”

Unionville came right back to start the fourth. The Longhorns scored the first seven points to get within four, 53-49, with 5:30 to go, but Worley answered with a personal 7-2 to essentially put the game away. Her three-pointer with 4:15 remaining made it seven-point game and, after a Unionville basket, her layup through contact extended the lead to eight. She went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line with 1:53 left to make it a nine-point game, 60-51.

“We played great in the first half,” Abington coach Dan Marsh said. “We come out complacent in the second half and, I’ve said it a million times to them, when you play this late in the season, teams are going to make a run. I told them, look, we won and let’s move on. We’ll get ready for states, but we definitely have to do a better job… If we do get a lead we need to close them out, for sure.”

Worley added 11 rebounds and four assists. Johnson and Bowser each scored 11 points and Piper McGinley had 10.

Amoss and Angstadt led Unionville with 16 points each. The two combined for 23 of the Longhorns 30 points in the second half. Elle Johnson had eight points and 14 rebounds.

Unionville will face the District 11 champion, either Easton or Liberty, in the PIAA-6A state opener next week.

“The girls are confident about what we’ve been doing,” Ellzy, who’s team is District 1’s 10th seed, said. “We play well, we play hard. All that I ask is that they play hard every time they step on the floor and they’ve been doing that consistently this year. Whoever we face, we’re going to play hard. I just hope everyone doesn’t hit threes like (Abington in the first half).”

Abington 67, Unionville 56
Unionville 10 16 16 14 – 56
Abington 22 22 9 14 – 67
Unionville: Elle Johnson 2 4-6 8, Milana Amoss 4 7-8 16, Allie D’Angelo 1 0-0 3, Savannah Lang 2 1-2 5, Maddie Baughan 0 0-0 0, Riley Angstadt6 4-6 16, Shannon Megill 4 0-0 8, Kerri Menninger 0 0-0 0. Total 19 16-22 56.
Abington: Cire Worley 9 8-11 30, Maya Johnson 3 3-4 11, Abril Bowser 3 2-2 11, Jordyn Reynolds 1 0-0 3, Piper McGinley 4 1-3 10, Harper McGinley 0 0-0 0, Mikiaya Durham 1 0-0 2, Florence Ajunwa 0 0-0 0. Total 21 15-20 67.
3-point goals: U: Allie D’Angelo, Milana Amoss. A: Cire Worley 4, Maya Johnson, Abril Bowser 3, Jordyn Reynolds, Piper McGinley.