Lansdale Catholic routs Agnes Irwin for 4th straight George Snear tournament title

CONSHOHOCKEN >> With Fellowship House’s cozy quarters similar to Lansdale Catholic’s own home court, coach Eric Gidney saw it as an opportune spot for the Crusaders girls basketball team to fully unleash its pressure defense.

“When we’re in the confines of our little-bit smaller gymnasium at Lansdale Catholic, it’s when we really get super aggressive with it,” Gidney said. “I felt like this floor, this gym felt like home a little bit in terms of its size so we really wanted to kind of dial it up a bit a lot of the way we do at home.”

Cranked up from the start, LC’s press forced Agnes Irwin into turnovers early and often, the Crusaders building a 19-point lead after a quarter and cruising from there to claim their fourth-straight George Snear Tournament championship with a 79-32 victory Friday night.

“We really didn’t want to drop it cause I started her freshman year and I guess it’s a tradition now to always come and win,” Lansdale Catholic senior Emily Smith said.

Timaya Lewis-Eutsey scored 12 of her game-high 22 points in the opening quarter, the sophomore earning Tournament MVP honors as the Crusaders (6-3, 0-2 Philadelphia Catholic League) won their fourth straight — all by double digits.

“Definitely getting out there early and getting off to a fast start — nothing slow, so we can just jump ahead and stay ahead,” Lewis-Eutsey said.

Smith knocked down six 3-pointers — three in the first quarter — and finished with 20 points while Maile Erwin chipped in 10 points as the Crusaders pushed their advantage to 51-21 at halftime then held the Owls to just a point in the third.

“We wanted to set the tone tonight,” Gidney said. “The last couple games we’ve shown our pressure but we’ve been patient with it. We wanted to do it right from the tap today. We really just wanted to wreak havoc.”

Katie Anderson’s 14 points paced Agnes Irwin (3-6, 0-1 Inter-Ac) which led twice during early moments of the contest, the last time at 4-3 before four straight points from Lewis-Eutsey.

“I think she walked on the floor tonight determined to pull every offensive rebound that she possibly could and that a huge boost for us,” said Gidney of Lewis-Eutsey. “We didn’t feel that they could really beat us back down the floor on the offensive end, so we gambled a little bit more on the offensive boards knowing that it wouldn’t cost us dearly down here if this didn’t pay off. And that worked out, I think our stats showed that she had nine offensive boards at half which is tremendous.”

After four wins in four non-league games in a row, Lansdale Catholic returns to PCL play Wednesday when it visits Archbishop Wood at 7 p.m.

“We feel that when things are ticking for us we can compete with anyone who’s on our schedule,” Gidney said. “We’ve always got to bring our best selves, the last two days — and we’re in the middle of a four-game win streak — I feel like it’s starting to come together.

“There’s a process when you come in a new coach with systems and the way of thinking and the culture shifts and things like that. And I think now is where — nine games into the season, almost halfway into the season — it’s starting to sink in.”

Lewis-Eutsey’s back-to-back buckets were the start of a 14-0 Lansdale Catholic run which was capped by Riley Devitis converting a three-point play at 4:11 followed by a Smith hitting her first 3-pointer of the night to make it 17-4 Crusaders.

“They were four for their first four and some of them were some pretty wild shots and I think some of that was we want to hurry teams up,”  said Gidney, in his first season at LC. “We feel that when we hurry teams up, that we play more effectively and our opponent does not. I just think we had to get past some of those — like I said, they were 4-for-4. We had to get past it.”

An Elizabeth McNulty jumper had Agnes Irwin with 11 but LC had its lead at 19 after four consecutive points from Lewis-Eutsey — first on a putback then a pair of free throws made it 27-8 with 26 seconds left in the first quarter.

“Definitely having my presence felt, having my presence felt on the court and being there and getting offensive boards was a big part of this game,” Lewis-Eutsey said.

Mary Grace Miller’s three-point play at 15 seconds cut the margin to 27-11 but Smith connected on a 3-pointer as the quarter’s buzzer sounded for a 30-11 lead.

“So usually if I miss the first one I get a little out of it,” Smith said. “But this time, I just kept shooting. And once they starting going it, I felt my rhythm and just when I was open shoot it.”

Consecutive Erwin baskets and a Smith three to open the second quarter put Lansdale Catholic up 26. After the Owls got the lead down to 22 at 37-15, the Crusaders used an 12-2 burst to hold its largest lead of the first half at 49-17. A Kristina Finkelston bucket had LC leading 51-21 at the break.

A free throw 10 seconds into the third accounted for Agnes Irwin’s lone point of the quarter, the Crusaders scoring the period’s last 18 for a 69-22 advantage. LC’s biggest lead was 50 at 75-25.

In the tournament’s consolation game, Council Rock South topped Norristown 44-31, the Golden Hawks (4-4, 1-1 SOL National) snapping a three-game losing streak. The loss dropped the Eagles to 1-8 (0-3 PAC Liberty).