Lewis-Eutsey reaches 1,000 as Lansdale Catholic finishes PCL Blue undefeated

LANSDALE >> Timaya Lewis-Eutsey was only focused on putting the ball back in the basket.

The Lansdale Catholic junior found the ball in her hands under the rim off a tipped offensive rebound early in the second quarter Friday night and did what she’s done plenty of this season. Only this basket was different, it was a milestone for Lewis-Eutsey.

LC’s high-scoring junior became the fastest player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points after a 25-point effort in Friday’s 75-16 win over Bishop McDevitt that also secured an undefeated PCL Blue Division record.

“I was trying to keep my head on straight and once I finally hit it, that’s when it hit me,” Lewis-Eutsey said. “This stops nothing for me though, I’m ready to turn it up more.”

A three-year starter at LC, Lewis-Eutsey is in the midst of a breakout junior year that’s come about partly due to an unplanned position switch. Normally a guard, an injury to a teammate had the coaching staff push the junior into a post position and she’s thrived.

Lewis-Eutsey is averaging about 26 points per game this season, raising her average eight points from her sophomore year and she’s been hammering opponents on offensive rebounds, putbacks and foul shots. She’s still  a major threat in the open floor too, but the junior has really taken to her new role.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot, I’ve gone from shooting jumpshots to using all dimensions of my game and being a stronger player,” Lewis-Eutsey said. “I’m trying to be strong in and out of the paint, going to the outside when they need me and on the inside, working on getting rebounds, being tough and being the player my coach needs me to be.”

With five games to go in the regular season, Lewis-Eutsey was 90 points away from 1,000 and despite missing a game due to a minor injury, she was able to get within striking distance going into Friday’s regular season finale. She admitted to not knowing how far away she was until Wednesday, when the coaches finally revealed she needed 20 points.

Everything lined up perfectly for her to not only get it done before the postseason, but to do it on her home floor and give plenty of family the chance to be there. Lewis-Eutsey had close to 20 family members in attendance on Friday, some coming from more than hour away in New Jersey and all going crazy after every point.

“This is a big moment and it means everything to me,” Lewis-Eutsey said. “They came a long way to see me and it means a lot to have them all here.”

The junior scored her team’s first 12 points and had 19 by the end of the first quarter. While her teammates were trying to get her the ball at every chance, Lewis-Eutsey passed up a couple shots and still chalked up four assists while hunting the milestone score.

Prior to inbounding the ball before the second quarter, older brother Tyrese leaned into Timaya’s ear to tell her “no mercy” and to go get the job done. It took 49 seconds for her to take care of business, getting the offensive rebound after freshman Gabby Casey tipped it to her off a miss.

Lansdale Catholic coach Eric Gidney believes the difference this year isn’t anything to do with talent, but more Lewis-Eutsey refining her skills to be a more efficient player.

“The biggest difference I’ve seen in her isn’t something you can necessarily measure on the court, but her mental approach to the game has changed,” Gidney said. “She’s gotten away from just using the great talent she has, her basketball IQ has gone up tremendously and she’s using that to let her make better decisions on the floor.”

Gidney added the next step is for Lewis-Eutsey to become a team leader next season as a senior. Her game will only continue to improve and LC has four quality senior leaders this year but it’s a natural progression for a player with her ability.

Lewis-Eutsey is the first Crusader to surpass 1,000 points since Lauren Crim did so during the 2017-18 season. A freshman on that team, Lewis-Eutsey said she was inspired seeing a teammate hit the number and made it a goal for herself, although she admitted she didn’t see it coming so quickly.

“I never thought about it, I just played because I loved to play,” Lewis-Eutsey said. “Once I started getting older, that’s when I started working on my game to become a better player. I went from a one-dimensional player to be able to shoot the ball, pass-faking, being active, looking for my teammates and working on my fundamentals because I knew the talent was there.”

SUPERB SEASON

When the Crusaders’ season ended with a second round state playoff loss last year, it didn’t take long for the returning players to get back in the gym.

Within a month, Gidney said he had multiple players coming in for workouts at least two to three times a week and he started planning some tougher games on the regular season schedule. The PCL’s decision to split girls’ basketball into two divisions only emboldened the second-year coach to bolster the resume outside the league.

It all added up to a 20-2 regular season and a perfect 10-0 PCL Blue division title.

“All the credit in the world to them, they were back in the gym five weeks later,” Gidney said. “It’s not just the blood, sweat and tears we put in on game nights or from November to March, it’s that work that led to this too. It’s a great, great group of young ladies and they absolutely love being around each other.”

The divisional split is on a one-year trial basis and despite their perfect divisional record, the Crusaders will only be the No. 8 seed for the PCL playoffs starting next week. LC will host No. 9 St. Hubert in a 6 p.m. start Tuesday night.

For whatever it’s worth, the Crusaders beat No. 6 seed Bonner & Prendergast during the regular season in a non-divisional game that had District 12 postseason seeding implications.

Seeing his team’s commitment, Gidney added a host of teams with recent runs of success like Abington, Gwynedd Mercy Academy and Neshaminy to the nonleague slate.

“It says no matter what you put in front of us, we’re going to play our game and we’re going to do our best,” Lewis-Eutsey said. “If we play how we’re supposed to, if we play together and make the right decisions, shoot the shots that are there and just go hard, we can beat anybody.”