Munger’s hot-shooting 1st half helps CB West rout Downingtown East in District 1-AAAA semis
NORTHAMPTON — When you’re hot it’s your teammates job to feed you the rock. That’s exactly what Nicole Munger’s teammates did as she lit up the scoreboard for 19 first half points on 8-of-12 shooting while leading second seed Central Bucks West to berth in the a District 1-AAAA girls basketball final.
The University of Michigan commit and all-state guard finished with 23 points as her team cruised to a 69-44 semifinal victory over Downingtown East at Council Rock South.
While her teammates did a good job finding her, coach Terry Rakowsky would like to see them find her even more often when she’s shooting like she did tonight
“She was, she was awesome,’ he said “I was a little bit disappointed because you know when she’s playing that way and they’re giving her those shots I think, and I’ll talk to the kids a little tomorrow, it’s their responsibility to get her the ball even more.’
While she started hot, she said that she didn’t feel any different coming into this game than she has in the past, and credited a lot of it to her teammates.
“I don’t think I was feeling any different,’ Munger said. “My teammates were just looking for me form the beginning and they just went in so
it was nice to get that kind of start.’
CB West (27-1), which has now won 21 straight games, faces either No. 5 Abington or No. 16 Spring-Ford fo the 4A title 6 p.m. Friday at Temple University’s Liacouras Center.
The Bucks jumped out to a 20-10 lead at the end of the first which was due in large part to their ability to shut down Downingtown East star Paige Warfel.
Warfel struggled to find a rhythm for most of the night and didn’t end up scoring her first point until the end of the third quarter. She ended up with a respectable nine points, but most of that came by the time the game had already been decided.
“Our defense was extraordinary on her. She’s a good player, tall, can throw over the top,’ Rakowsky said. “More than anything they just couldn’t run their offense. They’re a very disciplined, organized type of team, and we made them do some stuff tonight that maybe wasn’t in their makeup.’
The tempo of the game was certainly something that didn’t seem to be in their makeup. West was constantly pressing the ball and looking to run the floor, a defensive strategy that made Downingtown East look uneasy at times.
By the end of the third quarter, West had jumped out to a 52-31 lead and it was all but over at that point. Senior Corrinne Goodshall scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half and kept this team on the hot hand it started.
From here, West advances to play at Temple in the district final, a goal they have had their sights on for quite some time now and Rakowsky knows he owes it in large part to his group of seniors.
“It’s huge, it’s that goal you strive for, everybody does, to be in the district championship game.’ Rakowsky said “It’s the ultimate goal up to this point is to be there. We’ve been in it the last couple of years and for whatever reason we weren’t able to do it, but you got to give it to the seniors, talking about our senior class, they just get it.’
