Neshaminy ousts West Chester Henderson in districts (GALLERY)

LANGHORNE – Never count the Neshaminy girls basketball team out. Just when you think you have Joe Lally’s battling hoopsters down, they come roaring back.

West Chester Henderson would certainly attest to the Redskins’ resiliency. In their opening round game of the PIAA District One Class AAAA playoffs, the Warriors, utilizing an aggressive defensive assault, hustled their way to 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The hometown Neshaminy fans, however, showed little alarm. They could well remember the regular season when their court heroines fell behind a tough Council Rock North team by 12 points going into the final frame only to rally and pull out a 49-45 victory. A one-point deficit with 24 minutes left to play should prove no problem for their beloved ‘Skins.

Emily Alexis, starting forward, knows that such a never-say-die attitude has been a Neshaminy trademark all season. “We always know how to build ourselves back up. After we lost our first three games to the Central Bucks teams, we said we have the rest of the season to go. Those were just our first three games. We need to bring it up one game at a time. We always have the intensity and heart to go out and play the sport we love.”

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Neshaminy applied the same thinking after falling behind West Chester Henderson. “We always focus on one game at a time, one quarter at a time. Coach said ‘it’s alright, just win the next three quarters.’ We try not to get frantic and worry about it. Just put that quarter behind us and win the game.”

The Redskins started their rally in the second quarter when they outscored the Warriors 12-8.  With star senior Morgan Goldenbaum closely guarded by Viktoria Kneis, the other ‘Skins stepped up. Freshman Brooke Mullin’s hustling play and classmate Allison Harvey’s outside shooting helped compliment the tough play under the boards of Emily and Devon Storms. By half, Neshaminy had pulled ahead 18-15.

Emily saw halftime as the moment to regroup and reassure each other. “Some of our shots weren’t falling in the first half, so we tried to build each other up. Some people said they weren’t playing that well. We said, don’t worry about it. Coach said to go out and play our game. We’re usually a pretty good second. We just had to put our minds to it.”

Neshaminy obviously regained the requisite mental focus as they took total control coming out of the locker room. Mullin led the attack, aggressively stealing the ball and diving all over the court. Her spirited play sparked three five-point runs that broke the game wide open and led to a 33-19 Neshaminy lead after three quarters.

Her teammates obviously shared Emily’s mindset. “At half, we said we have to reel back and go out with our heart and fire. We really started to connect in the third quarter. Our shots were falling and our defense was really good.”

Mullin would lead all scorers, netting 16 points, pilfering the ball six times, snagging seven rebounds and recording three assists. She was amply supported by Goldenbaum, who recorded three points, nine rebounds, three assists and four steals. Harvey added nine points to the Redskins’ cause. Emily and Storms followed with six and five points, apiece.

A 15-point third quarter, highlighted by a 9-0 run, assured Neshaminy’s convincing 48-31 victory. “We were really happy that night and really thrilled with the win.”

Most importantly, they had earned the right to face perennial power Mount Saint Joseph in round two of the playoffs. “Now, we have to think about our next game on Wednesday. We have to focus on them in practice and bring our all and play with intensity.”

Regardless of the outcome against Mount Saint Joseph, you can count on Neshaminy to fight until the final buzzer sounds.

Neshaminy 48, West Chester Henderson 31

(Feb. 12 at Neshaminy)

WC Henderson 7 8 4 12 – 31

Neshaminy 6 12 15 15 – 48

WEST CHESTER HENDERSON (14-8) — Emma Bertrando 3 0-2 8; Jenna Maratea 1 1-2 3; Viktoria Kneis 2 0-1 4; Julie Gawrylowicz 2 1-2 6; Abbey Shea 3 0-0 6; Erin Thompson 0 0-1 0; Brynn Cullinan 1 0-0 2; Grace Ferguson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS — 13 2-8 31.

NESHAMINY (19-5) — Morgan Goldenbaum 0 3-9 3; Allison Harvey 4 0-0 9; Devon Storms 1 3-6 5; Brooke Mullin 4 7-12 16; Emily Alexis 2 2-2 6; Tiara Porterfield 1 2-4 4; Thyra Tuttle 1 0-0 3; Josafinne McIlvaine 0 2-2 2. TOTALS — 13 19-35 48.

3-POINT GOALS: WCH — Bertrando 2, Gawrylowicz; N — Harvey, Tuttle, Mullin.