O’Brien scores 32, Plymouth Whitemarsh routs Downingtown East in District 1-6A 2nd round

WHITEMARSH >> With Taylor O’Brien’s 32 points and outstanding defense, the sixth-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh girls basketball team dominated No. 11 Downingtown East 58-27 in the second round of the District 1-6A playoffs Wednesday night.

O’Brien was dominant especially behind the three-point line as she went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc.

“It was amazing with our team flowing,” said O’Brien. “We were just playing so confidently and rebounding was a huge part of getting our long runs along with playing together and positive energy.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Dan Dougherty was impressed with O’Brien’s performance.

“O’Brien is an incredibly talented player,” said Dougherty. “When she shoots from the outside, she’s almost unguardable because as soon as you step out to her, she can pump fake and get underneath other players.”

The Cougars defeated the No. 22 Owen J. Roberts 44-36 in the first round to play Plymouth Whitemarsh.

The Colonials scored often and early in the first quarter as they had a 11-5 after one quarter.

Plymouth Whitemarsh took a monstrous lead heading into halftime after outscoring Downingtown East 23-6 to take a 34-11 lead after the first half.

Things only got worse for the Cougars as they got shutdown 16-9 in the third quarter.

The Cougars would eventually win the fourth quarter 9-8, but it still wasn’t enough as the Colonials earned the 58-27 playoff victory.

Four Colonials scored in the victory including Lauren Fortescue and Ali Diamond with 12 points each, and Anna McTamney with two points.

The win sends Plymouth Whitemarsh to the District One 6A quarterfinals — the Colonials visit No. 3 Spring-Ford Saturday — and a spot in the PIAA tournament.

The Cougars host No. 19 Boyertown in the district playbacks Saturday.

Downingtown East head coach Thomas Schurtz had a lot of praise for the Colonials in the playoff game.

“Plymouth Whitemarsh did a great job playing at home tonight,” said Schurtz. “They made a lot of shots and we weren’t able to make enough shots to stay in the game.”

“I think Plymouth Whitemarsh has a lot of great players,” added Schurtz. “They had a home playoff game and they rose to the occasion and they played a good game today.”

Bella Smuda had the best scoring effort for Downingtown East with 10 points.

Erin Phelan and Olivia each scored six points while Emily Crum scored five points for the Cougars.

Dougherty was impressed with how his team performed to clinch a spot in the state playoffs.

“It was really special today,” said Dougherty. “We had the advantage of seeing Downingtown East play in the first round and the girls got to see the size that they have.”

“The kids kind of bought into not underdog, but small dog mentality,” added Dougherty. “I told them that it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but it’s about the size of the fight in the dog.”

PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 58, DOWNINGTOWN EAST 27
Downingtown East          5    6   7 9 — 27
Plymouth Whitemarsh  11 23 16 8 — 58
Downingtown East: Smuda 10; Phelan 6; Williams 6; Crum 5.
Plymouth Whitemarsh: O’Brien 32; Diamond 12; Fortescue 12; McTamney 2.