Plymouth Whitemarsh impresses in Gym West opener

WHITEMARSH >> The first game at Plymouth Whitemarsh’s brand new Gym West was competitive for eight minutes.

The Colonials led by three points after the first quarter.

In the second, PW scored 24 straight points and shutout the Eagles to take a 27-point advantage into halftime and cruised to a 48-10 win Friday night over Norristown.

“We have a new era,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “Eleven of our 15 girls are ninth or tenth grade, so it’s their first game, it’s the new gym. We’ve had a nice run the last three years and we’ll hopefully keep it going. This new gym is nice because it’s a brand new team and a brand new program and they get to hopefully come out and make their own statement.”

The Colonials forced a missed shot and two turnovers on Norristown’s first three possessions of the second quarter and the defense never slowed down. The Eagles managed just one free throw in the eight-minute stretch.

Offensively, Sydney Kesselman led the way during the 24-0 run. She scored all of her game-high 11 points in the quarter and was the finisher on three transition layups.

“We started to make some layups,” Dougherty said was the difference in the second quarter. “In the first quarter we weren’t able to. The scoring led to more defensive pressure, which led to more scoring.

“Defensively I was very proud in the second quarter of the way that we pressured without fouling. That was a big deal.”

It was more of the same in the second half. Plymouth Whitemarsh limited Norristown to three points in the third quarter and two points in the fourth.

“We just lost focus,” Norristown coach Richard Fisher said. “Once we lost focus the turnovers started. I don’t know if the crowd got to us or whatever, but to play a high school girls basketball game and have 41 turnovers, it’s unacceptable.

“We have seniors that need to be focused and help us along. We are a young team, but we just need the seniors to pick up and take care of the ball.”

Brooke Felgoise scored eight points in the fourth quarter for the Colonials.