Rustin uses big third quarter to race past Great Valley for first division win

WESTTOWN >> West Chester Rustin star Laine McGurk struggled at times from the floor against Great Valley on Thursday. But, when she didn’t, she put her stamp on the game and put the Patriots under her thumb.
McGurk poured in a game-high 27 points as the Golden Knights shook off a seven-day break and used a huge third quarter to take control of the Ches-Mont League American Division girls basketball contest en route to a 58-44 victory.
Rustin led 26-25 at halftime, but came out emphatically right from the third. McGurk scored two straight baskets during a 6-1 run to build the advantage to 35-26 with four minutes left.

McGurk scored on a foul-line jumper a couple of minutes later to bump the lead to double digits, 39-29. A Great Valley basket made it 39-31, but McGurk scored two straight buckets, the last one on a pull up jumper at the buzzer off a turnover and Rustin entered the fourth leading, 43-31.
“We felt like we should have been up more than one,” said McGurk. “So, we all decided we were going to make that one extra pass and really pick it up on defense. I think the minute we stepped out, we just playing to our level and making the extra pass and taking smarter shots.”

The Patriots ended up being outscored 17-6 in the frame. They made just 2-of-11 from the floor and turned the ball over eight times.
“Our mindset coming out of halftime was to turn up the defensive intensity,” said Rustin coach Lauren Stackhouse. “We made some adjustments on that end and our girls responded. They did exactly what we asked them to do coming out the locker room. Our transition game was flowing nicely and they just played at a different level.”
The Golden Knights kept the Pats at arm’s length in the fourth. They pushed to lead to as much as 18 at 58-40 with 2:30 left.
Great Valley led 13-10 after one, holding McGurk to just one basket. Rustin heated up in the second and went on a 14-7 run. But, the Patriots clawed back and recorded the final five points of the half on a layup by Abbie Eisenhardt and a 3-pointer by Laura Lum to cut the deficit to one heading into the break.

“We were just trading off baskets in the first half,” said Stackhouse. “We were there but we couldn’t get into our rhythm. We had to shake the cobwebs off.”
Coming off that slow first quarter, McGurk followed with 8, 11 and 6 points to lead the way in Rustin’s first American game of the season. They improved to 5-3 overall.
“Laine is one of those players. She can pretty much, once she settles herself down, do anything she wants in terms of scoring,” said Stackhouse. “She’s definitely tough to stop. She’s a lot of fun to watch. A lot of fun to watch.”
Riley Stackhouse added 11 points — five in the second quarter — and Lola Flynn and Laney Costin added six each.
Gia Sioutis paced Great Valley (1-2, 3-5) with 11 points.

West Chester Rustin 58, Great Valley 44
Great Valley: Eisenhardt 1 0-0 2; DiPrizio 2 0-0 6; Sioutis 5 1-4 11; Maslowski 0 1-2 1; Ridall 0 0-0 0; Lum 3 0-0 8; Fredrick 3 0-0 8; Schadl 0 0-0 0; Curley 2 3-4 8; Powell 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 5-10 44.
W.C. Rustin: Panetta 1 0-0 3; Flynn 2 2-3 6; Loper 0 0-0 0; LaRosa 0 0-0 0; E. McGurk 1 2-4 4; L. McGurk 13 0-0 27; Harrison 0 0-0 0; Durant 0 0-0 0; Costin 3 0-0 6; Stackhouse 5 1-1 11. Totals: 25 5-8 58.
Great Valley 13 12 10 13 — 44
W.C. Rustin 10 14 12 8 — 58
3-point goals: DiPrizio 2, Lum 2, Fredrick 2, Curley, Panetta, L. McGurk.