West Chester Rustin girls roll past Unionville

EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Having played West Chester Rustin relatively close the first time they played, the Unionville girls basketball team hoped that, when they got them at home, the results would tilt more in its favor. That dream, though, was torn asunder in the first quarter, and the Longhorns could not recover.
The Golden Knights held the Longhorns without a field goal en route to jumping out to a huge lead, and cruised from there to post a 66-24 victory in a Ches-Mont League American contest.
“We came out with way more energy than they did from the start all the way to the end,” said Rustin’s Elizabeth McGurk.
Rustin started with a purpose from the tip. Lola Flynn scored seconds into game to start a 13-2 run. Laine McGurk, Flynn and Laney Costin all had three baskets each for a 13-0 lead midway through the quarter.
“We just knew we had to come out with a lot of energy,” said Rustin coach Lauren Stackhouse. “We definitely wanted to come in and play with a purpose. We wanted to come out fast and make them play at our pace, and I think that’s what we did right from the start. Our girls were locked in tonight.”
The Longhorns were held scoreless until Savannah Lang made two free throws with 4:33 left in the first period. But, the house continued to fall in on Unionville, Rustin finished the stanza on an 11-0 spurt to boost its lead to 24-2.
“The girls weren’t focused,” said Unionville coach Fred Ellzy. “We talked about how Rustin was going to come in and play hard. We had to meet their energy with our own energy. We didn’t do it. We just didn’t get it done.
“We just pretty much let them come in here and do whatever they wanted. This program is built on toughness and defense and we just didn’t show it tonight.”
The Longhorns (3-3, 8-6) missed all 12 attempts from the floor, while the Golden Knights went 10-for-15.
Rustin did cool off a little in the second, but did not let Unionville get a foothold into the game. Gabrielle Johnson notched a pair of baskets to cut the deficit to 28-6. But Unionville could only score once more in the quarter. When Elizabeth McGurk buried a 3-pointer from the left wing at the buzzer, Rustin went into the halftime break with a 37-8 advantage.
“It was all about getting confidence from the beginning,” said Elizabeth McGurk, who had 14 points, including four 3-pointers. “I was getting it from my teammates and my sister, they were giving me my passes and they were trusting me to shoot and take care of it.”
The Golden Knights’ defensive effort held Unionville’s two top scorers — Milana Amoss and Riley Angstadt — scoreless for the first half. They had seven points between them for the game.
“We know that they are their two top scorers,” said Stackhouse. “I’m so proud of Laney’s (Costin) and (Lola) Flynn’s effort tonight. They had to take care of their two top scorers and they did a great job. I couldn’t ask them to do more.”
Laine McGurk posted 22 points with 12 rebounds and three assists, Costin had 12 points and Flynn chipped in with 10 points.
Rustin, which had its seven-game winning streak snapped by Neshaminy, improved to 12-4 overall and 7-0 in the Ches-Mont American.

West Chester Rustin 66, Unionville 24
WC Rustin 24 13 17 12 — 66
Unionville 2 6 12 4 — 24
WC Rustin: Panetta 2 0-0 4; Flynn 5 0-0 10; Loper 1-2 1; Larosa 0 0-0 0; E. McGurk 5 0-0 14; L. McGurk 8 5-5 22; Harrison 0 0-0 0; Durant 0 0-0 0; Costin 6 0-0 12; Stackhouse 1 0-0 3. Totals: 27 6-7 66.
Unionville: Baughn 1 0-2 2; Amoss 1 0-2 3; Lang 3 2-2 8; Johnson 2 3-4 7; West 0 0-0 0; Della Barba 0 0-0 0; Angstadt 2 0-0 4; Megill 0 0-0 0; Menniger 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 5-10 24.
3-point goals: E. McGurk, L. McGurk, Stackhouse, Amoss.