Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Rustin waltzes to second straight district semifinal berth
WESTTOWN -- West Chester Rustin’s Adashia Franklyn arguably is playing the best basketball in the District 1 Class AAAA girls basketball tournament right now.
And the Golden Knights are reaping the benefit of her stellar play.
Franklyn isn’t trying to reflect on her game. Instead, the senior just wants her team to keep winning.
“You have to have the desire to put forth the extra effort,’ Franklyn said. “That’s what I’m doing. I don’t want to underestimate anybody, but just have the will to win.”
Franklyn scored a game-high 22 points as No. 7 West Chester Rustin defeated No. 18 Abington 65-46 in the District 1 Class AAAA quarterfinals Saturday.
The win sent the Golden Knights (234) to the semifinals for the second consecutive year, where they will play North Penn on Wednesday at Harriton High School.
Franklyn has scored 62 points through three games in the tourna- ment; an average of 20.7 per game. Head coach Leah Kim sees the hard work Franklyn has put in over the season and doesn’t think it will stop anytime soon.
“She’s a senior, its playoff time, and really doesn’t want this to end,” Kim said. “As a coach, you love that. Once the second half came, she just stepped it up and played hard despite not getting the breaks she needs.”
Franklyn had 11 points in the first half as Rustin built a 25-14 halftime lead, but was on a mission to turn it into a rout. She came out of the locker room with a quick
two followed by another two while being fouled in the lane.
Franklyn had the first five points in the third as the Golden Knights started the quarter on a 10-0 run to build a 35-14 lead with five minutes to play in the quarter, their largest of the game.
Franklyn, Noelle Powell and Katie O’Hare were providing the points, but Annie Pitts and the Rustin bench were beating a tough Abington press and getting them easy baskets.
“That’s what I love about this team,” Kim said. “We really worked on getting the confidence built down the bench and when these girls come in they are ready to play. They give us exactly what we need when we need it and without that you don’t win games. It’s the unspoken heroes that get you to this point in the season.”
One of those heroes is Annie Pitts, who came into the game late in the first quarter and didn’t want to relinquish her spot after checking in.
There was no reason to sit Pitts down as she finished with a game-high 12 assists while using her speed to split two defenders in a full-court press and find easy buckets for her teammates.
“That’s what I look for, getting the assist,” Pitts said. “With the way Adashia was playing, it was huge. I just needed to split the defense and allow her to get the open shots.”
While Franklyn was controlling the paint, Katie O’Hare was spreading the floor with her jump shot. O’Hare had seven points in the second quarter as Rustin went on a 13-1 run between the first and second quarter to take the lead for good. The last they trailed in the contest was 4-3 at the 2:56 mark in the opening quarter.
Powell had 14 points in the second half to finish with 15 while O’Hare had 13.
Once the Golden Knights built a double digit lead, they never let the Lady Ghosts cut the deficit to less than 14.
Deja Rawls led Abington with 20 points, including netting her 1,000th point on a layup late in the third quarter. The junior has 1,013 for her career.
While the Lady Ghosts (18-7) head to the consolation bracket to determine their seeding for the PIAA Tournament, Rustin is looking to avenge their loss in the district semifinals last season.
“The semis were not a fun place for us last year,” Kim said. “I’m just thrilled for the kids. They wanted to get back here. Getting that experience last year, I know they’re excited and pumped and have the right mentality to play this game.”
“It doesn’t matter who we play,” Pitts said. “If we play well as a team, we’ll do well. I’ve been waiting for this time of the year.”