Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Shanahan rallies for win over Great Valley
Basile leads Shanahan second-half comeback over Great Valley
EAST WHITELAND >> Kelly Basile admitted the nerves were kicking in once she entered the game for Bishop Shanahan midway through the first quarter.
That’s normal for most sophomores who play their first significant varsity minutes for the first time.
However, Basile took an abnormal approach after the nerves went away. She carried the Eagles on her back with Ciara Forde and Devan Adams in early foul trouble.
Not typical for a sophomore in her first meaningful varsity game.
“Once I got that first foul shot, everything just kid of set in.” Basile said. “I said to myself ‘I can do this.’ After that, I just kind of played my game.”
Basile led Bishop Shanahan with a career-high 13 points as the Eagles erased a five point deficit in the third quarter en route to a 48-33 victory over Great Valley in the Great Valley Tip-Off Tournament Friday.
The Eagles (1-0) had three double-digit scorers on the night in Basile, Adams and Forde. Adams finished with 11 points on the night in her first varsity game while Forde scored 10.
But this night belonged to Basile, who played a huge role
in as Shanahan closed the third quarter on an 11-0 run to but the game away.
“It’s not anything new we’ve expected of Kelly,” said Shanahan head coach Fran Burbidge. “She’s a good basketball player. She’s been doing well in practice and we but her in for our big (Adams) and switched a little bit defensively. She did really well.”
Basile took charge during that Shanahan run with five of Shanahan’s 11 unanswered points.
After Kodi Campetti hit a three to give the Patriots a 25-20 lead (their largest of the night), Basile found Grace Phillips in the post two posessions later to cut the Great Valley lead to 25-24. Once Great Valley got the ball, Basile’s defense forced a turnover in the back court which led to Phillips driving for another easy lay-up to give Shanahan the lead for good at 26-25 with 5:28 left in the third.
Forde scored four of the Eagles next six points to cap the run. Shanahan out- scored Great Valley 15-5 in the third quarter to build a 35-27 lead.
Adams, a 6-3 freshman center, put the game away with six straight points in the paint during the fourth quarter as Shanahan built its largest lead to that point, 45-31 with 3:46 to go.
The win wasn’t an easy one for the Eagles, who faced some adversity after building an eight-point lead after the first quarter.
Great Valley (0-1) outscored Shanahan 14-4 in the second quarter as the Eagles could find no answer for Ashlyn Smith, who scored six of her game-high 14 points in the quarter.
Smith took advantage of Forde and Adams each being on the bench with three fouls as she created shots in the paint.
The Patriots took a 2220 lead heading into halftime, but once Forde reentered, the game changed in Shanahan’s favor.
“The game is four quarters,” said Great Valley head coach Alex Venarchik. “We kind of got gased in that third quarter and Shanahan just kept playing. That’s the style that they have and why they’re one of the top teams in District 1.
“I saw a lot of good things tonight. There were still a ton of positives to take from this game. These girls showed their potential on a couple possessions and that’s what we’re going to take away.”
Experience paid off for Shanahan in the second half. Carrying on a leadership role for the first time, Forde made sure the Eagles were the better team in the final 16 minutes.
“We felt we could do better,” Forde said. “We always tell each other to work as hard as we can. In the first half, we weren’t winning the loose balls. As soon as we started winning them, we were getting the momentum back.”