Henderson wins, rest of Chesco teams fall

Still Perfect: Undefeated Warriors win, will face Susquehannock next

Coming off its first-ever District 1 Class 5A title, undefeated West Chester Henderson started slowly in its PIAA opener against Spring Grove Saturday, then turned up the defensive intensity in the second half for a 53-30 win.

In the first half, Spring Grove (16-11), the eighth seed from District 3 and a guard-oriented squad enjoying its first winning season in seven years, was getting some open shots from the outside and trailed the Warriors only 23-20 at halftime.

And that challenge proved to be just too much for the Golden Knights.

Maggie O’Hare had 16 points in the final game of her illustrious career, but it wasn’t enough as Lower Dauphin beat Rustin, 66-48, in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A girls basketball tournament.

“Lower Dauphin is good, I knew it owuld be a tough test,” said Rustin coach Jim Powers. “But we had a tough first half with a lot of turnovers, which we never recovered from.”

Grace Plona added 14 points for Rustin in the loss, as the Golden Knights finished the season 227, including their first Ches-Mont League American Division title.

“A lot of teams would like to be in our position and make states, get to the district semis. It’s a good season overall,” Powers said. “This group here with the senior class (O’Hare, Erin Gallagher and Kiarra Angelini), it was the first group to get over the hump and win the American Division.

“They were a lot of fun and a good group,” Powers said. “But unfortunately everything has to end some time.”

PETE BANNAN — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA West Chester Henderson players Grace Ferguson (42), Maddie DePrisco (2), Erin Torrance (12), Abbey Shea (35) and coach Greta Neff enjoy the last minutes of their win over Spring Grove.