Becahi falls to quick-paced Rustin in quarterfinals
LEESPORT — “They were seven points better than us,” said Bethlehem Catholic coach Jose Medina said.
But, that statement only does partial justice to the high-tempo, exciting PIAA 5A girls basketball quarterfinal at Schuylkill Valley High School on Saturday afternoon.
In a game that was equal parts scrappy and sloppy, West Chester Rustin used a 13-1 second-quarter run to the lead for good en route to a 47-40 victory over the Golden Hawks for a semifinal berth against District 12 champion Archbishop Wood, 52-29 winners over Bishop Shanahan, on Tuesday at neutral site to be deterimined.
“It’s awesome,” said Rustin coach Lauren Stackohuse on being part of the final four. “I keep saying I just want to keep with this group for as long as I can.”
She knew that the Golden Hawks were going to provide an especially difficult challenge, and they didn’t disappoint.
“They are a fantastic team,” she said. “They have length, they have a fantastic point guard and they are well coached. We knew it would be a tough game. We definitely did not come in here thinking that it was going to be easy. We knew we had to elevate our game to match what they bring to the floor.”
Bethlehem Catholic held a 21-16 lead in the second quarter, before Rustin went on a 13-1 run in the final five minutes of the second to take a 29-22 lead into the break.
The lead held sway for Rustin through most of the third. A two by Akasha Santos and a three from Ella Bincarosky cut that deficit to 33-32, before a Laine McGurk basket gave the Knights a 35-32 lead heading into the fourth.
The Hawks couldn’t get much of a run going in the final stanza, shooting 3-for15, as they couldn’t get any closer than four points.
“The pace was a little quicker than what we wanted,” said Medina. “Giving up 29 points wasn’t a good thing. We made some adjustments and gave up 18 in the second half.”