O’Brien delivers for PW in finals

Colonials rally past Pennridge for title

EAST ROCKHILL » In a game that swung back and forth, with seven lead changes in the second half, PlymouthWhitemarsh had the difference maker.

“I turned to the kids at one point in the fourth quarter, when Taylor made one of those great plays,” Colonials coach Dan Dougherty said, “and I said ‘I’m sure glad she’s on our team.’

“Because she’s a special player, and she really took over that fourth quarter to get us the win.”

Taylor O’Brien scored a game-high 31 points and propelled a strong defensive effort in the fourth quarter to lead PW to a 52-46 victory over the host Rams in the Pennridge Memorial Classic Final Saturday evening.

“It’s awesome. Just to start out the season like this shows we have a lot to do this year,” said a smiling O’Brien, shortly after she and her teammates got to pass around the championship trophy, “and we’re excited for more to come.”

Defense allowed the Colonials to take home the hardware, and O’Brien was at the heart of it. Holding tight to a three-point lead with under a minute to go, O’Brien made a steal and took it all the way in, drawing the foul.

She calmly sank her two free throws with 15 seconds to play, making it 51-46. PW got another stop at the other end and Lauren Fortescue added a free throw to lock things up.

Pennridge made eight 3-pointers in the contest, but the Colonials held the Rams scoreless in the fourth until just 1:46 remained.

“Very scrappy,” O’Brien said of the defensive performance. “My girls played really hard and everyone was on high alert. We were talking and every

KEV HUNTER — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA PW’s Taylor O’Brien is all smiles after scoring 31 points Saturday night in the finals of the Pennridge Memorial Classic.