Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
WC East escapes with victory
Vikings edge Haven, will meet No. 1 Springfield-Delco
NETHER PROVIDENCE » Time was running out Tuesday in Strath Haven’s biggest girls basketball game in four years.
While coach Allison Price drew up a play, the Panthers trailing by a basket in the final minute, her best player and top scorer, Alisha Lewis, was at the far end of the bench in street clothes.
Eventually, fearless point guard Cayden Frazier got a shot up but not before drawing a crowd of West Chester East defenders. The District 1 Class 5A playoff game that began with a miss and a mystery ended the same way, the Vikings escaping with a 39-37 victory.
“The players that we had out there and the players on the bench really kept us in that and really rose to the occasion tonight,” Price said. “So they don’t have anything to hang their heads about. They’ve been playing competitively all season long so they were ready to rise to that occasion tonight. And they played their hearts out.”
Lewis wasn’t injured. The PIAA’s new postseason ban for transfers wasn’t a factor in Lewis’ “unavailability,” according to a school official who was hopeful the Georgia Tech commit would be able to return to the court, though that’s now a moot point.
West Chester East (15-8), the ninth seed, takes on top-seeded Springfield in the second round Friday.
While the Cougars are unlikely to hit the floor with an unexpected lineup change, it’s going to be a major step up in class for East. That said, the Vikings had put in a lot of work getting ready for the Panthers team that defeated them, 60-48, earlier this year.
“It did throw us off our game because we played them at our place in a close game and Alisha Lewis was amazing,” East coach Erin Listrani said. “And so for the last two weeks we’ve been game-planning to play them with her.
“So, I think it was a huge surprise for our girls tonight when they knew she wasn’t playing, it was a tough transition to make. When you’re preparing all different things to try to contain her and she’s not in the game, mentally it did throw a wrench in our plans. We did have to go through a period of adjustment.”
Both teams were sluggish in the first period, East getting on the board first and the Panthers scoring eight straight points, Frazier driving straight down the boulevard to score two of her 10 points. The Panthers led, 8-3, entering the second quarter.
It was the beginning of a four-quarter flashback for Frazier, who battled for baskets last year when Lewis wasn’t a part of the squad, playing for Long Island Lutheran in New York.
“We just worked on a bunch of stuff in practice, pick and rolls, anything that we could do to get our good spots in getting our shots up,” Lewis said. “We felt like as long as we have (Lewis) on the bench, we have her on the court.”
The Vikings figured it out in the second quarter, scoring 12 straight points to grab a 15-8 lead while the Panthers struggled. Marissa McDonald scored eight of her game-high 19 points to get the visitors going.
“It was almost like we played an entirely different team than last time, just the way they were pressuring us so much more in the half court,” McDonald said. “I think we had to worry about their other guards just as much.”
The Panthers trailed by five points at the intermission, and by seven entering the final frame. A big quarter by Danielle McNeely, who buried a couple of 3-pointers on her way to a dozen points, and a free throw by Faith Raymond enabled Strath Haven to knot the game at 37 with 2:32 remaining. But that would be their last points.
Lauren Klieber scored inside for what proved to be the winning bucket with 1:39 remaining, while the Panthers missed shots and had a costly turnover in the final 25 seconds.
The Panthers had their chances, the Vikings missing the front half of a couple of oneand-bonus situations. It wasn’t going to be their night.
“It was really nerve wracking,” McDonald said. “You had to remind yourself to trust your teammates, that it’s not just you out there. We wanted this win so badly. It’s the first time we’ve been in the playoffs since I’ve been here. I’ve been here four years.”
Listrani appreciated the way the Vikings finished.
“I’ve been challenging my team to play with composure and to understand the situation,” Listrani said. “Early on that didn’t go so well but I think down the stretch when it counted, they listened on the timeouts and they worked together and they helped each other on the court and they finished, composed, in that fourth quarter.”