City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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WEST CHESTER — The West Chester Henderson girls basketball team was in the bleachers waiting for Whitney Evans.

When she started heading their way after a postgame interview, they broke into a chant in unison: “What’s the key? Whit-ney!”

The senior and four-year varsity player deserved the cheers after her outing Thursday night. She poured in 35 points in a 48-42 win over Ches-Mont National leader West Chester East, which included scoring 21 of her team’s 24 points in the second half.

“When I think of Whitney, I think of one of the nicest kids ever,” West Chester Henderson coach Greta Neff said. “She’s selfless. I think the shots that she took tonight, most of them came within the flow of the offense. Her teammates obviously love her, and she just is a student of the game. She understands the game and is passionate about it. She works real hard. She just is a real neat kid to have around.”

Evans is a four-year varsity player at Henderson. She and classmate Jackie Shea, who added eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, were both first team all-league selections a season ago. She’s continued to grow into the player her teammates can lean on as a senior — as they did Thursday night.

Evans had 14 at halftime as the Warriors (9-5, 4-3 National) jumped ahead 24-20. She hit threes and pulled up for deep twos, adding in a few nice drives.

Despite picking up her third foul early in the second half, Evans stayed in attack mode, helping Henderson grow its lead as large as 11 with five to play in the third quarter before taking a 35-29 lead into the fourth. 

“Before, I had a bunch of seniors who I was playing with,” Evans said. “Now, I’m playing with people in my class and younger. It’s been a good learning experience for me to be a leader and to help people grow.”

West Chester East (10-4, 5-2) came all the way back to tie the game with three and half to play on a bucket by sophomore Lauren Horan. Junior Annalise Kubasko scored nine for the Vikings, followed by eight apiece from Horan, junior Sofia Keith and senior Annie Kerns.

Evans scored 12 of Henderson’s 13 points in the fourth as she shot 10-of-12 from the free throw line. A split at the line with 1:30 left gave Henderson the lead back, 43-42. After a Shea steal, Evans pushed the lead to 45-42 at the line with 52 seconds remaining.

The Warriors had a chance to put the game on ice with 28.6 seconds left but missed both free throws. The rebound on the second attempt bounced away before Shea and Evans dove into the scramble for the loose ball. Evans came out with possession — the game clinching hustle play from the senior, showing how much she wants to win this season.

“I think the best part about it was as I’m trying to call a timeout for 30 seconds while she’s trying to get possession of the ball, they finally give me the timeout and you just look at Jackie’s face and she couldn’t have been smiling more, ‘Yeah, Whitney,’” Neff said. “ It’s a true team with these girls, and that’s what’s been great to see.”

Neff has spent the last two decades coaching the in the Ches-Mont, first at Downingtown West before coaching at Henderson for the last 10 years. She went up against an Evans — Whitney’s older sister Shante — back when she was with the Whippets.

When Neff took over at Henderson, where she also coaches volleyball, one of Shante’s former teammates, Katie Armstrong, let her know another Evans was on the way.

“I went to all her games even before I can remember, so I’ve been around basketball for my whole life,” Whitney said of Shante.

Shante Evans is a 2009 grad who tallied a school record 2,168 points at Henderson before an All-American career at Hofstra. She was the first girls 1,000-point scorer in program history. Whitney, a 5-5 point guard, wasn’t blessed with the same height as her 6-foot-1 sister, but she entered the program with aspirations of her own.

One of those goals was checked off Saturday when she joined the 1,000-point club herself during a win over Kennett. Her cousin Nyle Ralph-Beyer reached 1,000 points fo the Henderson boys earlier this year.

Evans scored a career-high 36 points during the milestone afternoon. Shante was among those in attendance.

“It was pretty cool,” Evans said. “She actually got to be there, so it was great. It was a big win for us too, so I’m glad that I could get it at home too.”

The Warriors went 11-8 during Evans’ freshman campaign, ending their season in the first round of the District 1-6A tournament. The 2021-22 season was a down year for Henderson at 7-13 but the Warriors returned to the postseason in 2022-23 with a 14-8 mark. A five-point first-round loss to Central Bucks East in the District 1-6A tournament concluded their season early once again.

Evans has eyes on leading her squad to an extended postseason trip as a senior. The Warriors’ win Thursday pulls them within a game of first in the National standings, giving them three straight league wins after dropping three of their first four division contests by five-or-fewer points.

Six of the the Ches-Mont National Division's seven teams are separated by just two games, so it's anyone's race down the stretch. Evans and veteran teammates like Shea would like to compete in the league playoffs before trying to capture their first district playoff win together.

They look plenty capable with four straight wins during the time of year when it's imperative to play your best basketball.

 “We’re working really hard for that, so I would really love to be in both environments,” Evans said. 

“We have a couple seniors and juniors who have been playing varsity for pretty long. … Everybody’s in reach right now.”

West Chester Henderson 48, West Chester East 42

By Quarter
WC Henderson:  14  |   10   |  11  |  13  ||  48
WC East: 10  |  10  |  9  |  13  ||  42

Scoring
WC Henderson: Whitney Evans 35, Jackie Shea 8, Lilli Bertrando 3, Gabrielle Nanni 2.

WC East: Annalise Kubasko 9, Annie Kerns 8, Sofia Keith 8, Lauren Horan 8, Carly Bickle 6, Kayla Miller 3.