City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Two weeks ago, Downingtown East’s game at West Chester East on Saturday looked like it might have some serious implications on the Ches-Mont League National Division race.

The Cougars were one game behind the Vikings and winners of eight of their last nine following an early-season loss to WCE.

Then came a three-game losing streak last week that spoiled any league championship aspirations. Coach Darren Domsohn’s squad met and decided they needed to figure out a way to play together more in order to get things in the right direction before districts.

Mission accomplished.

The Cougars capped an undefeated week with a 45-40 win Saturday over West Chester East to to continue to mount momentum for a district playoff push. 

“We were definitely down after we had three losses in a row,” Downingtown East sophomore Chloe Hunold said. “We knew coming into the week after that we had to play together as a team, and we had to come back from that. Now, going 3-0 from that next week has really boosted our confidence, and we’re excited for playoffs because of it.”

Hunold and freshman Kendall Chiavelli scored 13 points apiece for the Cougars. 

After scoring just four points in the first quarter, the Downingtown East (16-5, 6-5 Ches-Mont National) offense woke up with a 7-0 run to start the second quarter, taking a 20-14 lead into half. West Chester East (16-6, 9-3), which already clinched at least a share of the National Division and a first-round bye in the league tournament, found a spark in sophomore guard Carly Bickle, who helped her team even the score 27-27 entering the fourth quarter with a pair of 3s in the frame. She led WCE with nine points.

Hunold gave the Cougars a 39-33 just past the midway point of the fourth. They led by multiple possessions until WCE junior Annalise Kuasko was left open beyond the arc and splashed a triple with 17.2 seconds left, pulling her team within two, 42-40.

Chiavelli split a pair at the line to open the during for the Vikings. They force Kubasko off the line this time into a contested floater before Chiavelli secured the board and knocked down a pair of game-sealing free throws.

“That was our best defensive possession I think we’ve had all season,” Chiavelli said. “It was pretty good. … Just keep them in front, don’t foul, and if they pick up their dribble, full deny. Just don’t let them take any shots.”

Hunold took the blame for helping too far off a shooter on the Kubasko. The key for a Cougars squad that is led by its freshmen and sophomore classes is to make sure to learn from mistakes. That’s exactly what Hunold and her teammates did on the final defensive stand.

“Each mistake that we made I think we made up for it in the next defensive stretch,” Hunold said.

“It’s been a lot of learning, like in a positive way, a lot of great learning,” Chiavelli said. “I feel like we’ve all grown as a team from the beginning of the season until now.”

Downingtown East missed out on the District 1-6A playoffs a season ago. While the Cougars won’t get a chance to play in the Ches-Mont Tournament, they are currently the No. 11 seed in the District 1-6A power rankings with a game against Downingtown West scheduled for Monday.

They’ll get a chance to host a first round game and try to bottle up the recent 3-0 week and rack up as many wins as they can.

“Really all season, but ever since that three-game skid that we had it’s always been about that game that’s right in front of us,” Domsohn said.

“The biggest thing for us is the ability to stay together, have each other’s backs, deal with those adverse situations but doing it together. For our group, our young group, we have to understand that one person can’t be the only one to try and take over the game. We’re at our best when we play together.”

Downingtown East 45, West Chester East 40

By Quarter

Downingtown East  4 | 16 | 7 | 17 || 45

West Chester East  8 | 6 | 13 | 13 || 40

Scoring

Downingtown East: Kendall Chiavelli 13, Chloe Hunold 13, Grace Hodges 9, Charlotte Aldridge 9, Lauren Bell 1.

West Chester East: Carly Bickle 9, Kayla Cochran 8, Lauren Horan 8, Annalise Kubasko 7, Kayla MIller 5, Sofia Keith 3.

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West Chester East ready to prove doubters wrong heading into postseason

West Chester East didn’t finish the regular season the way they wanted to on Saturday afternoon. Though the Vikings will have to sit on the loss for an entire week, they know all their goals are still within reach.

Coach Erin Listrani’s squad is in the midst of one of its best seasons in her 10-year tenure — and in a position very few VIkings teams have been in the past two decades-plus. They will still enter the Chest-Mont League playoffs next week as the National Division champions and rank No. 3 in the District 1-5A power rankings, poised for a deep run.

“It’s been a long time, so I’m proud of these girls. It’s tough to end the regular season like this, but were’ 16-6 and we’ve been in first place the whole time, and people still count us out as underdogs. We haven’t gotten any love all season, and we play with an edge.”

West Chester East went 13-12 last season, finishing fourth in the Ches-Mont National (5-7) behind Bishop Shanahan, Coatesville and West Chester Henderson.. The Vikings won their district opener against Oxford before losses to eventual champion Rustin and Upper Moreland entered their season in the District 1-5A tournament.

Senior forward Annie Kerns, junior guard Annalise Kubasko, junior forward Sofia Keith and sophomore guard Lauren Horan, all returned to the starting lineup with Kerns, Kubasko and Keith in their third season starting alongside each other. 

Sophomore Carly Bickle emerged as a potent shooter and freshman forward Kayla Cochran, who had eight points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals on Saturday, added some more size and athleticism to the lineup. Senior Kayla Miller and junior Lyla Flowers are two more who stepped up for a group that thrives on its ball movement and balance.

After opening their season with a two-point loss to Radnor (currently No. 2 in the District 1-5A power rankings), the Vikings jumped out to a lead in the National division this season with a win against West Chester Henderson followed by three more for a 4-0 start to league play.

The Vikings haven’t lost consecutive games all season and have put together five separate three-game win streaks.

“There’s not one dominant sorcerer who scores in bunches for us the whole time,” Listrani said. “It’s very evenly distributed. That’s what makes us special. They all trust each other. And that’s what makes us dangerous is defenses can’t key on one player. They started in the offseason, you could see how much they wanted it. We play with a chip on our shoulder. … We feel like we have something to prove. That’s what keeps them going.”

Saturday’s loss put West Chester East in a tie with West Chester Henderson in the loss column. Even if Henderson takes down Shanahan on Monday to match the Vikings’ 9-3 mark, East’s season sweep of Coatesville, the division’s third place team, will give it the tiebreaker.

Listrani’s 2020 group lost to eventual District 1 runner-up Great Valley in the Ches-Mont semifinals before making a run to the state playoffs. The 2021 group but didn’t get to try and make the same type of postseason run due to COVID.

West Chester East has only won one Ches-Mont League title in 2002. The Vikings have a chance to regroup from Saturday’s loss and put their stamp on the program. They responded to each of their previous four losses with three consecutive wins, which would be good enough for a league title and state playoff trip if they can do that again.

“They have all the potential in the world to do that,” Listrani said. “We said to them today, ‘Monday’s a new season.’ We’ll be back to practice and back in the gym on Monday and it’s focusing on whoever our next opponent is.”