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Prepping for Preps ’21-22: Plymouth-Whitemarsh (Girls)

10/21/2021, 2:15pm EDT
By Joseph Santoliquito

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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(Ed. Note: This story is the latest in CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2021-22 season preview coverage. As we publish more, the complete list of schools previewed will be found here.)

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They held a collective empty pit-in-the stomach feeling when they walked off the court the last time in 2021—like someone close had just died. The Plymouth-Whitemarsh Colonials saw their season end in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A finals to eventual state runner-up Spring-Ford in a sparsely-filled Spring-Ford gym.

As they wiped away their tears, the Colonials forgot that they went 16-2 overall and won the Suburban One Liberty Division championship for the second-straight season and for the fourth time in the last five years.

But when a team is geared to win the state championship—that’s really all that matters.

It’s why the Colonials enter this season carrying the ghosts of previous years with them. In 2019, the seniors on this team lost to Cardinal O’Hara in the first round of states. In 2020, they saw their season halted due to COVID as one of the final eight teams left in the state playoffs. Last year, their chances were wiped away by Spring-Ford, and in a sense by COVID again, since only the district champion advanced to the state playoffs.

It’s why this team embraces the unfinished-business, chip-on-the-shoulders attitude.

The Colonials will be PIAA Class 6A state title contenders again. Head coach Dan Dougherty enters his 10th season with a loaded, deep, athletic team. Three starters return: 5-7 senior point guard Kaitlyn Flanagan, 6-foot senior post Jordyn Thomas and 6-foot junior forward Erin Daley. The starting five will be filled out by 5-11 junior Abby Sharpe and 6-2 senior Lainey Allen.

Flanagan has committed to Holy Cross and is a two-time, first team all-Suburban One choice who averaged 9 points, 4 assists and 2 steals a game. She’s a facilitating point guard who defends and can score in transition.

Daley is a three-year starter who will be transitioning from a stretch four to the wing, while Thomas, who has committed to Jefferson University, returns after averaging 8 points and 8 rebounds a game. She’s a physical player who can stretch the floor with her three-point range.  

Sharpe could be special. She has seven Division I offers, after coming off the bench her freshman and sophomore years. She has deep range as a shooter and over the past year developed a full-court transition game and elevated her defensive skills.

Allen, meanwhile, runs the floor well, making her a rim-to-rim finisher who can alter shots without fouling. Her athletic ability makes her a key cog in the Colonials’ full-court trap.

Depth will come from 5-7 senior guard Fiona Gooneratne, a three-sport varsity athlete who would start for any other program. Dougherty calls her a “glue player, who is everything you want your daughter to grow up to be.”

“What’s been special about our team the last few years is how unselfish they are, and Fiona is that exact kid,” he said. “I’m looking for the chance to see her shine this year.” 

Angelina Balcer, 5-5 junior guard, is the daughter of former Chestnut Hill College men’s basketball coach Jesse Balcer and comes with a high basketball IQ. She’s a sneaky defender who excels in the Colonials’ full-court pressure game.

Added motivation comes from the haunting proposition of past failings. This group of Colonials don’t want “what if” lingering over their heads.

“It’s why I do believe we have some unfinished business this year,” Thomas said. “We have to prove that this is a team that can go all of the way. We’re very much a family and we understand that winning is more important than winning for yourself. We know that we’re all in this together, not for ourselves.”

Flanagan can’t forget walking off the court the final time last season.

“It was terrible; we really felt bad for our seniors,” she said. “We have a chip on our shoulders, and it motivates us more, considering you don’t want to go through that feeling again. It was pretty bad. You take it and use it to get better.”

Dougherty feels that there are two areas where the Colonials will be particularly strong. Their man defense, and ability to switch with their depth from one through five causes teams issues, and with their length and athleticism, teams will find it difficult to fend off their up-tempo, full-court press and ability to finish in transition.

“It’s a group of girls who have put three, four years-worth of work in and you hope that it ends with one of those banner seasons,” Dougherty said. “Our expectations are to be one of the teams in the state title mix. Our goal is to win the states or districts, but on any given night, you don’t know what can happen.”

What needs to be avoided is walking off the court the last time feeling more could have been done.

“It was awful,” Daley recalled about losing in the district finals. “What makes us different is that no one knows what to expect from us each night. We really all care about the defensive end, and can look completely different from night to night. We like to control what we do. I think this year is going to be a very good year.

“This is our last year with Jordyn, Flan and Lainey. When you walk off that court the last time, you think what you could have done that would have made the outcome different. None of us want to go through that again.”

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.

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