City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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WHITEMARSH — The Colonials couldn't get off their own floor.

Not that they were in all that much of a rush anyway, but between the parents, friends, teachers, younger girls seeking autographs and the rest of the remaining crowd, Plymouth Whitemarsh's players had a lot of people wanting to talk to them. The community had shown up in force to welcome the district champions home in a gesture that had not gone unnoticed by the Colonials' players, especially seniors Fiona Gooneratne, Jordyn Thomas, Lainey Allen and Kaitlyn Flanagan.

For the last time, the four seniors left their home floor and once again, they did so as winners after taking care of Manheim Township 63-32 to open their PIAA 6A playoff run.

"It's something to be extremely proud of," Thomas said. "As middle schoolers, we watched the teams before us and wanted to continue that tradition of having a prestige program and make our community and school proud of us, which is all we try to do every single day."

Somewhere in her room, Flanagan has the shirt.

The first game she ever played for the Colonials was also the first official basketball game ever played in Gym West, a win over Norristown as part of a doubleheader with the boys' team. Every player was given a t-shirt to commemorate the night, which the senior point guard kept as a memento of the first of what now stands at 94 career wins with the program.

It was a lot of pressure to take over a brand-new facility but this class turned their home court into a fortress. In four years, they went 50-4 at Gym West and Tuesday was their 31st straight home victory with their last defeat in the building coming as sophomores on February 1, 2020.

Plymouth Whitemarsh seniors (L to R) Fiona Gooneratne, Jordyn Thomas, Lainey Allen and Kaitlyn Flanagan celebrate their final win on their home court. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

When the Class of 2022 arrived as freshmen, they inherited the task of carrying the banner for a program that had just graduated one of the best classes it had ever seen, headlined by its all-time leading scorer Taylor O'Brien (Bucknell), another 1,000-point scorer in Lauren Fortescue (Salisbury) and a respected leader who embraced her role in Ali Diamond (Georgetown lacrosse). They had upperclassmen to help show them the way but by and large, it was their flame to keep ignited.

Plymouth Whitemarsh had a strong history of success in boys' basketball and thanks to the work of the classes before them, the 2022 seniors had an opportunity to bring the girls' program up to that level. They've been dealt challenges no other class ever even had to consider with their 2020 state run derail by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the 2021 season being played under incomparable parameters but still managed to push the bar every season.

"We were all so ready to try and fill their shoes and continue what they had left the school with," Allen said. "I think we've been able to uphold that, collectively as a team, and we're working to pass it down to the younger kids so when we leave, it's like a legacy that will keep getting carried on because everyone is so encouraged from watching each other they want to keep bringing that same energy."

As a quartet, they've covered just about every role possible. Flanagan and Thomas have been four-year starters, Allen has contributed plenty while battling injury as a sophomore and junior and Gooneratne came up from JV to swing player to now an invaluable reserve that has the respect of every one of her teammates and coaches.

When they were little, their eyes were always locked on the high school team and how the PW team carried itself and competed. It's a responsibility the four seniors, plus every other player on the roster, knows they have to live up which is why Flanagan was so excited to see the players from the township youth league in the seats with posters for her and her teammates and several Colonials stayed on the floor to sign some of those hand-made posters.

"You look at the number of young girls that were at the game tonight, they all play in the (Whitemarsh Girls Basketball League) and it does mean a lot to keep the tradition going and not be a one-hit wonder in a sense," Colonials coach Dan Dougherty said. "There are lots of teams that come along with potential as 10th graders and 11th graders but not all of those teams realize that potential.

It will be a legacy, they would have more staggering stats had things not gone the way they had the last two years but you counteract that with the winning percentage. Them being 94-13, it's incredible."

Dougherty is in his 10th season as the Colonials' head coach but he started as an assistant under Becky Duffy during the power era of Cheltenham under coach Bob Schaefer. It gave Dougherty a blueprint when he took over as head coach and he still talks with Schaefer, who occasionally comes to PW games, about how he wanted a team that bought into playing in a system and embraced the collective over individual accolades.

In the beginning, just getting to the playoffs was reason to celebrate but with players like Alynna Williams, who went on to a star career at Jefferson, then O'Brien and Anna McTamney (USciences) coming through, the expectations changed. Trying to make the postseason turned into trying to win SOL division titles and get playoff home games, then O'Brien led the Colonials to a runner-up finish in the 2017 District 1 title game and the expectations changed again.

When the Class of 2022 arrived, it was a program in transition with the most accomplished player in program history on her way to Bucknell and a lot of questions if it was just a flash in the pan or the foundation for a continued run of success.

"To us, they were these huge stars," Flanagan said. "We all wanted to continue that on and when we came in freshman year, I don't think any of us really knew what to expect.

"We had such a great group of upperclassmen that accepted us when we came in and it taught us how to treat people. This culture of inclusivity, I have no doubts it will continue."

"It started with our coaches believing in us and instilling the concepts of a winning team," Thomas said. "It's also our team in general, we have however many girls that all can play and we challenge each other in practice and push each other on and off the court."

Teams don't win 94 games over a four-year span by accident. Tuesday, the Colonials accrued 21 assists on 29 made baskets with six different players chalking up at least one helper. Flanagan took one shot and handed out eight assists, Thomas had eight points, four assists and six blocks, Allen was a perfect 8-of-8 for 16 points and assisted two others while Gooneratne had two helpers and a layup.

The two junior starters — Erin Daley and Abby Sharpe — are legitimate Division I prospects but they're right in the mix passing up decent shots to get great shots, setting screens and switching on defense like any of the seniors would. Sharpe had a game-high 19 points, scoring 12 in the second quarter while Daley had 11 points and four assists.

"We all hold each other accountable really well," Gooneratne said. "We set goals at the beginning as a team, but also individually. All of our individual goals this year led to what we wanted to accomplish as a team and when we were thinking about what we wanted to accomplish this season, we all thought individually about what we could contribute to get this team to the big goal of winning a state championship."

At most, this class has four games left together and they're intent on getting all four of them. No matter how, when or where it ends, this group has done plenty to maintain the standard it was left four years ago.

"That's the part that's still surreal," Flanagan said. "I can still see myself in the same position, looking up to those senior classes. You never know you're going to be remembered but it's been really cool having that support, especially from those younger girls knowing we were all in their shoes at one point."

By Quarter
Plymouth Whitemarsh:  22  |  24  |  13  |   4   ||  63
Manheim Township:       4   |   7   |  11  |  10  ||  32

Scoring
PW: Abby Sharpe 19, Lainey Allen 16, Erin Daley 11, Jordyn Thomas 8, Kaitlyn Flanagan 3, Fiona Gooneratne 2, Angelina Balcer 2, Remi Stripling 2

MT: Byrne 13, Welch 9, Santiago 6, Smith 2, Mountis 2