City of Basketball Love

Konner Metz (@konner_metz)
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WEST CHESTER -- As the final buzzer sounded Tuesday night, Lauren Stackhouse looked on as her players embraced one another and jumped for joy, a similar sight to one year ago in Hollinger Arena. West Chester Rustin had successfully defended its Ches-Mont league championship from last year.

The veteran-heavy group circled up in the on-court celebration, including Lauren’s daughter, junior guard Riley Stackhouse, who couldn’t help but beam after the game in which she spearheaded an offensive deluge in the first half.

“We’re so happy, two years in a row, it’s awesome,” Riley said.

Riley’s surrounded by fellow veterans, the other four starters being seniors, including twins Laine and Elizabeth McGurk, plus scrappy guards Ava Panetta and Lola Flynn. The same crew that won the league title last year helped Rustin take down Bishop Shanahan 52-38 Tuesday night, completing an undefeated season in Ches-Mont play that includes a 10-0 regular season mark.

“I think we know how good this group is,” Laine McGurk said. “We’ve been good for two or three years. All this means is it proves how good we are.”

“I’m just proud of every opportunity I get to step out on the court with these girls,” Lauren Stackhouse said. “I love it for my seniors who have been with me since day one. This group is locked in, they’re focused, they want to win more than anyone I’ve ever coached. And they’re not going to stop until it’s done.”

Tuesday night didn’t come without adversity, as a 24-point Rustin halftime advantage was wiped away in an instant when Shanahan scored 17 unanswered, pulling within 41-38 in the fourth quarter. But fortunately, a dominant 32-8 first-half gave Rustin just enough breathing room to thwart a comeback attempt for the ages.

The corner is where Riley Stackhouse got the Golden Knights going in the first half, drilling three triples. Both Riley and her mom knew something special was brewing when her first three put the Knights up 12-2 in the first quarter.

“That is her spot,” Lauren Stackhouse said. “She loves the baseline three. I don’t want to give away too many of my secrets, though.”

“It definitely is my hotspot,” Riley said of the corner. “As soon as I felt one go down, I knew the rest of them were going to go in.”

She paved the way for Rustin with 15 pts in total, while Laine McGurk and Elizabeth McGurk had 13 and 9 points, respectively, each playing a crucial role at the free throw line – a place where their team was 11-for-17 collectively and closed out the game in the late fourth. Flynn added 10 points of her own.

Down by 24 at half and a game-high 26 points in the third quarter, Shanahan made a run that would’ve been nearly impossible to predict just when it seemed their hopes may have been moot.

Three-pointers rained down, steal-and-scores became abundant, and those in green – both in the stands and on the bench – erupted in a way that seemed inconceivable just minutes prior. Suddenly down 41-38 in the fourth quarter, destiny was seemingly on the side of a miracle comeback.

And then, Rustin delivered their vicious counter punch, an 11-0 run knockout blow to close the game that silenced the Shanahan fans.

“We feel like we took their punch and absorbed it,” Lauren Stackhouse said. “My girls showed resiliency.”

After missing their first 11 three-pointers, Shanahan went on a shooting spree in the second half, hitting four triples during their comeback from 26 down to only three points. A 17-0 run during the second half included nine points from senior Alyssa Brown (two threes and three made FTs), who led her team with 14 pts. 

But with just over three minutes left, Laine McGurk broke the ice for Rustin with a mid-range jumper and added four crunch time FTs.

“We knew that they weren’t going to stay down by 20 the whole time,” she said. “So when they made that run, thankfully it was late enough in the 4th, we knew we had time on our side, so we just used the clock to our advantage.”

Rustin never looked back once they got going again. And as the final minutes ticked down, Shanahan reverted back to the first half drawbacks – cold shooting and turnovers, much due to a harassing full-court press defense that Stackhouse and her team ran for much of the contest. The Golden Knights forced eight first-half turnovers, and a couple key ones late to take back control. 

“I think we came out in the first half and showed what we can do,” Lauren Stackhouse said. “Honestly our defense is really what wins these big games.

“We knew we had to control Alyssa Brown as much as possible. She’s their top player, clearly she did a fantastic job in that second half of getting them back in it. She’s tough to guard. I think between Elizabeth and [junior] Kailey Barry, they did a great job containing her. 

The one-sided first half was a defensive clinic by Rustin, converting multiple takeaways to instant points. Elizabeth McGurk contributed seven first-half points, while Laine had six in the first half, but was more so a force on the offensive boards, often getting Rustin second, third and even fourth chances at the bucket. 

That early success out of the gate and a myriad of Shanahan mistakes forced by heavy ball pressure paved the way for Rustin to defend their league title and finish their Ches-Mont run this winter perfect.

There’s room for celebration, said Lauren Stackhouse, but the focus is soon shifting to next Tuesday, when the Golden Knights will host a quarterfinal game in District 1 5A action (their first season after reclassifying to 5A). Last year’s run in the District 1 6A bracket was cut short after losing in the first round and then dropping their first playback game, dashing their hopes to qualify for states. 

Now, Laine McGurk sees getting to the district finals and playing at Temple University as the team’s goal. Qualifying for states is the “ceiling,” but that cannot come without success in the district bracket.

Seeded No. 1, there’s always the chance that a rematch occurs with the No. 2 seeded Shanahan squad.  But Lauren Stackhouse plans to have her girls focused for the immediate future, amidst the joy and celebration that comes with a league title.
“Our message right now is we’re not done,” she said. “We gotta take it one game at a time. I’ve been comparing it to writing our story of this journey in the postseason. I told them, Saturday was chapter one, today was chapter two. It’s time to move on.”

By Quarter
Rustin:       16 | 16 |  9  | 11 ||  52
Shanahan:  4  |  4  | 16 | 14 ||  38

Scoring
Rustin: Riley Stackhouse 15, Laine McGurk 13, Lola Flynn 10, Elizabeth McGurk 9, Ava Panetta 5

Shanahan: Alyssa Brown 14, Faith Ambrose 11, Alexa Bojko 6, Sam Blumenthal 5, Abigail Wolfe 2