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District 1 6A: Worley has monster outing as Abington 'thrives in chaos' against Conestoga

03/01/2023, 10:15pm EST
By Ryan Coyle

By Ryan Coyle (@ryancoyle35)
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Embroidered onto the Abington girls basketball team’s apparel are three words: ”Thriving in chaos.” They’re a reminder of the Ghosts want to play.

In Wednesday night’s District 1 6A seeding game between Abington and Conestoga, the Ghosts used their chaotic playstyle to edge the visiting Pioneers 61-49 and advance to Friday night’s game to play for the 9th or 10th seed in the 6A state tournament.

“Our shirts say thriving in chaos,” Abington head coach Dan Marsh after the victory. “We want to play a crazy style of game. If they score, we are coming right back at them on the other end and this game is going to be uptempo.”

Abington used its uptempo style to its advantage as it played suffocating defense on Conestoga, forcing the Pioneers into 14 turnovers and holding them to 40% shooting on the night. Abington’s defensive identity has been showcased all season, as the Ghosts have held their opponents to 50 points or less in 17 of their 27 games (21-6).

“I think for us we really take pride on the defensive end and try to bring that intensity every night,” senior forward Cire Worley said. “Most teams you play only have one ball handler, so I think for us we try to take that ball handler out of the game and that causes a lot of chaos to the other team's offense, which we use to our advantage.”


Abington senior Cire Worley scored 35 points in Wednesday's win over Conestoga. (Photo: Ryan Coyle/CoBL)

While Abington might have a respected pedigree on the defensive end, the Ghosts aren’t short on talent on the offensive end of the floor either, where they are led by Worley who is the all-time leading scorer in program history for the Abington girls with over 1,500 points.

“I think for me what makes me different from other people is with my height and my skill set I can score around the basket and I can shoot,” Worley said after dropping 35 points in the victory, three off her career-high of 38. “I try to give every team I play against a good mix of what I can do, so they can’t focus on one thing with me.”

Worley, a UMass-Lowell commit, who shot an astounding 15-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-2 from three-point range, showcased her ability to do damage from all three levels against the 3-2 zone that Conestoga threw at Abington.

“She just gets it done,” Marsh said. “She is such an efficient scorer and that is what makes her such a tough cover. Teams have to decide, do we put a big kid on her, do we put a small kid on her, because she is a triple-threat. She is really tough to guard, especially when she is locked in like that.”

Abington led 51-38 after three quarters and appeared ready to pull away and cruise to a double-digit victory, but Conestoga started the fourth on a quick 4-0 run to cut the lead to 51-42 forcing Abington into a timeout.

“We got comfortable when we got that lead and I had to tell them ‘these are state playoff teams now, everyone is good, you can’t let up in these games, you have to finish these games better’,” Marsh said. “That is the one negative I took away from tonight, not being able to finish down the stretch.”

Conestoga, which was led by freshman Ryan Jennings with 15 points, cut the lead to 57-49 after a layup by Janie Preston (5 points) with 2:50 left in the fourth quarter. The Ghosts’ defense kept the Pioneers from getting any closer. The victory paved the way for Abington to get the nine seed its has coveted since falling to Pennsbury in the Round of 16 in the district tournament. 

Abington won its first playback game over league rival PW to clinch one of District 1’s 12 Class 6A spots in states and hopes to build a three-game win streak heading into the state tournament when it hosts ninth-seeded Unionville on 4 p.m. Friday in the final district seeding game.

“For us since we lost the district game, we have shifted our mind to clinching that nine seed, because we think that is the best route for us,” Worley said. “I think for us, we want to continue to win and do it at a good pace so we are playing our best headed into states. 

Worley had nine points in the first eight minutes as Abington jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter. Senior guard Abril Browser, who finished with eight points, knocked down a three-pointer after a sluggish start that saw the Ghosts strictly move the ball around the perimeter.

“We had to make that adjustment of getting the ball inside early,” Marsh said. “We were still able to do our dribble handoffs and attack like that, but towards the end they made a good adjustment and were blitzing our dribble handoffs. We are going to see that type of defense a lot, so it was good to get some more work against that tonight.”

Conestoga was sparked in the second quarter by guard Ruth Lanouette with eight of her 12 points coming in the second quarter to make it a 34-22 game at halftime. While Conestoga showed fight and resilience throughout the contest, it didn’t have an answer all night for Worley, especially around the rim where she was able to score time and time again en route to her 35-point outing.

“I think my ability to score down low just comes from being aggressive in the paint,” Worley said. “I know I’m not as strong as some of the players I go against or as wide, so it is key for me to keep my balance down there and use that to score.”

Abington also got contributions in the scoring column from Jordyn Reynolds (8 points), Maya Johnson (5 points), and Sarah O’Leary (5 points). If the Ghosts knock off Unionville at home on Friday night to earn the nine seed they desire, with the loser getting the ten seed. The nine and earn the ninth seed, they will match up against either Wyoming Valley West out of District 2 or Williamsport out of District 4. A loss will have them as District 1’s 10th seed in a matchup with the District 11champion, which will be either Liberty or Easton.

Conestoga will fight for the right to be the 11th or 12th seed when it battles Central League rival Garnet Valley on Friday afternoon and will most likely see Cardinal O’Hara if it gets the 11th seed, or the Cedar Cliff/Central York winner if they get the 12th seed.

While the Ghosts might have had visions of playing at Temple for a district title this weekend, they have put that past them and are ready to take advantage of this new opportunity that lies in front of them in the state tournament.

“We really would like to get that nine seed,” Marsh said. “We also want to go into the states playing well. We want to use these opportunities to play our style, do what we do, and really get after it as we prepare for the tournament. We want to be playing at a high-level with some momentum going into the next part of our season.”

By Quarter
Abington: 17  |  17  |  17  |  10  ||  61
Conestoga:  6  |  16  |  16  |  11  ||  49

Shooting

Abington: 23-45 FG (6-19 3PT) 9-12 FT

Conestoga: 18-44 FG (3-9 3PT), 8-10 FT 


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