City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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DOWNINGTOWN >> With the referee’s count approaching five to inbound the ball, Greta Neff knew where it should go.

“You got Jackie,” the West Chester Henderson girls basketball coach called out, indicating Jackie Shea standing open at the top of the key. The ball went to the senior forward and the Warriors got a good possession out of it, which wasn’t much of a surprise.

Shea found herself in the right place plenty on Monday, including the center of the team’s celebratory mob after Henderson downed host Bishop Shanhan 55-42 to clinch a share of the Ches-Mont National title.

“It’s amazing, all the girls, we’ve worked so hard over the season,” Shea said. “Me and the seniors, we watched our sisters and older players win this in 2018, so it’s amazing to be up there with them and be remembered.”

Neff has known Shea for a decade, the forward attending her first Henderson basketball camp at seven years old. Jackie became a regular around the program when her older sister Abbey was doing her own work in the post for the Warriors, a starter on the team’s 2018 Ches-Mont and District 1 champions.

Abbey was in the gym Monday to watch Jackie win a division title the same way Jackie had watched her do it back in 2018.

“It was nice watching my sister win, but it’s always better to do it for yourself,” Jackie said

Shea had a solid all-around game on Monday, scoring eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, grabbing eight rebounds while adding two assists, two blocks and a steal all while guarding Eagles senior Sam Blumenthal. The Shanahan forward, a Catholic University commit, had a team-high 13 points but none of them came easy against the defense of her teammate with the Delco Goats.

“I was proud of myself for staying straight up and not letting whatever she was doing get in my head, she’s an amazing player,” Shea said. “I played AAU with her, she’s super-tough, so I was also proud of my teammates who helped me out under the basket and with rebounding.”

As of Monday night, the Warriors were also in good standing for the upcoming District 1 6A championship by holding the No. 8 spot which would ensure a first round bye next week. Where Henderson is now is a long way from where it was a month ago when the team started 1-3 in the Ches-Mont National.

It showed in the enthusiasm of the team celebration Monday, Lilli Bertrando the first to wrap Shea in a hug with the rest of the Warriors following in suit. Neff couldn’t have been happier for Shea either, the senior’s evolution during the season integral in the 11-game win streak Henderson closed the regular season with.

“Mid-December, we weren’t thinking any of this, we thought we’d dug ourselves too deep a hole,” Neff said. “They were locked in more than I’ve seen.

“She’s really come along this year, I think she’s realizing the potential we all knew she had. She’s been around this program for 10 years and to see her come out and do everything we need, it couldn’t be more special.”

With classmate Whitney Evans excelling as a lead scorer, the 5-foot-6 guard had a game-best 23 on Monday, Shea adapted her approach to contribute more elsewhere. Shea lauded Evans’ play on offense and defense and neither senior felt the need to try and do it all themselves.

The forward also adopted a bit of a work smarter, not harder approach on the glass. Instead of trying to wrangle every rebound for herself, she would for a tip-out or redirect to a teammate so at least someone had a chance at it if she didn’t.

“The beginning of the season was a learning curve, we had to figure out where we all belonged and what we all had to do,” Shea said. “We saw a turnaround before we played Shanahan the first time. We all sat down in a room and laid out ‘here’s what we need to do and what everyone needs to do.’ We had to stop internalizing so many things and communicate better.

“These girls are all so willing to take criticism. We just needed to yell at each other a bit, get it all out there.”

Shanahan rallied to tie the game 15-15 at the end of the first quarter, but the Warriors took charge with a 19-4 advantage in the second with Evans scoring nine points in the frame. The hosts, who also got 12 points from Abby Wolf and 10 from Faith Ambrose behind Blumenthal’s 13, made a push early in the third but couldn’t chip the lead below 10 points.

Bailey Schalleur added nine off the Henderson bench, the Warriors getting scoring from seven different players. Evans had the play of the night in the fourth, the senior weaving through the Eagles defense with a dazzling array of moves before getting to the rim for a finish.

Shea credited Neff and her coach with the Delco Goats, West Chester Rustin’s Lauren Stackhouse, for pushing her over the last year. 

“They forced me to come out of my comfort zone,” Shea said. “Coach Lauren, she was forcing me to dribble and play like a point guard even when I was like ‘I’m more of a big.’

“Coach Neff forces us to play different positions in practice too, she has me shooting threes so it’s just like ‘ok, girl.’”

Neff came over for the end of Shea’s interview, the senior blissfully saying she’d just referred to her coach as “girl,” a bit of a joke between them. Feigning outrage, Neff threatened to spill some camp stories from when Shea was still in elementary school, the two very much enjoying the last act of 10 years together.

Shea is hoping Monday’s division title is the start of her own memorable final stretch with the Warriors, the senior having opted not to play in college. 

“It’s not always about the outcome or what you do individually, it’s how you felt after the game,” Shea said. “I know I’ve had a lot of games where I’ve scored a lot of points but I didn’t always feel very great about it. Looking forward, it’s all about what we can do as a team and not individually.

“I know all these girls have my back and I have their back.”

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By Quarter
Henderson: 15  |  19  |   7   |  12  ||  55
Shanahan:  15  |   4   |  14  |   9   ||  42

Scoring
WCH: Whitney Evans 23, Bailey Schalleur 9, Jackie Shea 8, Lilli Bertrando 5, Ari Rivera 4, Gabrielle Nanni 4, Priscilla Powers 2

BS: Sam Blumenthal 13, Abby Wolf 12, Faith Ambrose 10, Lauren Foster 3, Carmel Ambrose 3, Taylor Bullenbach 1