City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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BERWYN — The roar after Ruth Lanouette’s shot was almost overwhelming. 

Conestoga girls basketball’s junior guard had just buried her second 3-pointer of the second half, putting the Pioneers up five in a PIAA 6A first-round state playoff game against Wilson High. And as she raced back down the court, the ‘Stoga faithful which filled up one half of the gymnasium’s massive set of bleachers let loose with their most emphatic roar yet. 

“It got really loud, I could not even hear what my teammates were saying, I couldn’t hear my coaches,” Lanouette said. “I was on Cloud 9, honestly.”

Lanouette’s two triples, along with a pair by sophomore Ryann Jennings, were the biggest of the night as Conestoga advanced in the PIAA tournament for the first time in eight years with a 45-29 win over Wilson. 

The Pioneers will face Archbishop Carroll in the second round Tuesday.

Friday’s final margin was deceiving in a game where Conestoga trailed for much of the second and third quarters, looking very much in trouble of losing to its guests from Reading before a massive run flipped things around entirely.

Wilson (22-4) was ahead 27-22 past the midway point of the third quarter when a Lanouette triple keyed a 23-2 game-ending stretch which lasted the remainder of the game. Conestoga went from flirting with disaster to putting its foot down in one emphatic run. 

“I don’t know if it was the layoff, don’t know if it was their defensive stuff, but I thought they did a really good job on us and kind of took us out of our stuff,” Conestoga coach AJ Thompson said, alluding to a week-long gap since his team’s last game. “Glad that we bounced back and made (shots) when it counted.”

It was a tie game going into the fourth, 27-27, when ‘Stoga senior Marisa Francione got things started with a layup and a foul, providing the game’s final lead change. 

Lanouette, a 5-foot-7 reserve guard and defensive specialist, followed up the next time down the court with her big shot, knocked down from the corner off a feed from Jennings. Even though there was still plenty of time remaining, all the momentum finally felt on Conestoga’s side, the flood gates finally seeming to open after the first three quarters that saw the Pioneers (24-3) make only two of their first eight 3-pointers. 

“I can’t imagine another shot that was bigger,” Lanouette said. “It was a great feed from Ryann and I was just open in the corner, and I was like, I’ve got to put it up, this would be a big boost if it goes in.”

Jennings, who led Conestoga with a game-high 19 points, was next up to make a statement.

The 6-foot guard and Division I recruit followed up Lanouette’s triple with one from the left wing to put Conestoga up eight; then, a couple minutes later after a pair of Francione foul shots, she caught and fired from the right wing and hit nothing but net. Suddenly, what had been a close game was 42-29 with 2:19 remaining.

She admitted that picking up an offer from Drexel earlier in the week had given her a nice boost going into the weekend.

"I feel like when you shoot it with confidence, it has a good feeling, it goes in,” she said. “I looked at the clock and we were up 13, we were so excited, I (felt) like we were finally pulling away from them, and it was a really good feeling.”

Joining Jennings in double figures for Conestoga was junior forward Janie Preston, who collected a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, grabbing four of those rebounds on the offensive end. 

Lanouette capped off her nine-point evening with a layup off a feed from Francione to account for the final tally with 55 seconds left. She also added three steals, playing key defense on Wilson star Laila Jones (13 points) the whole time she was on the court and showing off the foot speed she’s developed running the 200-meter and 400-meter for Conestoga’s track team in the spring.

“She’s lightning-fast, and when she uses her feet and is aggressive, without reaching, she’s a really good defender and we talk about that all the time,” Thompson said. “She was a big spark for us tonight coming off the bench, got us some shots, got us some steals, she was big. We don’t hesitate to go to her when we need a bit of a spark, need a bit of speed in there, she’s the one we go to.”

Conestoga looked like it would be in control early, going up 10-4 after one quarter, but a young Wilson flipped the script with a 15-5 second. Wilson only played one senior, along with four sophomores and two freshmen in its top seven, but looked the more measured group on the road. 

Freshman forward Kailani Hardy came off the bench for six second-quarter points, including a pair of back-to-back steals and layups; another freshman, Ryan Leaman, hit a 3-pointer. It was 19-15 at halftime, but the whole third quarter was played with a different energy, even if it took until the fourth for the Pioneers to finally go ahead.

“We’ve had games where we were down and came out the second half and weren’t able to climb back,” Thompson said. “I think it shows the growth of the team over the course of the season, we do have great leadership and kids that have been around a long time. For them to come out in the second half and really buckle down defensively was really important for us, really proud of their effort in the second half.”

Lanouette and Jennings were happy about their big nights, but even happier to give seniors Francione, Katrina Valencia (four assists) and Bella Valencia (four rebounds) even more time in ‘Stoga uniforms. 

“It’s super exciting to be able to hit this new milestone for their senior year, and it’s great for them to be able to extend their year," Lanouette said. "I’m going to miss them all so much next year, and it’s amazing to be able to play a couple more games with them.”

Conestoga didn’t play Archbishop Carroll this year, but the Pioneers already have a good idea what they’re facing in the Patriots. 

Carroll senior Felicity McFillin and junior Maddie McFillin were both at Harriton last year, joining sister Abbie McFillin at Carroll this year, while Jennings and Carroll standout sophomore Alexis Eberz are teammates with Comets Basketball in the offseason. Both teams are guard-dominant, though Carroll loves to shoot 3s and Conestoga likes to work it inside.

“Obviously, a very good team, well-coached [...] we know some of their players,” Thompson said. “I think it’ll be a good matchup, I think it’ll be fun. Two teams that are built somewhat similarly. It should be a good one.”

By Quarter
Conestoga:  10  |   5   |  12  |  18  ||  45
Wilson:         4   |  15  |   8   |   2   ||  29

Shooting
Conestoga: 14-39 FG (5-13 3PT), 12-15 FT
Wilson: 13-38 FG (3-19 3PT), 0-2 FT

Scoring
Conestoga: Ryann Jennings 19, Janie Preston 10, Ruth Lanouette 9, Marisa Francione 6, Katrina Valencia 1

Wilson: Laila Jones 13, Kailani Hardy 8, Ryan Leaman 6, Violet Houck 2

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PIAA 6A Girls (local games)

First Round (Fri., March 8)
1-5 Haverford 66, 12-3 Dobbins Tech 28
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara 49, 1-8 Upper Dublin 17
12-1 Archbishop Carroll 58, 1-11 West Chester Henderson 37
1-1 Perkiomen Valley 78, 3-6 Manheim Township 33
2-1 Hazleton Area 63, 1-9 Pennsbury 48
11-1 Parkland 41, 1-10 Downingtown East 34
3-2 Dallastown 43, 1-7 Central Bucks East 36
1-3 Conestoga 45, 3-4 Wilson 29
3-1 Central Dauphin 41, 1-12 Kennett 23
1-6 Garnet Valley 58, 11-2 Easton 50 (OT)
1-4 North Penn 48, 11-3 Emmaus 34
1-2 Spring-Ford 71, 3-5 Northeastern 37

Second Round (Tue., March 12)
1-1 Perkiomen Valley vs. 1-5 Haverford
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara vs. 2-1 Hazleton Area
1-3 Conestoga vs. 12-1 Archbishop Carroll
3-1 Central Dauphin vs. 1-6 Garnet Valley
1-4 North Penn vs. 7-2 North Allegheny
7-3 Peters Township vs. 1-2 Spring-Ford