By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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There was only one blemish on Downingtown East’s record this season.
Darren Domsohn’s girls had dispatched all but one of their first 17 opponents, most of the time by double digits, a still-somewhat-young group putting to work a lot of the lessons it learned last season. The only red mark thus far was an egg laid at home on Dec. 17 against crosstown rival Downingtown West. It was a game in which East scored only 28 points — well below its season average — in a seven-point defeat, despite forcing 29 turnovers.
“We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket,” junior guard Grace Hodges said.
Grace Hodges (above) and Downingtown East have won 12 straight. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Given a chance to right that earlier wrong, not to mention continue some serious momentum with the postseason approaching, the Cougars pounced. A hot start by East set the tone that the rematch would be quite different from the initial meeting as the Cougars strolled into the Whippets’ gym and put together a strong 32 minutes for a 52-45 win.
It’s the 12th straight win for Downingtown East (17-1, 8-1 Ches-Mont National) and the eighth straight game in which the Cougars have topped the 50-point mark, something they’ve done a dozen times already this year.
Hodges, one of four juniors in the starting lineup, led the way with 15 points, making a major impact at both ends of the game. Her two 3-pointers in the first four minutes got East off to a 12-4 start, creating a lead her team never once relinquished; she also hit the game-sealer, a transition mid-range jumper with 1:55 remaining to put the Cougars up 48-37.
It was a no-hesitation shot by Hodges, who calmly pulled up and knocked down the shot from near the top of the key off a steal, looking off a defender to create room and then hitting nothing but net.
“(Domsohn) wants us to shoot,” Hodges said. “If it’s there, he wants our shooters to shoot, he has full confidence in all of us to shoot. So we do our part.”
There’s no doubt the group that Domsohn has out there is a much more confident, more advanced version of the Cougars that won 20 games a year ago but finished 7-5 in the Ches-Mont national, missing out on the league playoffs entirely. They battled through playback games in the District 1 playoffs to earn a berth to the state bracket, but lost to Parkland in the first round.
That was a great learning experience for Hodges, plus her classmates Charlotte Aldridge, Chloe Hunold and Jazlyn Boyd plus sophomore guard Kendall Chiavelli. Those five accounted for all of East’s points in Tuesday’s win: Chiavelli right behind Hodges with 14 points and six rebounds; Aldridge and Hunold adding nine apiece, Boyd adding five.
As a group, they forced 19 West turnovers — 10 fewer than last time, but this time it paid off. A dozen steals created a number of easy layups, Hunold and Chiavelli driving past defenders on a number of occasions for layups.
Equally important, East took care of the ball. The Cougars turned it over just three times in the first half and then not at all in the second until the final three minutes, when West turned up the pressure down a dozen; four late East turnovers weren’t enough to flip the score.
“We stayed composed because we knew they were going to apply pressure,” Hunold said. “But in the end, I’d say we stayed composed. A couple turnovers, it’s going to happen in a game like that, but it didn’t kill us in the end.”
Chloe Hunold (above) had nine points, four steals and three rebounds. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
West’s turnovers kept the Whippets from getting too much offensive flow going, coach Mike Young going as many as six deep into his bench throughout the game to try to use depth to his advantage. There were a few moments of shot-making, including by sophomore Hayden Blair (11 points), freshman guard Eme McComsey (8 points) and junior wing Ellie Dexter (7 points), but not with enough regularity.
“We work a lot in the summer, the fall and in-season on our defense and on our principles and what we’re trying to do,” Domsohn said. “To see the girls buy in collectively on that end of the floor is huge for us. When they’re able to do it the way that we preach and they buy in the way that they did, good things can happen.”
The Cougars finish out against Ches-Mont National foes West Chester Henderson, Bishop Shanahan and Coatesville with a showcase game against Germantown Academy on Saturday at Jefferson University as part of the Maggie Lucas Classic. They’ve already got a Ches-Mont playoff berth wrapped up, with a chance to see Downingtown West a third time in the league championship game several weeks from now, and possibly again in the district playoffs.
As of this writing, Tuesday’s win had not made it onto the District 1 database. Before the result, East was No. 7 in the District 1 6A rankings, one spot behind West, though they’re sure to flip after Tuesday’s result; there’s also a chance the win moves East up a couple more spots in the rankings. Finishing in the top eight means a bye in the first round of the district playoffs and puts them one win away from another state berth; a top-four finish means a guaranteed home game in the district quarterfinals as well.
Win out, and it’s very possible — if not likely — that the Cougars end up in the top four in the district rankings when it’s all said and done. And with all five starters back next year, expectations keep rising.
“We definitely have been playing really well together, I’m so happy,” Hunold said. “I’m happy with this team and everything, and I just am excited for the playoffs and the future with this team.”
By Quarter
East: 16 | 9 | 13 | 14 || 52
West: 9 | 12 | 9 | 15 || 45
Shooting
East: 16-45 FG (4-20 3PT), 16-21 FT
West: 18-50 FG (6-21 3PT), 3-5 FT
Scoring
East: Grace Hodges 15, Kendall Chiavelli 14, Chloe Hunold 9, Charlotte Aldridge 9, Jazlyn Boyd 5
West: Hayden Blair 11, Eme McComsey 8, Ellie Dexter 7, Caitlin Grant 7, Kylee Domsohn 5, Sami Schurtz 4, Kelsey Meenan 3
Tag(s): Home Josh Verlin High School Girls HS Ches-Mont (G) Ches-Mont National (G) Downingtown East Downingtown West