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DOWNINGTOWN >> Sometimes, the net can seem as big as a basket, but for the Bishop Shanahan girls basketball team on Thursday, it shrank to the size of a thimble.
Downingtown West held them to 18 percent shooting from the floor as they took over in the second quarter en route to a key 43-31 Ches-Mont League National Division victory.
“It was a rough night, you have them,” said Shanahan coach Jim Powers. “We had good looks, we executed. We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. The game never got away from us. We just couldn’t capitalize.”
Downingtown West coach Mike Young paid tribute to his defense.
“I was especially proud of our defense,” he said. “It was a great defensive effort against a really good offensive team.”
The Eagles (1-2 Ches-Mont National, 4-4 overall) started out strong, jumping out to an 8-3 lead thanks to three-pointers from Abby Wolf and Carmel Ambrose and two free throws from Faith Ambrose.
They ended the first quarter with an 11-7 lead and held a 14-10 edge midway through the second.
West then made its move and tied the score at 15-15 on a basket by Ellie Dexter with 3:25 left. They then took their first lead 30 seconds later on a pair of free throws by Hayden Blair.
They capped the 8-2 run with two late threes, including one from Blair to close the half to take build a 23-17 lead going into the break.
“I felt we were over helping in the first quarter and leaving some shooters open,” added Young. “We made the adjustment in the second and didn’t need to over help.”
Bridget Rymer tallied the first five points of the third to push the lead to 28-17. The shooting woes for Shanahan really started manifesting itself in the third. They were just just 2-for-12 in the quarter. Combined with another 2-for-12 in the fourth and the Eagles with 4-for-24 in the final 16 minutes.
Just about every miss brought either a pained look on Powers’ face or his head on his hands as the frustration and helplessness mounted.
West held a 33-25 advantage after three. In the fourth, neither team shot the ball well as Shanahan was unable to cut into the lead.
The Whippets didn’t score until 3:02 left in the fourth, but only lost one point off the advantage. Caitlin Grant scored six of West’s nine points in the fourth as they kept Shanahan at bay to post a long awaited win.
“I’m a senior, and we haven’t beaten them in my previous three years,” said Rymer. “So, it’s nice to beat them. Everyone that went in had points, so that was great.”
“We’ve gone a decent amount of time without beating them, so it feels really good,” added Grant. “We’re all really proud and supportive of each other, so it was a great team win.”
West owned the boards, allowing multiple chances on the offensive side, and keeping the Eagles to mainly one shot on the defensive end.
“We needed to rebound because they’re a very good rebounding team,” said Young. “We have to limit them to one shot. Rachel (Schuda) especially had that segment where she got every rebound and I think our girls saw that and then we started rebounding.”
West heads into the Christmas break one game behind West Chester East in the National.
Downingtown West 43, Bishop Shanahan 31
Bishop Shanahan: Blumentahl 1 2-5 4; Foster 0 0-0 0; C. Ambrose 2 0-0 6; Wolf 2 4-4 9; F.Ambrose 2 4-4 9; Duncheskie 1 1-2 3. Totals: 8 11-15 31.
Downingtown West: Blair 2 2-2 7; Grant 4 2-2 12; Dexter 1 4-6 7; Meenan 2 0-2 4; Rymer 1 3-3 5; Schuda 1 1-2 3; Young 2 0-0 5. Totals: 12 12-17 43.
Bishop Shanahan 11 6 8 6 — 31
Downingtown West 7 16 10 9 — 43
3-point goals: C. Ambrose 2, Wolf, F. Ambrose, C. Grant 2, Blair, Dexter, Young.
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