Winchester Thurston upsets Lady Rockets, 40-33
Jefferson-Morgan's Jamie Lawrence (13) drives the ball around Winchester Thurston's Sophie Burkholder during Saturday's WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Trinity High School.
Jefferson-Morgan's Alexandra Bodgen (11) fights for the rebound against Winchester Thurston's Naomi Grossman (31) and Ayanna Townsend (22) during Saturday's WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Trinity High School.
Holly Tonini
Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Nicole Venick (33) drives around Winchester Thurston鈥檚 Sophie Burkholder during Saturday鈥檚 WPIAL Class A first round playoff game at Trinity High School.
WASHINGTON 鈥� Ayanna Townsend led the Winchester Thurston girls basketball team to a 40-33 upset win over Jefferson-Morgan Saturday afternoon in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs.
The 6-1 sophomore forward scored a game-high 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while causing havoc down low on the defensive end of the floor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just aggressiveness,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淚 saw the height advantage, and I jumped higher and just tried (harder).鈥�
Jefferson-Morgan head coach Chris Neimic said playing against Townsend is a tall task, especially for a smaller, guard-oriented team like the Lady Rockets.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if we can do much more than what we did,鈥� Neimic said. 鈥淲e tried to deny the ball a lot; we tried to double as soon as she got it. But we weren鈥檛 able to (stop her).鈥�
Winchester Thurston head coach Monica Williams said the team focused in its game plan, as they always do, to get Townsend the ball down low with room to score.
鈥淚f we move the ball around, it will open up her shots,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚t worked for us, and it helped us in the third quarter.鈥�
The Bears could not have drawn up the first quarter any better, as the forced six turnovers with its full-court press. After an early 3-pointer, the Lady Rockets did not make a basket for about 6陆 minutes.
鈥淲e saw some game tape on them, and we knew that they were scared of pressure. So we decided to go with the 1-2-2 and keep the ball away from No. 14 (senior guard Kayla Yorko),鈥� said Williams.
Winchester Thurston was successful at limiting Yorko鈥檚 baskets, as she scored just seven points on 2-of-11 shooting, 2-of-10 from 3-point range.
Townsend scored eight of her 25 points in the first quarter, as the Bears led 10-6 heading into the second quarter.
The Lady Rockets came firing back in the second quarter, though, as Townsend and fellow post player, 6-0 junior forward Kayla Small, spent most of the quarter resting on the bench. J-M took the lead back with 2:17 remaining in the second quarter, and would go into halftime with a 17-15 lead.
鈥淲hat people don鈥檛 know about Townsend is that she鈥檚 only 15, so she gets anxiety,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淪he had anxiety in the first half, and we had to calm her down and take our time.鈥�
Townsend came back out in the third quarter on a mission, as she scored 10 points on 5-8 shooting. Three of her made baskets in the third quarter were put-backs after her own missed shots.
Winchester Thurston took the lead back with about three minutes left in the quarter, and did not relinquish it the rest of the game.
The Bears outscored the Lady Rockets 15-6 in the third quarter, which Neimic attributes to focusing too much on stopping Townsend.
鈥淚 just think that their size in the backcourt, and we were focusing on trying to beat her, and we just weren鈥檛 concentrating on taking care of the ball,鈥� Neimic said.
The Bears sustained their lead in the fourth quarter to win the game 40-33 and advance to the second round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs.
For a Jefferson-Morgan team that went 20-1 in the regular season and undefeated in Section 3-A, a first-round playoff loss is not what Neimic and his team expected.
鈥淚鈥檓 not disappointed; I鈥檓 really happy for our team after a 20-1 season,鈥� Neimic said. 鈥淚 think the girls will be disappointed. You expect to win, and when you win 17 in a row, the next loss is always the hardest.鈥�
Winchester Thurston will take on Quigley Catholic in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals on Saturday with the site and time to be determined.
鈥淚f we play Quigley, it鈥檚 going to be a little harder,鈥� Williams said.鈥漌e can鈥檛 probably do the same press because they鈥檙e quicker.鈥�