Gorsuch healthy enough for Lady Pirates
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BOALSBURG -- Nearly 30 years ago, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan made playing through sickness famous with his performance in the "flu game" victory over the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals.
On a smaller stage, but in a matchup of two of the highest ranked Class 1A girls basketball teams in Pennsylvania, Williamsburg freshman Levada Gorsuch had her own version of Jordan's heroic performance Thursday night in a matchup with undefeated Saint Joseph's Catholic.
Gorsuch didn't start but came off the bench with 4:39 left in the first quarter and changed the game. Williamsburg went from trailing by two when she entered to taking a 30-point lead to start a running clock and eventually settling for a 67-41 triumph.
"She was sick yesterday," Williamsburg coach Amy Hileman said. "She's been battling a little illness. That was her playing sick. She ran over for some tissues here and there, but sometimes you play your best games sick. She felt much better today. Thank goodness the game wasn't yesterday."
Gorsuch finished with a game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds, and 20 of those points came in the second half as the Lady Pirates pulled away.
Saint Joseph's Aubrey Yartz controlled the paint for most of the first half, but 10 of her team-high 11 rebounds came before halftime as Gorsuch took over in the second half.
"I'm proud of my team for coming here on the road," Hileman said. "Our fans were limited in their seating, and it's always a big atmosphere here, but we got off the bus and played our game. I really thought we played one of our best team basketball games so far this season."
Saint Joseph's, which came into the game 21-0, was hot from long range early. Naomi Crispin, the daughter of former Penn State star Joe Crispin, and Lauren Himes, a Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic transfer, each had two 3-pointers in the first half. Crispin finished with a team-high 24 points.
Ayla Hileman helped Williamsburg keep pace with consistent shooting throughout the game both from deep and in the lane. Hileman ended the game with 22 points.
"We were so pumped up with them ahead of us in districts, and this won't change that," Ayla Hileman said. "But they were undefeated, and we wanted to come get them."
Even though both Williamsburg and Saint Joseph's finished 21-1, the Lady Wolves will be the No. 2 seed in the District 6 Class 1A playoffs ahead of the third-seeded Lady Pirates because of the district point system. Bishop Guilfoyle will be seeded No. 1, meaning Saint Joseph's and Williamsburg would meet again in the District 6 semifinals if they both win their quarterfinal games. That semifinal game would not be at Saint Joseph's, however, due to District 6's policy that a gym must be able to seat at least 500 fans to host a playoff game.
"Our weakness right now is a defensive concept of playing solid defense," Saint Joseph's coach Bethany Irwin said. "That carries into this year, and we're so far behind playing team defense. We played a really good team, and Williamsburg has always had a really good team. We're going to learn a lot from this team we just played. If we see them down the road, we'll see them down the road. But we needed this to see what we need to work on. We're still growing."
Irwin, the former State College girls basketball coach, took over the Saint Joseph's program last season.
"I was a little bored," Irwin said. "I had stopped coaching to watch my daughter and my son play in college. My son played football at Stony Brook, and Kyla played at UConn. Then, with an empty nest and all six kids out doing their own thing, the position here became available. I talked to the board and asked what I could do, and that's how I got back into it. I don't know how long I'll do it, but I just know I'm still enjoying it. I love working with this group of girls. It has been fun."
Williamsburg forced Saint Joseph's into 17 turnovers and turned the ball over itself just six times with three of those coming after substitutes checked in late in the game.
The news wasn't all good for Williamsburg.
With 1:41 to play, senior Laney Prough made a driving layup but went down with an injury and had to be helped off the court.
"It hurts to see, especially on that play where she made a great bucket," Amy Hileman said. "I was thinking how awesome she looked on that play, but then I looked and she was down on the floor. We're hoping it's not any kind of long injury to come back from."
Prough, along with the other Williamsburg seniors, will be trying to make history with their fourth-straight Inter-County Conference title next week. The Lady Pirates will play Everett in the semifinals.
"My seniors have won three in a row in varsity and won in junior high too," Amy Hileman said. "We're hoping for the best. The seniors really want to be four-time ICC champions."
But for the defending District 6 Class 1A champions, the end goal is even larger than winning the ICC or districts.
"We're going for the state championship," Ayla Hileman said.
WILLIAMSBURG (67): Hileman 9 1-4 22, R. Prough 1 0-0 2, Royer 2 3-4 9, L. Prough 2 2-4 6, Ranalli 1 0-0 2, Gorsuch 11 4-4 26, Carper 0 0-0 0, G. Colbert 0 0-0 0, Alexander 0 0-0 0, A. Colbert 0 0-0 0, Frye 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 26 10-16 67.
SAINT JOSEPH'S (41): Crispin 9 2-3 24, Cunningham 1 0-0 2, Yartz 4 0-2 8, Krasovitz 0 0-0 0, McElhinny 0 0-0 0, Himes 2 1-2 7, Luckovich 0 0-2 0, Peters 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 16 3-9 41.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Williamsburg 14 11 23 19 -- 67
Saint Joseph's 13 7 9 12 -- 41
3-point goals: Williamsburg 5 (Hileman 3, Royer 2); Saint Joseph's 6 (Crispin 4, Himes 2).
Records: Williamsburg (21-1); Saint Joseph's (21-1).
Officials: Bill Barton, John Mansell, Buddy Johnson.
JV: Saint Joseph's, 31-29. High scorers--Raina Alexander, W, 9; Alexia Luckovich, SJ, 12.