Winchester Thurston Pulls Away From Cornell for Girls 1-A Gold

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 3, 2017 | 5:41 PM

The top-seed Winchester Thurston Bears defeated the #2 Cornell Raiders 52-41 Friday afternoon to take home the first WPIAL girls basketball title in school history.

The Bears dominated 1-A in the regular season, and capped a phenomenal year with a district crown thanks to the fourth quarter heroics of Gia Thorpe and Ayanna Townsend.

Winchester Thurston jumped out to an early lead and forced #2 Cornell to play from behind for most of the afternoon, but a furious third quarter rally from the Raider’s Deja Quick the Bear’s lead was cut to just one point heading into the fourth quarter. Cornell scored the first two baskets of the quarter. WT, facing its first deficit of the game turned to Thorpe and Townsend as the Bears have done all season. Thorpe and Townsend reeled off nine straight points in a 13-0 WT fourth quarter to take the lead for good. After scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter, Cornell was outscored 17-3 to close out regulation.

The title game featured the three top leading scorers in class 1-A this regular season. Cornell’s Deaja Quick led the class in scoring, but Winchester Thurston entered the matchup with the number two and three scorers in 1-A with Thorp and Townsend. Quick finished with 20 points but was one-upped by Townsend’s 21 points, and Thorpe added 16.

The first quarter was a quarter of runs as the Bears scored the first five points of the game, attacking the paint early and often with Ayanna Townsend and the Small sisters, Kayla and Emma. Cornell responded with a quick 6-1 spurt to tie the game at six. Gia Thorpe broke the six-all tie with a jumper in transition, and then scored on a third chance opportunity. Kayla Small added a fast break layup to push the lead to six for WT. The Bears led 14-8 after the first quarter. The teams combined for ten turnovers in the first eight minutes as both teams felt out the venue and each other.

In the second quarter, Winchester Thurston attempted to extend its lead several times, however the three point shooting of the Raiders kept them in the ball game. Nysia Miles hit on a pair of three pointers in the first half of the second quarter to keep WT’s lead from reaching double-digits. Class 1-A’s leading scorer Daeja Quick finally got on the board for Cornell with under four minutes to play in the first half with a three pointer, and then stole the ball and went coast-to-coast to bring the Raiders within two. Thorpe scored the final three points of the half to give Winchester Thurston a 24-19 lead at the half.

Winchester Thurston extended its lead to eight points again early in the third quarter, but the Raiders fought back once again. Daeja Quick found her rhythm and scored a quick six points during an 8-2 Cornell run, and then knocked down a pair of threes late in the quarter. Quick put the finishing touches on a 12 point frame with a three with two seconds remaining in the quarter, to make it 35-34 Winchester Thurston heading into the fourth quarter. Quick outscored WT by herself in the third quarter.

Baskets from Jaelah Smith and Cy’Moni Harrison gave Cornell a 38-35 lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Raiders offense sputtered down the stretch. Thorpe and Townsend responded with nine straight points to wrench the lead back for the Bears for good. Luka Van de Venne extended the lead back to eight points for WT. Emma Small finally gave the Bears a double-digit lead to cap a 13-0 run.

The Bears did not make any substitutions in the entire game, and used their superior size to bother Cornell defensively and gain second-chance opportunities. The Bears start four players that stand at least 5’10” with the 6’2” Townsend as the tallest player in the game. WT won despite shooting 10-21 from the free throw line.

The win puts an exclamation point on a dominant season for the Bears. WT opened its season with 18 consecutive wins, with the only loss on the season coming to 5-A WPIAL finalist Oakland Catholic in the regular season finale. Cornell gave the Bears their toughest 1-A test of the season when WT escaped with a 62-59 win over the Raiders back on Dec. 12. Of the Bear’s 21 wins this season, 18 were decided by double-digits.

Cornell took another step forward as a program this season under Shawn Urbano. Last season, the Raiders made the deepest playoff run in school history by advancing to the WPIAL class A semifinals, set a school record for wins, and advanced to the PIAA for the first time in school history. The Raiders topped that by reaching the Petersen Events Center, winning 20 games for the first time and school history, and qualifying for the PIAA playoffs for a second straight season. The Raiders were the only team to defeat 3-A finalist Neshannock during the regular season and snapped Quigley Catholic’s 66-game section win streak.

Both teams advance to the PIAA 1-A state tournament with First Round games on Saturday, March 11th. The Bears will play the fourth-seed out of District 9 while the Raiders will face the runner-up in District 10.

Cornell – 8 – 11 – 15 – 7  =  41
Winchester Thurston – 14 – 10 – 11 – 17  =  52

Cornell:  Daeja Quick 20, Nysia Miles 6, Jaelah Smith 6, Patience Gipson 5, Cy’Moni Harrison 4

Winchester Thurston:  Ayanna Townsend 21, Gia Thorpe 16, Emma Small 6, Luka van de Venne 5, Kayla Small 4

Tags: Cornell, Winchester Thurston