WESTTOWN — The Unionville and West Chester Rustin girls basketball teams have been major players in the Ches-Mont League American Division title race since its inception. Two evenly matched teams met again Tuesday evening with first place on the line. Paced by a stifling defense and an 18-point effort from Shannon Megill, the Longhorns kept the Golden Knights at arms length for a 38-28 victory.
The teams were so evenly matched that they came into the contest with the same overall record (12-6) and they were back-to-back in the District 1 Class 5A Power Rankings. The win boosted Unionville to 13-6 and Rustin fell to 12-7. Both teams are now 7-1 in the American with two games to play.
The 28 points tied Rustin’s lowest output of the season, while Unionville held an opponent under 30 for the fourth time this year. “It can never be easy,” said a smiling Unionville coach Fred Ellzy, shaking his head. Not only did the Longhorns hold the Golden Knights to 27 percent shooting from the floor (9-of-33) and kept them without a basket for long stretches of the second and third quarters, but they forced 22 turnovers on the evening.
“Some of those were unforced, simple travel plays,” said Rustin coach Jim Falcone. “We clawed to get back into the game, every possession is magnified. When you have an opportunity to get back into the game and you turn the ball over, that possession is magnified.
It was uncharacteristic of us tonight, but a lot of that credit goes to Unionville, .
