Tough Week for Hawks as States Approach

There is an age old saying that you can’t win them all.

Council Rock South’s bids for an undefeated season and first-ever district title both came to halts last week, which was certainly grounds for disappointment. But in the grand scheme of things, while there would have been better times for losses, the District I Class AAAA semifinals and third-place consolation game Saturday were not the worst, either.

After all, the Golden Hawks still have a grand opportunity to redeem themselves and claim a even more prestigious honor, that of being called a state champion, when the PIAA Class AAAA tournament kicks off Friday.

“Yes, I believe that our confidence has gone down,” said sophomore shooting guard Taylor Dillon. “But, I really think we’re going to pick it back up again.”

The Hawks ran through the regular season at 22-0 and then won their first three district games to advance to the semifinals. On Feb. 29 at Norristown, however, the run came to an end at the hands of powerful Spring-Ford, which had won its past 21 games to get to that point as the third seed.

“I think the kids are going to respond well,” said coach Monica Stolic after Saturday’s loss. “I think we’re going to be okay.”

A rough second quarter wound up being a killer against Spring-Ford, as the Hawks were outscored, 17-9, and wound up down seven at intermission. From there, South closed the gap at times, but could never quite get all the way back in what proved to be a 56-50 setback to the team that went on to capture the district championship.

Leading the way that night, as she has often this season, was senior and Princeton University bound forward Alex Wheatley. She had 26 for the Hawks and followed that up with a 21-point, 14-rebound performance in a home game against Downingtown West for third place.

After looking to be in great shape midway through the third quarter, however, South started letting a 10-point advantage slip away. The Whippets went on a 15-2 run from that point to take a three-point advantage early in the fourth, which Wheatley and point guard Alexis Hofstaedter (7 points and 9 assists) answered with baskets to pull the Hawks ahead again. But it was short lived, as the Whippets shut down South’s offense for the most part after that.

With 1:10 to play, Downingtown West broke a 48-48 tie and then pulled away, as the Whippets hit their free throws to help themselves to a 56-50 win. Brittany Sicinski dropped 30 points on the Hawks to help the cause.

“That’s a good question,” Wheatley said about what happened to her team in the third and fourth quarters. “I think we became complacent.”

She continued, “They’re a very good team, and especially at this point in the season, you can never stop going 100 percent. I think turnovers kind of sealed our fate.”

It will be crucial, now, for the Hawks to put the last two games behind them and re-establish their defensive, ball security and post play strengths. They’ll have a few days to do it before their first round state game against Pleasant Valley, the third place team from District XI, Friday. The site and time for that matchup have yet to be determined.

“We made so many great memories,” said Dillon, who had seven points against the Whippets and four against Spring-Ford, about the season.

And fortunately for the Hawks, there are going to be chances to make even more, and bigger, ones.

“I think we’ll feel the pain today and try to use it as motivation for Friday,” said Wheatley. “It depends on what we make of it.”