West Greene drops physical game at Winchester Thurston
Madison Lampe weaves through Winchester Thurston defenders to attempt a layup.
Madison Lampe tries to dribble around Winchester Thurston's Gia Thorpe. Lampe scored 15 points in the loss, while Thorpe tallied 16 in the win.
Winchester Thurston's Ayanna Townsend lines up a free throw. The senior forward scored 15 points in the victory over West Greene.
Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 378
Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 387
Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 388
PITTSBURGH – Looking at the box score of Friday night’s girls basketball game between Winchester Thurston and West Greene, it seems like any other basketball game.
In a rematch of last season’s close WPIAL Class A semifinal, Winchester Thurston, the winner of that game and the Class A champion, defeated visiting West Greene 62-38.
The Bears’ two best players, seniors Gia Thorpe and Ayanna Townsend, led all scorers with 16 and 15 points, respectively, while the Pioneers’ two top players, juniors Madison and McKenna Lampe, combined for nearly 75 percent of West Greene’s points.
Jacob Calvin Meyer
Staff writer
jmeyer@observer-reporter.com
West Greene head coach Jordan Watson discusses his team’s 62-38 loss to Winchester Thurston.
But this wasn’t like any other basketball game. In fact, it didn’t look or feel like basketball.
Both teams played inordinately physical, combining for more than 40 fouls, dozens of loose ball dives, several thrown elbows, a bloody nose and a lost eye contact, all while the referees attempted to remember this was a basketball game and not a mixed martial arts fight.
“I think it was physical both ways,” West Greene head coach Jordan Watson said. “The refs were consistent letting both teams play. We love the physicality and the environment. We think it will make us mentally and physically tougher. We’re not going to back down from anyone.”
Jacob Calvin Meyer/Observer-Reporter
McKenna Lampe throwing a pass on a fast break. Lampe scored eight points in the loss.
“Those types of teams and these types of games are good for us, and they’re going to prepare us for the playoffs,” Madison Lampe said. “Every time we play them it’s a good game.”
Adding to the violent nature of the game was a 200-plus-person, quasi-fight-club crowd, constantly yelling at anyone and anything, clouding the tiny arena with a constant cacophony.
As time ran out, Bears fans chanted, “overrated” at the West Greene fans and players.
Winchester Thurston head coach Monica Williams said her team felt disrespected when the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s recent Class A rankings had West Greene No. 1 and Winchester Thurston No. 2.
“My girls took it a little bit offensive that the Post Gazette put us second to West Greene, because we beat them two times last year. We haven’t lost one player from that team,” Williams said. “They told me that they had something to prove, and they came out here and they did so.”
Prior to the start of the game, Townsend took the microphone to announce that Winchester Thurston’s players would not be standing for the national anthem. Every player knelt for the anthem, while the majority of Winchester Thurston’s stands sat and every West Greene player and fan stood.
Jacob Calvin Meyer/Observer-Reporter
Winchester Thurston’s players knelt for the national anthem as they have prior to every home game. Ayanna Townsend read a prepared statement prior to the anthem, stating the team’s purpose for kneeling was to protest “racism, sexism and discrimination.” Most of the Winchester Thurston fans knelt as well.
“This year our team has chosen to kneel during the national anthem,” Townsend said, reading a statement. “We don’t believe we should stand for a song that refers to our country as the land of the free and home of the brave when racism, sexism and discrimination are prominent factors in our daily lives. We are a diverse team and want to show that we are all affected by inequality in this country.”
The Bears players have knelt for the national anthem every home game this season, and while Williams didn’t originally agree with the decision, she allows her team to do it because “it’s what they believe in.”
Watson said while his team will always stand, he said it’s Winchester Thurston’s “constitutional right to do that.”
“That’s their right to do that,” Watson said. “We’re going to stand like we always do. Our goal is to play basketball, not to make political statements.”
Once the game started, Winchester Thurston’s height was too much for the Pioneers, as the Bears’ five tallest players are all taller than any West Greene player.
Winchester Thurston’s height was topped off by Townsend, who grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots to go along with her 15 points.
Early on, West Greene was using its speed to create a copious amount of turnovers, but the Pioneers couldn’t take advantage of their scoring opportunities and trailed 16-8 after the first quarter.
To avoid Winchester Thurston’s height, the Pioneers tried to take more jump shots rather than layups. The strategy didn’t work, though, as the Pioneers failed to make a jump shot outside of 10 feet all game.
Watson said he looks forward to a possible rematch with the Bears, knowing his team “can’t shoot this poorly again.”
“We have five good guards; we normally shoot pretty well,” he said. “Coming into tonight we’ve made 40 three-pointers. I’ve never seen us shoot that badly. If we shoot like we normally do, we’ll be right there.”
Jacob Calvin Meyer/Observer-Reporter
Gia Thorpe makes a layup on a breakaway. The senior point guard scored 16 points in the win.
Then after trailing by 10 at halftime, Thorpe, Winchester Thurston’s point guard, started finding open players underneath the basket to pull away and lead 40-25 entering the fourth quarter.
To cap off the win, Bears forward Emma Small scored eight points in the fourth quarter, while Thorpe made all six of her free throw attempts. The Bears scored more than a third of their points at the charity stripe, making 22-of-30 free throw attempts.