PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — People may strive for perfection, but it's rare for a person or a team to accomplish it.
The 2021-22 Plymouth Whitemarsh High School girls basketball team achieved that perfection after winning their first state title in program history, with a 34-0 season and a 60-40 win over Mt. Lebanon High School of Pittsburgh in the PIAA Class 6A State Championship Game at Giant Center in Hershey.
"They will forever be remembered as the greatest team in Pennsylvania girls basketball history," says Dan Dougherty, who finished his 10th year as the team's head coach and 12th year overall with the program.
The Colonials not only went 34-0, but only three of their wins were by single digits.
“It’s the depth on the team that leads to that,” said Dougherty. “People would ask when you look through the state tournament, 'Were the teams that [good?]' Yes, the teams were really that good. We just really played that well."
Achieving perfection certainly can't be that easy.
"It's unreal," said senior Jordyn Thomas, who will be attending Jefferson University.
"But if you were to be at our practices or our film sessions, I think you would realize that it could be accomplished by us, and the amount of work that we've put in, I think that season reflects it."
"We keep talking about this one-game-at-a-time mentality," said fellow senior Kaitlyn Flanagan, who is heading to Holy Cross.
“Everyone really bought into it this season, and it's also kind of an accumulation of all of us juniors and seniors. It's been three, four years to get this point, not just one season. So, I think it's been like building those habits and relationships with each other that's gotten us to this point."
Dougherty thought his Colonials had a decent chance to win it all in 2020, but the state tournament was stopped once the pandemic escalated. In 2021, there were limitations to who could make state because of pandemic-related rules.
"To win a state title is a six-month grind of three hours a day for six days a week, and the determination these kids have during that entire time, let me know that they could accomplish it,” said Dougherty.
Plymouth Whitemarsh had the depth of four seniors and three juniors having significant roles with this year's team.
Senior Lainey Allen is heading to the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore after bouncing back her senior season, following a knee injury that hampered her previous two seasons.
"Just to come back this year and just immediately get it back and just be able to show off like how hard I've worked the two years that I was out…was just an amazing feeling," Allen said. "And to finish off our senior year with a state championship, it's just unbelievable."
Going 34-0 didn't come with its bumps either. Star junior Abby Sharpe missed some games during the regular season because of the COVID-19 surge. Thomas had to miss games during the state tournament.
Dougherty said senior Fiona Gooneratne and junior Angelina Balcer filled in for starters who were out when needed.
Gooneratne is going to Penn State’s main campus next school year — not on a basketball scholarship, but still with a very impressive resume of high school sports. Gooneratne will graduate with 12 varsity letters, four each in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse.
Dougherty also said she ranked in the top 10% of her senior class and was in the spring musical production of Newsies.
"It was definitely nerve-wracking," Gooneratne said of stepping into the starting lineup, "and not necessarily where I expected to be, but I knew that we would be able to pull out the wins. And I know personally at least, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we all really wanted to win to give Jordyn an opportunity to play in the state championship game that she deserved. And she did, and she did amazing."
"I agree with you on that," Balcer said right after Gooneratne.
"I feel like it was nerve-wracking, but I felt like I had to be ready. And I felt like we were prepared and when I had to step in, I felt like I did."
As far as last Saturday's state title game versus Mt. Lebanon, Sharpe and fellow-junior Erin Daley took over.
"Abby and Erin both played probably arguably the greatest games of their career in the state championship game in front of thousands of people against a stellar opponent," Dougherty said.
Sharpe scored 26 points while Daly had 17 in the win.
"Me and Abby are best friends," Daly said.
"Just because we are like younger juniors, there's no reason we can't go out there and show everyone what we can do."
"My mindset was I just wanted to leave everything out on the floor," Sharpe said. "I just wanted to give it my all, especially for our seniors."
Sharpe and Daly said the goal is to run it back next year, but take it one game at a time.
The magical season concluded with a champion's welcome home Sunday as fans, friends and family were waiting for the team bus to arrive back to the school. A parade of firetrucks and other township-owned cars drove slowly up the street and making noise.
"It was an amazing feeling because, we didn't get that…two years ago,” said Allen.
“You really see how much the community is rooting for us and how much they have love for us, and I think it was just an amazing thing to come back home to after such a long year of hard work and practice and games and it was just really amazing," Allen explained.
Plymouth Whitemarsh seniors‘ already-planned senior trip to Orlando followed.
"We're going to Disney!" Flanagan uttered.
That's quite the way to cap a magical season.
For more from KYW Newsradio:
- Download the Audacy App
- Listen live
- Listen on your smart speaker