For West York girls, the beat goes on in rout of Middletown
First came a division crown, then came an undefeated regular season, followed by a YAIAA title.
So far this season, the West York girls' basketball team has reached each of the goals the Bulldogs set for themselves at the beginning of the season.
On Wednesday night, in the District 3 Class AAA first round against Middletown, the beat went on for the top-seeded Bulldogs behind a dominating 81-43 victory. The Bulldogs outscored the Blue Raiders, 45-18, in the second half.
The win moves West York (26-0) to Saturday's quarterfinal round against No. 9 York Suburban (19-6) at 3 p.m. at East Pennsboro High School.
Wednesday's win moves the Bulldogs one step closer to their next goal: A district title would be the first in program history.
"We would love to be able to do it, but so do a lot of other teams," West York head coach Darrell Wildasin said. "We just have to go out and play our best basketball over the next three games."
Four of the five Bulldog starters finished in double figures, led by Emily Wood, who totaled a game-high 20 points. Wood also scored her 1,000th career point, with the milestone coming on a 3-pointer with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter.
"In the beginning of the game, it's kind of hard to not think about," said Wood, who finished with four 3-pointers. "Once you get past it, the pressure comes off a little bit."
Wood's trey from the right wing also sparked the home team. The senior's triple broke a 9-all tie, and West York ended the first quarter on a 16-2 run.
The No. 17 Blue Raiders (13-11) trailed 25-13 when West York's Kari Lankford was fouled and also picked up a technical foul. That ignited the visitors, who went on a 10-4 run over the next 4:14 to trim the lead to 29-23.
"We got a little bit out of focus there," Wildasin said.
But the Bulldogs answered right back, closing the second quarter with a 36-25 lead behind Lankford (18 points, eight rebounds) and Sela Fuhrman, who scored at least two points in every quarter. She finished with 13 and corralled seven rebounds and three steals.
"Sela is a stud," Wildasin said. "She jumps and goes after it. What a player."
MIDDLETOWN (43)
Bianca Jasper 6 3-4 17, Lombardi 0 0-0 0, Jalynn Burton 7 0-0 16, Deibler 0 0-0 0, Nester 4 0-0 8, Eisenhour 0 0-0 0, Schopf 0 0-0 0, Mrakovich 1 0-0 2, Myers 0 0-0 0.
Totals — 18 3-4 43.
WEST YORK (81)
Sela Fuhrman 6 1-2 13, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Kari Lankford 6 6-12 18, Olivia Sollberger 7 0-0 14, Bamberger 0 2-4 2, Emily Wood 8 0-0 20, Tyndall 1 0-0 2, Stine 2 0-1 4, Tallman 3 0-0 6, Williams 0 0-0 0, Hawkins 1 0-0 2.
Totals — 34 9-19 81.
Middletown1114108—43West York25112520—81
3-point goals — M 4 (Jasper 2, Burton 2), WY 4 (Wood 4).