Springfield’s Cora Fattori, left in this shot of a game against Garnet Valley last season, scored a game-high 25 points in the Cougars’ season-opening, 42-36 loss to Rustin Saturday. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
By Matt Smith
West Chester Rustin senior Riley Stackhouse didn’t mind the fast turnaround after scoring 35 points against Penn Wood Friday night.
Stackhouse and the Golden Knights began the 2023-24 season with two away games in Delaware County in as many days. The reigning Ches-Mont League and District 1 Class 5A champions capped their “road trip” with a gutsy, 46-42 win Saturday over a Springfield squad that refused to surrender.
Stackhouse paced the Knights (2-0) with 19 points, including eight in a competitive fourth quarter that saw the Cougars (0-1) nearly storm all the way back from a 14-point deficit. For Stackhouse, who is the lone returning starter from last year’s 27-4 team, scoring 54 points in less than 24 hours is nice, but what matters most to her is the two wins.
“Right now I’m kind of on a high from the two wins, but I will definitely be exhausted later,” Stackhouse said. “I’m so proud of everybody because we found a way to come together. It’s a different team this year. Last year we had Laine (McGurk) and we could rely on one person, but now we have to rely on everybody. … I’m trying to be that leader, making sure everybody is staying together even when we are turning the ball over and making mistakes.”
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