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For the Defense: Walter’s swarming D helps Milton win first playoff game in 11 years

By Chris Masse 7 min read

JERSEY SHORE--Leah Walter earned HAC-II All-Defensive honors the last two seasons, and the senior guard embraces defensive challenges like a butcher does a T-bone steak.

Walter has produced strong defensive performances throughout her scholastic career, but she may have produced her masterpiece Thursday. And at the perfect time.

Walter stuck like glue to Jersey Shore dynamic guard Peyton Dincher, relentlessly shadowing her for 32 straight minutes. She denied Dincher shot opportunities all night and her effort was contagious. Milton formed a wall with its triangle and two defense, allowing just 14 points over the last 20 minutes while defeating Jersey Shore, 37-28.

Milton won its first playoff game since 2011 when current assistant coach Christine Soltys was the point guard for a district championship team. It also earned a spot in next week’s semifinals against top-seeded Shamokin, carried there by a stifling defense.

"We’ve been working for the last four years to try and build the program up, and now we’re starting to put it together, so it feels great," Walter said. "We really feed off each other’s energy and everybody did their part."

They sure did. Kiersten Stork (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Abbey Kitchen (10 points, 11 rebounds) each produced double-doubles. Morgan Reiner scored nine points and made six steals. Kyla Rovenolt was tough inside and Brooklyn Wade and Amelia Gainer each performed well off the bench.

As good as all those Panthers were, Walter likely was the MVP Thursday. Dincher averaged 15 points during the regular season, scoring 27 or more three times. The freshman again played well in her playoff debut, scoring nine points, grabbing nine rebounds and adding two steals.

Still, Walter never let Dincher loose. Dincher scored four first quarter points off contested jumpers before adding a 3-pointer in transition which put Jersey Shore up 14-9 midway through the second quarter. After that, Walter went into overdrive and never left her side. She limited Dincher to just five second-half shots, blocked two and played a monster role in Milton turning that five-point deficit into a 10-point fourth-quarter lead.

Walter said afterward she does not provide Milton much offense, but she was selling herself short there. The boxscore might not show it, but the point guard efficiently ran the offense, made sure Milton was set well and helped Milton dictate the pace all night. She is the anti-James Harden, a player who makes an offensive impact, but does not give back whatever she produces there when playing defense.

That is just the way Walter likes it, too.

"She’s definitely a good player, but I love playing defense. That’s what I love to do, so I worked as hard as I could the whole game," Walter said. "That’s what really motivates me."

"We knew we had to stop (Dincher). She is a heck of a player and if she gets rolling she’s really hard to stop. Leah is by far the person I’m going to put on their best player," Milton coach Phil Davis said. "She relishes that role. She gets mad at me if I don’t put her on the other team’s best player. She sets a tone for us on both ends of the court."

That was evident as Milton effectively carried out its game plan on both ends. The Panthers limited turnovers, prevented Jersey Shore’s transition offense from ever getting started and rebounded extremely well.

Ultimately, though, defense won this game. With Walter shadowing Dincher, her teammates clogged passing lanes and denied high-scoring sophomore forward Jocelyn McCracken shots in the paint. McCracken had scored 44 points in her last two games, but like Dincher, never really had much opportunity to score because Milton’s defense collectively played so well.

Milton dared other players to beat them, but nobody could. Jersey Shore (13-10) led 15-14 at halftime but Milton scored the third-quarter’s first five points and never trailed again.

"Defensively they kind of controlled the game and kind of took us out of some things in the second half," Jersey Shore coach Darrin Bischof said. "There wasn’t much movement. We had some looks, but we were living out here (on the perimeter) instead of getting into the paint and some open area to take an easier shot. Then when you start missing and they go up by five or six, things start tightening up."

That is exactly what happened late in the third and into the fourth quarter. Jersey Shore tied the game at 20 before Milton bridged the two quarters with a 10-0 run. The Bulldogs were a good comeback team all season and pulled as close as 34-28 but only 94 seconds remained at that point.

Milton forced turnovers on Jersey Shore’s next three possessions and sealed the game at the foul line. Fittingly, the defense closed the game strong, forcing eight fourth-quarter turnovers and allowing just five second-half field goals.

"We didn’t give them many second-chance opportunities which was big for us," Davis said. "Those were all things we emphasized for a week: Transition defense, turnovers and rebounding and we did a pretty good job with all of those things. I’m just really proud of their effort and how hard they play."

Jersey Shore shares those feelings. The season did not end the way it wanted, but Jersey Shore still produced an excellent season, making a 10-win improvement while playing mostly underclassmen.

The Bulldogs made similar rapid strides during Bischof’s first tenure with the program last decade and could be following a similar pattern moving forward. What looked like an ending Thursday, might actually just have been a start.

"I thought we had a chance to break through early and be competitive, but they exceeded those expectations because they beat some teams that nobody thought we were going to beat," Bischof said. "The future is really bright, and the girls do work really hard. I couldn’t be prouder of them. For having such a young group step up and lead the way, that can only benefit us in the future."

The future is now for Milton, and it paved the way toward the semifinals by slowing Jersey Shore following a brief second-quarter spurt. Freshman Cailyn Schall (9 points) hit a 3-pointer, made a steal and layup and Dincher added a 3-pointer as Jersey Shore went up 14-9. Less than two minutes later the game was tied again, and Milton did not surrender another transition basket.

The Panthers may have been viewed as an underdog entering the playoffs because of their record but that was deceiving. Milton competed in the HAC-II, one of the state’s toughest leagues, and likely will have ended up playing six or seven state qualifiers during the regular season.

Every league contest felt like a playoff game so the Panthers are about as prepared as a team can be at this point.

"You’re playing five of the top teams in the state, so when the playoffs come, it’s just another game," Walter said. "We played the best teams around, so now we just have to go out and compete."

MILTON (37)

Morgan Reiner 3 1-2 9, Kiersten Stork 4 5-6 14, Leah Walter 0 2-6 2, Kyla Rovenolt 1 0-1 2, Abbey Kitchen 5 0-4 10, Brooklyn Wade 0 0-0 0, Amelia Gainer 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 8-19 37.

JERSEY SHORE (28)

Peyton Dincher 3 2-2 9, Jocelyn McCracken 2 0-0 4, Devon Walker 1 0-0 2, Celia Shemory 1 2-3 4, Sophia Kauffman 0 0-0 0, Cailyn Schall 4 0-0 9, Rachel Lorson 0 0-0 0, Natalie Haight 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 4-6 28.

Milton 7 7 9 14--37

Jersey Shore 6 9 5 8--28

3-pointers: Milton 3 (Reiner 2, Stork); Jersey Shore 2 (Dincher, Schall).

Records: Milton 11-12. Jersey Shore 13-9.

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