Schaefer, Schnure duel again

Asked if he knew how many times his Downingtown girls' basketball teams had faced Bob Schaefer-coached Cheltenham teams over the years, Downingtown East coach Bob Schnure said he didn't know.

"It's been too long to remember," he said with a chuckle.

The two deans of girls' basketball coaching in the area will be looking down the sideline at each other again tonight at 6, when the Cougars and Panthers meet in the semifinals of the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs at Norristown.

Tonight's winner will advance to the district championship game Friday against the winner of the other semifinal, tonight at 7, between Council Rock North and Abington at Hatboro-Horsham.

Both Schnure and Schaefer, with more than 1,360 victories between them, know a little about championship games, too. Schnure has won 11 district crowns in stints at Downingtown and then Downingtown East. East (22-2) has won the last two district crowns, beating Cheltenham in last year's final.

The Panthers (25-2) have won four district titles under Schaefer. Both coaches say defense will be the key to tonight's meeting.

"Defensive pressure is their forte," Schnure said of the Panthers. "They get after you on defense, so we'll have to be ready to react to that pressure."

The Panthers are coming off a 53-48 quarterfinal win over Council Rock South. Shayla Felder, Cheltenham's hot shooting guard, pumped in 23 points, including three three-pointers late in the game, to stave off the Golden Hawks.

"East will try to control the tempo of the game," Schaefer said.

Kelly Devlin and Ro Gentry each had 11 points as East beat Downingtown West for the third time in four games this season to advance to the semifinals.

At Hatboro-Horsham, Council Rock North will be seeking its third win of the season over its Suburban One-League National Conference rival Abington.

Abington coach Dan Marsh said he expected to have high scorer Emily Leer at full strength for the Indians.

"She was sick for Saturday's game," Marsh said.