{"id":123964,"date":"2026-02-26T10:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T10:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/123964\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T10:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T10:09:08","slug":"mcshanes-career-high-36-leads-bensalem-past-methacton-into-states-for-first-time-since-1983","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/123964\/","title":{"rendered":"McShane’s career-high 36 leads Bensalem past Methacton, into states for first time since 1983"},"content":{"rendered":"

FAIRVIEW VILLAGE \u2014 Grace McShane had already put together quite an impressive performance through four quarters of a District 1-6A girls basketball playback contest on Wednesday night. But the Bensalem senior was nothing short of phenomenal in overtime as she scored nine points, leading the Owls to a 57-48 win over host Methacton and a long sought-after spot in the PIAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

McShane scored a career-high 36 points, including three 3-point baskets and 9-for-10 shooting from the free throw line for the Owls (20-7), who will visit Neshaminy \u2013 a 49-44 winner over Conestoga \u2013 for ninth place on Friday at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ava Wolf and Abby Masotta each scored 13 and Penny Wolf added 11 for the Warriors (17-11), who will have one last chance to qualify for states in a battle for 11th place in the district at Conestoga on Friday at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Prior to this district tournament, the Owls had not won a postseason game since 2009, with their last trip to states coming in 1983.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great feeling,\u201d said McShane, who was the only player on either team to score in the overtime session. \u201cIt makes it exciting for all of the players coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a game changer,\u201d added Bensalem head coach Steve Johnson. \u201cShe\u2019s an awesome kid. She buys into the program and she does the little things. Your best player has to be your best teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MethactonMethacton sophomore Ava Wolf posted 13 points and six rebounds in the Warriors\u2019 57-48 loss to Bensalem in a District 1-6A playback game on February 25, 2026. (Photo by Joe Evans\/JoeEvansPictures.com)<\/p>\n

McShane hit a jumper a minute and a half into overtime for a 50-48 lead. Then she stole the ball and put in a layup with a little over a minute remaining. After that, she was fouled three times and made five of six from the line to wrap up the win.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe usually do a good job on the other team\u2019s best player,\u201d said Methacton head coach Craig Kaminski. \u201c(McShane) is flat out awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

No. 13 seed Methacton got off to a good start with a 12-7 lead and led by six at the end of the opening quarter as Ava Wolf scored eight points. But the 16th-seeded Owls came back to tie the score at 28-all at the half on a buzzer-beater by Sydney Daut.<\/p>\n

Then Penny Wolf scored two straight baskets to put the Warriors back on top at the beginning of the second half.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew Methacton had two really good girls (Ava Wolf and Penny Wolf),\u201d said McShane. \u201cWe had to come in and watch out for those two.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Warriors trailed only once in the second half \u2013 when McShane scored two from the line to start the final quarter for a 42-41 Owls\u2019 advantage.<\/p>\n

Methacton led 48-44 when Masotta banked in a 3-point shot from the top of the circle with 4:27 remaining in regulation play. The lead was still at four with 2:11 left, but Mischa Ellzy scored off a steal and Jordyn Bell scored after a Warrior turnover to tie the score with 1:05 to go.<\/p>\n

\"Bensalem'sBensalem\u2019s Jordyn Bell (12) scored seven points, including the tying bucket with 1:05 left in regulation in the Owls\u2019 57-48 OT win at Methacton on February 25, 2026. (Photo by Joe Evans\/JoeEvansPictures.com)<\/p>\n

Then the Owls got the ball back with a minute remaining after a block by McShane, but missed a shot in the closing seconds and the Warriors failed to get off a shot before the clock ran out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were not stalling,\u201d said Kaminski. \u201cWe had control of the game, but we didn\u2019t score for the last eight minutes and you can\u2019t have that. I think we played well, but we had too many spurts down the stretch where we self-destructed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the Owls took the lead in OT and controlled the ball the rest of the way, wrapping it up on the free throws by McShane.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy teammates are always there for me,\u201d said McShane. \u201cWe scored that early layup and we didn\u2019t want to take any crazy shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as her near-perfect foul shooting goes, McShane said that comes from a lot of work in practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coaches always put me at the line and make up game scenarios,\u201d she said. \u201cI miss them in practice, but usually make them in games.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Owls have now achieved three of their four goals for the season. They failed to win the Suburban One Patriot Division, but qualified for the eight-team league postseason and won a home district game before qualifying for states on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"Methacton'sMethacton\u2019s Abby Masotta produced a 13-point effort in the Warriors\u2019 57-48 overtime loss to Bensalem in a District 1-6A playback game on February 25, 2026. (Photo by Joe Evans\/JoeEvansPictures.com)<\/p>\n

And the win kept Bensalem from having to play a win or go home game on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u2018We took a little pressure off our shoulders,\u201d said McShane. \u201cBut we still want to win and get a higher seed.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the Warriors, they will try to earn their first state berth since 2022 the hard way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still playing basketball, so that\u2019s the good thing,\u201d said Kaminski. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough task, but the eleventh spot is still in the state tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bensalem 57, Methacton 48 (OT)<\/p>\n

Bensalem\u00a0 \u00a0 12\u00a0 \u00a0 16\u00a0 \u00a0 12\u00a0 \u00a0 8\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 9 \u2013 57<\/p>\n

Methacton \u00a0 17\u00a0 \u00a0 11\u00a0 \u00a0 13\u00a0 \u00a0 7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 0 \u2013 48<\/p>\n

Bensalem: Alexander 0 0-0 0, Beck 2 0-0 5, Daut 2 0-0\u00a0 4, Totals Ellzy 1 3-5 5, McShane 12 9-10 36, Bell 3 0-0 7, Totals 20 12-15 57.<\/p>\n

Methacton: Kenney 1 0-0 3, P Wolf 5 0-0 11, Cingiser 1 0-0 3, Masotta 4 4-5 13, McCann 0 0-0 0, A Wolf 5 0-0 13, Hockenbrock 0 0-0 0, Goodley 2 1-2 5, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Totals 18 5-7 48.<\/p>\n

3-pointers: Bensalem- McShane 3, Beck, Bell; Methacton- A. Wolf 3, Kenney, P. Wolf, Cingiser, Masotta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FAIRVIEW VILLAGE \u2014 Grace McShane had already put together quite an impressive performance through four quarters of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[58173,58171,191,58168,193,192,194,58174,58169,58170,58172],"class_list":["post-123964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bensalem","tag-abby-masotta","tag-ava-wolf","tag-bensalem","tag-bensalem-girls-basketball","tag-bensalem-headlines","tag-bensalem-news","tag-bensalem-township","tag-district-one-girls-basketball","tag-grace-mcshane","tag-methacton-girls-basketball","tag-penny-wolf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}