By: Alec Eskin
The Garnet Valley Girls Basketball Team was 17-10 coming into the PIAA State playoffs where they would play against the number two seed in District 11: the Northampton Konkrete Kids. They came off of a close loss to Parkland in the District 11 6A Championship Game. Both teams were looking to advance in the second round of States and get ever so closer to the PIAA State Championship Game at Hershey. This was a win or go home game for both teams as the stakes were set. However, this game would belong to Northampton as they would win by a final score of 56-43.
The First Quarter saw Northampton come out on fire hitting their first four three’s attempted and jump out to a 11-2 lead. A lot of this sharp shooting from the Kids in not just the first quarter but for the entire game was by two players in Kylie Gilliard and Grace Lesko. Gilliard and Lesko did not miss a single shot in the first quarter. Garnet Valley struggled on offense with their outside shooting which put the behind quickly a few minutes into the game. A large part was that the Jaguars were missing sharp shooter and all around player Haylie Adamski after suffering a season ending ankle injury at Perkiomen Valley. However, Carly DiSabatino was able to jump start the Garnet Valley offense with her first three of the year. This allowed Garnet Valley to cut the deficit to within ten at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was a better one for Garnet Valley as they were able to start to figure out Northampton’s defense. Katelyn Dugery was able to get some points in the paint as well as get the boards. Then, both Emily Olsen and Jordan Daubenberger hit a three each to get Garnet Valley’s first points from outside the arc. However, Northampton was able to match that pace and more as they outscored Garnet Valley by three to lead by 13 at halftime.
The third quarter is where Garnet Valley scored the majority of their points thanks to an Emily Olsen scoring streak. She was able to score eight of her 13 points in the quarter and at one point get Garnet Valley to within seven. Also, they were able to slow down Northampton on the offensive end to cut down the deficit. Ava Possenti was a thorn in Northampton’s side for the entire game, but especially in this quarter where she was able to get a lot of steals. This was the best quarter in this game for the Jags as they got the game to within ten going into the fourth.
Unfortunately for Garnet Valley, Northampton’s powerful offense proved to much as they lost by a final score of 56-43. But, it was a fun quarter for the Jaguars as Katelyn Dugery made her first three pointer in her high school career. That turned out to be the final shot she logged in the game, so a very nice way to go out on her high school basketball career. “I”m glad we ended it in a happy way with Kate [Dugery] hitting that three.” Ava Possenti on her teammate getting that three to fall in the fourth quarter. Also, the senior Lady Jags in Katelyn Dugery, Carly DiSabatino, and Ava Possenti were able to enjoy their final few minutes as high school basketball players as they go off to their prospective schools. Next year will be the first time they they will not be wearing the garnet threads and will be traveling to various places around the United States for college. Ava Possenti, who is going to attend Coastal Carolina, emphasized that beyond high school she wanted “To stay in touch with the team.”
This team was one that more than exceeded expectations coming into this year. Coming off of a year where they did not even make it to Districts to win the Central League Championship, win two games in Districts, and qualify for states is a huge accomplishment. After a shaky start to the year, the team, especially the underclassman, were able to gel together and go on an exciting run that brought a lot of joy to the Garnet Valley sports community. This team is now on the rise and is in good hands with some really good underclassman in Emily Olsen, Jordan Daubenburger, Haylie Adamski, Savannah Saunders, and Kylie Mulholland. They are looking to becoming one of the premier teams in District One in the years to come.
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