By John Knebels
(Photos by Lennie Malmgren, Zamani Feelings, Allie Riches & Patty Morgan for PSD)
With basically one third of the season already in the books, all of the seven Inter-Academic League girls’ basketball teams have either celebrated success or, at minimum, have demonstrated that their future remains bright regardless of the standings.
At Germantown Academy, which through Wednesday remained the only undefeated team in the league at 3-0, new coach Lauren Power triumphantly navigated the Patriots’ 49-38, league-opening victory over her former squad, Notre Dame Academy.
Moving from the Irish and inheriting legendary GA coach Sherri Retif’s Patriots required diligence and confidence. Power’s pedigree left little doubt that she could handle the new assignment.
Not surprisingly, despite the pre-game oddness of strategizing against players she has cared deeply about for several years, Power used all of her mental bandwidth to put her new players in optimum position to take the all-important opener.
That’s not to say that Power didn’t exhibit visible emotion.
During the postgame handshaking ceremony, Power embraced every one of her former players. Later, several of those ladies commented how much their former coach helped them as both athletes and players.
Germantown Academy vs. Academy of Notre Dame Highlights. (video/ John Knebels)
“I think it hit me afterwards,” said Power. “When you’re in it, you’re just trying to win the ballgame.”
Two of GA’s standouts acknowledged that “playing for Power” helped motivate them before and during a contest that seemed like an early-season playoff.
“We especially wanted to win it for her,” said senior Sam Wade. “We welcomed her to the family and she thinks of us as family. We wanted to give it our all. It was definitely a hard-fought win. We knew we had to come out aggressive and strong and play good defense. We had to stay disciplined.”
Senior Gabby Bowes, who nailed a key three-pointer that stemmed the tide of a potential Notre Dame comeback, agreed.
“This game was for her,” said Bowes. “We wanted to show her that she’s part of the GA family. This game showed Coach Powers’ character. She loves her team, and you can tell she’s family wherever she goes.”
GA New Head Coach Lauren Power Reflects on emotional victory over Academy of Notre Dame. (video/John Knebels)
Emotional post game celebration for new GA Head Coach Lauren Power, who previously coached at Notre Dame Academy
Ga's Gabby Bowes Hit a huge three-pointer to reverse mid-game momentum. (Video/ John Knebels)
GA's Sam Wade discusses team win and emotional experience for her head coach. (video/ John Knebels)
Though perhaps considered by some as “just” an early-season league game, Notre Dame senior Lizzie Halligan did not downplay her team’s strong resolve.
“We knew that beating the two-time Inter-Ac champs would mean a lot for our program,” said Halligan. “Penn Charter is a very successful program, and beating them shows other teams we are right up there competing for the Inter-Ac title.”
Notre Dame first-year coach Terry Mancini appreciated the Irish’s mindset.
“Our girls were upset that we didn’t play as well as we could against GA, and they wanted to show that we are still contenders in the league,” said Mancini. “They did a nice job of putting that behind them and playing well against Penn Charter. We are a relatively young team, so it was nice to see them respond that way.”
Through Wednesday, the Irish had won four straight, including a 59-35 success at Agnes Irwin in which freshman Riley Davis, freshman Grace Nasr, Hall, and Halligan all reached double figures.
Chloe Know was not pleased with Notre Dame's Defeat. (video/ John Knebels)
ND's Maddie DeFronzo, Alex Gillan, Finley Davis & Emma Rocheleaus talk about the physical nature of the game. (video/ John Knebels)
Notre Dame Academy bounced back by winning its next four games, none more impressive than a 62-55 victory over two-time defending league champion Penn Charter, thus ending the Quakers’ 18-game Inter-Ac streak.
Junior Sophia Hall led the Irish in scoring with a clutch 17 off the bench.
“I was motivated to play to my best ability,” said Hall, who also stood out on defense. “Our talk in the locker room after our GA game was very to the point – learn from our mistakes and look forward in order to play our best against Penn Charter.”
Though perhaps considered by some as “just” an early-season league game, Notre Dame senior Lizzie Halligan did not downplay her team’s strong resolve.
“We knew that beating the two-time Inter-Ac champs would mean a lot for our program,” said Halligan. “Penn Charter is a very successful program, and beating them shows other teams we are right up there competing for the Inter-Ac title.”
Notre Dame first-year coach Terry Mancini appreciated the Irish’s mindset.
“Our girls were upset that we didn’t play as well as we could against GA, and they wanted to show that we are still contenders in the league,” said Mancini. “They did a nice job of putting that behind them and playing well against Penn Charter. We are a relatively young team, so it was nice to see them respond that way.”
Through Wednesday, the Irish had won four straight, including a 59-35 success at Agnes Irwin in which freshman Riley Davis, freshman Grace Nasr, Hall, and Halligan all reached double figures.
Despite the loss to Notre Dame, Penn Charter remained focused on the big picture.
“We talk about being able to control what we can, and right now we still control our destiny in the league,” said Quakers coach Joe Maguire. “It’s a new team with new roles, and they are going to have their moments.”
Agnes Irwin began the season with a hard-fought 47-43 win over Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy. The Owls also defeated Baldwin School before losing to Notre Dame Academy.
Against SCH, freshman Simone Harvey collected 13 points (aided by three three-pointers). Junior GG Seibert added 11 points and six rebounds.
Penn Charter vs. Springside Chestnut Hill. (Photos by Zamani Feelings)
“It was a good early league game for our team because I hope it teaches them to play smart and hard for four quarters,” said coach Shanette Lee. “I am happy with the way they regained their composure down the stretch to pull out the tough win.”
Though unable to close the deal despite clawing back from a 31-19 deficit to set up a close fourth quarter, Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy left the game on an up note. The Blue Devils also came close to defeating Episcopal Academy before dropping a 55-48 decision.
“Honestly, despite the loss, I think that the Episcopal games was one of the best games we’ve played so far,” said SCH senior Zahkiyyah Frazier. “I think that we did a great job stopping Episcopal with our defense, and our offense was pretty strong that game as well. Another positive thing was the overall energy, which was great throughout the game. What messes us up, though, is that sometimes we tend to lose momentum at random points of the game, which sometimes makes it hard for us to fully come back."
For Episcopal Academy, the win over SCH lifted its record to 2-3 and stopped a two-game losing streak.
“The most important part of what we were able to do was keep our composure in a really scrappy game,” said senior Natalie Magnotta. “We just continued to move the ball and play our game as a team in order to stay ahead and finish out the game to get a win.”
Magnotta had been encouraged by the Churchmen’s effort in a league-opening 44-31 loss at Penn Charter.
Academy of Notre Dame vs. Agnes Irwin. (Photos/ Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
Academy of Notre Dame vs. Agnes Irwin game highlights/ Lennie Malmgren.
Agnes Irwin vs. Baldwin School. (Photos by Lennie Malmgren for PSD)
“We kept it pretty close like within 10 until the last quarter, which was solid for us,” she said. “That game was definitely a big test seeing as it was the first game of the season and Penn Charter is a very skilled and athletic team. I feel like we held our own, especially on the defensive end.”
One of the Inter-Ac’s youngest squads with only one senior starter – senior Allie Weiser – Baldwin School is still looking for its first win after three tries.
“Right now, we are pretty much trying to learn how to play better as a cohesive team,” said Weiser. “We have a lot of really good young talent, but we haven’t quite figured out yet how to all play well together. It’s unfortunate that basically our entire league is older and more experienced basketball players, but we have a lot of room to grow and learn from our mistakes.
“We have a really good team environment, a great coach, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish this season once we piece a few more things together.”
(Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)
