Emily McAteer leads Garnet Valley past Neshaminy to win District 1 6A basketball championship
Jaguars coach Joseph Woods said he’s proud of his seniors who had gotten so close to a district championship over their four years on the squad.
The Garnet Valley girls’ basketball team shared one message at school and during practice in the week leading up to Saturday’s District 1 Class 6A championship game against Neshaminy: “Let’s make history.”
Fast forward to Saturday, and the Jaguars made good on their message. Garnet Valley held off the Redskins, 63-53, at Temple to win their first district championship.
“I feel so relieved,” said senior power forward Brianne Borcky, who finished with 16 points. “We wanted the district title so bad … and now we have it. We’re just so happy.”
Garnet Valley coach Joseph Woods said he’s proud of his seniors who had gotten so close to a district championship over their four years on the squad. Last season, the Jaguars lost to Souderton, the eventual district champion, in the semifinals.
“We’ve weathered the storm, and they’ve had a tremendous four years,” Woods said. “It’s a testament to them.”
After the first quarter, Garnet Valley led, 17-3, and the game started to look out of reach for Neshaminy. The Redskins cut their deficit to three points, 32-29, midway through the third quarter.
But senior power forward Emily McAteer, a Loyola (Md.) commit, put the Jaguars on her back. At one point in the third quarter, McAteer scored 11 of Garnet Valley’s 13 points in a stretch from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth quarter. She finished with a game-high 27 points.
“Emily’s been a stalwart for us for four years,” Woods said. “She had a great game outside. ... She made her free throws, made a couple of plays inside and she’s just an outstanding player.”
McAteer said she didn’t feel like she had to put the game on shoulders. She just played the same way she has played all season, and now the Jaguars are champions.
“This is what we’ve been looking forward to all season,” McAteer said.
GV: 17 6 18 22 -- 63
N: 3 12 16 22 -- 53
GV: Emily McAteer 27, Brianne Borcky 16, Jillian Nagy 9, Morgan Falcone 4, Liesl Detinger 4, Abbey Anderson 3
N: Emily Tantala 13, Allison Harvey 9, Alexa Mccoy 8, Brooke Mullin 7, Kristin Curley 7, Kelli Kowalick 5, Olivia Scotti 2 (GV scored two points for N on an inadvertent own tip-in).