Garnet Valley girls reach District 1 Class 6A final
Garnet Valley edged out Spring-Ford 42-40.
The Garnet Valley girls’ basketball team knew it was facing a stiff test Wednesday night in Spring-Ford. The Jaguars beat the Rams by one last year in a PIAA District 1 playback game that determined seeding for the PIAA playoffs.
Top-seeded Garnet Valley downed No. 4 seed Spring-Ford again, 42-40, in the District 1 Class 6A semifinals at Bensalem High School.
“They’re an excellent team, as I was telling their coach before the game,” Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods said. “The top 14 teams in this group, anybody can beat anybody.”
The Jaguars will play Neshaminy in the final at 4 p.m. Saturday at Temple’s Liacouras Center.
Senior forward Emily McAteer, who finished with a game-high 15 points, went 5-for-7 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Her two free throws gave the Jaguars a 42-37 lead, then Lucy Olsen made it a two-point game after draining a three with five seconds left.
After a quick foul, Garnet Valley missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Rams were not able to push the ball up the court in time to get a shot off before the buzzer.
The Rams, led by Lucy Olsen, who scored a game-high 19 points, shot 6-for-13 from three in the first half to build a 29-20 lead at the break. Olsen went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
But the game shifted in the second half. After the intermission, Spring-Ford made only one three-pointer in seven tries.
A reserve player who didn’t show up on the score sheet turned the game.
“[Lucy Olsen] killed us in the first half, and overall their three-point shooting did,” Woods said. “We did a much better job defending the three. My No. 44 came in, Kendall DiCamillo, and shut her down.”
Garnet Valley has not won a district championship in recent memory, and now Woods’ players finally will have a crack at one.
“I’m just happy for the kids,” Woods said. “We take it one practice at a time, one game at a time, and we want to get better each game."
Garnet Valley 13 7 11 11 42
Spring-Ford 19 10 4 7 40
GV: Abbey Anderson 1, Brianne Borcky 7, Morgan Falcone 5, Emily McAteer 15, Madi McKee 4, Jullian Nagy 10.
SF: Hailey Hudak, Cassie Marte 6, Lucy Olsen 19, Olivia Olsen 10, Emily Tiffan 3, Alyssa Yuan 2