New role for GA's Hubbell

It was relatively simple for Margaret Anne Hubbell last season:

Show up, work hard, and she would make her mark on the Germantown Academy girls' basketball team. And the seniors, they would do all the talking.

A year later, things are a bit different for the forward, now a senior herself.

Last season, as a starter for the Patriots, Hubbell averaged almost 12 points, scoring a season-high 23 twice and netting double digits 15 times. Hubbell also was a strong presence on the boards for GA, grabbing a season high of 14.

Now, with Hubbell the only senior on the Patriots, her role has changed.

No longer can she just let her play do all the talking.

"This year, I definitely have had to step up as a leader," Hubbell said. "Last year, I could kind of hide behind the five seniors and lead more by example.

"Now, I have to lead vocally. I've been really trying to do that."

The transition hasn't been as hard as Hubbell imagined.

Patriots coach Sherri Retif said that Hubbell has been "tremendous," adding that she has been impressed with the way the 5-foot-9 forward has been a "role model in both words and actions."

Hubbell credits the squad's participation in summer and fall leagues, as well as several open gyms, for a newfound chemistry on the team, adding she thinks the Patriots play better as a unit than last season's group that advanced to the Independent Schools state final.

It was the first time that the Patriots had competed together in summer and fall leagues with Hubbell on the team. She started for Central Bucks East as a sophomore and transferred to Germantown Academy for her junior year.

Hubbell hopes the chemistry will result in an Inter-Ac League championship. Last season marked the first time since 1998 that the Patriots didn't win the league.

"We have a tradition at GA and a standard to hold up to," Hubbell said. "We should win the Inter-Ac. That is our job. That is our mind-set."

Helping Hubbell toward that goal is sophomore guard Kendall Grasela and junior guard Olivia Gorman. Hubbell praised both highly.

In the first three games of the season - GA won the first two, over Hun School and Baldwin, and lost Saturday to St. Mary's Ryken (Md.) - Hubbell has averaged 23 points.

She might be a vocal captain now, but she's still letting her play do the talking, too.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Records are through Friday.

Previous rankings in parentheses.

Rk. Team Rec.

1. Spring-Ford (1) 4-0

2. Mount St. Joseph (2) 3-0

3. Neumann-Goretti (3) 0-0

4. Central Bucks West (6) 2-0

5. Archbishop Wood (5) 0-0

6. W.C. Rustin (7) 2-1

7. Bonner-Prend. (9) 2-0

8. Shipley (4) 2-2

9. Cardinal O'Hara (8) 1-1

10. North Penn (NR) 3-0

Under consideration (listed alphabetically): Germantown Academy (2-0), Souderton (1-2), Upper Dublin (3-0).

- Kate Harman
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