All-Delco Girls Basketball: McAteer made memories by sticking with Garnet Valley

CONCORD — There were high expectations for Emily McAteer from the beginning.

That’s what happens when you’re a freshman power forward who can shoot, dribble, defend and make everything look easy.

She was penciled into coach Joe Woods’ starting lineup in her first high school game, a key member of the 2019 class that would go on to set records and make history.

McAteer and her good friend Brianne Borcky were starters from day one. Together they were a fearsome one-two punch that won 103 games in four seasons.

McAteer will graduate in June as one of the most prolific scorers in county history, which is but one reason why she is the 2019 Daily Times Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

“She’s just a great person who comes from a great family, a great teammate and a great leader,” Woods said. “You can’t say enough good things about her. She really is the complete player and person you want on your team. Between her and Brianne, they were great. That whole senior class was awesome. Their leadership and the example they set for the underclassmen was tremendous. They set the bar.”

Joining McAteer on the All-Delco team, which is selected after consultation with area coaches, are Borcky, Archbishop Carroll junior Erin Sweeney, Bonner & Prendergast senior Maeve McCann, and Academy of Notre Dame seniors Mandy McGurk and Maggie Pina.

A two-time All-Delco selection, McAteer is the first basketball player from Garnet Valley to earn Daily Times Player of the Year honors. McAteer is the third-leading scorer in Delaware County history with 1,773 points.

READ: All-Delco first team capsules

McAteer dabbled in other sports and played softball at Garnet Valley, but her first love is basketball. She began playing for Brandywine Youth Club and the Lower Delco Wildcats travel club.

“I grew up playing a lot of sports and then probably around the seventh grade is when I realized I wanted to play basketball in college,” McAteer said. “My mom was my first coach. She was my biggest influence, along with my dad, who is kind of quiet and doesn’t really say much unless he has to. So, definitely my parents and of course the support from my sister, Kayla (who played at Garnet Valley from 2010-14).”

By the time she arrived at Garnet Valley, McAteer joined one of the premier AAU teams in the tri-state area, the Comets, which gave her the chance for exposure and to grow into a Division I talent.

McAteer could’ve attended a private school, but she didn’t want to leave her home and be away from her friends. Sticking around at Garnet Valley wasn’t a difficult decision at all. McAteer and Borcky, who will play at Drexel University, would prove to naysayers that the Jaguars basketball program could be as successful as those perennial state contenders from the Catholic League.

“I was asked by other people why I wasn’t going somewhere else, but I knew I never wanted to leave Garnet Valley and I knew I never wanted to leave my friends,” McAteer said. “Going into eighth grade, I remember, I knew the program here was pretty good and that I would play for this team. There was never a time where I thought I wanted to go play for O’Hara or any private school.”

READ: The full list of All-Delco honorees

McAteer never worried about college exposure, either.

“Whoever saw me from a college and took a lot of interest in me, that’s the place where I wanted to go to. That’s why I chose Loyola (Md.).”

McAteer considered other schools from the Patriot League, including Navy, before she made her verbal commitment in July.

“Once I got the offer from Loyola, I acted on it pretty fast,” she said.

In her senior year, McAteer scored 15.5 points per game and became the all-time leading scorer (boys or girls) at Garnet Valley. Her most memorable moment was the victory over Neshaminy for the District 1 Class 6A title at Temple University’s Liacouras Center. McAteer and the senior crew — Borcky, Morgan Falcone, Jill Nagy and Madi McKee — felt vindicated.

“We got so close the year before” when they lost in the district semifinals, McAteer said. “We felt that we weren’t going to lose this time, that we would keep winning. We just believed in ourselves and everyone trusted each other.”

The Jaguars made it all the way to Hershey with a 30-1 record. They met their match when they faced off against Peters Township, but the loss in the state final didn’t dim the team’s season-long accomplishments. As hard as that loss was to swallow, McAteer kept a smile on her face and dwelled on the positive memories.

“That team didn’t miss a shot, it seemed like,” McAteer said. “They were hard to beat that day, but we felt that we did so much this year, nothing could take that away.”

In her four seasons, the Jags won every game but one on their home court.

“They were a great senior class, something very special that may never come along again,” Woods said.

McAteer will leave for college knowing her 2018-19 squad is the best basketball team that Garnet Valley has ever known.

“We all became best friends and we’ll never forget it,” she said. “This year was definitely the closest bond that we’ve had here, only because it was with the girls that I’ve been playing with since I was six years old. And this year it grew way, way more. It’s crazy to think now that we’re done, it felt like it went by so fast.”