Goldbach picks up the slack for Garnet Valley
CONCORD — There was no question whether Garnet Valley would succeed in the the first round of the District One Class AAAA tournament, but there was some worrisome moments in the early stages.
The Jaguars have been pushing through a nasty cold spell shooting the ball. They were off-kilter in Monday night’s Central League championship win over Strath Haven, and those struggles continued Friday night against 29th-seeded Upper Merion, which presented not much of a scare to the No. 4 Jags.
“Lately, it’s kind of been a trend, but we always find a way to get out of it,’ senior wing Macy Goldbach said after Garnet Valley’s 43-28 rout Friday nights. The Jags are back in action Wednesday night when they host a second-round game against 20th-seeded Cheltenham, the same team that ended Penn Wood’s season Thursday night.
Back to Friday night and the Upper Merion game. It was clear something was amiss with the Jags early. As was the case in the Strath Haven game, Garnet Valley (22-2) couldn’t make shots, beginning the game in a 0-for-7 funk. It partially had to do with the fact the Jaguars have dealt with illnesses to starters Jordan Ireland and Sam Tomasetti. Ireland felt better for Friday’s game, but Tomasetti almost didn’t play at all. Also under the weather, the junior forward played sparingly, but remained effective (four points, two rebounds, one steal).
“Sam Tomasetti was questionable for tonight,’ coach Joe Woods said. “So, we were kind of mixing and matching. Jordan’s not 100 percent, either, so we’re kind of fighting through some things and I think that affects our play a little bit.’
Woods went to his bench earlier than usual for a couple reasons. One, Tomasetti could only play in two-or three-minute intervals. Second, junior guard Maddie Ireland was whistled for two fouls in the first quarter. So, Woods called upon junior All-Delco lacrosse player Emily Mathewson to provide a boost on defense. Others players, including forwards Sydney Fail (five points) and Kerry O’Donoghue (four points), were big contributors.
Not having “Mini’ Ireland on the court for a significant chunk of the first half proved to be, well, insignificant. The Jaguars ran away in the first half after trailing, 4-2, in the opening minutes. But it’s an interesting dilemma to ponder when or if the Jags find themselves in a similar situation against a better team such as, say, Cheltenham Wednesday night.
“It does change us a little,’ said Jordan Ireland, who finished with eight points, five assists, four rebounds and one steal. “Well, obviously with Mini, she wants to push the ball 24/7 because that’s she wants to do. We know that, with Emily, she’s a great defender. She’s going to come in and play great defense.’
Eventually, it all worked out for Jaguars. They didn’t have to sweat the younger Ireland’s absence or worry about Tomasetti’s limited availability. Eventually, they hit their shots and a big hat tip can go to Goldbach, who drained a trio of 3-pointers and led all players with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting. The Haverford College-bound senior added five rebounds, three steals, two assists and one blocked shot to help the Jags snap out of their malaise. The Jags pushed on through despite shooting 31.9 percent (15-of-47) from the field.
“We always find a way to get out of it,’ Goldbach said. “I know if my shot’s not falling, I know not to force it. Our team has multiple assets and we have girls who can do different things.’
When the Jags got going, they took off. Meanwhile, the visitors couldn’t put together anything that resembled a coherent possession. The Jags forced 11 first-half turnovers and went on a 21-0 run after falling behind, 4-2. At halftime, the score was 25-6.
“We knew for a fact that they had No. 11 (Reggie Robinson), that they were athletic and that they played a different style of basketball than we do,’ Goldbach added. “On the defensive end, we knew it was going to be bumpy.’
True. In the fourth quarter, the Jags were chewing time off the clock when Jordan Ireland was pushed, deliberately, and took a spill on the floor. Referee Bob Adams called the rare intentional foul against Upper Merion’s Anna Davis. The indiscretion had no bearing on the outcome of the game, but underscores Goldbach’s comment.
“I was like, hey, what was that about?’ said Ireland, who laughed about the incident and was unharmed. “They weren’t that bad, really. Considering some of the teams that we’ve played, they were one of the nicer teams.’
Tomasetti ended GV’s five-minute scoring drought in the second half with a three-point play. Moments later, Maddie Ireland made a quick move on UM guard Katie Valeri and breezed past her for an easy layup to make it a 14-point game.
Upper Merion had trimmed its deficit to 12 points in the fourth quarter and received some we’re-still-here-playing baskets from Robinson (six points), Tatiana Pleasant (eight) and Erin Brady (six points, eight rebounds) to make things semi-interesting after halftime.
