Garnet Valley gets over the hump with first win in states

NEW HOLLAND >> Maddie Ireland and the rest of Garnet Valley’s senior class can exhale.

The Jaguars won the program’s first state playoff game Friday night with a 53-45 decision over District Three runner-up Governor Mifflin at Garden Spot High School. Freshman Emily McAteer poured in a game-high 19 points for the Jags (25-5).

“I’m glad we could to do it for our seniors,” McAteer said.

Ireland had 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sam Tomasetti, another four-year varsity member, played her signature style of tough-as-nails defense while gathering eight rebounds.

Garnet Valley, which earned sixth place is District One, lost in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA Tournament in each of the previous three seasonS. It was obvious from the outset the Jags weren’t going to let it happen again.

“It was really, really exciting and it was nice that we had a big lead at the end,” said Ireland, who helped Garnet lead by as many as 14 points in the final quarter. “It wasn’t a nail-biter at the end, and that was good to see. I’m just really proud of everyone , they all played their hearts out.”

The Jaguars play Central League rival Conestoga in the second round. The Pionners, who got eighth place in District One, defeated District 11 champion Nazareth Area, 57-54.

GV played a flawless second quarter to take control of the game. McAteer hit two 3-pointers and the Jags came away with eight steals in the second period, turning a one-point deficit into a double-digit cushion. They led at halftime, 25-18, and never turned back.

When the Mustangs (27-3) decided to press, the Jags had an answer . They repeatedly used long outlet passes to break the full-court pressure. Mifflin kept going to the well, and the Jags made them pay.

“We recognized they were playing tight defense the whole time, so we knew we had to pass long and that would give us some easy layups,” said sophomore guard Nicole Barnes, who added eight points and a game-high six steals.  “We realized that, so we kept doing it and kept (scoring) on them.”

The Jags also had a distinct size advantage on the Mustangs, which played to the strengths of Tomasetti, McAteer and fellow freshman forward Brianne Borcky (nine points, seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks).

“Our bigs were great. Sam did really well rebounding tonight,” Ireland said. “People don’t know her because she doesn’t score, but she’s so good. When she was picking up some fouls, I had to tell her to relax because we needed her out there. She never backs off (on a play) and always wants to go for it. That’s definitely what we need.”

Sydney Fail came off the bench to swish a 3-pointer and Borcky hit a running layup to extend Garnet’s lead to 10 points midway through the third quarter.  Garnet shot a crisp 15-for-34 from the field and its defense made 19 steals.

“We realized that the one girl (Emonie Reviere) drives the whole time to the basket and if we just stood then we could take a charge and make them make a mistake,” Barnes said. “We did a good job boxing out and did a lot of good things. We have the height and the speed, so we can match up perfectly (against teams).”

Kylie Herman scored a game-high 10 points for the Mustangs, who shot 25.5 percent (12-for-47) from the field and committed 25 turnovers.

“I think they average over 50 points a game, so our goal was to slow them down,” GV coach Joe Woods said. “Our girls were highly motivated, too. We’ve gotten close a couple times — this is our four straight appearance in states at Class AAAA — and the kids were really motivated to win it this time. … I feel great for the kids. They deserve it.”

Mifflin pulled within seven points in the fourth quarter, but the Jags made just enough of their foul shots (8-for-17) to seal the win and move on to the second round of states.

That has a nice ring to it.

“To be able to win,” Ireland said, “feels amazing.”