Connolly steps up, Souderton tops Germantown Academy
FRANCONIA >> Kate Connolly won’t admit it, but she’s the focal point of Souderton’s girls basketball team this season.
The reason why the 6-foot-1 junior won’t take claim as the center of the show is the reason why she’s already meshed so well with her Indians teammates. The entire team is selfless, in Connolly’s case almost to a fault, and none of the players care who ends up the leading scorer.
What Connolly gives Souderton is a difference-maker and she showed it on Saturday.
Behind 22 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and three steals from the guard/forward, Souderton topped Germantown Academy 48-40 in the championship of the Jim Church Classic. Connolly scored 12 points in the final quarter, which Souderton won 20-7.
“In crunch time she showed up,” GA coach Sherri Retif said. “She hit those two 3s, which was a momentum shifter then 9-of-10 free throws at the end. That’s an upperclassman just stepping up.”
For the second game in a row, Souderton was again strong defensively and its length bothered Germantown Academy. Megan Walbrandt, who scored 17 points, was just as big on the defensive side where she limited GA sharpshooter Rachel Balzer to just six points.
While Connolly hit a pair of huge 3-pointers, one late in the third and the other early in the fourth to turn the tide, she only took five shots in the game. Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said she’d like Connolly to look for her shot more, but understands the wing is pass-first and is going to look for the most open shooter.
“This team, we have a lot of shooters so it just depends on who is open,” Connolly said. “We’re always trying to get the open girl. Anyone, I think, can take that shot and everyone is good enough to be in those situations.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Souderton’s Tori Dowd finds Kate Connolly for huge corner 3 in Q4 against GA pic.twitter.com/b6Aqsifq4H
— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) December 11, 2016
GA got a strong game from senior co-captains Abby Starzecky, who put in 12 points with six rebounds and Lilly Bolen, who had seven points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. But the Patriots couldn’t stop putting Souderton at the line, where the Indians had 29 free throw attempts and made 21 of them.
“I don’t know how you beat a team that makes 21 free throws,” Retif said.
Connolly, who played the last two seasons at Archbishop Wood, wasn’t coming into a brand-new situation when she transferred back to Souderton. She’d played with most of her teammates growing up through elementary school so they already had a base to build on.
“She didn’t try to overstep in any way,” Carroll said. “You have a Division I athlete coming into a new program who’s willing to step back and let the kids who’ve been here do what they’ve been doing and that says a lot about the kind of kid that she is.”
GA built up a 31-25 lead with 3:19 to play in the third before Connolly hit the first of her 3-pointers with 2:05 in the frame. She hit the second, a corner 3 off a feed from Walbrandt 50 seconds into the final quarter, then tied the game 33-33 at the foul line with 6:27 to go.
Souderton then got GA to turn the ball over on four straight possessions while Indians guard Tori Dowd scored then set up Walbrandt to put Souderton in front. With her team down four, Balzer forced a steal but couldn’t convert on the other end, allowing Dowd to rebound it and get Connolly to the line.
GIRLS BASKETBALL: GA's Jaye Haynes with steal, sets up Maddie Vizza And-1 vs Souderton pic.twitter.com/qlmV3S0anh
— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) December 11, 2016
“As soon as (Connolly) decided to start to try and take over, good things, great things, started happening for us,” Carroll said. “It’s what turned the game around.”
“I don’t think I’m the center of attention, we had a lot of girls who stepped up,” Connolly said. “Megan, Alana (Cardona), Tori, Sami (Falencki) and everyone who played tonight really pushed their limits and really got there.”
Souderton 48, Germantown Academy 40
Germantown Academy 8 16 9 7 – 40
Souderton 13 8 7 20 – 48
Germantown Academy (40): Maddie Vizza 3 1-1 8, Abby Starzecky 4 4-4 12, Emily Morrissey 1 1-2 3, Rachel Balzer 2 0-0 6, Lilly Bolen 2 3-4 7, Jaye Haynes 0 4-4 4. Nonscoring: Elle Stauffer, Maddie Burns, Taylor Putnam. Totals: 12 13-15 40.
Souderton (48): Kate Connolly 3 14-17 22, Megan Walbrandt 5 4-6 17, Alana Cardona 2 2-6 6, Tori Dowd 1 1-3 3. Nonscoring: Sami Falencki, Megan Bealer, Curran O’Donnell, Erica Stephens. Totals: 11 21-29 48
3-pointers: GA – Balzer 2, Vizza; S – Walbrandt 3, Connolly 2.
Top Photo: Souderton’s Megan Walbrandt drives for the basket between Germantown Academy’s Abby Starzecky and Rachel Balzer during their game on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)
