Dual point guard lineup sparks Germantown Academy against Archbishop Ryan
WHITEMARSH >> Sometimes, in the right cases, two point guards are better than one.
It’s been a staple of the Germantown Academy girls basketball team for a while that given the right matchup, the Patriots will have two point guards on the floor. Saturday, two of GA’s best spells in its win over Archbishop Ryan happened to come with point guards Maddie Vizza and Sarah DiLello sharing the floor.
Vizza clearly made the most of some time off the ball, scoring 21 to lead GA to a 60-41 win over the Ragdolls as part of the Patriots’ Make-A-Wish Showcase.
“It makes it so much easier to play with another point guard on the floor,” DiLello said. “They’re going to know how to help you out and get you or other people open.”
GA blasted out of the gates with senior Caitlyn Priore playing the facilitator as Vizza and center Becca Booth combined for 11 points in a 14-2 run to start the game. The Patriots went up 17-5 early in the second but fell into a little bit of a rut the next few possessions.
Ryan, which took the early punch well, hit a pair of threes with a couple foul shots to mount a run that chopped the hosts’ lead to 17-13 about midway through the second. At that point, GA ran out the dual point lineup for the first time and order was restored.
DiLello scored her only bucket of the night and Vizza had two scores and a pair of free throws to lead a 14-5 run that ended the half with GA ahead 31-18.
“Having every player on our team able to come out and bring us energy helped so much,” DiLello said. “All of us work so hard and you tell everyone is busting their butt all the time.”
The second iteration of two at the “one” position brought another spell of offense just when GA needed it. After a slow start to the third quarter from the Patriots, a score by Ryan point guard Tori Nigro cut the lead to 34-22 with about four minutes left in the quarter.
Vizza, a terrific shooter, was able to move off the ball a little more with DiLello also out there and the senior would cash in the next few possessions. She hit a three off a feed from Jaye Haynes then after Ryan scored, buried a trey off a give-and-go with DiLello and canned a midrange jumper for a 40-24 lead.
“Sarah is an amazing PG, she can create so much for me,” Vizza said. “She was feeding me the ball and I got open shots all because of her.”
“I love giving the ball to Maddie,” DiLello said. “I know it’s going to be an assist right away.”
While Vizza’s future will stay on the hardwood at Northeastern next year, this the last season of hoops for DiLello. The senior, who got to play a good amount of minutes with younger sister Charlotte on Saturday, is a standout softball player and has committed to Ursinus.
For now though, she’s happy to be a part of the basketball roster and embraces her role coming off the bench whether its running a second unit by herself or like Saturday, serving as co-pilot next to Vizza.
“Coming into the season, bringing energy was my main focus,” DiLello said. “Our whole team is giving their all this year and it’s just so fun to be a part of.”
GA used a lot of combinations as it went deep into the bench Saturday and DiLello said it’s a result of the team’s intense practices that’s fueled the on-court production. The Patriots have versatile players and experience on the bench, which also helps.
Like DiLello, senior Maddie Burns isn’t playing basketball in college but the Michigan lacrosse recruit had four points, five rebounds and an assist off the bench. Jess Moore usually comes in as a reserve but filled in the starting five in place of Elle Stauffer and chipped in five points.
“We had a couple people come in during the second half and provide a real spark,” Vizza said. “That’s what got us going and we continued it the rest of the game, which was awesome to see.”
The two senior point guards agreed the team has learned some good lessons with its schedule so far and the younger players are finding their confidence well. GA will spend part of the holiday break at a tournament in Naples, Florida then return to being Inter-Ac play along with a game against Archbishop Wood on January 5.
“The next couple weeks are going to be really exciting,” Vizza said. “We’ve responded really well, there’s some lessons to be learned but I think we’re going to take all the challenges we’ve faced and use them as motivation.”
GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 60, ARCHBISHOP RYAN 41
GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 14 17 15 14 – 60
ARCHBISHOP RYAN 5 13 11 12 – 41
Germantown Academy: Caitlyn Priore 0 1-2 1, Becca Booth 4 3-4 11, Jaye Haynes 3 0-1 7, Maddie Vizza 8 2-2 21, Jess Moore 2 0-0 5,Sarah DiLello 1 0-0 2, Maddie Burns 1 2-2 4, Lilly Funk 2 2-2 4, Charlotte DiLello 2 0-0 5. Totals: 22 10-13 60.
Archbishop Ryan: Tori Nigro 3 2-3 8, Gianna Grassifulli 0 2-2 2, Luca Verello 2 0-0 6, Cait Geiger 3 0-2 6, Sierra DiDonato 2 0-0 5, Mia Stock 2 2-2 7, Mackenzie Reed 1 2-6 5, Maria Tierney 0 0-1 0. Totals: 13 8-16 41.
3-pointers: GA – Vizza 3, Haynes, Moore, C DiLello; AR – Verello 2, DiDonato, Stock, Reed.
