Lapp helps Gwynedd Mercy take control in 3rd quarter, roll past St. Hubert in season opener

LOWER GWYNEDD >> Coming into the season, Hannah Griffin tabbed Cara Lapp as a player to watch on the Gwynedd Mercy girls basketball team.

“I just think her length and her ability to just get to the basket is so good,” Griffin said. “I mean freshman year she didn’t see a lot of time just cause we had like Coleman twins and that but this year she’s really stepped up, especially in practices and just being able to use her length to get to the basket down the court.”

Lapp needed just one game to show that the Monarchs senior captain was definitely onto something. The 5-foot-10 sophomore provided scoring in a variety of ways and took over the third quarter, collecting the period’s final seven points to push GMA’s lead over visiting St. Hubert to 20.

“My teammates during halftime really helped me hype up myself,” Lapp said.

Lapp finished with a game-high 14 points as Gwynedd Mercy shook off a bit of a slow start to pull away from the Bambies and earn a 49-19 nonleague victory in its season opener Wednesday.

“Her length and when she runs she can glide – she’s like a gazelle she can get from there to there very quickly when she’s got the engine going,” said Gwynedd Mercy coach Tom Lonergan of Lapp. “And that’s what she did tonight – tonight she was in that situation where she was getting down the floor quickly, she’s got the long arms our players were giving her the ball so give credit to them to get her the ball and she did a good job of finishing.”

Lapp registered nine points in the third, including the first two of a 15-0 run that extended into the fourth and had GMA (1-0) up 40-16.  The Monarchs defense, meanwhile, stiffened after the break, allowing St. Hubert just four second-half points.

“Obviously we didn’t start out as good but that’s kind of to be expected, first game of the season, first half, you know it’s always a little rough,” said Griffin, a Holy Cross commit. “But I think after we came out at halftime we just really got our stuff together and really started playing more for each other and we kind of got the jitters out and we kind of played more like ourselves.

“Obviously we still have a really long way to go, especially just being new and getting that chemistry and building upon it throughout the season.”

A Lapp jumper put the Monarchs up 27-16 in the third while a Bailey Balkir basket increased the margin to 13. Griffin then connected with Lapp on a pass up court for a transition layup.

“If I run Hannah gives me the ball and we have great teamwork skills,” Lapp said.

Lapp banked in a shot on a drive to make it 35-16 then capped the third by draining a 3-pointer from the top of the arc off a Griffin assist just before the buzzer for a 36-16 advantage.

“We lost the two Colemans so I’m just trying to get them points this year,” Lapp said.

Gwynedd Mercy is the defending AACA and District 1-4A champ but graduated three starters from last year’s side that won its first 26 games before falling to eventual state champ Archbishop Wood in the PIAA quarterfinals.

Seven players on the Monarchs’ varsity roster this season are either freshmen or sophomores and Wednesday those underclassmen accounted for 41 of GMA’s 49 points.

Freshman Balkir scored eight points – seven in the second half – while sophomore Megan McDonnell added in six points as GMA had 10 players chip in at least two points.

“We definitely still have our standard of we want to win, we’re aiming for the AACA, we want the back-to-back, we want the district,” Griffin said. “But have to also be, like I said earlier, just a little more patient with this team and I think as we go on we’re going to get a lot better.

“This is any team but I think specifically with this one I think our trajectory of just going up is just going to be throughout and I think once we hit January we’re going to be good.”

Alexa Price paced St. Hubert (1-1) with seven points.

Gwynedd Mercy hosts Academy New Church in a nonleague contest 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Griffin, a Class 4A all-state third team selection last year, posted just three points – knocking down a 3-pointer later in the first quarter for a 14-7 lead – but ran the Monarchs offense while putting in work on the defensive end. For Lonergan, the senior point guard has all the qualities needed to help GMA’s younger players get up to speed and continue the program’s success.

“The nice thing is she gets respect from all of them,” said Lonergan of Griffin. “So she’s got the respect and she’s got the leadership. She brings the energy. For me it’s a perfect world cause with a young team you want a leader that can bring that young team around because the coach ain’t going to do it. You need a player on the floor and I think I have the best at it. And I think she’s going to prove to the Academy League she’s the best in the league.

“And she’s going to improve it more by bringing around these young kids so come January, February they’re going to say ‘Woah, oh wow where’d they come from?’ And they’re going to start pointing fingers at Hannah because she’s going to be a big key on how this team progresses through this season.”

GMA grabbed a 9-2 lead after Lapp cut between defenders to score in transition and draw a foul at 3:39 in the first quarter. The Bambies scored the next five to pull to within 9-7 after a MacKenzie McLaughlin free throw at 2:04 but a Dylan Burke basket then Griffin’s triple had the Monarchs up seven after the opening eight minutes.

Two at the line from McDonnell followed by an Emilia Coleman 3-pointer had Gwynedd Mercy up 19-7 in the second quarter but Price’s 3-point play at 7:03 and a Alison Coleman bucket inside off a Kate Patterson assist had St. Hubert down 19-12.

Lapp converted a 3-point play off an offensive rebound at 3:07 with a Balkir free throw at 1:36 giving GMA a 23-12 lead. A basket from Alison Coleman cut the Monarchs’ advantage to nine at halftime.

Gwynedd Mercy 49, St. Hubert 18
St. Hubert 7 7 2 2 – 18
Gwynedd Mercy 14 9 13 13 – 49
St. Hubert: Alexa Price 3 1-1 7; Alison Coleman 2 0-1 4; MacKenzie McLaughlin 1 1-2 3; Alyssa Browning 1 0-0 2; Kate Patterson 1 0-0 2; Totals 8 2-4 18.
Gwynedd Mercy: Cara Lapp 6 1-4 14; Bailey Balkir 3 1-2 8; Megan McDonnell 1 4-4 6; Emily Coleman 2 0-0 5; Dylan Burke 2 0-0 4; Hannah Griffin 1 0-0 3; Morgan Newell 1 0-2 3; Carli Amos 1 0-0 2; Brooke Evans 1 0-0 2; Carsy Kelly 1 0-0 2; Totals 19 6-12 49.
3-pointers: GMA-Balkir, Coleman, Griffin, Lapp, Newell.