BERWYN >> To have a good offensive game against the Conestoga girls basketball team you have to be at the top of your game because the Pioneers are at the top of theirs.
For the second straight playoff game, the Pioneers held a team in check as they cruised to a 54-25 victory over Central League rival Garnet Valley in the quarterfinals of the District 1 Class 6A tournament Saturday afternoon.
Second-seeded Conestoga (23-3) breaks at least a 10-year drought and advances to the semifinals to host No. 6 Spring-Ford on Wednesday evening.
“It feels awesome,” said Conestoga coach AJ Thompson. “They should be super proud of getting to that spot because it’s a tough spot to get to. There’s a lot of really good teams in District 1 and to be one of the final four is fantastic, but this is not the final accomplishment.”
Conestoga’s defense, who held Council Rock South to 33 points in a second round contest Wednesday, was suffocating again, holding Garnet without a field goal from the 1:14 mark of the second quarter until midway through the fourth quarter, going on a 28-5 run over that time.
We came out with a lot of intensity. We talked about that a lot the last couple of practices,” said Thompson. “After that loss in the Central League championship game, I thought our focus has been great and we’ve been playing with a little bit of a chip on our shoulders.”
Conestoga played Garnet for the fourth time this season, going 3-1, winning by more than 20 points the last two outings.
The Jaguars (21-5) held the lead once at 8-7 on a three by Kylie Mulholland with 2:10 left. It didn’t last long, however, as Janie
Preston scored on a short turnaround jumper on the next possession to give ‘Stoga the lead for good.
Garnet Valley’s Katie Dwyer scored the final bucket of the first period and Garnet Valley trailed by one, 11-10, after one.
Then, the second quarter became the Ryann Jennings Show. The super sophomore went on a personal 10-0 run to boost the lead to 21-12 with 1:12 left. Jennings hit two three-pointers and hit on a layup off a steal during the spurt.
“She was fantastic both offensively and defensively,” Thompson said of Jennings. “She knocked down some big ones, and not some easy ones which were momentum killers for Garnet Valley.”
Jennings said, “I looked for my shot and my teammates had great passes and it was all really good.”
Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods took multiple timeouts trying to stanch the run, but to no avail.
“It was an avalanche,” Woods said. “We had a lead in the first quarter, but give credit to Conestoga and their gameplan. They really started to shut us down defensively, in particular in the second quarter and they made their shots.
“She (Jennings) made a couple of shots from distance with a hand in her face. She’s an awesome player.”
Garnet Valley’s Haylie Adamski notched her lone field goal on a breakaway layup to break the run with 1:14 left. Preston added a pair of free throws and the Pioneers went into the locker room with a solid 23-12 lead.
They just built on it from there. Garnet Valley’s ignominious line in the third was 0 points, 0-for-4 from the floor and six turnovers.
Conestoga went the scoring by committee route in the third period as six different players had baskets. The Pioneers outscored the Jaguars, 17-5, to post a 40-17 advantage after three quarters.
When Marisa Francione hit a three to make it 47-17, the running clock mercy rule was in effect. After she hit a pair of free throws with under five minutes to go, both coaches emptied their benches with the result no longer in doubt.
Garnet Valley must now regroup as they play in the consolation round Wednesday.
“Hopefully, we’ll get back on that winning side,” said Woods. “The Central League is tough. We’re 21-5 right now and three of our losses were to Conestoga and two to Haverford and they’re both in the final four of the districts. We’ll flush this and get back at it on Monday.”
Conestoga 54, Garnet Valley 25
Garnet Valley: Olsen 1 0-1 2; Mulholland 1 0-0 3; Sanders 1 2-3 4; H. Adamski 1 2-4 5; A. Adamski 1 2-4 5; Dada 1 0-0 2; Zipperlein 0 1-2 1; Baubenberger 0 1-2 1; Dwyer 1 1-2 3; K. Adamski 0 0-2 0; Hunter 1 2-3 4; Bilson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7 9-19 25.
Conestoga: Francione 3 6-6 13; K. Valencia 2 0-0 5; Jennings 8 2-2 22; Preston 2 2-2 6; B. Valencia 0 0-0 0; Lanouette 1 1-1 3; Le Page 0 0-0 0; Neary 0 0-0 0; Brown 1 0-0 3; Martin 0 0-0 0; Martin 0 0-0 0; McKenna 0 0-0 0; Schmitt 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 11-11 54.
Garnet Valley 10 2 5 8 – 25
Conestoga 11 12 17 14 – 54
3-point goals: Mulholland, K. Adamski, Francione, Jennings 4, Brown.
