Adamski finds bright lights to her liking in Central League final

RIDLEY TWP. — The big game atmosphere didn’t faze Haylie Adamski. Not in the least.

Garnet Valley’s freshman sensation came ready to dominate in the Central League final Monday.

The 5-11 Adamski was simply unstoppable Monday night before a packed crowd at Ridley High.

Adamski went off for a game-high 22 points as the Jaguars routed Marple Newtown, 39-27. It’s the program’s sixth Central League title in eight years.

After two up-and-down seasons, the Jags have won 14 of their last 17 games after a 4-4 start. Who knows where they would be without their budding star, Adamski, who shot 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and had 11 points after the first quarter.

“I had to stay composed because I knew that the other team’s crowd (student section) was going insane and they were really loud,” Adamski said. “Our crowd helped us and our bench has been the best that it’s ever been. My teammates really helped me throughout the game.”

Marple Newtown had no answer for Adamski’s smooth ball handling and long daggers. And when she decided to drive to the basket, she had her way there, too.

Adamski buried three treys in the final stretch of the first quarter. GV’s lead had been 8-4, but after Adamski’s barrage of triples, the Jaguars (18-7) held a comfortable 17-7 advantage.

“I needed to get the momentum going early,” Adamski said.

Garnet’s youth played a key role as it’s done all season. Freshman guard Kylie Mulholland stepped up off the bench and scored four points in the final period.

“Haylie got her shot going right away and Kylie played great,” senior co-captain Ava Possenti said.

The Jags also benefited from a lockdown defense which created 14 turnovers. Early on the Jags used a press to disrupt Marple guard’s Mary O’Brien and Nikki O’Brien. Marple’s could get nothing going inside the paint. Senior Haley Levy and junior Brooke Impriano, who have been excellent all season for the Tigers (17-6), were held to only two points on 0-for-6 shooting.

The Tigers had one run in them and it came at the start of the third quarter. Nikki Mosardi scored eight straight points and O’Brien made a 3-pointer as Marple went on an 11-2 run to cut Garnet’s lead to 26-19 with three minutes left in the period.

Sure enough it was Adamski who got the Jags back on track with her fourth 3-pointer to make it a 29-19 game.

“She got off to a great start,”  said coach Joe Woods, who is in his 19th season at Garnet Valley. “I think earlier in the year she was forcing some shots and putting some pressure on herself, but she has come a long way. Doing a great job running the offense. I don’t want to put pressure on her and I want her to have fun.”

Possenti was amazing on the defensive side. In the second quarter she intercepted a pass near midcourt and dished off to a streaking Carly DiSabatino, who scored an easy layup on the breakaway. Possenti finished with seven steals and seven assists.

Possenti’s signature traits are her lockdown defense and ability to create looks for her teammates. After the game Woods presented her with the game ball.

“I think we wanted it more from the start and we played great defensively,” Possenti said. “We know they are a great shooting team, especially Nikki, so we had to get out in 3-point range and just try to get as many steals as possible.

The Jags also avenged a 52-48 overtime loss to Marple in January.

“It was a big bounce back game for us,” DiSabatino said.

Sophomore forward Emily Olsen chipped in with five points and four rebounds for the Jags. Katelyn Dugery, a senior forward and co-captain, had all four of her points in the first quarter and played tough defense against Levy and Impriano.

The Jags begin the District 1 Class 6A tournament Friday when they host Hatboro-Horsham. They are the 14th seed in the 24-team field.

“It took awhile, particularly with young kids, but we have improved,” Woods said.  “We’ve had some tough losses. We lost to Marple in overtime, we got blown out here (at Ridley). They’ve come a long way.”

Mostardi paced the Tigers with 16 points and O’Brien tallied all eight of her points in the second half. They shot 10-for-35 from the floor and seven of their buckets came from long distance. Marple earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the Class 5A district playoffs.