Germantown Academy wins first PAISAA girls basketball title since 2011

PHILADELPHIA >> Germantown Academy captured its first PAISAA girls basketball title since 2011 with a 58-43 victory against two-time defending champ Shipley in the championship final Saturday evening at Jefferson University.

“When the buzzer sounded, my first reaction was, ‘We finally did it, we finally won the state championship,’” said GA junior Elle Stauffer, who scored nine points in the final. “It was an amazing feeling. This win is for everyone at GA who didn’t win the championship the past few years.”

The Patriots (30-1), the top seed in the tournament, got off to a 22-9 first-quarter lead against No. 3 seed Shipley. Eleven of the Patriots’ points came from senior Rachel Balzer, including a trio of treys.

“We were so excited for this game, we came out with a bunch of energy,” said GA sophomore Becca Booth, who scored 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds Saturday. “We’ve really bonded as a team.”

When Shipley rallied in the second half to cut GA’s lead to 48-43 with 4:32 left, the Patriots’ defense stood tall, shutting out the Gators the rest of the way.

GA head coach Sherri Retif marveled at how well the Patriots blended their diverse talents Saturday night.

“Rachel came out on fire, hitting threes; Elle was pushing it upcourt, finishing at the rim; Becca Booth was amazing; Maddie Vizza got the ball off to Elle beautifully; and Jaye Haynes [who had six rebounds] played great defense.”

Haynes hit the game-winning shot in GA’s 56-55 win against Abington Friends Friday in the PAISAA semifinal.

“They [the Patriots] know how to celebrate excellence in each other,” said Retif. “So if it’s Elle’s that the star, that’s OK; Jaye’s the star, that’s OK; they celebrate each other, and it’s so much fun to watch as a coach.

“There’s a lot of love on this team – they treat each other like sisters, it’s a sisterhood. They pick each other up when they’re down; they have each other’s back.”

GA held a 44-35 lead with 6:30 left when Shipley’s Anna Camden nailed a couple of treys, and two free throws by the Gators’ Sanna Redmond (the game’s high scorer with 16 points) made it 48-43 with 4:32 left.

“When Shipley came back, we just had to trust each other and play the game that we know how to play,” said Booth. “We wanted to cut down Shipley’s threes as much as possible with a help defense.

The Patriots’ defense stiffened, often limiting Shipley to one shot in the next few possessions. Meanwhile, Vizza made both ends of a one-and-one to give GA a 50-43 lead, then Booth’s putback made it 52-43 with 2:50 left.

Balzer, Haynes and Stauffer then combined to go 6-for-6 from the free throw line as GA pulled away.

“The key to our win was having so much trust in each other, our team camaraderie is so good,” said Stauffer. “We believe in each other so much. Our team chemistry is amazing, and we never back down.”

Booth said, “I love this team; we’re all like a family, we have so much fun together. Even if someone makes a mistake, we’re right there to pick each other back up again, to keep our energy high.”

 

Germantown Academy 58, Shipley 43

Shipley                                9      7      14    13    –       43

Germantown Academy    22    9      7      16    –       58

Shipley (43): Redmond 4 7-10 16, Camden 3 3-4 11, Ross 4 1-2 9, Joseph 1 0-0 2, Redcross 1 0-2 3, Aughe 1 0-0 2, Totals 14 11-18 43.

Germantown Academy (58): Vizza 3 3-3 10, Stauffer 3 2-3 9, Moore 0 0-0 0, Haynes 2 6-6 11, Balzer 4 2-2 13, Booth 5 5-6 15, Totals 17 18-20 58.

Three-point field goals: Shipley – Redmond, Camden 2, Redcross; Germantown Academy – Vizza, Stauffer, Haynes, Balzer 3.