Germantown Academy’s passing, shooting too much for Penn Charter
WHITEMARSH >> Maddie Vizza dribbled to her right, stopped on a dime and whipped a pass to a wide-open Maddie Burns under the basket for a layup.
It was less than two minutes into the game, but Burns hoop gave Germantown Academy an eight-point lead and summed up everything the Patriots would do well the rest of the afternoon. Even with degrees dropping off the temperature outside, the GA girls basketball team’s shooting percentage just kept climbing in a lights-out shooting display against archrival Penn Charter.
Precision passing and blistering shooting helped GA stay unbeaten in the Inter-Ac and run out to a 68-46 win over PC on Wednesday.
“We definitely brought a lot of intensity to this game,” Burns, who filled in for Becca Booth in the starting five, said. “We’ve focused a lot on starting out strong, so that was one way we could do it. We really got each other hyped for the game, we were all locked in and focused.”
Penn Charter (19-5, 6-2 Inter-Ac) may be young, but the Quakers are a very solid team and came in with just one loss in the Inter-Ac. They’re also a gritty and tenacious defensive team, which made the numbers GA (21-1, 7-0 Inter-Ac) put up in the first half even more impressive.
Rachel Balzer hit 3-pointers on the first two possessions of the game for GA, Burns scored off Vizza’s dish and Elle Stauffer got a bucket at the rim for a 10-0 Patriots run in the game’s opening 2:06. It was only the beginning for GA, which rolled to a 17-2 lead with 4:21 left in the opening frame.
Seven of the team’s nine first quarter baskets were assisted, including a long trey by Vizza at the horn which staked GA to a 27-11 advantage.
“We just trusted each other,” Stauffer, who led all scorers with 19 points, said. “It’s a rivalry game and we wanted to play our best against them. We know our teammates’ strengths, so we just used them.”
Burns, who isn’t known for her scoring, still had a solid first half in netting five of her seven points. The junior, a standout lacrosse player who also plays soccer, noted without the 6-foot-2 Booth, GA didn’t have a lot of height but she wanted to find other ways to contribute.
She added four rebounds and an assist and used her mobility well in the zone defense GA used to frustrate Penn Charter.
“I can contribute rebounding, offensive rebounding, boxing out hard and just finding my way because I’m not a major scorer,” Burns said. “Even if I’m not that tall, I can find the little things that add up.”
Junior Jaye Haynes scored 15 for GA, starting 6-of-6 shooting. Much like the first quarter, GA ended the second with a bucket as Stauffer splashed a 17-footer off a nice kick-out by a driving Sarah DiLello.
At the break, GA led 44-21 thanks to a scorching 16-of-25 showing from the field. The Patriots also got it done from deep, canning 7-of-10 attempts from behind the 3-point line and had assisted on 13 of the 16 makes.
“We know our role every game isn’t always going to be to shoot,” Stauffer said. “We have different people who can get in there and do different things and get the right people the ball. But, we all have confidence and knowing someone can shoot and they’re open, it makes the game so much easier and less stressful.”
GA’s defense was also solid in the first half, with the Patriots racking up six steals before the break. Burns attributed it to the team’s chemistry built up over practice that allowed their zone and especially their communication, to be so tuned in.
“We were in the passing lanes and if someone was driving, we got in the gap to help,” Burns said. “When the ball was inside, we could really pressure down and find those steals.”
Stauffer only had six points at the break, but she came out rolling to start the third quarter. The junior forward scored seven in the quarter on 3-of-3 shooting and added six more in the fourth as she dominated in transition.
GA, which rotated eight players, still seemed fresh in the second half as Stauffer went the length of the court for layups on back-to-back possessions in the latter half of the fourth.
The Patriots are back at home Thursday when they host Episcopal Academy at 4 p.m.
“We’re so deep with our bench, we can switch up our rotation like today, with Becca not even being here,” Stauffer said. “It’s nice knowing we can still run the court after they get tired and it helps a lot.
“When people press us, our strength is getting the ball down the court especially Rachel throwing those long passes when myself or Jaye are running the sidelines.”
GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 27 17 14 10 – 68
PENN CHARTER 11 10 9 6 – 46
GA: Elle Stauffer 9 0-0 19, Maddie Vizza 4 0-0 12, Maddie Burns 2 3-4 7, Jaye Haynes 6 3-3 15, Rachel Balzer 3 0-0 9, Jess Moore 2 0-0 5, Lindsay Putnam 0 1-2 1. Nonscoring: Sarah DiLello, Charlotte DiLello, Lilly Funk. Totals: 26 7-9 68.
PC: Carmen Williams 5 3-5 13, Kate Carter 3 3-4 10, Kelsey Bess 4 2-2 12, Janae Steward 2 0-0 5, India Barnes 1 0-0 3, Amani Rivers 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 8-11 46.
3-pointers: GA – Vizza 4, Balzer 3, Moore, Stauffer; PC – Bess 2, Barnes, Carter, Steward.
