Defense helps Gwynedd Mercy roll to win over Methacton
WORCESTER — When it’s in motion, Gwynedd Mercy Academy’s defense is a problem.
A problem for the opposition, to be accurate, with a carousel of long arms, traps, pressures and rotations filling passing lanes, deterring drivers and disrupting sets. GMA is built on defense and when it’s in motion, there’s a reason the team’s players like being a part of it.
The Monarchs had their defense in motion Saturday, giving a young Methacton team a too-real lesson in a 58-18 win.
“Coach (Tom) Lonergan knows we’re long and athletic, so he’s fine with us going for steals as long as we rotate back,” guard Emilia Coleman said. “We’re having a lot of fun on court, no one’s worried if they make a mistake and being such an athletic team, playing out of our zone is so much fun.”
Coleman is a key cog in Gwynedd Mercy’s defensive operations, the 5-foot-10 sophomore spending most of the game shadowing Methacton junior Abby Arnold. While keeping the Warriors’ top player under lock, Coleman also managed 19 points plus five steals and two blocks. There was a little familiarity in the matchup as well, Coleman’s dad Bill coached Arnold as part of his Comets AAU roster over the summer.
Megan McDonnell, another of the Monarchs’ long-armed, quick-footed menaces, had three steals in the third quarter as GMA completely wrested control away with a 24-2 period. After a slow start the Monarchs felt their defense had come on a bit toward the end of the first half but they really turned it up to open the third quarter.
“In practice, we talked about how we have to continue talking on defense,” Coleman said. “Talking’s a big part, if we don’t talk, then we all get lost, then rotations, I think that really helped out today when we were switching the screens.”
Methacton dropped to 0-4 on the season, but it’s not like the Warriors have taken an easy path to get there. They’ve played four quality teams thus far and with only Arnold and fellow junior Jenna Kaufman the only ones coming back with any significant varsity experience, it wasn’t like growing pains were unexpected.
The Warriors started two sophomores and a freshman on Saturday and featured another freshman and sophomore among their bench players. Coach Craig Kaminski said right now, the focus is building good habits and consistency and while the record doesn’t show it, he’s seen progress with the group.
“We’re starting to see a lot of positive things,” Kaminski said. “We have to learn to play the same way in all four quarters. We’ll play one quarter well then go a different way but there are individual things, they may not be team things yet but we are starting to see certain players able to do certain things.”
Gwynedd Mercy graduated last year’s leading scorer in Hannah Griffin, now at Holy Cross, but brought plenty back. The Monarchs are currently without forward Dylan Burke, the senior captain sidelined with an injury the team is hopeful she’ll be back from sometime next month but are otherwise a year more experienced and more confident.
“Having another year under our belt definitely helped everyone,” Coleman said.
The Monarchs also like the depth in their team. Even with Burke and fellow senior Caroline Drakely out, GMA was able to stay level when guard Bailey Balkir picked up two early fouls in the first quarter. Freshman Allison Kallenbacher, who also plays flag football, was a spark off the bench with seven points and 10 rebounds and Brooke Evans hopped right in with three assists in the second quarter and a pair of baskets in the third.
“We’ve done a good job being on the offensive and defensive boards and that’s something Coach Lonergan was really targeting,” Coleman said. “I think we’re doing a pretty good job with that.”
Arnold, a quality shooter who thrived in a secondary role playing off Cassidy Kropp and Mairi Smith last year, knew a lot more was coming her way this season. She had a 30-point outing in the team’s second game of the season and Kaminski said the guard has done well in a leadership role so far.
The Warriors coach was confident the team will continue to get better as the season goes on.
“How do you get better at that? By being in that competition at a varsity level,” Kaminski said. “They’re in that role now and it’s going to take time. You prepare for each team but it’s more so now what can we control where some of our teams in the past, we prepared more for our opponent and with this group, we want to find things we can do to help ourselves first.”
Gwynedd Mercy 58, Methacton 18
Gwynedd Mercy 9 17 24 8 — 58
Methacton 4 8 2 4 — 18
Gwynedd Mercy: Emilia Coleman 19, Cara Lapp 9, Bailey Balkir 7, Allison Kallenbacher 7, Brooke Evans 4, Kayleigh Rose 3, Carli Amos 3, Megan McDonnell 2.
Methacton: Jenna Kaufman 6, Abby Masotta 4, Avery Kenney 2, Abby Arnold 2, Olivia Organtini 2, Lila Cingiser 2.
