Great Valley battles its way to win over Kennett

EAST WHITELAND >> Great Valley’s 38-33 hard-fought win against youthful Kennett Friday evening featured two girls’ basketball squads that are, currently, each a work in progress.

The Patriots, coming off a 23-5 record and a District 1 championship final appearance last year, lost standout Tessa Liberatoscioli to graduation last spring, and came into Friday’s game with a 1-2 record this season.

Friday evening, the host Patriots fell behind 8-2 early in the second quarter but battled back to take the lead midway through the second period and never fell behind again.

“This was a game we had to fight to win,” said Great Valley head coach Alex Venarchik. “We kept our focus, kept our composure and continued to defend throughout the game. It was a small step for us today, but a step in the right direction, which is what we wanted coming into tonight.

“We’ve got a new identity this season – we’ve got a lot of the same kids from last year, but it’s a totally different team concept and team chemistry. So we’re trying to find those things out quickly.”

Kennett (2-3) held an 8-2 lead early in the second quarter, working up a 5-0 run on a steal and drive to the basket by freshman guard Mary Carroll, then a trey from the left side by freshman guard Greta Burns.

Great Valley quickly bounced back from the 8-2 deficit. Patriot senior forward Emma DeRobertis nailed a field goal from the left corner, then, following a Kennett missed shot underneath, senior guard Emily DuPont hit a trey from the right side. Following a fight for a loose ball that Great Valley won, sophomore guard Ashley Sullivan worked her way inside for a basket to give the hosts a 9-8 lead. From that point on, the Patriots never trailed again.

DuPont tallied seven points in the second quarter as the hosts built a 20-16 halftime lead.

“Emily came through for us big time in the first half,” said Venarchik. “When Kennett went to a box-and-one with her in the third quarter, she worked set screens and we continued to move the ball, and some other kids stepped up for us.

“We’re improving offensively. We had better ball movement today than we’ve had in previous games this season, in attacking the paint with either a pass or a dribble. We got some good looks on offense today.”

Meanwhile, Kennett, a team that is starting three freshmen and a sophomore, continued to hang close to the Patriots for the rest of the game, a solid accomplishment for a young team looking for a fresh start after psoting a 3-18 record last year.

“Our three freshmen [Mia Matthews, Burns, Carroll] are learning on the fly, and so is our sophomore [Makayla Kelly]” said Kennett head coach Vince Cattano. “They’re going up against more experienced kids, and we’re similar to Great Valley in that we had no off-season this summer, no fall league, we didn’t see the players until January. And now we have issues with gym space and gym time [due to the COVID pandemic]. They’re all playing hard, and learning on the fly.

“While we need to improve offensively, our players played aggressively on defense today, a controlled aggression – they’re not flying out of control, giving up easy baskets. They were learning the right time to be aggressive and noticing when to put some defensive pressure on, and knowing when to back off, because it has to be a combination of both.

“We put that box-and-one in the third quarter, and it helped us – we’ve never done that before. We’re putting stuff out there, and it’s almost like a practice, we’re trying to fix it on the fly. And our kids are responding and playing well.”

Late in the third quarter, Great Valley intercepted a Kennett pass, and junior forward Gia Sioutis followed it up with a quick basket to give the Patriots a 26-21 at the end of the third quarter.

A putback by Sioutis and a field goal underneath by junior forward Gracen Curley gave the host a 30-23 lead early in the fourth quarter, as the Patriots’ defense held Kennett to just five third-quarter points.

“I think we played better defense today, finishing more of Kennett’s possessions with either a turnover or a rebound,” said Venarchik. “We communicated as a team better than in our previous games this season, and we kept Kennett out of the paint.”

The Blue Demons did not quit, rallying when senior Ellie Matthews (who led all scorers with 12 points) hit a couple of treys, the second three-pointer tying the score at 31-31 with 3:07 to play.

Sullivan then drove in for a basket to give Great Valley a 33-31 lead, then the Patriots tipped, and intercepted, a Kennett pass, followed by a drive by DeRobertis to give the hosts a 35-31 lead with a minute left.

Mia Matthews was fouled with 32 seconds left, and made both free throws to cut Great Valley’s lead to 35-33; then with 15.7 seconds left, DuPont was fouled, and made both ends of a one-and-one to give the Patriots a 37-33 advantage. A free throw by senior Sarah Flynn with six seconds left completed the scoring.

DuPont, DeRobertis and Sullivan combined for 26 of Great Valley’s 38 points. For Kennett, Ellie Matthews scored 12 points and Kelly tallied nine.

Cattano said, “After the game, I told our kids to keep grinding, that it’s not going to be easy; close losses like this sting, but you learn from it and you move on. We talked about the value of our underclassmen experiencing that, and hopefully turning it into a brighter future.”

Great Valley 38, Kennett 33

Kennett 5 11 5 12 – 33

Great Valley 2 18 6 12 – 38

Kennett (33): Carroll 1 0-0 2, Ebaugh 0 0-0 0, Holt 0 0-0 0, Lindner 0 0-0 0, Burns 2 0-0 5, E. Matthews 4 1-2 12, Kelly 4 0-0 9, Kosara 0 0-0 0, M. Matthews 1 3-6 5, Harper 0 0-0 0, Totals 12 4-8 33.

Great Valley (38): Flynn 0 1-2 1, DeRobertis 4 1-4 9, Sullivan 4 0-4 8, DuPont 3 2-2 9, Sioutis 2 0-0 4, Dill 0 0-0 0, Lum 1 0-1 2, Curley 2 0-0 5, Totals 16 4-13 38.

Three-point goals: Burns, E. Matthews 3, Kelly, DuPont, Curley.