Mandy and Maggie Show enjoying long run at Notre Dame

RADNOR — Academy of Notre Dame senior guards Mandy McGurk and Maggie Pina have shared the same court for years.

“We’ve been playing together since kindergarten, I think,” Pina said. “We just know what each other is doing at all times.”

Mandy played CYO ball for St. Simon and Jude in West Chester, and Maggie was a member of St. Patrick’s in Malvern. And they played together for the Comets Girls Basketball Club

“It goes pretty far back,” Mandy said.

Pina and McGurk went their separate ways in high school … for a short while. Pina spent her first two years at Archbishop Carroll before joining McGurk, who is a four-year starter with the Irish.

In the last two seasons, no other guard tandem in Delaware County has been more productive. McGurk and Pina have been two of the top scorers in the area ever since.

Aiding them, of course, is a lifelong friendship. Their chemistry on the hardwood is pretty undeniable.

“I think Maggie and I are complementary players to each other, so we feed off of each other’s individual game, which is kind of rare since we are both guards,” McGurk said. “It’s not like we’re a guard and a forward. I think we have a connection that, when one player is doing this, the other player is doing that. We just really work well together.”

It was only fitting that McGurk and Pina would reach the 1,000-point milestone this season. McGurk got there first, Jan. 4 against Baldwin School. Pina followed a few weeks later, Jan. 23 versus Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

“I had no idea that I was going to score 1,000 points this season. I always thought of it as a goal, even though it’s an individual goal. I just know that it involves so much of your teammates that it’s basically a team goal,” McGurk said. “Obviously, everyone puts forth effort toward it and I actually had no idea I was going to score it. I did know Maggie was going to score hers, though.”

Pina smiled and responded, “And I knew she was getting hers, too.”

McGurk and Pina were recently selected McDonald’s All-American nominees. Eight-hundred of the best players in the nation receive the nomination every year. Both Division I prospects, McGurk is a University of Penn basketball commit and Pina will continue her career at Boston University.

Other accolades include Markward Memorial Basketball Club honors and an invitation to participate in the All Star Labor Classic in April.

McGurk and Pina want to finish at Notre Dame on a high note. They have flourished under first-year coach Lauren Thomer, leading the Irish to a 13-5 record.

“There were growing pains in the beginning, but everyone eventually figured out their role in the game,” Pina said. “Everyone has been getting used to the new system.”

Notre Dame began the season with five consecutive wins. With the exception of a four-game losing streak in late-December, the Irish have played well on a pretty consistent basis.

“Coming off a strong ending last year, it helped to go into this year with a strong start,” McGurk said. “In the beginning it was a transition, obviously, but I think we’ve gotten into the flow of everything and we’re starting to mesh well together.”

Thomer said there was an adjustment to her style of coaching. Her players have had a difficult time getting accustomed to her brand of basketball, but she’s seen improvement.

“I think everyone is kind of taking Mandy and Maggie’s lead and we’re hitting our stride,” Thomer said. “It’s been a little bit of a transition just for them to have to learn a new system. We’re trying to be more defensive focused and, offensively, I’m more about transition, fast-pace, quick-hitters. They’re getting there. We put in a little bit of motion, which is what they’re used to and what they’re good at, so I’m still getting used to them, too.”

Thomer feels lucky to have inherited a team that included two excellent players in McGurk and Pina.

“I think any coach loves to have a point guard who can take over the game. On any given day, either one of them are going to be our leader in terms of

scoring,” Thomer said. “Just to have that level of comfort and trust is important. If we need a bucket, we know who to go to. Mandy, she takes command of most games and really knows how to control the tempo. That’s not an easy thing to learn. It’s nice to be able to rely on them. They see things sometimes that most players won’t. It’s nice to have what I call super veteran players, with high basketball IQs. Everyone follows their lead.”

For the most part, it’s been the Mandy & Maggie Show. McGurk has five games of scoring 20 points or more, Pina has four.

McGurk and Pina are the fourth-and fifth-ranked scorers in Delaware County. McGurk is averaging 17.7 points per game, while Pina is sitting at 15.1 ppg.

The Irish have two weeks left in the regular season before the start of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) tournament. They advanced to the championship game last year.

The Inter-Ac League title is out of the picture — the Irish suffered their second loss to vaunted Germantown Academy last week — but they hope to get another crack at the Patriots (20-1) in February.

“Maybe we’ll play them again (In the PAISSA tournament),” McGurk said. “It’s hard to beat a team three times in the same season.”