Germantown Academy felled by Rock North

 

by TOM UTESCHER

Playing with a relatively young crew last Monday evening, Germantown Academy suffered its first loss in summer league basketball, bowing to Council Rock North, 33-29.

Rock looked sharp, playing smart, aggressive ball at both ends of the court against a Patriots squad that was missing two regular starters. Jesse Carey was off playing with her AAU team, and Caroline Doty was participating in a showcase tournament at Penn State. This reduced the GA squad to a total of eight players, three of them incoming freshmen.

The Pats proved foul-prone on defense, putting Council Rock into the double bonus in each half, and the Indians wound up shooting 14-for-21 from the free throw line, while Germantown was five-for-nine.

Jenna Washabaugh (seven points total) and Lindsay Freid (eight points) hit early lay-ups and Freid added a three-pointer to get the Patriots off to a 7-2 start, but Rock North caught up at 9-9 midway through the period and then went ahead for good with two free throws and a basket from the paint. Fouled at the buzzer, GA’s Bri Cowden (four points) made both of her free throws to send the Pats into halftime down by three points, 19-16.

Freid drove in to score at the beginning of the second frame to make it a one-point game, but the Indians answered with a trey and Germantown was never able to recapture the lead. Council Rock was up 29-21 with under seven minutes remaining, but GA made one last run. Jess Erb (five points) started it with a three-pointer from the top of the key, then Colleen Magarity passed the ball inside to Washabaugh for a lay-up, and Freid sank one of two free throws to make it 29-27 with two minutes left.

Down the stretch, Council Rock got into the double bonus and shot four-for-four from the line, stretching the lead to six points before a Washabaugh basket in the final seconds set the margin at four. Magarity and Meredith Carber each contributed a field goal for the Patriots and Laura Karbach added a free throw.