December 22, 2005 Issue                                                 

©2005 The Chestnut Hill Local

GA girls come of age against Peddie
by TOM UTESCHER

GA’s Jesse Carey blocks her visiting oponent.

Recording a game-high 16 points along with six assists and three rebounds, the ninth-grader helped lead the host Patriots (6-2) to an impressive 54-34 victory over the well-respected Falcons (2-2). This was at least some consolation to Carey’s sister Devon, a Peddie senior who suffered a season-ending knee injury at the beginning of the month.

GA’s Caroline Doty scored 14 points and Lindsay Freid fired in 13 to give balance to a Patriot offense that produced seven three-pointers during the contest. On defense, Germantown limited Peddie’s Bridget Mitchell, a Duke University signee, to 11 points on the night. This was a focused, team-oriented effort in the best sense of the term, and a significant achievement for a young GA team that includes just one senior and two juniors.

“It’s fun to see them maturing and growing together,” said Patriots coach Sherri Retif. “We knew this would be a tough challenge for us, but tonight they were complementing each other so well out there, and settling into their roles. I’m really pleased.”

The match-up occurred on the second night of GA’s Make-A-Wish Tournament (benefiting the foundation of the same name), an annual event in which all the games are pre-scheduled, instead of bracketed. On Friday, Peddie knocked off Kennedy-Kenrick, 73-25, while GA notched a 45-31 win over Archbishop Ryan, which went on to beat Haverford High School on Saturday afternoon, 36-26.

Depleted by early-season injuries, Ryan only dressed eight players for Friday night’s game, but in the first half the Ragdolls proved to be scrappy rivals for a GA team that seemed to be thinking ahead to the following night’s encounter with Peddie.

Elusive guard Erica Fulforth slipped inside for lay-ups (she led all scorers at halftime with ten points) and Ryan’s relatively small post players rebounded well. In addition, the visitors shot six-for-six at the foul line in the opening quarter, and held a 12-9 lead at the end of the period. GA would commit nine personal fouls in the first two quarters.

Nine points from Doty in the opening half helped GA pull ahead during the second quarter, but with a minute to go Ryan was just two points behind, at 18-16. The Patriots finally asserted themselves, tightening up their game on both offense and defense while avoiding further foul trouble.

At the end of the half, a three-pointer from the keytop by freshman Laura Karbach ignited a 22-4 Patriot outburst that extended into the second minute of the fourth quarter and thrust the hosts ahead, 40-20. Doty and Colleen Magarity also targeted treys during the spree, which included a pair of lay-ups by Freid and additional scoring from Jenna Washabaugh, Carey, Bri Cowden, and Torie Machikas.

With less than three minutes to go Germantown was up 45-26, then Ryan scored the last five points of the contest against the GA reserves. Doty finished with a double-double (14 points, ten rebounds), and also had four assists and two steals, while Freid and Carey scored seven points apiece and Washabaugh booked six points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Fulforth scored 13 points in the losing cause, and Ayssa Wunder (four points) and Kim Hollawell each pulled eight rebounds for the Ragdolls.

On Saturday, early three-pointers by Doty and Carey helped give Germantown a 14-11 edge at the end of the first quarter, but the second frame began with a lay-up by Peddie’s Mitchell, the quick 6’2 forward who’d led the Falcons to victory over GA in last year’s tournament.

After disappointing losses to Cardinal O’Hara and Archbishop Wood so far this season, the Patriots were looking to make a statement, and here’s where they began. Jumpers by Doty and Carey started an 18-1 run for the hosts, and it continued with back-to-back three-pointers by Freid. Carey and Cowden each hit a trey, as well, and the Falcons were forced out of their zone defense. GA was sitting on a 32-14 cushion at halftime.

Just before the horn, the visitors lost starting guard Ria Zanetich for the game when she collided with Carey. The GA freshman, honoring her sister by wearing a small number four on her regular number three jersey, led all scorers at the break with a dozen points.

After her bucket at the start of the second period, Peddie’s Mitchell would hit just two field goals the rest of the night.

“We wanted to collapse on her, but we also wanted to put a lot of pressure on the ball so they had to start their offense at midcourt,” GA’s Retif explained. “We were able to do that, and that pulled [Mitchell] off the blocks and out to the top of the key, and Jenna [Washabaugh] was able to contain her out there. Bri [Cowden] also came in and played excellent defense, so we didn’t lose anything when Jenna had to come out of the game.”

Washabaugh and Cowden each grabbed seven rebounds and scored four and three points, respectively, while Magarity played hard-nosed open-court defense all night long and also helped initiate the transition offense, winding up with seven assists and three steals.

Over the first three minutes of the third quarter five-for-five foulshooting by the Falcons helped close the gap to 13 points (34-21), then Doty led a counterattack that sent the Patriots into the final frame with a 43-21 lead. GA cruised to the finish line, with its last two field goals coming from reserves Meredith Carber and Tiana North.