February 21, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

GA girls finish with a flourish
by TOM UTESCHER

GA’s Maggie Lucas takes a foul shot. For more photos visit www.chlocalphotos.com. (Photos by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

After getting off to a shaky 2-3 start in the 2007-2008 basketball season, the girls of Germantown Academy ended up on firm footing, easily winning their 10th straight Girls Inter-Ac League championship and turning in a final record of 22-8 after playing a variety of tough non-league opponents from the Philadelphia region and from out-of-state.

Over the last few weeks of the season, the Patriots cruised past longtime league rival Notre Dame twice (64-39 and 57-37), and captured a 52-40 victory over Archbishop Carroll, always a respected rival.

In their February 7 encounter, GA and Carroll were locked up at 15-all after the initial eight minutes, but intensified defense allowed Germantown to win the second stanza, 17-3, laying the foundation for victory. Holding sharpshooting Carroll sisters Kerri and Erin Shields to nine and eight points, respectively, GA received 18 and 13 points from sophomores Maggie Lucas and Tory Theirolf, seven from freshman Alexa Gallagher, and six apiece from juniors Jesse Carey and Laura Karbach.

A week later came Germantown’s second encounter with Notre Dame. Even with the Agnes Irwin Owls remaining on the schedule, a win in the rematch with the Irish would clinch the Inter-Ac title for the Patriots, who would still be unbeaten in the league while their colleagues all had two or more losses.

Talented junior guard Devon Kane, who’d been out of action for the Irish with a knee injury in the first GA game, was back in action last Thursday, but now Notre Dame was missing senior standout Katie Kuester (broken foot).

Managing just two field goals over the first 11 minutes, visiting NDA fell behind 21-8, and never really got back into the game. By the end of the third quarter, when GA was up 49-19, the Irish had made just six of 27 shots from the floor.

The Pats coasted to a 20-point win, ending up with 18 points and five assists from Carey, 13 points from Lucas, seven points from freshman Monica Schacker, and six points, seven rebounds, three steals, and three blocks from Theirolf. Kane had 11 points and Meghan McCullough had nine in the losing cause.

The Irwin game had been rescheduled from Tuesday due to a winter storm, and was played at GA on Friday morning as many schools were taking a four-day President’s Weekend. The Pats went up 19-6 in the first frame and never looked back, winning 47-17 with nine points from Gallagher, eight from Carey, seven each from Schacker and Theirolf, and six from junior Jess Erb. Nancy Cockman scored five points and Lexi Kelly had four for the Owls.

With University of Connecticut recruit Caroline Doty now in her senior year, and with younger stars such as Carey and Lucas in the line-up, GA had assembled an industrial-strength schedule for the 2007-2008 campaign. Among the formidable opponents were Delaware power Ursuline Academy, New Jersey’s Peddie School, Our Lady of Good Counsel from Maryland, and a powerful Philadelphia Catholic League triumvirate consisting of Carroll, Archbishop Wood, and Cardinal O’Hara.

When Doty went down with a knee injury during soccer season, and another senior guard opted not to play basketball, the Patriots suddenly became a much younger team, routinely starting two sophomores (Lucas and Theirolf) and a ninth-grader (Gallagher). Carey and power forward Bri Cowden, the team’s lone healthy senior, were the other starters.

Aside from the fact that the missing Doty had formerly led the team in almost every key statistical category, GA coach Sherri Retif noted, “her passionate love for the game was contagious on the court, and you could feel that was missing early in the year.

“When you have a void like that,” she went on, “it takes time to rebuild the chemistry and trust your teammates. I thought that Bri and Jesse (the team’s other tri-captains) both stepped up with their physical defensive game and with their communicating on the court, and we built from there.”

Carey concurred, “We’ve taken some big strides since where we were at the beginning. The chemistry just comes with playing together. I was definitely more vocal, but that’s part of my job. As a point guard you’re the leader of the team no matter what. I also think Bri and Maggie and Alexa were all more vocal out on the floor.”

Although Notre Dame struggled with injuries throughout the year, too, it was still satisfying for the GA girls to sweep the season series with the Irish and go undefeated in the Inter-Ac once more. Out of the league, a victory against the last high-profile rival on the docket was also gratifying for the Patriots.

“The Carroll game was an awesome win for us,” Carey said, “because we had a tough year and we probably played the best schedule since I’ve been here.”

“It was nice to end our non-league games with a win like that,” agreed Lucas, “because it was a game where the whole team just played great.”

Although the graduating Cowden will be missing out on the court next season, the Patriots have, for practical purposes, already weathered the loss of Doty. Young players picked up even more experience than they would have otherwise, and next winter GA should prove a formidable foe indeed.