A Patriots host hoops scrimmage with Mount St. Joe Magic

by Tom Utescher
Posted 12/7/22

On their first day back after Thanksgiving weekend, the basketball players at Mount St. Joseph Academy made the short trip out to Germantown Academy for a preseason scrimmage.

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A Patriots host hoops scrimmage with Mount St. Joe Magic

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On their first day back after Thanksgiving weekend, the basketball players at Mount St. Joseph Academy made the short trip out to Germantown Academy for a preseason scrimmage.

The Mount had no seniors on its team last winter, and this year's roster is very similar to the 2021-22 line-up. GA lost several seniors and a few underclassmen from the previous season, but the Patriots have a lot of returning talent and the incoming freshmen were able to play with the squad during a summer league held at GA.

For the Mount Magic in 2021-22, the second half of the season did not go as well as the first. Mount St. Joe had a 5-6 record in the Catholic Academies regular season and lost to league champion Gwynedd Mercy in the

semifinals of the AACA tournament. Falling to another league ball club, Merion Mercy, in the first round of the District One tournament, the Mounties finished 10-14 overall.

While Mount St. Joe returns most of that team, two current seniors dropped basketball to focus on crew full-time. Among the 12th-graders returning are captains Georgia Pickett and Kiersten Pumilia, and high-scorer Lauren Hoffman.

The other seniors are Julia Donahue, Chloe McGrorty, and Carlie Shouldis, and the three juniors are third-year varsity player Emily Birmingham, Audrey Kukla, and Grace Schaenikow. Sophomore Addy Smith was the only freshman on varsity last year, and there is also one ninth-grader this year, Bridget Horgan.

Germantown Academy graduated two seniors from 2021-22, although one of them was injured before the season and did not play. Two other players on last year's original roster have transferred.

The Patriots have a solid presence in the post in 6'2" senior Kendall Bennett, who has signed with Binghamton University. A junior class with a lot of experience includes guards Izzy Casey and Sam Wade and twin sisters Jenna and Jessica Aponik.

There are also three sophomores who saw a lot of time last season, Gabby Bowes, Jessica Kolecki (injured earlier, but now back), and CeeJay Thomas, who gives the Patriots strength in the paint along with Bennett. The three freshmen who appear on the varsity roster are Addie Levensten, Anna Weber (both new students at GA), and Jennifer Fox.

For last week's scrimmage, the host Patriots started Jessica Aponik, Bennett, Bowes, Casey, and Wade, with Jenna Aponik, Kolecki, and Levensten making up the first group of subs. The Mount began with Hoffman, McGrorty, Pickett, Pumilia, and Smith, and Birmingham was first off the bench.

Germantown Academy went up by half-a-dozen points in the opening minutes, then the Mount pulled back within one, 13-12, with over two minutes remaining in the first period. There was a running scoreboard through four regulation eight-minute periods, then the score was zeroed out for an additional eight-minute stint. GA outscored the Magic in each frame, leading 65-39 at the end of 32 minutes and then winning the fifth round, 16-8.

AAU basketball commitments had kept Bennett from participating in the GA summer league, so early in last week's scrimmage the other Patriots had to adapt to having her back in the low post. The extended 40-minute trial run gave both teams the chance to give everyone adequate playing time.

GA had an advantage in the rebounding department, getting second and third chances to score on a number of possessions. The Mount made some nice interior passes, but too many times the Magic simply did not finish their lay-ups.

Both teams were scheduled to appear in tournaments over the weekend,      GA at a She Got Game event near Washington D.C., and the Mount in a tip-off tournament at Souderton High School.