McKee shows she’s pretty good at her ‘other’ sport in Garnet Valley’s OT win

CONCORD — There’s no doubt that Madi McKee would make a very good college basketball player.

Blessed with size and athleticism, the Garnet Valley senior forward will play lacrosse at La Salle University beginning in the spring of 2020. Lacrosse is her main sport.

By her admission, though, McKee has pondered the idea of extending her hoops career. It’s not a crazy thought.

“I’ve been thinking about it recently,” she said with a smile.

McKee’s teammates have encouraged her not to give up basketball. And it’s hard to blame them. Time and again, McKee has performed extremely well for coach Joe Woods’ basketball team the last two seasons.

“I tell her that all the time,” Loyola-bound senior forward Emily McAteer said. “She’s going to La Salle, but I’ve told her, ‘You could totally make the La Salle basketball team if you tried.’ It’s what I tell her all the time, just because of her skills and she is so athletic. She can be such a good player.”

Unfortunately, the basketball and lacrosse seasons overlap in college, which makes playing both sports impossible. And if these next few weeks are it for McKee’s career on the hardwood, she is going out with a bang. In a critical Central League contest Thursday night, McKee was the saving grace for the Jags. She cleaned up a slew of missed shots and made six baskets for a team-high 13 points in a 44-40 overtime victory over Haverford on Thursday.

With the victory, Garnet Valley (21-1, 16-0) completed an undefeated run in the Central League and earned a bye to the conference final Monday night at Harriton. Meanwhile, Haverford clinched the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and will play second-seeded Springfield in the semifinals at 1 o’clock Saturday afternoon at Marple Newtown High School. It’s not entirely impossible the Jags will see the Fords for a third time this season.

“The last time we played Haverford, we knew we didn’t play our best so we definitely wanted to come out with the same intensity as we did against Springfield because we know we played a lot better in that game,” said McKee, who gobbled up 19 rebounds and had a pair of steals. “In the beginning, we had a couple of little rough patches but we were able to win the game. It definitely felt like a playoff game.”

Garnet Valley and Haverford both had trouble establishing any sort of rhythm on the offensive end in the first half. The teams combined to shoot a putrid 10-for-49 and, well, it wasn’t pretty. While McKee was doing her part, Haverford, by and large, was the aggressor. The Fords got a handful of offensive boards to extend drives, while the Jags struggled to hit from high percentage areas. Haverford senior guard Erin Doherty banked a 3-pointer to put Haverford ahead 13-8 late in the second quarter. It was the Fords’ largest lead of the night.

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Garnet Valley’s Madi McKee shoots in overtime of the Jaguars’ 44-40 victory against Haverford Thursday. McKee had 13 points and 19 rebounds in the win.