Girls Basketball: Underclassmen carry Garnet Valley to Central crown

NEWTOWN SQUARE >> If you had told Garnet Valley girls basketball coach Joe Woods that his senior floor leader, Maddie Ireland, would not get a field goal in the Central League championship game at Marple Newtown High Monday night, he might have expressed more than a little concern.

Ireland finished with seven points, all from the foul line, including six in the fourth period. What made a big difference for the Jaguars in their 53-36 victory over Springfield was the play of sophomore Nicole Barnes, freshmen Brianne Borcky and Emily McAteer, and junior reserve Sydney Fail. With the win, Garnet Valley (21-3) earned its third consecutive Central League title and will enter the district playoffs as the No. 3 seed. Springfield (18-5), which handed the Jags their lone league loss, is seeded ninth in the Class AAAA district tournament.

Barnes scored GV’s first seven points and shot 5-for-5, including a 3-pointer, from the floor in the opening period for 11 of the Jags’ 16 points. “They were face-guarding me,” said Ireland, who totaled seven points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal. “So it was really what we needed having Nicole step up like she did.

“We changed up our defense on them from the last time. It was great going up that ladder (to cut down the nets after the game) for the third time. Now we have to do something about getting to states and getting past that first game then.”

Barnes missed the only two shots she took in the second half and made one free throw to bring her point total to 12. She also had five steals and added an assist. “We were just working together better than the last time we played them,” Barnes said. “The way they were guarding (Ireland), we knew we’d have someone open. I had some open shots, and I was making them.”

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The Garnet Valley girls basketball team celebrates after winning the Central League Championship, 53-36 over Springfield Monday night. (Digital First Media/Robert J. Gurecki)