McAteer, determined Garnet Valley fashion quarterfinal comeback

NORRISTOWN — Garnet Valley had one quarter to figure everything out.

Council Rock North’s run-and-gun offense had left the District 1 champion Jaguars catching their breath for three periods Friday night at Norristown Area High School. They were getting beaten down the floor. The fifth option in CR North’s offense was cutting to the basket uncontested and scoring.

On the other side of the court, GV had put up eight points in the third quarter. A 3-for-10 shooting effort from the floor wasn’t good enough. The District 1 champion Jags trailed the District 1 seventh-place finisher by seven points.

But it almost felt like an insurmountable deficit.

Garnet Valley, a team consisting of five senior starters, didn’t panic, even when the Jags were frustrated to the point of screaming. That’s what guard Morgan Falcone nearly did when she was clearly hacked in the process of shooting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that fell short.

“I think, once we got into the fourth, it really hit us that this could be our last game,” senior forward Madi McKee said. “At that point we said, ‘OK, we need this.’ So we gave it our best.”

Garnet Valley tightened up its defense and forced five turnovers in the final period. Emily McAteer, the leading scorer in school history, scored on a layup to give the Jags a one-point lead and from there they held on to win, 47-45.

The Jaguars advance to the Class 6A state semifinal round to take on Neshaminy in a rematch of the District 1 championship game.

This win said so much about the heart and grit of coach Joe Woods’ club. Even when it appeared they were dead in the water, the Jags didn’t stop the fight. They needed to play eight spectacular minutes and did just that.

The Indians (21-7) scored 18 points in the third quarter, but the Jaguars (28-1) held them to just two points in the final eight, with no field goals.

“I think we all knew that we didn’t want to go home like this,” said McAteer, who got four big rebounds to go with her four huge points in the fourth period. “We pretty much wanted to do it all for the seniors and come out with a win. We wanted to make Garnet Valley history, pretty much.”

And they will have a chance to make more history Monday night at a site and time to be determined. The Jags are one win away from playing for a state title in Hershey next weekend.

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Garnet Valley’s Morgan Falcone, left, and Jillian Nagy start the celebration Friday after Garnet Valley literally held on to a 47-45 win over Council Rock North in a state quarterfinal game at Norristown Area High School.