Girls Basketball: Garnet Valley ready to do some work in district playoffs

Going into its District Class AAAA tournament opener against No. 31 Council Rock North, No. 2 Garnet Valley is as hot as any team in the area

With the exception of a late-December loss to West Chester Rustin, the Jaguars have been unbeatable this season. And they like the idea of spending the next month chasing a District One and PIAA title.

“We remember what last year was like, how fun that was,’ said junior Jordan Ireland shortly after the Jaguars defeated Ridley to win the Central League title Tuesday night. “We got to states last year (and) we think we can go far this year.’

Pointing to senior forward and co-captain Haley Warden, Ireland mentioned how Warden had to delay her junior lacrosse season last spring. Warden is an accomplished lacrosse player and will attend James Madison to continue her career in the sport. It’s not just Warden whose spring plans could be (happily) delayed. Sophomore starting guard Sam Tomasetti plans to miss the start of softball practice.

While some Jags wouldn’t consider basketball their top sport, Garnet Valley is loaded with more talented and versatile female athletes than perhaps ever before.

Over the last decade, from the now-defunct Southern Chester County League to the Central League, girls basketball has made great strides under longtime coach Joe Woods.

“This is my 11th year, and when I took over the program it was really, really down,’ Woods said. “We were in the SCCL and then we got into the Central League five, six years ago. We made the (district) playoffs last year and should have made the playoffs the year before, but the crazy tiebreaker stuff kept us out. We’ve been going in that direction for a few years now.

“There’s a commitment from the players and creating an atmosphere where we want to be competitive, but we also want to have fun. We have kids come out, and a lot of my players are multi-sport players, like Haley Warden. I’ve got a couple two- and three-sport athletes. Basketball isn’t their No. 1 sport, but they still want to come out and play.’

Barring postponements, Garnet Valley’s first-round game against Council Rock North is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m, while Ridley and Penn Wood (see below) tip off at 6. The rest of the slate is scheduled for Saturday, weather permitting. The District One Class AAA, AA and A tournaments begin next week.

In other District One Class AAAA first-round action:

(24) Conestoga at (9) Ridley

The Green Raiders vowed to quickly get over the loss to Garnet Valley and shift their focus to a district title.

The players got the message, loud and clear.

“We talked about how we’ve worked so hard this season,’ coach Jamie Haigh said, following Tuesday’s Central League championship game. “Obviously, we’re not satisfied losing this game and we came here to win the championship. But we said we have to re-focus for districts and we have to play better on Saturday.’

Bree Mulhern and Marykate Rumbaugh, the Green Raiders’ one-two punch on offense, are averaging 13.0 and 12.4 points per game, respectively. Ridley went 1-1 against the Pioneers during the regular season.

(25) Haverford at (8) Bishop Shanahan

The Fords are back in the District One playoffs after a one-year hiatus. After a miserable 2012-13 campaign, the Fords went 13-8 under second-year coach Bridget DiCave, and were applauded for giving Garnet Valley a pair of tough games. Junior Rosie O’Halloran is averaging 14.0 points over the last five games.

(23) Strath Haven at (10) Neshaminy

The Panthers capped a 14-win regular season with two straight wins last week. They would have qualified for the Central League playoffs as a No. 4 seed had Garnet Valley not gone undefeated. Strath Haven, which has won double-digit games in both seasons under second-year coach Patrick Keaveney, is built on size. Senior forward Bridget Scott and sophomore Rachel Vresilovic provide matchup problems for opposing teams.

Neshaminy is the two-time defending SOL National champion after going 17-3 overall and 13-1 against league competition.

Garnet Valley's Jordan Ireland goes up for a lay-up during the team's win over Ridley in the Central League title game. Ireland and co-captain Haley Warden would like to make another run at the state title this year. (Times Staff/ROBERT J. GURECKI)