Girls Basketball: Springfield puts an end to Garnet Valley’s Central League streak

SPRINGFIELD >> Prior to coaching Springfield’s Central League home game Tuesday night, Ky McNichol stopped by Academy of Notre Dame in Radnor to visit her mother, Mary Beth, who was being honored for 25 years coaching Irish basketball.

“I gave her a quick hug and — this is how great my mom is — she said, ‘Thanks for coming, now go beat Garnet Valley,’” McNichol said.

She didn’t let her mom down. The Cougars, who won just six games a season ago, did something that no team in the Central League had accomplished since February 2013. They defeated Garnet Valley, 50-37. As sweet as it was for Ky McNichol, a second-year varsity head coach who earned her stripes with the AAU Comets, she would be the first to tell you it’s about her players, who erased an eight-point halftime deficit with stingy defense and clutch shooting down the stretch.

“It’s what I always tell them: Believe in you, believe in us,” she said.

Including playoff games, Garnet Valley had won 38 consecutive games against Central League opponents. That streak ended Tuesday night.

“It’s what the coaches said to us at halftime, that they believe in us so much,” said junior Maggie O’Connell, who played a strong all-around game with eight points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal. “We have wanted to beat Garnet Valley for so long. They’ve been an undefeated team since 2013, and it’s a big accomplishment. I think everyone really played their hardest and the 1-3-1 defense really helped us out.” A 5-0 burst to begin the third quarter put the Cougars (4-2, 4-1) in motion.

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Kylynn McNichol directs Springfield during her first year as the head coach last season when the Cougars won only six games. Tuesday night, the second-year coach watched the Cougars beat Garnet Valley, 50-37, handing the Jaguars their first loss in a Central League game in nearly three years. (Times File Photo)