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HAVERFORD — Garnet Valley and Haverford needed an overtime period to determine a winner when the teams met Dec. 19. This time around, the game was effectively out of reach after the first quarter.
Haverford held Garnet Valley to eight points in the opening half and cruised to a 48-34 win Thursday. The Fords took both games from the Jaguars in the regular season and now sit alone in second place in the Central League, with one more loss than Conestoga. The league tournament begins next week.
After sweeping the Jags and handing Conestoga its only loss, the Fords have every reason to believe they are destined to become back-to-back champions.
Junior forward Rian Dotsey scored nine of her game-high 18 points in the first quarter. Dotsey hit a baseline runner as time expired in the opening frame to extend Haverford’s lead to 15-3.
Senior guard Aniya Eberhart played with smooth quickness and court savvy that left the Jags searching for answers. The Millersville commit racked up 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one blocked. She was outstanding.
Haverford improved to 18-3 overall and 13-2 in the league. Garnet Valley fell to 17-3, 12-3.
“I think it’s our growth throughout the season,” Eberhart said. “It was early in the season when we played them, it was on their home court, and we were still learning from each other. We hadn’t played with each other that much. But tonight, you know, we were on our home court and the regular season is coming to an end. We are a very defensive team and that was a big difference tonight. And also we finished our shots. Our bigs Rian, Natalie (Wright) and Ashley (Wright) finished very well at the rim. Rebounding is a big thing and I thought we did very well with that, too. So, yeah … I just felt like we were ready this time.”
Rebounding, extending offensive possessions and running the floor on the Jaguars were key factors to Haverford’s success. The Fords led at the break, 25-8. Their defense stymied the Jaguars shooters all night. GV shot 2-of-20 from the floor and committed eight turnovers in the opening 16 minutes.
Haverford out-rebounded Garnet Valley, 20-10, in the first two periods. The Fords won the overall battle, 33-20
“I think we defended and rebounded very well,” Haverford coach Lauren Pellicane said. “I think we held them to one shot for most of the first eight minutes and we knocked down our shots. It was 9-0 before they scored, so I thought we came out well, we played cleanly and got good shots up. It gave us a comfortable lead that helped us keep going in that first 16 minutes.”
If not for Kylie Mulholland, the Jags would’ve been shut out on the scoreboard in the first half. The pesky guard, who played phenomenal defense all game even when the Jags were dead in the water, had all eight of GV’s first-half points. Mulholland ended with teams highs in points (16) and steals (five).
The Jags starting hitting their shots in the third quarter and chipped away at their sizable deficit. Freshman Addie Adamski drilled a 3-pointer to pull the Jags within 32-21, but the Fords responded with a 5-0 run, punctuated by an Eberhart layup. GV tried to press, but Haverford broke it time and again.
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Rian Dotsey, left, receives congratulations from her Haverford teammates during the Fords’ win over Garnet Valley Thursday night. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
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