January 17, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

GFS regroups for win over Hill School
by Justin Goldman

The Germantown Friends Girls basketball team finally had its entire cast of characters back in an impressive 57-45 over the Hill School on Monday afternoon at GFS. Freshman Julya Loder returned to action after spraining her ankle against Delco Christian School on December 8th. Though Loder was not much of a factor in the contest, just having her on the floor as a threat was paramount for the Tigers.

“Having everyone back was great,” said GFS head coach Tom Myran. “When you have your whole lineup, you can put kids in in areas that they can help you. I told Julya that she was a difference maker and a threat just being on the floor.”

After a close first three quarters, GFS broke the game open with two backbreaking threes on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter. After four straight free throws by the Rams cut the Tiger deficit to four, Tiger Shooting guard Nina Voith knocked down a three from the right wing off an out of bounds play and after getting a stop on the defensive end, Voith found point guard Shelby Tucker in the corner for another trey that put GFS up nine.

“Both plays were settled, in rhythm and good shots,” Myran said. “It’s a matter of getting a rhythm, taking your time and taking good shots which both girls did on those two plays.”

Tucker’s three found the bottom of the net with 2:41 remaining and the Tigers never looked back. Forward Marisol McKee put the icing on the cake when she put in a lay-up off of a missed foul shot to give GFS an insurmountable 55-44 lead with just over two minutes to go.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers turned up the defensive pressure, not allowing any good looks at the basket for the Rams. In the early going, the Hill School executed well offensively, but that was completely shut down as the game progressed. The Rams only had one field goal and seven points total in the fourth quarter which allowed the Tigers to cement another impressive victory.

“Defense is something that we have stressed all year,” Myran said. “That mentality definitely did not change in this game.”

With its full roster finally in tact, the Tigers wore down the Rams which is something that they have not been able to do due to the shortness of their bench. On Monday in the fourth quarter, there was no question as to who the fresher team was.

“Just being able to rotate people in and out makes things a lot easier,” Myran said. “For a while we’ve just had one or two players on the bench. Now with four or five I can use players where they are most effective.”

Even though the Tigers had such a strong finish to the contest, they could not avoid sloppy play in the early going. GFS actually was down 7-0 in the first quarter and turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions. After Myran called a timeout to settle his team down, the Tigers found a way to respond. After Tucker and Voith nailed back to back jumpers in the first quarter to tie the game at nine, it was evident that GFS would continuously impose its style of play on the Rams. The Tigers also had a difficult time matching up with forward Casey Downie who had her way down on the blocks, but they found a way to defend her in the second half by fronting the post and limiting her touches.

McKee continued her strong and relentless play in the paint, earning 17 hard, tough points on the afternoon. On several occasions she drove the ball on two and three bigger Hill defenders who were unable to stop her.

Tucker, Like McKee also had 17 points while Voith added 19.

Now, the Tigers turn their focus to Shipley School who they host this Friday night. GFS will be trying to avenge a 28 point loss to the Gators from a season ago. This game will definitely be a measuring stick game for the Tigers who are hungry and motivated.

“We have Shipley coming in, and it’s a big game, but it’s not as much about them as it is about us,” Myran said. “If we share the ball on offense and play the right defense, we should be fine.”

Despite a furious 14-0 run in the fourth quarter, the GFS girls came up just short against Shipley last Friday night. Point guard Shelby Tucker asserted herself offensively in the final period scoring 10 of her 16 points in that frame, but it was not enough to overcome the Gators who capitalized on runs of 13-0 and 10-0 in the contest.

GFS going scoreless in the final 2:30 seconds of the game, aided the Gators to a 60-54 victory.

“We just dug ourselves in too deep of a hole,” said GFS head coach Tom Myran.

Midway through the second quarter, Shipley began to assert themselves offensively and defensively. The Gators went on a 13-0 to end the period and go up 34-23 at the break. Briana Ross made a running three-pointer at the buzzer to cap off the blitz by the Gators. Shipley made six threes in the first half, many of them open as a result of defensive miscues by the Tigers.

“We didn’t play our zone as effectively and aggressively as we should have,” Myran said. “This was also the best team we have played perimeter wise all season and we didn’t do a good enough job getting to shooters.”

Shipley methodically added to its lead throughout the third period with center Alex Lennon starting to assert herself. The Tigers lost her on many pick-and-roll and isolation situations which led to easy baskets. The Gator lead grew to as big as 17 at one point before the Tigers whittled it to 13 going into the fourth quarter. Despite being down, coach Myran elected not to press the Gators until the fourth quarter.

“We haven’t been that good a pressing team all year,” he said. “We did a good job forcing turnovers in the half-court, and for every turnover we got on the press, we gave up a lay-up.”

GFS rolled up its sleeves for one last spurt. Tucker found her stroke and made two threes and a midrange jumper to cut Shipley’s lead to six, 55-49. The Tiger’s defense also stepped up, forcing many turnovers in the half court.

GFS had a chance to tie the game with two minutes left when senior forward Marisol McKee steeped to the line for two shots. McKee, who had another strong game, leading the team with 19 points failed to convert on either free throw which left a little breathing room for the Gators. With 1:24 to play Shipley shooting guard Alicia Fairfax nailed a jumper from the right wing to give the Gators a 58-54 lead.

After playing so well offensively for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, GFS could not muster any good shots in the final two minutes.

“They did a great job defensively,” Myran said. “We just couldn’t get the looks we wanted to at the end and we took a couple of bad shots.”

Shipley did an excellent job defending Nina Voith, the Tiger’s leading scorer. The Gators held her to just nine points and limited all of her looks from three-point range.

“They did a great job denying Nina the ball,” Myran said. “Luckily Shelby stepped up in the fourth quarter because we were struggling to score.”

Fairfax led all scorers with 22 points while Ross added 13 and Lennon put in 13 for the Gators.

The Tigers are now 1-1 in league play with a critical match-up against Academy of the New Church on Friday night.