GFS sophomore Cadence Kelly (#14) has her shot blocked by Friends Select's Hannah Seig (directly behind) while the Falcons' Rene Hart (left) also defends on the play. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

After an exhilarating win and a frustrating loss in Friends Schools League basketball competition, Germantown Friends routinely took care of business last Tuesday in a home court contest.

Both arriving and departing from GFS, the Falcons of Friends Select School were still looking for their first FSL victory of the season. With a brief surge of offense early in the second period, the Center City squad took a 14-13 lead, but the host Tigers were back up by four points at halftime and then took charge during an 18-6 third quarter.

With a 51-28 win, Germantown improved to 3-5 in league play and 10-6 overall.

Back on January 17, GFS defeated defending FSL champ Shipley School for the first time since 2006, 42-32. The following Friday, January 24, the Tigers were leading at George School but succumbed to a Cougars rally and lost in overtime, 34-28.

"We're putting ourselves in the conversation now," said fourth-year head coach Mike Lintulahti. "The next step is figuring out how to win close games down the stretch."

He cited several other league contests in which the Tigers let second-half leads slip away, observing, "We need to learn to put those away."

The Tigers outscored Shipley in the first quarter of their mid-January meeting, but had slipped behind by one point at halftime. They rallied for a 10-point victory after that, shooting 10-for-12 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Junior Desiree Norwood and sophomore Martina Kiewek, both guards, finished in double figures with 17 and 11 points, respectively. Sophomore Clare Meyer, a 6'2" post player, added six points, and sophomore Cadence Kelly and freshman Caroline Putnam scored four points apiece.

"GFS - Meyer"Tigers junior Clare Meyer goes up for a shot against Rene Hart of Friends Central. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

"Probably the biggest transformation this season is that the kids are buying into the idea that they can compete with anybody on our schedule," Lintulahti explained. "Our players have all been here since middle school, so they've been growing together and really building some chemistry."

Last Tuesday at GFS, a determined Friends Select squad was up by a point, 7-6, with three minutes left in the first quarter. A steal and breakaway lay-up by Kiewek sparked the GFS offense. After a free throw by Kelly and a drive by Norwood, Meyer banked in a short jumper to help Germantown end the period with a 13-7 advantage.

The Falcons didn't fade away, though. Hannah Seig scored on the inside and Sofia Rodriguez-Burno bagged a three-pointer from the left wing. When Rene Hart added a lay-up, the visitors edged ahead, 14-13.

Back-to-back buckets from the paint by Norwood revived the Tigers, but they still only led by two points as the half was about to end. Just before the buzzer, Meyer put in a lay-up to make it 22-18 at the break.

This time, the Falcons would not be able to come back. The Tigers' Kiewek poured in 10 of her 12 total points during the third quarter and Meyer, Norwood, and Kelly also found the basket during the period, extending the home team's lead to 16 points (40-24) for the start of the fourth quarter.

Meyer and Kelly combined for three consecutive field goals to begin the final frame, and the Tigers cruised home. Scoring in each quarter, Meyer posted a game-high 14 points, and Kiewek and Norwood each had a dozen. Kelly came away with nine points, and GFS received two points apiece from sophomore Allie Kratz and freshman Ndaia Blakney. Sieg and Hart each registered 10 points for Friends Select.

"Our goal this season, and our goal every season, is to be the most improved team in our league from the beginning of the year to the end," Linthulahti said.

He pointed out, "Another step forward for us, as a program, will be to have more players focused and committed out-of-season. We value multi-sport athletes here, but we're also happy to see kids who feel inspired to spend a little more time in the gym, and not have the skills and instincts they've developed diminish during the other eight or nine months of the year."