In girls’ basketball, Germantown Academy became the sole occupant of second place in the Inter-Ac League last Friday thanks to a 55-38 home court victory over Agnes Irwin School.

Both the GA Patriots and the visiting Irwin Owls came into the game with 5-2 records in league play, while undefeated defending champ Academy of Notre Dame remained atop the Inter-Ac standings. GA improved to 13-10 overall, while Irwin leveled off at 10-10. With Friday’s victory, the Patriots avenged a 52-41 loss at Agnes Irwin on Jan. 10.

The Patriots received double-digit scoring performances from junior Claire McKee (12 points), senior Sylvie Harrington (11), and sophomore Taylor Williams (10), while junior Emma Seckinger was close behind, with nine points for the afternoon. Freshman Milan Harvey led the Owls with 12 points.

Before the game, there was a ceremony recognizing Germantown Academy’s three seniors, Harrington, injured guard Jennifer Fox, and team manager Aubrey Daniel. Harrington and Fox will play college ball for Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall, respectively.

The starting lineup for the Owls included a player whose family has deep roots in Chestnut Hill, freshman forward Sophie Longstreth. She is the great-granddaughter of six-term Philadelphia City Councilman Thacher Longstreth.

After Irwin gained an early 4-2 lead, Williams tied it up with a transition layup assisted by McKee; then Williams added two more points from the foul line. McKee scored from the paint just after that for an 8-4 GA advantage.

Williams put in another field goal and freshman Liv Smith came off the bench to nail a three-pointer from the right wing. Near the end of the first quarter, a steal led to a breakaway layup for freshman point guard Sam Kollock, putting the Pats up 15-9.

During the second quarter, Harrington powered the GA offense with a layup in transition and a pair of three-pointers, but the period proved to be a 12-12 standoff, and the hosts still led by six points at halftime, 27-21. The Patriots bumped the lead up by one point in the third quarter, which ended with a 40-33 tally. Seckinger, who had not scored in the first half, found the hoop on a drive along the left baseline and later drained a “three” from the other side of the court. Harrington, McKee and Williams also scored during the third round, and freshman forward Chloe Armenakis contributed a point from the foul line.

With a free throw and a layup by Irwin freshman Bailey Perkins sandwiched around a basket by McKee, Germantown’s margin was back down to six points with two minutes elapsed in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots really stepped on the gas after that. Starting with a transition layup by Williams, the hosts embarked on a 13-2 run that took up the last five-and-a-half minutes of the game.

McKee and junior center Jo Owens also scored from the paint, Seckinger put up four points, and Kollock knocked down a three. A stronger effort at the defensive end also contributed to the GA surge.

As seen in other match-ups with challenging opponents this season, the Germantown girls didn’t really hit their stride until late in the game. However, unlike some of those earlier contests, the Patriots led most of the way instead of developing a daunting deficit.

Next up, GA would explore the upper and lower reaches of the Inter-Ac during the first week of February, playing at home against last-place Baldwin School and then going on the road Feb. 6 to face league leader Notre Dame.