The members of the Garnet Valley girls basketball team are enjoying every moment of their unexpected success in the PIAA Class 6A tournament at Bensalem.
The Jaguars surprised everyone by winning 58-51 against North Penn at Bensalem High, with Haylie Adamski, Kylie Mulholland, and Emily Olsen leading the offense.
Though she didn’t score, Savannah Saunders made a significant impact as the Jags’ defensive star.
Saunders is always assigned to guard the opposing team’s best player and did well against North Penn’s dynamic senior guard Caleigh Sperling, limiting her to only 11 points.
Saunders, a junior small forward/guard, made it tough for the superstar Sperling and came away with three steals in the first quarter. Thanks to her, Garnet Valley didn’t have to worry much about Sperling.
“We knew she was one of the best players on their team, so we had to stop her somehow,” Saunders said.
Nobody on the Jaguars roster was surprised to see Saunders perform well against one of the best remaining players in the 6A tournament.
“We put her on the best kid every game and she comes through for us all the time,” Mulholland said.
Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods knows he can rely on Saunders to cause problems with her defense and made sure she knew that everyone believed in her on Friday.
“I do take a lot of pride in it and it’s a really good feeling when he says that,” Saunders said.
GV took an early lead in the first period due to exceptional team defense led by Saunders.
“She’s our defensive stopper,” Woods said. “It doesn’t matter their size, either, and she’s always matched up against the team’s top scorer. We knew that (Sperling) scored 30 against Haverford and we knew we would put Savannah on her. Savannah’s not the most outstanding offensive player, but we’ll take that defense every night. She could’ve had two or three offensive charges on that girl tonight. We have trust in Savannah, like with all of our girls, and they trust each other.”
Mulholland made two 3-pointers and Olsen provided seven points, three rebounds, and two steals in the first quarter. The Knights struggled shooting at the start.
North Penn reduced their largest deficit of 14 points in the second quarter and went into the locker room trailing by eight points at halftime. In the third quarter, Cameron Crowley, Olivia Stone, and Leah Mikulski each made a 3-pointer to bring the Knights within four points.
The Knights took the lead for the first time when Mikulski made a three-base hit early in the last part of the game. Mulholland drove to the basket to put the Jags back in the lead. Crowley scored to put the Knights back in the lead by one point, but Adamski responded with a 3-point shot. The Jags did not lose their lead after that.
Olsen dominated the area close to the basket and successfully made three free-throw attempts towards the end of the fourth quarter, helping the Jags secure the victory. She ended up with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.
“In the last game, I focused more on shooting, so I knew they would be more prepared if they watched that game footage. This made it easier for me to use my strength to drive and compete inside,” Olsen explained.
Mulholland had a great game leading the team and scored seven of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter. Adamski contributed 15 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.
Garnet Valley will face Spring-Ford in the state semifinals on Monday night at a location that is not biased towards any team.
“Once again, we are seen as the team with lower chances of winning,” Olsen remarked. “We keep defeating all these strong teams, so why can't we? Why not just go out there, give our best, and win the game.”
