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Girls Basketball: Tired Legs a Nonfactor Against Episcopal

By: Joe Cicchino - Sports Information Assistant

NEWTOWN SQUARE -- Germantown Academy's girls basketball team should be running on fumes right now. The team played three games in as many days when they traveled to Louisiana for the Sugar Bowl Classic, and barely got time to rest once they got back to Pennsylvania as they had an Inter-Ac League game on Jan. 8. However, the Patriots won that contest, 58-34 over Episcopal Academy, and took some lessons away from it as well.

"We're definitely fatigued," Rachel Balzer '19 said. "It's been a while since we had a day off, but it feels good. It's really just mind over matter at this point. We're a third of the way through the season. Now we know we can play when we're tired and we can push ourselves and each other to be better."

GA had depleted numbers when they took on Episcopal as Becca Booth '21 and Maddie Burns '20 were both sidelined. As a result, the Patriots turned to Lindsay Putnam '20. 

"She knows every position," Head Coach Sherri Retif said. "She'll do whatever you ask her. I'm happy to see her get the opportunity. I'm upset Becca's not there and Maddie's not there, but it's exciting to see her step in. She's just a great kid."

The first few minutes of the game were spent adjusting to the new starting lineup. The Patriots missed their first two shots and trailed 5-0 before Maddie Vizza '20 got them on the board with a three pointer. Over the final six minutes of the first quarter, Germantown Academy outscored its opponent 17-6. 

Defense flashed in the second quarter as the Patriots allowed only nine points to be scored. Twice in the frame the Churchwomen went without scoring for three minutes. While they were limiting their opponents the Patriots were showcasing their depth. Five different players scored in the quarter as GA led 33-20 at halftime. 

"We started off a little slow, but I think we picked it up," Balzer said. "Our defense turned into offense and we try to emphasize that a lot. We pushed the ball really well, passed the ball really well, I think overall we played a really good game."

The defense held strong through the intermission as the Patriots limited Episcopal to just 14 points in the second half. On the opposite end, GA scored points off of turnovers and in transition to pull away. 

Elle Stauffer '20 spearheaded the Patriot offense, recording her second straight 21-point game. Vizza matched her season-high points total with 11, while Jaye Haynes '20 and Balzer each had 10. 

Germantown Academy is now 14-0 on the season and 2-0 in league play. They take on The Baldwin School on Jan. 11 before competing against Archbishop Wood in the Lucas Showcase on Jan. 13. Before any of those games though, the Patriots will have some downtime.

"We have off tomorrow," Balzer said. "That put a smile on our faces."

  1 2 3 4 Final
Germantown Academy 20 13 11 14 58
Episcopal Academy 11 9 6 8 34

GA Stats

Name FG FT Made  3pt Made Pt Total
Elle Stauffer 8 5 0 21
Maddie Vizza 4 0 3 11
Jaye Haynes 5 0 0 10
Rachel Balzer 3 2 2 10
Sarah DiLello 1 0 1 3
Jess Moore 1 0 0 2
Charlotte DiLello 0 1 0 1