Beyond the Arc with Kate Harman:
Duo of Ingram and Jones look to return to Hershey
By: Kate Harman
“We’re not supposed to be here,” Jabria Ingram said, matter of factly, referring to the Neumann-Goretti girls’ basketball team’s position as one of the final four teams left in the PIAA Class 3A state tournament.
The senior guard will be the first to tell you that – and she’s sincere when she says it.
Junior forward, Tatiana Jones, agrees. As does head coach, Andrea Peterson.
The group knows saying it out loud may make someone turn their head in a quizzical fashion, that it may sound a little silly, considering the recent history of the Saints – which includes four consecutive state championship appearances and three straight titles.
The comment may seem odder when you consider that Ingram has gone 103-13 in a N-G uniform and has always found herself on the floor for the Saints during the third week in March.
“We aren’t the underdogs, we know that,” Peterson said. “But we aren’t the same teams we've had in the past – we have to work harder now – work, work, work. It hasn’t been as easy.”
The teams she’s talking about ran over opponents, dominated for 32-minutes, imposed their will upon them.
They scored 80-plus point a contest, held challengers to 40 or fewer.
Those teams had players like Ciani Cryor – now at Rutgers – and Alisha Kebbe, at St. John’s. There was Kamiah Smalls, who won Colonial Athletic Association Freshman of the Year at James Madison, Ole Miss' Chyna Nixon, and Sianni Martin, now at Central Florida.
Lucky for Ingram, those players are the ones she had the opportunity to learn from.
Luckier for Goretti, Ingram is a quick study.
“Throughout the years, watching former teammates, they’ve helped me grow. From watching them, I took certain pieces from them and that helped me become a better player,” Ingram, who was named the Catholic League Most Valuable Player this season, said. “It has helped me to lead these guys.
“We don’t have as much talent as before,” the Hartford recruit added. “So now we have different roles. We all play our roles. We have to do that or else we aren’t successful.”
For Ingram and Jones, that means leading the way on offense, as the duo are the only starters who returned this season and have really started to gel together. For Ingram, it also means a large leadership role – one she shares with her classmates, Angel Ricks and Dajiah Parmley.
On the court, Ingram is the facilitator – a role she grew into by watching the point guards before her.
“I learned to be patient with the offense,” she said. “To see what the defense gives you, to not to force anything, take your time.”
As for Jones, she’s a force in the paint – a role accentuated by her added body control this season.
“She’s come a long way. She’s one of those kids that you just have to love,” Peterson said. “She’s so sweet, does what I ask her to do, always gets what she has to do done, and is the first one to ask if I need anything. I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to coach her.
“She’s a gym rat now,” the coach continued. “She’ll be in the gym over the summer at 8 o’clock in the morning and she won’t leave until 5 or 6. I think that maturity has taken her there now. Before she used to just come and go, but not anymore – she’s digging in. She’s a high Division I athlete and she’s going to be an unbelievable player for somebody, some day.”
Right now, Ingram and Jones are unbelievable players for the Saints.
But, last year still weighs on the pair, as they combined for only 12 points in the state championship game, an underwhelming statistic they both think about often.
They can’t do that this season – repeat those lackluster performances on such a grand state – they both know that.
It starts for Ingram, Jones, and the Saints on Monday night, when N-G will take on Dunmore, 6 p.m., at Freedom HS, for a chance to return to Hershey.
“Doubted,” Jones said. “We were doubted. People said we wouldn’t be as good. That we wouldn’t be able to win – that the two of us wouldn’t be able to do it.”
On Friday, the Saints were in a tight battle with St. Basil in the state quarterfinals and the Panthers had stretches were the momentum looked to be going their way.
That’s when Peterson turned to Ingram and Jones in the huddle, pulled them aside and told them to turn it up.
“Put your foot on the gas,” she said.
The teammates looked at one another, nodded, and when the game got close in the fourth quarter, proceeded to connect on three straight possessions to extend the lead.
Sure, the Saints may not look or play like Goretti teams of the past.
That isn’t a problem.
They do have Ingram and Jones.
@Ka_Harman
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