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By: Kate Harman
It doesn’t really matter what happens over the course of the season for the Shipley girls’ basketball team.
Whether an injury sidelines the Gators starting point guard for two weeks or the squad suffers tough losses to out of state programs.
Whether the team drops three out of four contests over a seven-day period or falls in the league semifinals to a team they had previously beaten by double digit margins.
Are these events disappointing? Yes.
But do they really matter? No.
Because if it is the final week in February, Shipley somehow manages to put all of those other things aside. The injuries. The losses. The discontent.
On Friday, the Gators did just that, as they continued their dominance over Germantown Academy, ending the Patriots’ season for the fifth consecutive year, as Shipley defeated GA, 55-52, in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools semifinals at Westtown.
“I think that our ability to push through adversity no matter what the odds are – who’s against us – its uncanny,” guard, Lauren Ross said. “It’s incredible. No matter what, we are always able to push back. It’s something I really love about this team.”
Shipley (19-7) got out to a 21-10 lead after the first quarter but the Patriots (25-5) fought back and only trailed by four points at halftime. The surge was started with a basket from sophomore Elle Stauffer, who scored a team-high of 17 points, as GA went on an 8-0 run. From there, the contest was back and forth, with both squad taking brief respites on top.
“Basketball is fun – this game is fun. It’s also stressful but I love these types of games,” forward, Anna Camden said. “The atmosphere – you could hear it in the gym. The heat, the noise, everything.”
Everything. Exactly what Camden and Ross did for their team.
Whenever the Gators needed an answer it came in the form of Camden or Ross, as the juniors were terrific all game. The duo – who combined for 40 total points – took turns dominating, with Camden scoring 12 first half points and Ross scoring 14 in the final 16 minutes.
“That’s basically our season,” Camden said. “You stop one of us and then the other one is scoring.”
Ross scored the go ahead bucket with just 18 seconds left, as she drove to the hoop after a hard crossover.
“I knew if I was able to get around [the defenders] and get the shot on the backboard that either Anna [Camden] was going to rebound it, I was going to get fouled, or it was going to go in,” Ross, a St. Joseph’s recruit, said. “So, I had confidence that one of those three things would happen and those were all good things.”
Another good thing? The Gators will face off against Notre Dame, Saturday at 4:30 p.m., at Westtown, where the group will look to win its fourth state championships in five years.
“It feels amazing,” Camden, who also grabbed 10 boards and recorded four blocks, said. “It’s every year. I don’t get it. Every year we are doubted and every year, here we are on the last day of the season.”
It’s the end of February.
The rest of it? Doesn’t matter.
@Ka_Harman
Shipley 21 8 9 17 – 55
Germantown Academy 10 15 13 14 – 52
S: Anna Camden 20, Lauren Ross 20, Sanaa Redmond 13, Elizabeth Talluto 2
GA: Elle Stauffer 17, Rachel Balzer 9, Becca Booth 8, Jaye Haynes 7, Alexa Naessens 5, Cat Polisano 3, Sarah DiLello 3