GV Girls Draw Aces In First Round of Districts

A full house would have been nice, but the Great Valley girls basketball team drew five Aces in the first round of the District 1 AAAA tournament.

The Patriots will be out to show the district that they are a worthy representative of a league that will send nine — count 'em, nine — schools into the 32-team field of the AAAA playoffs.

Great Valley ended up with the number 28 seed when the results of the playoff formula was released late Sunday. They will face Central League champion Lower Merion on the road at Kobe Bryant Gymasium as the Aces took the number 5 seed.

Great Valley is bracketed with some tough competition, not only LM, but also number four Cheltenham.

Great Valley at Lower Merion
Saturday, Feb. 19, time TBA

Having completed the regular season last week with a 13-8 overall record for the 2010-11 season, the Patriots were disappointed that they missed the Ches-Mont League Final Four, which was held over the weekend.

It's been a strange year for these Patriots. At times, they have played well. Other times, they have trouble controlling the ball and scoring points. They finished 8-4 in the Ches-Mont League American and were in the race for a Final Four spot right up until the final week.

Hurting them were 40-32 and 35-30 defeats to division champion Sun Valley. They split two contests with West Chester Rustin, who they spared with the last two weeks for second, and defeated the Golden Knights (who were denied a Final Four title bid by Downingtown East on Saturday), 45-38, to end their regular season on a winning note.

Nonleague losses came to the aforementioned DTE (57-41), Parkland (49-33), Hempfield (32-26) and Solanco (39-32).

The Patriots are led by:

•   5'3" senior guard Amanda Germer

•   5'4" senior guard Rachel Kalick

•   5'7" junior center Logan Curley

•   5'6" senior forward Tiffany Govan

•  5'4" sophomore guard Kelsey Walsh

Govan is coming back from a leg injury that slowed the GV offense a few weeks ago. Germer loves to drive to the basket, while Kalick and Curley can shoot from various distances.

For the Aces, it's been a great season thus far. They bring a 18-3 record into the district playoffs, a Central League title, and a seven-game winning streak. They have also won 14 of their last 15 games.

Their losses have been respectful, as well. Besides falling to District 1 number 9 seed Spring-Ford (50-44), the Aces dropped two games over the holidays in the Cypress Lakes, Fla., tournament against Sunshine State foes Gainsville Eastside, 49-42, and Bishop Verot, 39-33.

Lower Merion's offense revolves around senior Lila Jones, a 5'7" senior guard who is averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game for the Aces. Complimenting Jones is Sheba Hall, a 5'6" senior point guard. The Aces are quick and get the ball down the floor in a real hurry, a stark contrast to the Patriots patient attack on offense.

The winner of the Great Valley-Lower Merion contest will then face either number 12 seed Downingtown West or 21 seed Haverford on Wednesday, Feb. 23.