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Upon huddling her charges following Friday’s 65-52 AAA semifinal loss to Universal Audenried Charter High School, 3301 Tasker St., Chris Donnelly let the ladies know they had given their all in helping The Academy at Palumbo, 1100 Catharine St., to register a remarkable campaign.
“You have no reason to hang your heads low,” the coach, also the counselor at the Hawthorne-based facility, said. “You had a tremendous season, and I hope what you did encourages you to come back even better next year.”
In her sixth season guiding the Griffins, the Northeast Philly inhabitant has had ample occasions to gush about the ballers, who entered the tilt 17-1, having two days earlier scored a 43-36 home win over Science Leadership Academy, the program’s first playoff triumph. Undefeated in Gold Division play, they relished the opportunity to upend another Platinum Division foe, with junior forward Jasmine “Sleepy” Sowell especially eager.
“I’ve played with a few of their girls, so I know what they are capable of,” the Second-Team All-Public selection said. “We wanted to win because we felt ready coming in, but today wasn’t our day.”
The resident of 29th and Reed streets added the gregarious Griffins clicked immediately when commencing their campaign. Donnelly, who tabbed the players as “fun, loose and a little goofy,” knew they would need to combine those qualities with a comprehensive game plan to blast past the Rockets. True to their name, though, the guests came fully fueled and immediately initiated an up-tempo pursuit of the ball.
“They play like us, meaning they’re quick,” freshman guard Taylor Dawson, a First-Team All-League honoree said. “We didn’t have many looks, but we knew we were right in it.”
The West Oak Lane standout did not deposit any baskets in the opening frame, but she snared four rebounds to complement three from Sowell, who tallied five points. Despite difficulties handling the Grays Ferry-based visitors’ press, which would play a huge role in producing Palumbo’s 37 turnovers, the hosts trailed only 14-7 after the first session.
“We got where we were because we have pretty good communication skills and a great leader in coach Chris,” Dawson said of their overall slate. “We knew they were going to come in here focused.”
The Griffins appeared to lack mental sharpness in the second quarter’s early sequences, with the Rockets soaring to a 12-point cushion. Stepping up their own ball-hounding tactics, though, the home club fought back, with Dawson, who desired even more touches following Sowell’s departure due to foul trouble, notching 10 points. Having never lessened their support as Audenried built its lead, fans, who would offer an even more reverent round of applause after the game, sent their heroes to the locker room with thundering cheers for reducing the deficit to 30-26.
“It was key to show that determination at the end,” Donnelly said. “They took on adversity and fought back. Just like over the whole season, it was great for me to see how much they care.”
An extremely young squad with only one senior, the Griffins displayed remarkable maturity the whole year, with numerous highlights, including the growth of sophomore point guard Kiarah “Rooster” Henry, a First-Team All-League pick, and junior center Ariana dos Santos, a Second-Team member, giving Donnelly her most satisfying bench stint yet. With only a nonleague loss to John W. Hallahan High School on its ledger before Friday, they indeed supported their leader’s notion that they achieved far more than what pundits had expected. Although the whole year offered signs of their skills, including their late December capturing of the Constitution Holiday Classic, Donnelly contends that Feb. 2’s 61-48 road win over Bartram, in which they outscored the Braves 19-4 in the fourth, proved very vital to their identity.
“They’re so close to each other that they always love seeing how many assists they have,” she said with a laugh. “I have to get them to be a bit more selfish, which can be hard to do when they want to set one another up.”
Their giving nature, especially that of Henry, who connected with Sowell for two crafty scores, keyed a comeback in the third. However, whenever momentum seemed theirs, the Griffins would watch the Rockets fire back. Dawson, though impressed with their opponents’ talent, vowed to fight back.
“We just wanted to take the lead,” the sniper said. “We knew they would keep coming if we did, but we wanted to be in front.”
They had three chances off offensive rebounds with the score knotted 40-40, but the rim proved unkind, and the guests gained their gumption back with a 10-1 run to close the quarter. Audenried used its interior abilities to muscle for buckets in the fourth and thanks to a full-team effort that included 27 points from Romeira Tucker, they played the road warriors and plot spoilers to end the Griffins’ year.
“We lost to a stronger team,” Donnelly said, noting that conditioning will augment their rise to Platinum Division status next season. “This year, we pretty much played with house money, and I’m so proud of how they conducted themselves.”
“We’re going to come back better and stronger,” Sowell, having wiped away tears following the realization their magical run had concluded, said. “We know how to play as a team, so next year will be even more fun.”
Audenried faced Mastery North in yesterday’s AAA title game, which ended after press time.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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