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Gallagher steps up to help power Radnor past Harriton

12/16/2022, 12:15am EST
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)

RADNOR — The pageantry of the pregame handshake ritual has gotten more intricate in recent years, but even Kate Gallagher might concede she’s gone a little over the top.

The Radnor junior guard has the usual swift exchange with Sarah Kelly, the Raptors handshake conductor during pregame intros, then Kelly ends it with a smack of Gallagher’s cheek. It’s not a full-force windup or anything, but enough that Gallagher definitely feels it.

Certainly it’s a little unorthodox, but if it helps Gallagher to have performances like the one she put together Thursday against visiting Harriton, then it’s effective - which is exactly what the junior is trying to be this season.

“I think I saw it online somewhere and Sarah and I thought it’d be funny,” Gallagher said. “It’s a good little slap, but not too hard. It’s a good wake-up before the start of a game.”


Katie Gallagher (above) had 19 points in Radnor's win over Harriton on Thursday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Gallagher had the best scoring game of her career, posting a game-high 19 points against the Rams as the Raptors survived with a 54-46 win in the Central League contest. Basketball isn’t Gallagher’s main sport, but she’s a competitor and knew with some key players graduated off last season’s state playoff team, Radnor would need more from her.

More of a defense-oriented player last season, Gallagher worked to add to the offensive side of the ball for a Raptors team that isn’t necessarily the highest scoring of groups. Thursday, the junior guard gave her team a jolt with five points in 20 seconds at the end of the first quarter, turning a two-point lead into a 16-9 advantage.

“We knew we needed to run our offense and my teammates did a really good job of getting me open and getting me the shots I wanted,” Gallagher said. “We also knew it would be important to finish around the rim so I took it to the paint whenever I could and tried to get to the foul line.

“When someone steps up, everyone feeds off each other, we’re so compatible and work well together so anytime someone steps up, it helps everyone else.”

Gallagher finished with nine points in the first quarter but didn’t score in the second, missing her only shot attempt in the frame. Notably, Radnor (3-2, 1-1 Central) also struggled in the period by scoring just four points but holding enough ground on the defensive end to stay ahead 20-15 at the break.

Part of that was due to Gallagher, who continues to draw a top assignment on the defensive end. Thursday, that meant being the primary cover on Harriton junior Felicity McFillin and while the Rams junior had a team-high 16, she needed 18 shots to do it.

Radnor coach Rob Baxter noted how vital Gallagher’s added offense has been so far this season and credited the junior for putting the work in, even if her future isn’t in basketball.

“She’s a lot more mature of a player, she plays strong, which is something we need,” Baxter said. “She can handle the ball, she’s very versatile, she can play a big or play a guard, she’s got speed but she also improved her physique over the summer - she’s gotten a lot stronger - so it’s really benefited us.”

Basketball may not be Gallagher’s top sport, but it’s easy to see the parallels between the court and the lacrosse field where she is a standout midfielder for the Raptors’ district and state powerhouse program. While lacrosse players have a stick in their hands opposed to an orange ball, a lot of the fundamental ideas like passing, cutting, defensive slides and switches are transitive.

As a midfielder tasked with playing both ends of the field, Gallagher already had an idea of how to balance the offense with defense so she used her time in the fall - about the only time she’s not busy with basketball, high school lacrosse in the loaded Central League or her HHH Philly Girls club lax team - to work on her outside shot and ball-handling for the winter.

“Truthfully, I think it’s the exact same game,” Gallagher said. “Defense, sliding, helping, it’s all the same so it makes the transition a lot easier. I go from this right into lacrosse season, so that’s always a lot of fun, I like all the similarities.”

Gallagher has also locked up her future, committing to play college lacrosse at West Point in early October. 

“I knew I wanted to serve (my country), and it’s such a cool opportunity,” Gallagher said. “I loved the school, I loved the coaches. It’s something I knew I wanted to do for a while so when I went up there for my visit, it was an easy decision.”

Radnor’s passing was also stellar on Thursday, the Raptors assisting on 12 of their 15 field goals and not scoring their first unassisted basket until the third quarter. Even then, that driving take by Meghan Dole was pseudo-assisted thanks to a strong screen set by Gallagher that opened a driving lane.

Mary Sareen, who only had two points in the first half, opened the third quarter by scoring on a back cut and pass by Gallagher and finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The senior guard was one of Radnor’s key cogs in its run to the state playoffs last year, but the Raptors don’t want to rely solely on her to provide scoring this season.

From there, Gallagher picked up where she had left off in the first quarter. The junior hit a three on the next possession, drew a foul going to the rim and converted a putback basket, all during a 12-0 Raptors run to open the second half.

“Us, the juniors and seniors, we knew we’d have to step up this year,” Gallagher said. “We have a lot of younger girls on the team this year, so we’re trying to show them the way and show them how to win.”

Gallagher’s last field goal came in the fourth quarter after Sareen rebounded a miss and pushed the ball up the floor, drawing the retreating Harriton defense to her before dishing to the trailing Gallagher as she cut to the rim for a 39-25 run.

Things got a little sloppy for the Raptors after that, and Harriton (2-4, 1-2) didn’t want to roll over either with Felicity and Maddie McFillin hitting some big shots that helped whittle the lead down. Maddie McFillin had eight of her 13 in the fourth while the Rams scored 27 as a team, cutting the lead all the way to five but doing so with just 14 seconds left in the game.

“I think our composure is really a strength of ours,” Gallagher said. “When we play these tough teams in the Central League, staying composed when it gets to that last stretch of the game will be huge.”

By Quarter
Radnor:  16  |   4   |  15  |  19  ||  54
Harriton:  9   |   6   |   4   |  27  ||  46

Scoring
R: Kate Gallagher 19, Mary Sareen 10, Anna Reger 7, Meghan Dole 5, Caroline Monahan 5, Paige Yurchak 5, Riley D’Entremont 2, Emma Hicke 1

H: Felicity McFillin 16, Maddie McFillin 13, Sophie Kasmer 6, Olivia Gastner 5, Chelsea Poli 2, Tilly May 2, Maddy Bacine 2


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