City of Basketball Love

By Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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WYNDMOOR – Don’t ask the Gwynedd Mercy Academy coaches where they’d be without Dylan Burke.

It’s not that they don’t want to answer, it’s just they’d prefer not to even think about what the Monarchs would look like without the junior forward this season. Burke’s not a high scorer, in fact, there are plenty of games where she doesn’t even have a point but on a team that survives on its defense, Burke is the one that holds it all together.

Burke was right there in the middle of it all Saturday, putting together a superb effort that mostly escaped the scorebook as the No. 2 seeded Monarchs topped No. 3 Mount Saint Joseph Academy 35-25 in their AACA semifinal game.

“I’ve learned it’s not all about scoring and you need to be able to help your team in any way you can,” Burke said. “My role here is to be the big person on the floor and I know I can command the defense - especially in our zone - and lead the team in rebounding, to be that spark on the team when I’m not scoring.

“Just being able to adapt and fit my role on the team is very important.”

Burke did score on Saturday, finishing a layup off a bounce pass from Hannah Griffin in the fourth quarter but otherwise did her usual job of defending her player, defending other people’s players, rebounding and passing. 

“Being in my position in the paint, I’m able to be somebody who is playing a lot of good help defense while also being able to recover out to my kid, I think that’s where I’m my strongest,” Burke said. “(The coaches) can match me up to fit that role on the court.”

Something else Burke gives the Monarchs that won’t show up in the book is a sense of calm. Lonergan is the first to admit he gets pretty excitable on the sideline and senior point guard Griffin is as energetic as the come, so Gwynedd Mercy often needs the level head Burke brings.

She’s quiet and unassuming — except when “commanding the defense” as she put it — but indispensable to the program and well-respected in the school as one of the top students in her class and part of the student council, things her coaches have to offer up because she’s not the type to boast about them.

“What Dylan has really picked up on is being the silent leader and she does an excellent job. She and I had a good, long talk back in December about doing that and she really wanted to take that role on,” Lonergan said. “She’ll give the subtle pat on the back, tell a player this or that and she’s only a junior.

“Hannah’s a great vocal leader, a great leader showing what you have to do out on the floor and Dylan’s happy doing it behind the scenes.”

Assistant coach TJ Lonergan chimed in, noting that part of the reason Burke is so unflappable is that there’s probably nothing she hasn’t seen by this point. Last year, an injury to projected starter Jenna Mangan left a sizable void in GMA’s starting five and Burke was thrown in as a sophomore, tasked to be the last line of defense on a veteran team with title aspirations.

“That’s a big difference from last year, I’m the one talking as opposed to being the one talked at,” Burke said. “Which, you know, you learn that and we’re all still helping each other.”

That team had plenty of personality and leaders, so Burke was able to slip in, do her job and let someone else stand out for scoring all the points. Coming back as a junior and knowing this year’s team would be decidedly different and decidedly younger, Burke knew her role would change.

“She knows how to just roll with it on the fly,” TJ Lonergan said. 

At the same time, Burke has been extremely impressed with the crop of underclassmen - GMA starts two freshmen and a sophomore with more of each class packing the bench - and called the team an extremely tight group.

“We came into this game very much on the same page and the young players want to play for their seniors,” Burke said. “That’s a huge part. This could be the last time we see our rival, especially the seniors, they’re going to graduate and never play Mount again so to play hard for them is a big deal and it’s a good culture that we’re able to instill in our team.”

Burke’s proteges have been following her lead. Freshman Emilia Coleman, who scored seven points, had nine rebounds that included three big boards in the final quarter and Megan McDonnell came off the bench to add four rebounds.

With Mount Saint Joseph struggling offensively — the Magic shot 9-of-37 and never got the three-point game that fuels their offense going — every rebound was important to end a defensive possession. 

Gwynedd Mercy Academy never trailed in the game and used threes by Griffin and Coleman in the second quarter to open up a 10-point lead it used as a cushion the rest of the way.

Burke, who also plays volleyball at GMA, said she can’t see herself giving up sports after high school but she doesn’t know if that means playing for a college program or just continuing with club athletics. That’s in her future, her present is continuing to be the rock of the Monarchs’ defense.

Gwynedd Mercy will face top-seeded Villa Maria Academy in Tuesday’s title game. The Hurricanes have beaten the Monarchs twice already this season but needed a buzzer-beater last time out and Gwynedd Mercy’s defensive leader believes her team has proven a lot just by getting to the final.

“It’s a statement. It’s something we worked hard at all year, nobody expected it from us looking at all the youth on our roster and I think being able to come in and show we can play hard despite having so many young kids on our roster is a big deal,” Burke said. “We know it, we just need everybody else to know it.”

By Quarter

GWYNEDD MERCY ACADEMY 8 | 10 | 4 | 13 || 35

MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY 3 | 7 | 3 | 12 || 25

Scoring

GMA: Bailey Balkir 11, Hannah Griffin 8, Emilia Coleman 7, Cara Lapp 5, Dylan Burke 2, Megan McDonnell 2

MSJA: Lauren Hoffman 9, Georgia Pickett 8, Chloe McGrorty 5, Carlie Sholdis 2, Kiersten Pumilia 1