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PAISAA: Aponik leads Germantown Academy girls past Notre Dame

02/18/2023, 9:00pm EST
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)

FORT WASHINGTON – It looked like the Jess Aponik that Sherri Retif had been waiting for.

Aponik, a junior at Germantown Academy, is possibly the most versatile player on the Patriots’ roster and was expected to fill a lot of roles contending for the Inter-Ac. Then, as GA was warming up for its biggest game of the season against its archrival, it all came crashing down.

A severe ankle sprain cost Aponik a lot of time on the sidelines, but she’s not only back but rounding back into form, as evidenced by her 11 point effort in Saturday’s 60-37 PAISAA quarterfinal win over league rival Notre Dame Academy.


Jess Aponik (above) has returned from injury for Germantown Academy in time for a PAISAA run. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

“It was really hard to sit out and watch everyone,” Aponik said. “That’s the hardest part of injuries, losing your players and we need everyone on our team.”

During warm-ups for the team’s first meeting with archrival Penn Charter, the team the Patriots had to chase down for the Inter-Ac title, Aponik’s season changed in an instant. Coming down from a lay-up, her foot landed on top of a teammate’s and incurring a significant injury.

“It was a Grade-2 sprain,” Aponik said. “I was out for a month and a half.”

A Grade 2 ankle sprain consists of at least a partial tearing of the ligament or ligaments and while less severe than a Grade 3 sprain, still can take up to six weeks or longer to recover. Aiding her teammates indirectly, including her twin sister Jenna, was all Jess could do until she was healed enough to come back. 

Aponik, who spent some of that time off in a boot, unfortunately had some company on the sideline as a spate of injuries hit the Patriots right at the turn of the calendar. Senior center Kendall Bennett was one of them, saying it was tough for all the sidelined Patriots not to be on the court but they did what they could.

“I stayed positive for my teammates,” Aponik said. “I tried to keep the energy at practices, cheered everyone on but I was ready to be able to come back.”

As a freshman, Jess Aponik came in and took over immediately as the team’s starting point guard. She’ll still handle the ball at times now, but with junior Sam Wade taking over at point this year, Retif wanted to use the 5-foot-11 junior all over the floor.

Aponik goes up for a layup in GA's PAISAA second-round game against Notre Dame. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Saturday, Aponik came out blazing with eight first quarter points including a pair of threes as she and GA blitzed the visiting Irish in a 21-7 opening frame. Aponik’s injury was a setback but didn’t totally ruin her season as the junior was named a Second Team All Inter-Ac selection for a second consecutive year.

Still, anyone that sits out for a month and a half is going to lose something in that time and Retif was glad to see Aponik back doing her thing against Notre Dame

“It was a freak accident, those things happen but when they do, a player gets out of shape and when they do return, they’re not themselves,” Retif said. “Today, she was the old Jess that we all knew.”

Aponik likely projects as a guard at the next level - she’s had contact with a number of Division II programs and carries a couple offers including Kutztown - but it always helps being able to do a lot of different things. The junior said Kutztown has really made a strong impression and she’s made a visit to campus.

The PSAC program already has a couple players in her mold from the area in St. Basil Academy grad Casey Remolde and Archbishop Wood alum Annie Whalen, both versatile players who can play guard, wing or as a post in a pinch.

“She can really mix it up,” Retif said. “She can play on the outside but when we need her to, she can go in and defend the bigger players to give us a little more size in there. She was our point guard her freshman year but we’ve moved her into a little more of a scoring role.”

The highlight of the day for Jess was her final basket, hitting a third quarter three assisted by her twin sister Jenna off a drive and kick. In the fourth quarter, Jess did something her coaches are used to seeing quite often, giving up the ball under the basket to get Gabby Bowes a wide-open look for a three.

“She’s so unselfish,” Retif said. “If it’s a game that’s not close, she’s making sure everybody’s involved in the game, she’s just a great kid and not just a great basketball player.”

~~~

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 60, NOTRE DAME ACADEMY 37

Kendall Benentt didn’t want to lose her last game on her home court, so the GA senior, First Team All Inter-Ac selection and Binghamton recruit made sure she wouldn’t.

Bennett scored the first five points of the game Saturday and her team’s first six after halftime, setting an early pace the rest of the Patriots were able to keep up with on both ends of the court. On Feb. 3, Notre Dame had come to GA and left with a 58-50 win, so that game was a widely discussed point of contention in the Patriots’ five days of practice leading up to the PAISAA quarterfinals.

"Last time we played them here, we lost, so it was a big chance at a comeback for us and having the score be like that, it was big for all of us," Bennet said. "We've been preparing for this. Our defense was something we were working on all week, just to be solid and our shots, they were just falling today."


Sam Wade (above) had 12 points in GA's second-round win. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

When Bennett wasn’t on the floor as the focal point - GA frequently subbed in waves of four fresh players throughout the game - it was Wade, the junior point guard really standing out on both ends of the court. Wade, who admitted some personal incentive to win Saturday after fouling out in the teams’ prior meeting, had 12 points, four steals, eight rebounds and four assists.

Retif lauded Wade’s growth in leadership this year and the way she picked up moving to the point and finding ways to get the ball inside to Bennett. GA’s defense was generally solid and in the fourth quarter, Wade had a rip on the defensive end that she took all the way down the floor for a layup, a little personal reimbursement for the last meeting with Notre Dame.

“I’ve been really good with my hands all season, so I just wanted to keep the ball in front,” Wade said. “I knew I couldn’t foul, but I was still trying to get that steal and push it up the floor.”

Notre Dame just couldn’t keep up with GA’s torrid start, the Irish shooting just 3-of-10 with four turnovers in the first quarter. The Irish trailed 8-0 before senior Annie Greek got them on the board but they never got into a flow offensively as the Patriots continued to add on baskets.

Greek finished her final game with nine points as did fellow senior Katie Halligan, who didn't have a ton of chances inside with GA’s pestering defense looking to deflect or steal the ball.

Germantown Academy advances to face top-seeded Westtown in the PAISAA semifinals on Tuesday. Westtown bounced GA in the same round last year, a game Bennett noted wasn’t competitive, so the senior and the rest of her teammates were eager to get another chance to show what they can do.

“I feel like we keep getting better as a team,” Wade said. “We’ve been practicing so, so hard. I know we lost to them last year, but I really think we’ve improved so much as a team.”

By Quarter
Germantown Academy:  21  |  17  |  13  |   9   ||  60
Notre Dame Academy:    7   |   8   |  10  |  12  ||  37

Scoring
GA: Kendall Bennett 13, Sam Wade 12, Jess Aponik 11, Jenna Aponik 7, Isabella Casey 6, Gabby Bowes 5, Addy Levensten 4, Jess Kolecki 2

NDA: Annie Greek 9, Katie Halligan 9, Lizzie Halligan 7, Chloe Knox 5, Sophia Hall 3, Catie Kelly 3, Scarlett Henry


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