City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@hooplove215)
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When you’re in the midst of a magical season, you certainly don’t tend to expect it will end with a loss. 

That’s why one word served as a common denominator amongst several of Garnet Valley girls’ basketball players and coaches when describing their March 21 contest with Upper St. Clair — a four-point defeat suffered in the PIAA 6A state semifinals.

Bittersweet. 

“100 percent bittersweet,” head coach Joe Woods said. “It was devastating for the girls — not so much that we lost the game, but just because of how close the team was. There were a lot of tears in the locker room that we weren’t going to be practicing over the weekend, and that they weren’t going to be together as a team.”

“It was very bittersweet,” senior guard Hailey Adamski echoed. “It was challenging at times, but we know we did the best we could.”

Despite its challenging end, the Jaguars’ 2024-25 season was historic for their program, led by a senior class that has helped pave the way for such history. Ultimately, though, Garnet Valley’s campaign fell a couple of wins shy of both a district title and a state title. 

It was special all the same. 

“Our players really bonded and truly enjoyed playing together,” Woods said. “They really pulled for each other, and that was huge, I think, for the positive culture. I was really proud of our players.” 

In all, while Garnet Valley’s 2024-25 campaign lacked the amount of hardware its players had likely hoped for, it featured an array of successes, including a Central League title, a 29-3 record, and a pair of 1,000-point scorers. 

Garnet Valley ripped off nearly 20 wins in a row to end its regular season, too, and its overall record is even more impressive than the raw numbers behind it; the Jaguars lost just once in the regular season — to an eventual PIAA 6A state quarterfinalist, Haverford — and their other two losses came in the district championship game and the state semifinals. 

Multiple Jaguars credited the team’s defensive intensity for the months-long hot streak; Garnet Valley held all but three of its opponents under 50 points, and 20 of its opponents under 40. 

“We kind of attacked teams with our defense,” Adamski said. “After our first loss of the season against Haverford, we really needed to hone in our defense. We got really good at it, just working together.”

Along the ride, Garnet Valley picked up unforgettable victories, especially in postseason play. The Jaguars’ Central League title, for example, was clinched in a four-point win over Conestoga that required a fourth-quarter comeback. 

In that game, Adamski officially moved to the top of Garnet Valley’s all-time scoring leaderboard.

“That was a really cool moment,” she added, “even though I kept it low-key.” 

Arguably, the pinnacle of them all was a 49-43 double-overtime win over Cardinal O’Hara that clinched the Jaguars’ trip to the PIAA semifinals. Garnet Valley’s vaunted defense took center stage that night, as the Jaguars shut Cardinal O’Hara out in the final overtime period to lock up the win.

“When we played O'Hara, that was a great game,” Adamski said. “I know all those players on that team, so that was really cool and exciting, because public schools don’t often beat Catholic League teams.”

Especially in the past decade or so, Garnet Valley girls’ teams are no strangers to postseason success. The Jaguars’ Central League title this season was their seventh in the last 12 years, and they’ve reached the PIAA state playoffs in 11 of those 12 seasons. 

This season, in many ways, though, was on its own level. Garnet Valley’s 29 wins were the second most in program history — second only to 30, earned in 2018-19 — and the Jaguars’ trip to the state semifinals matched its all-time best finish, a mark that was previously only reached in 2019 and 2024. 

With that kind of success in back-to-back seasons it’s safe to say the Jaguars’ class of seniors will be remembered fondly in program history.

Garnet Valley’s senior class featured four seniors, including forwards like Adamski and Sarah Sigston — the latter of which dealt with injury this season — and guards Kylie Mullholland and Savannah Saunders. Adamski, Mullholland and Saunders all served as captains this season.

Adamski, a Lafayette commit, paced the Jaguars in nearly all categories this season, leading the way with 17.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg while tacking on 2.9 spg and 2.5 apg. Mullholland, who averaged 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, is headed to Jefferson University. 

“I feel like we brought the program up throughout our four years playing on the team,” Mullholland said. “We definitely grew in our leadership as we got older, and the younger girls followed in line. I feel like that kind of led to our success this year.” 

The quartet was in its freshman year the last time Garnet Valley won a Central League title. As sophomores, they snuck into the state playoffs and lost their tournament opener. 

Then, as upperclassmen, things began to click back into gear; in this class’ junior year, the Jaguars earned a trip to the state semifinals — which, of course, would be duplicated in their fourth and final season, a back-to-back feat never-before achieved in Garnet Valley’s girls program. 

To wrap things up, a Central League title, deep state playoff run, and near-30 win season was certainly plenty of cherry on top of an illustrious four-year shared career, even if a few of the other available “cherries” were left unpicked. 

“I was really happy for my seniors,” Woods said. “They were big contributors in 2022, the last time we won the Central League championship. For them to bookend their careers with another league championship, it was huge.”

Ultimately, it’s that four-year journey’s end that Woods said was among the hardest truths with which to grapple.

“It’s tough to let it go,” Woods said. “It still stings a little bit for the coaches — particularly for this guy, the head coach.”

Luckily, there are plenty of memories to last a lifetime — and many of those memories will be firmly etched into the Garnet Valley record books. 

“This team was honestly amazing,” Adamski added. “We wouldn’t have traded it for anything.”