Conestoga sophomore Ryann Jennings scored 22 points on Saturday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL File)
By Owen McCue
AJ Thompson knew back in the preseason that the difference between good and great for the Conestoga girls basketball team would be its defense.
That played out Saturday afternoon as the Pioneers used a dominant defensive outing to take the program to a place it hasn’t been in 45 years.
No. 2 seed Conestoga locked down No. 7 Garnet Valley, 54-25, in district quarterfinal, advancing to Wednesday’s semifinal against No. 6 Spring-Ford — a 44-39 winner over Upper Dublin.
It’s the deepest district run for the Pioneers in the large-school classification since they reached the title game in 1979.
“We’ve worked on it, they’ve bought into it,” Thompson said of the defense. “Everyday at practice when we do our defensive drills or if we’re going live and focusing on the defense, they really go hard and listen and they’re always trying to make the right read or rotate. They’ve been great all season defensively.”
Saturday marked the fourth meeting between the two Central League squads and third this month. Conestoga (23-3) won a Dec. 21 matchup, 46-40. Garnet Valley (21-5) handed the Pioneers their second loss of the season in their regular season finale, a 43-42 Feb. 6 win.