Katie Gallagher (above) had 19 points in Radnor’s win over Harriton on Thursday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
By Andrew Robinson
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.”