It is not only a new season for the girls basketball team at Germantown Academy, but also a new era.

Head coach Lauren Power, who amassed 76 wins in four seasons at Academy of Notre Dame, has taken over for Sherri Retif, who retired from coaching in April 2023. With 2022-23 All-Inter-Ac League performers Izzy Casey ’24 and Jess Aponik ’24 headlining an experienced group, the Patriots are looking to build off a season in which they went 19-11 overall and tied for second in the league with a 9-3 mark.

“I can’t say enough about how incredible these girls are, first as people, and then as student-athletes,” Power said. “Their commitment to the program and to GA speaks for itself. We’ve had a lot of fun so far, and I’m really excited about the talent that we have. We know the challenges ahead of us, every game is going to be a fight, but we designed it that way to prep us for the Inter-Ac.”

With that in mind the Patriots are not easing into the season, opening with a scrimmage against the eight-time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association champions, Archbishop Wood. According to Power, the contest will be a good barometer for where the team is at heading into the season. In addition to that matchup, GA’s head coach pointed to Inter-Ac games, and the She Got Game Tournament on Dec. 9 and 10 as competitions she is excited for this season.

“We’ll have two really competitive games down there against Bishop O’Connell (VA) and The Steward School (VA),” Power said. “It’s the best of the best, there are teams from across East Coast going to this tournament.” 

GA opens the season with two scrimmages, one against Archbishop Wood on the road on Nov. 24, and one against Gwynedd Mercy Academy at home on Nov. 28. After that, the regular season begins with home games against North Penn High School (12/1) and Friends Central School (12/5). A road scrimmage against Villa Maria Academy will serve as a precursor to the She Got Game Tournament, which comes before the Make A Wish Tournament at GA, where the girls will take on Cape Henlopen and Harriton High School. The Patriots close out 2023 with the City of Love event at Jefferson University (Dec. 17), a home game against Nazareth Academy (Dec. 20), and the Cardinal O’Hara Tournament (Dec. 28-29).

Once the calendar turns to 2024, Inter-Ac League play starts with Academy of Notre Dame making the trip to Fort Washington.

“Our early schedule is going to tell us where we are and where we need to go,” Power said. “In my view, the Inter-Ac is the best it’s ever been. We couldn’t have built a more competitive schedule to prepare us for what’s to come in the league.”

While the schedule will surely prepare the team for the league slate, having a core of players who have been through the slog of Inter-Ac play also helps. Power said that having a group who has played together since they were freshmen and have such great chemistry on the and off the court has been unquantifiable. Power added that the relationship between the players has helped them pick up the new offense and style of play that she is implementing. Despite the changes, the expectations for the team remain the same as they have been for the last number of years. 

“The girls said it best,” Power said. “We’re chip chasing. There is so much more to this experience than wins and losses, but at the end of the day, we are striving to win a league and state championship. We have the personnel and the drive to do it, and they’re doing everything in practice to prepare for it.”