By John Knebels
Videos/Photos by: John Knebels & Donna Eckert
The final horn sounded, and in like three seconds flat, the Thomas Jefferson University gymnasium floor had become a sea of West Catholic zealots.
For the first time since winning a league title in 1998, the Burrs had secured a spot in the girls’ Catholic League championship, to be played Feb. 24 at the legendary Palestra. Spurred by a scintillating fourth quarter, West Catholic defeated Neumann-Goretti by a closer-than-it-appears final score of 66-54.
The Burrs’ championship versus top-seed Archbishop Wood to be played 6:30 on Feb. 24 at the Palestra was well earned.
“I think we have a wealth of talent, and I think we tapped into that,” said West Catholic coach Beulah Osueke. “It’s surreal.”
West Catholic vs. Neumann-Goretti PCL Semifinal Highlights by John Knebels:
Trailing by 40-39 after three quarters, West Catholic suddenly emerged as a visibly confident squad. Better ball movement . . .crisper passes . . . smarter shooting . . . textbook defense . . . just a different team. Aided by tremendous foul shooting, the three-seed Burrs almost doubled the two-seed Saints by 27-14 over the final eight minutes.
After falling behind by 48-44 with 5:06 remaining, sensational efforts by junior Destiney McPhaul (22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks), senior Tamiah Robinson (22 points, five rebounds), and junior Ciani Montgomery (15 points), and aggressive defense on N-G star Diamond Johnson (30 points on 11-for-31 shooting from the floor, six rebounds), spearheaded a 22-6 advantage down the stretch.
Tamiah Robinson & Destiney McPhaul are very pleased with reaching the PCL final, but not yet satisfied
Coach Beulah Osueke looks back on the Burrs' improvement during their 7 game winning streak
Touching moment with west coach Beulah Osueke & players Tamiah Robinson and Destiney McPhaul
A three-pointer by McPhaul tied the game with 4:01 left. A three-point play by Montgomery with 2:48 remaining gave West its first lead since 36-35 late in the third quarter. Over the final 1:13, West shot 9 for 10 from the line. Since the Burrs weren’t missing their freebies, a despondent Neumann-Goretti (13 points, eight rebounds by junior Jonelle Price) was rendered helpless.
“In the first half we reverted back to old habits and tried to do things on their own,” said Osueke. “At halftime, we reminded them that that is not how we are.
“At the start of the fourth quarter, I asked the kids to disregard all the mistakes they made, and all the jitters, and in all the possessions that we didn’t trust each other. If they really wanted to win, just dig in and have heart. The kids responded.”
McPhaul and Robinson stood side by side and tried to explain West Catholic’s most clutch eight minutes of basketball in 22 years.
“It was a game of runs,” said McPhaul. “Everybody had some. It depends who had the last one. We came together as a team and finished out strong. We had a different mindset.”
Robinson, who along with Kaori Saunders are West Catholic’s only seniors, summarized the Burrs’ accomplishment.
“We made history tonight,” she said. “I’m speechless.”
The only challenger that stands in West Catholic’s path is Archbishop Wood, and it’s a formidable foe. The top-seed Vikings’ only regular season league loss was to West Catholic, 66-56, on Feb. 4. They will undoubtedly seek revenge.
The Burrs are aware of Wood’s capability, but they are focused on themselves.
“We’re not done yet,” said McPhaul. “We have one more win.”
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.
