The much-anticipated contest between Class 5A state champion O’Hara and Class 4A queen Wood drew a large, loud crowd. The Lion faithful were treated to a near-perfect first half in which O’Hara (5-0 in the PCL) stunned the defending PCL champion Vikings (3-2) by outscoring them by 18-7 after one quarter and owned a 35-13 edge at halftime.

After a basket by senior Annie Welde (10 points, three assists, four rebounds, two steals) increased O’Hara’s lead to 39-15 with five minutes left in the third quarter, Archbishop Wood’s slumbering offense awakened.

With all-state senior Ryanne Allen finding her touch after an extraordinarily rare two-point first half, the Vikings outscored the Lions by 13-7 heading into what turned out to be a foul-filled fourth quarter. After providing 10 points in the third, Allen poured home 15 more in the fourth.

But O’Hara connected on nine free throws and one basket each by senior Maggie Doogan (19 points, three assists), senior Sydni Scott (15 points, five assists), and freshman Molly Rullo (15 points, five rebounds) to remain undefeated with a Feb. 1 trip to first-place Archbishop Carroll (6-0) on the near horizon.

If Archbishop Carroll ends up winning the Catholic League championship, it might point to eight minutes of perfection on Jan. 20 as the catalyst.

Playing at defending PCL champ Archbishop Wood’s home gym and enduring game-long foul trouble and a relentless student section that tried everything possible to distract their opponent, the Patriots turned a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit into an astonishing 44-38 victory.

The Patriots outscored the Vikings by 17-3 in the final stanza and 22-5 over an 11-minute span.

“We weren’t disciplined to start the game,” said Carroll coach Renie Shields. “We talked about it at halftime. I thought in the second half we started being more disciplined. That helped us down the stretch.”

Though sophomore Brooke Wilson scored 10 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter and helped hold Wood all-state senior Ryanne Allen to 14 points, and senior Grace O’Neill netted a game-high 18 points while displaying tenacity on both ends of the floor, and whistle-plagued junior Taylor Wilson scored seven points before fouling out, junior Courtland Schumacker and sophomore Chole Bleckley rose to the occasion with integral minutes.

“We wanted this so badly. Just to get that win against Archbishop Wood is just so great. All odds were against us. They had home court, their student section . . . everything. I think it was great that we pulled through and won.”

Four days later, in an impressive non-league win over legendary Inter-Academic League program Germantown Academy that happens to share the same school mascot, O’Neill scored 26 points as the visiting Patriots downed the Patriots, 66-53.

Why so significant? O’Neill’s final three points – courtesy of a trey from the top of the key late in the fourth – upped her career total to 1,000 points.

Since she had opted not to know how close she was to the coveted quadruple, O’Neill could tell something was up because of the team bench’s response.

“I just wanted to focus on winning games as a team and didn’t want to have that in the back of my mind,” said O’Neill. “My coaches called a timeout so the game was kind of stopped, but that’s exactly how I would’ve wanted it. I think GA was a great time to get it even if it wasn’t home because it was a competitive game.

Hampered by pandemic-related quarantines, Neumann-Goretti finally got to play hoops last night and made the most of it with a lopsided 77-15 win over Archbishop Ryan.

The Saints, who for the foreseeable future will be playing a ton of basketball – eight games in 15 days, not counting a makeup versus West Catholic – were led by standout Mihjae Hayes.

The senior third-team, all-state guard, who on December 22 reached 1,000 career points with an amazing 36-point, six-rebound, four-assist effort in a 61-54 win over Bronx, New York’s Msgr. Scanlon High, scored 26 in the Saints’ long-awaited Catholic League opener.

Senior D’Ayzha Atkinson (16 points), freshman Carryn Easley (12), freshman Amya Scott 11, and sophomore Brooke Barnes (8) rounded out the scoring.

“Felt good to be back,” said N-G coach Andrea Peterson. "The girls came out of the gate ready to get after it.”

The Crusaders’ most recent victim was St. Hubert’s. With junior Gabby Casey and senior Lauren Edwards both scoring 21 points despite early foul trouble, Lansdale Catholic opened up a 42-14 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way.

“We didn’t want to take them lightly,” said Edwards. “They’re a good opponent and play tough, and we knew we had to set the tone early on in the game. We were able to really play together and took time to do the little things like huddling up that ultimately keep us connected and help us play as a team.

“The atmosphere definitely played a big role. It was our first PCL home game and we had the gym filled with fans. Playing off their energy just played into my own and the team’s motivation to put on a good show for everyone who came out to support us.”

Crusaders’ coach Eric Gidney also gave LC’s faithful a shout out.

“Absolutely, the student section was fantastic and really pushed the team,” said Gidney. “Only our second home game all year, and it was great to have the turnout that we did.”

Casey is fast establishing herself as one of the league’s premier talents.

“What makes us successful is we are really supportive of each other and no one is selfish,” she said. “Our strong desire to win motivates us to be successful. We are very involved in knowing who’s on top in the PCL.”

In the win over West Catholic, senior Gianna Grassifulli amassed 20 points, 15 rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Junior MacKenzie McLaughlin added 12 points; senior Charlotte Pugh contributed six points and seven boards. Hubert’s 2-3 zone in the final quarter held the Burrs to nine points.

“They play hard from start to finish,” said Hubert’s coach Dave Schafer. “It’s a tight group.”

As one of the team leaders, Pugh continues to believe in the Bambies’ potential.