Photos/Videos: Donna Eckert, Mike Nance, Geanine Jamison, Lennie Malmgren & John Knebels
By: John Knebels
PHILADEPHIIA – As the calendar year commenced and Philadelphia Catholic League girls’ basketball prepared to tip off with an array of openers on January 5, the eventual Final Four appeared predictable.
As the season progressed, the same teams kept dominating the standings with lopsided victories. Archbishop Carroll . . . Archbishop Wood . . . Cardinal O’Hara . . . Lansdale Catholic. In the end, it took three tiebreakers to sever a three-way tie among a trio of 9-1 juggernauts.
That quad – purposely listed in alphabetical order – will meet in a supremely anticipated PCL semifinal doubleheader tomorrow night (February 21) at St. Joseph University’s University Campus in West Philadelphia when two-seed Archbishop Wood meets three-seed Cardinal O’Hara at 6 PM, followed by top-seed Lansdale Catholic taking on four-seed Archbishop Carroll. The two finalists will then meet six nights later at the Palestra to decide the championship.
Among the four quarterfinals on February 16, the most intriguing matchup featured four-seed Archbishop Carroll hosting five-seed Neumann-Goretti.
In a game marred by a rather ridiculous 40 foul calls (23 against Neumann-Goretti; 17 against Carroll), some of which appeared head-scratching, the host Patriots outscored the frustrated Saints with a 21-7 fourth quarter and left the court with a 57-41 victory.
Archbishop Carroll vs. Neumann-Goretti - PSD Quarterfinal Gallery by Lennie Malmgren
Offsetting strong play by Goretti sophomores Amya Scott and Carryn Easley (12 points each), Carroll sisters Taylor and Brooke Wilson dominated down the stretch. Senior Taylor recorded a career-high 33 points – with 21 of them coming over the final two quarters. She also nabbed eight rebounds. Junior Brooke, meanwhile, scored only two baskets but willed herself to the free-throw line, where she canned 12 free throws to finish with 17 points along with seven rebounds and seven assists.
“They were fouling me when I was handling the ball and I knew that if I drive, I would get contact, and they would call the foul,” said Brooke. “You can’t change it. You just have to adjust to it.”
Archbishop Carroll vs. Neumann-Goretti - PSD Quarterfinal Highlights by Lennie Malmgren
Meg Sheridan's defense shined in Carroll's Quarterfinal win vs. Neumann-Goretti - by John Knebels
Playing in her final home game, Taylor willed the Patriots to victory with eight baskets, three three-pointers, and 8-for-9 shooting from the line.
“It’s win or you’re gone, so I think that kind of goes into it,” said Taylor, referring to both Carroll’s incentive and her individual contribution. “It just kind of happened honestly. It could be anyone’s night.
“At halftime we were like, alright, they are calling fouls, so on defense, we need to really focus on not getting into foul trouble. That could have been the thing that brought us down. We knew that offensively they were calling everything, so we had to just push it into the lane and get those foul calls.”
Though she did not score any points, senior Meg Sheridan amassed three assists, two steals, and a rebound while making matters difficult for every player she guarded.
“We always talk about taking our time on offense, and I think we put that into play in the fourth quarter,” said Sheridan. “We moved the ball a little bit more. We took care of the ball, went to our fundamentals, and made sure they didn’t score.”
Sisters Brooke & Taylor Wilson combined for 50 pts, 15 rebs and 7 assists in Carroll's win vs. Neumann-Goretti - by John Knebels
Archbishop Carroll head coach Renie Shields enjoyed her team's poise in quarterfinal win over Neumann-Goretti - by John Knebels
Carroll coach Renie Shields complimented each of her five starters – including Courtland Schumacher (five points, four rebounds, two assists, steal) and freshman Alexis Eberz (eight rebounds and a key basket early in the fourth that extended Carroll’s lead to five and started an avalanche of scoring) – along with her opponent.
“Goretti played extremely well,” said Shields. “They’re a very good team. They spread us out really nicely and they were able to drive on us. Once we got our composure, we got some good looks inside and that helped out a lot.”
The Patriots’ next opponent, top-seed Lansdale Catholic, dispatched eight-seed Archbishop Ryan, 53-27, for their first-ever PCL quarterfinal playoff win. Senior Gabby Casey scored 17 points and junior Olivia Boccella added 11.
In the teams’ first meeting on February 9, the Crusaders raced to an early lead and then held on for a 42-39 win that clinched first place. Boccella anticipates another close encounter.
Lansdale Catholic vs. Archbishop Ryan - PSD Quarterfinal Gallery by Geanine Jamison
“I’m looking forward to a great game and very thankful for the opportunity to play in the semifinals for the first time ever,” said Boccella. “We know what we’re capable of and all of us are super excited to compete and get a win. We all love playing together and just want to leave everything we have out on the court.”
Carroll’s Sheridan doesn’t foresee any surprises from either squad.
“Since it was such a close game last time, we know their strengths and weaknesses,” said Sheridan. “We’ve been going through film and seeing what we need to improve on, as well as seeing what will work against such a strong team.”
Two-seed Archbishop Wood overwhelmed seven-seed Conwell-Egan, 69-26, behind junior Ava Renninger’s 24 points in only three quarters, and a 10-point, 13-rebound, seven-block effort by senior Deja Evans.
“It was very exciting for me,” said Renninger. “After that loss to Lansdale (nine days earlier), we all knew we needed to step up. I was having fun and everything was going down and it was just a very fun game to play in.”
Archbishop Wood vs. Conwell-Egan - PSD Quarterfinal Gallery by Donna Eckert
The Vikings will meet three-seed Cardinal O’Hara. The Lions received 23 points from sophomore Molly Rullo and defeated West Catholic, 55-29.
Back on January 24, Archbishop Wood beat visiting Cardinal O’Hara, 47-37, before winning their next six. Players from both sides can’t wait for the rematch.
“I’m excited for the chance,” said Rullo. “We’ve put ourselves in a position for a chance to possibly get to the Palestra. We know we have a tough opponent in Wood and that we have to play smart and together. It’s going to be a great environment and we’re ready for the challenge.”
Cardinal O'Hara vs. West Catholic - PSD Quarterfinal Gallery by Mike Nance
Wood senior Kara Meredith has a bit of revenge on her mind.
“I can’t wait to play, especially after losing to O’Hara in the semis last year,” said Meredith. “I also think it’s going to be a great atmosphere at that gym and we’ve been preparing the past few days, so we’re ready. We want to come out and play with energy from the beginning, because we didn’t come this far to not get to the Palestra.”
(Contact John Knebels at jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)