NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA –
Archbishop Wood’s girls’ basketball team found themselves in a little bit of a struggle last night in their road game against Archbishop Ryan. The Vikings had to rally back after trailing the Ragdolls 18-13 at the half, on the way to their 41-36 victory.
“Today’s game against Ryan was definitely not pretty,” said Wood senior co-captain Shannon May. “We couldn’t shoot, so it was hard to score against the zone, but we pushed through. We fought the entire game and stepped up our defense so we could get points from steals.”
Archbishop Ryan vs. Archbishop Wood -27 Photos by Kevin Murphy
It was a very low scoring game for both teams. Ryan managed to trap Wood on offense, leading to a 11-2 score in favor of the Ragdolls at the end of the first quarter. Caela Russell took command of Ryan’s offense, scoring 6 of her 10 points in the first half of the game.
It was not until the fourth quarter that the Vikings found their rhythm. Wood exploded with 17 points in the final quarter to walk away with the win.
Wood head coach, Mike McDonald, gives credit to his senior captains for propelling his team on the path to victory.
“Cassie Sebold and Shannon May's defense willed us to a victory,” said McDonald. “Our bench stepped up when needed. Our team grinded out a win when nothing was going well for them.”
Sebold led the Vikings on the floor, totaling 18 points, while teammates Shannon May and Katie May followed her lead with 7 a-piece.
“It was definitely a team win because many of us did not have a great game, so the bench helped bring energy and picked us up after the very slow first quarter,” said May.
The Vikings have a quick turnaround in games as the team will travel to South Philadelphia tomorrow afternoon at 3PM to play Neumann-Goretti. Currently, Wood and Goretti are the last remaining PCL squads with unblemished 10-0 league records. Tomorrow’s game will determine the top seed heading into the PCL playoffs.
Wood senior co-captain's Shannon May (3) and Cassie Sebold (4) anticipate tomorrow's game vs. Neumann-Goretti - PSD photo by Zamani Feelings
“We need to play better on Sunday to beat Neumann, but I know we can,” said May. “We are going to prepare at practice and talk about how we are going to play defense, like we normally do. It’s just another game. It’s a big game and we want to win, but there is not as much pressure on that game as the one tonight [vs. Ryan]. I know we will be ready.”
The Ragdolls are looking forward to displaying their talents in the playoffs. But before they make their playoff debut, the team has one final game on Tuesday, Feb. 7 vs. Bonner-Prendie. Family and friends of the Ragdoll’s squad are welcome to attend Tuesday’s game and celebrate the team's graduating seniors.