SHILLINGTON, PA—It was a slow start for the Archbishop Wood girls’ basketball team as they faced Susquehannock in the PIAA Class 5-A semifinal game at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School.
The Warriors came prepared with a lively fan base which seemed to shaken the Lady Vikings in the first half of the game. That trepidation among the Wood team did not last long, as their mantra of team play took over the court and the scoreboard propelling them to a 56-41 victory over the Warriors and the chance to defend their state title at the championship game in Hershey.
The Lady Vikings were down 12-5 after the first quarter. Wood’s Katie May tied the game twice in the second quarter with a set of three’s. The latter right at the buzzer ending the half tied at 22.
Cue the curtain for the second half as a different Wood team emerged. To quote lyrics from Alicia Keys song (in the plural sense) - “these girls were on fire”. Wood's defense dominated the entire second half holding the Warriors to 6 points in the third quarter and scoreless for more than half in the 4th quarter.
Archbishop Wood's starts a 15-0 run in the 4th quarter with a 3 from Bridget Arcidiacono
I just told them to breathe and relax. I think the noise may have rattled them a little bit,” said Wood head coach Mike McDonald. “We settled in like I thought we would and closed it out in the first half -- I thought that was important. Then in the second half, we brought our game.
Susquehannock scored 6 to Wood’s 11 in the 3rd quarter and 13 to Wood’s 23 in the fourth.
Wood's Katie May talks about how they will prepare for the championship game in Hershey
“There was a lot of people here the crowd was really loud,” said junior forward Katie May who led the night with 13 points. “We were just a little nervous and it was the semifinals so there is going to be some nerves. Once we calmed down and starting running our offense the shots fell down.”
Senior captains Cassie Sebold scored 12 points and Shannon May scored 8 before leaving the game in the fourth quarter due to a collar bone injury.
“I think once we got the lead, it was easy to keep the lead and we did not want to lose this game so we knew what we had to do to keep going,” said Sebold.
Wood's Cassie Sebold discusses how past experience will benefit her team heading to championship game
This is the fourth consecutive trip to the state championship for the Lady Vikings. They will play Trinity at the GIANT Center this Saturday. Game time is 6 p.m.
ARCHBISHOP WOOD
Karly Brown 5
Shannon May 8
Cassie Sebold 12
Bridget Arcidiacono 5
Mia Andrews 2
Erin Morgan 5
Katie May 13
Ryleigh Parsons 2
Meghan Neher 4
SUSQUEHANNOCK
Taylor Tannura 4
Jaden Walker 12
Jayla Galbreath 10
Tyler Williams 6
Anna Mahan 9