GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Philadelphia Catholic League Season Accomplishments & Playoff Preparations

PHILADELPHIA – It’s that time of year again. The Philadelphia Catholic League girls’ basketball playoffs commence this Tuesday, February 13. If one thing is certain amongst all viable contenders, it’s their passion, drive and determination to make it to the finals, which will take place on Monday, Feb. 26 at the historic Palestra.

This past PCL season was filled with both team and individual historic milestones, unblemished league records and laudable accomplishments that can only be described by the players themselves.

See below for noteworthy achievements and playoff preparations:

PCL Girls' Basketball Highlights: NG vs. O'Hara, Wood vs. Ryan, Carroll vs. Ryan - Shot by Kevin Murphy & Kathy Leister

NEUMANN-GORETTI – (12-0 PCL)

Head Coach: Andrea Peterson

The Saints entered this league season playing their first four games against some of the PCL’s toughest competitors. As you can see by their flawless league record, Neumann-Goretti made a statement early on defeating Archbishop Wood 45-36, Cardinal O’Hara 47-42, Bonner-Prendie 46-43 and Archbishop Carroll 62-37. However, out of those four games, three were decided by 9-points or less.

In order to excel against the top PCL contenders the second time around, the Saints are focusing on having constructive practices and making final adjustments on defense.

“To have a successful playoff season, my teammates and I are consistently working to improve our defense because we all know defense wins championships,” said Neumann-Goretti senior, Angel Ricks. “We have a strong bond and accepting constructive criticism helps us focus and work harder. We have team goals and they are to work hard and bring back home the PCL championship trophy.”

ARCHBISHOP WOOD – (11-1 PCL)

Head Coach: Mike McDonald

The Lady Viking’s only league loss this season came at the hands of Neumann-Goretti in their third PCL match-up. Archbishop Wood advanced to the finals last season and the team has every intention of making it back to the Palestra hardwood on February 26. Like frontrunner Neumann-Goretti, the Vikings are also concentrating on establishing a steady defense.

“In order to go deep into the playoffs, I think we need to keep playing great defense like we have been recently. Talking on defense is what our coaches always stress at practice. So I think we need to keep up our communication on the court in order to win key games down the road,” said Wood senior captain Katie May.

The reigning PIAA Class 5A state champions secured two huge wins this season in order to vie for another state title in March.

“I feel like beating Carroll and Ryan so that we qualify for states was definitely what we wanted to accomplish and we were able to do that,” said May. “Those two wins felt like the biggest accomplishments of the season thus far.”

NG vs. O'Hara - PSD Photos by Kevin Murphy

NG vs. O'Hara Photos by Kevin Murphy

Wood vs. Ryan - PSD Photos by Kathy Leister

Wood vs. Ryan - Photos by Kathy Leister

CARDINAL O’HARA – (10-2 PCL)

Head Coach: Linus McGinty

The reigning 2017 PCL champions are a No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs after a gritty battle against Neumann-Goretti and a close overtime 33-29 loss against Wood. O’Hara senior co-captain Maura Hendrixson explains that while her team struggled in the beginning, the Lions have found their moxie and are ready to defend the coveted PCL plaque.

“In the beginning of the season, we struggled a little to find our way as a team and had to figure out how to play without Hannah (Nihill) and Mary (Sheehan) because they were definitely key components last year leading us to the PCL final,” said Hendrixson. “Towards the end of the regular season we kind of just figured it out the more games we played. A lot of players have stepped up and we started to finally play really well together to help us win a few big games in the past two weeks.”

Cardinal O’Hara will play No. 6 seed Archbishop Ryan in the PCL quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7:00p.m. In their initial meeting this season, O’Hara narrowly came away with a 48-46 victory. In order to defeat the Ragdolls again, the Lions are focusing on boxing out due to their height disadvantage.

“Key successes for us would definitely be on defense. Rebounding is huge for our team because we are small,” said Hendrixson. “In order for us to beat the big teams coming up we definitely have to focus most on boxing out and limiting second shots.”

This season, senior co-captain Kenzie Gardler notched her 1,000th point during the Lion’s 53-31 road victory against St. Hubert.

The irony of Kenzie scoring at Hubert’s was beyond rich. Her mom, Katie (nee) Curry, a 1988 Hubert grad and star at St. Joseph’s University, scored most of her 1,000-plus points in that same gymnasium.

“It was a great accomplishment and to do it at my mom’s high school where she also scored 1,000 points at is so special and cool,” said Gardler. “It will be something we share forever.”

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL – (9-3 PCL)

Head Coach: Renie Shields

Archbishop Carroll’s squad is not intimidated by the intensity of the PCL playoffs, as the Lady Patriot’s advanced to the semifinal round last season.

What has aided in Carroll’s overall success this year is the unique way in which they prepare for upcoming games.

“Our biggest accomplishment as a team is that we come together after every loss and reflect on what we did wrong,” said senior point guard, Molly Masciantonio. “Every game we fix our weaknesses and turn them into strengths, which helped us win some important games this season.”

Carroll pulled off an impressive 50-47 road victory against Archbishop Ryan this season after trailing 29-23 at the half. The Patriot’s will play the Pandas of Bonner-Prendie in the quarterfinals at home this Thursday. Carroll recently played Bonner-Prendie on Feb. 3 and came away with a 49-31 victory.

Kenzie Gardler honored at home after scoring her 1,000th point vs. St. Hubert - PSD Photo by Dan McCarty

Archbishop Carroll 2018 Varsity Girls Basketball Team - Photo courtesy of Carroll Girls' Basketball

Carroll vs. Ryan - PSD Gallery by Kevin Murphy

Carroll vs. Ryan - PSD Photos by Kevin Murphy

“Our plan in playoffs is to treat every practice like a game and improving on what needs to be improved on. (Our) Defense and energy is our key to winning games,” said Masciantonio. “Our offense becomes great when we focus and have energy on defense. During playoffs, we have to forget about the past and focus on winning the next game.”

BONNER-PRENDIE – (8-4 PCL)

Head Coach: Tom Stewart

After finishing with a 6-6 PCL record last season, the Pandas are bypassing the play-in-round this year and are heading straight to the quarterfinals.

“To have a good playoff run, we need to play together while being smart with our possessions and taking good shots,” said Bonner-Prendie senior, Emily Monaghan. “Defensively we have been working on communicating to know where other shooters are and how to rotate better to slow our opponents down. Getting the ball inside to our posts would be key in our success for the playoffs.”

Bonner-Prendie 2018 Varsity Girls' Basketball Squad - Photo courtesy of MBAP Girls' Basketball

The Panda’s played in a nail-bitter against top-seeded Neumann-Goretti earlier this season. Bonner-Prendie ended up losing, but only by three points in a 46-43 thriller. In their final PCL regular season game, the Pandas came away victorious, 55-54, in another close battle against Archbishop Ryan.

“During the regular season we competed with everyone but we weren’t able to finish and get a win,” said Monaghan. “I think the Ryan game was our biggest accomplishment. We played together and it was a big win for us. It showed us that we can come out with a win in a big game.”

ARCHBISHOP RYAN – (7-5 PCL)

Head Coach: Mike McCusker

Don’t let their 7-5 record fool you. The Ragdoll’s made school history this season. Ryan’s squad set a new school record totaling 17 consecutive wins, which propelled them to began their PCL schedule with a 7-game win streak. What is most shocking about the Ragdoll’s 4-out-of-5 losses, is that they had the opportunity to win each game in the final seconds. Ryan lost by three points to Carroll 50-47, by two points to Neumann-Goretti 53-51, by two points to Cardinal O’Hara 48-46 and by one point to Bonner-Prendie (as noted above).

Every Ragdoll on the varsity team was asked to comment on being part of Ryan’s historic run (see video below for comments from Caela Russell, Annie Cashman, Taliyah Rahman, Monee Moore & Danielle McCurdy):

Caitlin Geiger, sophomore: “The team is like my second family and it makes me so happy and proud watching all of my good friends bring their talent to the court. It shows how much potential we have and how hard we work to get where we are now.”

The Ragdolls talk about making history & seniors give advice to returning teammates

Luca Verello, freshman: “It’s special to me because many of the girls worked very hard over the years to break this record, so for me as a freshman to be able to experience this made it very special to me. I’m looking forward to having more memories with this great group of girls."

Jazzmin Peña, junior: “It shows that all our hard work paid off.”

Jackie Schaeffer, senior: “Being a part of this team has been so much fun. I’m so proud of all that we’ve accomplished especially after coming so close to the record last year. It’s such an amazing feeling and I’m so happy for our team.”
Shayne Glenn, junior: “It takes a lot of heart to do it! This is the first time in Archbishop Ryan girls’ basketball history that we were 17-0. We were so determined to break this record and we did. It takes nothing but teamwork and working hard every day.”
Madison Taylor, senior: “Achieving this makes me very happy and proud of my whole team. I'm grateful to be a part of this team and I enjoy every second of it.”
Gabriella Deluisi, sophomore: “Everyone on this team is like a second family to me and it was the best feeling when we broke the record. I was so happy for everyone but mostly the seniors because it’s their last season and they’ve worked so hard and deserved this great accomplishment.”

LANSDALE CATHOLIC – (6-6 PCL)

Head Coach: Joe Mack

Since the beginning of the season, it has been senior Lauren Crim’s primary focus to help Lansdale Catholic reach the Catholic League playoffs. Mission accomplished. Helped by the victory over West Catholic, the Crusaders are the seventh seed and will host 10th-seed Bishop McDevitt (3-9) Tuesday night in hopes of reaching the league quarterfinals.

“They (McDevitt) played us tough last time we played them,” said Crim. “You can't take any team for granted in this league and I know for sure I don't want to take these last few games for granted. We have prepared and worked hard all season. We have lost some heartbreakers, but I think we are ready for whatever is thrown at us.”

Earlier in the season when Crim scored her 1,000th career point in a 50-48 triumph over West Catholic on Jan. 11, time seemed to stop.

Head coach Joe Mack and her teammates embraced her near midcourt, impromptu pictures were taken, and fans cheered. Finally, the game continued. One quarter later, Holy Family University-bound senior teammate Brady Wassel canned a last-second shot to secure the victory.

“That really made the entire night unbelievable,” she said.

Lansdale Catholic senior Lauren Crim poses with her parents after scoring her 1,000th career point - Photo courtesy of Lansdale Catholic

Crim said she has enjoyed periodically reminiscing about her moment in the spotlight. Needing 13 points to reach the pinnacle, Crim took a pass from freshman Olivia Schneider, travelled the length of the floor, and dropped home a short-side jumper that rattled around the iron before dropping through.

Less than 48 hours later, in an afternoon home contest versus non-league opponent Pope John Paul II, Crim was recognized in a pre-game ceremony. Sandwiched between parents Scott and Christine, Crim was presented a basketball and a large framed picture adorning numerous congratulatory messages, three pictures of herself, and four single digits – a one and three zeroes – in green and gold school colors.

“The whole week was something I will never forget,” said Crim. “It really was great.”

PCL GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

The first round of the 2018 PCL girls’ basketball playoff’s kicks off tomorrow evening. No. 8 West Catholic will host No. 9 St. Hubert. The winner will advance to play No. 1 seed Neumann-Goretti in the Quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 15. No. 7 Lansdale Catholic will host No. 10 Bishop McDevitt. The winner will move on to play No. 2 seed Archbishop Wood on Thursday Feb. 15th.

The remaining PCL Quarterfinal match-ups will also be played on Thursday, Feb. 15 between No. 3 Cardinal O’Hara vs. No. 6 Archbishop Ryan and No. 4 Archbishop Carroll vs. No. 5 Bonner-Prendie.

Note: Higher seeds will have home court advantage during the Quarterfinals.

The girls’ Semifinals will take place on Tuesday, February 20 at Jefferson University. The first game will be played at 6:30p.m. and the second will follow.

The Finals are set for Monday, February 26 at the Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania. The girls’ final will begin at 6:30p.m. with the boys’ final following at 8:15p.m.

To purchase tickets for the PCL finals at the Palestra, click here.

Catholic League Girls’ Basketball Final Standings

12-0 — Neumann-Goretti
11-1 — Archbishop Wood
10-2 — Cardinal O’Hara
9-3 — Archbishop Carroll
8-4 — Bonner-Prendergast
7-5 — Archbishop Ryan
6-6 — Lansdale Catholic
5-7 — West Catholic
4-8 — St. Hubert
3-9 — Bishop McDevitt
2-10 — Conwell-Egan
1-11 — Little Flower
0-12 — John W. Hallahan