GIRLS’ BASKETBALL: The Catholic League Begins Riveting Post Season Journey to the Palestra

By: John Knebels

Videos/Photos: Kathy Leister, Angelise Stuhl, Patty Morgan, Dan McCarty & Mike Gray.

PHILADELPHIA – From the beginning, the first goal is to earn a metaphorical ticket to the postseason. Doesn’t matter how you get there, just get there.

After a riveting regular season, the Catholic League girls’ basketball playoffs are about to begin. While the top six qualifiers enjoy byes in the initial round, seeds seven through 10 will meet – weather permitting – February 12.

“It feels like a new season,” said Lansdale Catholic senior Maile Erwin. “Our coach (Eric Gidney) is always telling us that playoffs are the second season this year and to turn the page and just focus on the next game ahead.”

For the eight-seed Crusaders (5-7), that would be 7:00 meeting with visiting nine-seed Bishop McDevitt (4-8). LC overwhelmed the Lancers, 62-36, on January 15. After an 8-6 first quarter, the Crusaders ran off a 31-12 spurt over the next two quarters to help eliminate any angst.

Sophomore Timaya Lewis-Eutsey and freshman Lauren Edwards both scored 16 for the winners. For McDevitt, senior Nyah Johnson netted 16 while classmate Dana Mizelle added 11.

“I think playing McDevitt earlier this season has definitely helped us in that we know their key players, their strengths and weaknesses, and what we need to do to prepare for Tuesday,” said Erwin, who scored nine. “As a team, we are always concerned about the teams we’re playing because the PCL is very competitive, but we’re working hard every day in practices and improving our game to keep the season going.”

McDevitt senior Dana Mizelle said the Lancers have nothing to lose.

“Making the playoffs this year has been a long, tough journey,” said Mizelle. “The most important thing is to be able to play with my team, win or lose, and I have faith in every single one of my teammates and coaches.”

(Photo Gallery contains images from Lansdale Catholic vs. Little Flower by Patty Morgan & Bishop McDevitt vs. St. Hubert by Mike Gray)

Lansdale Catholic & Bishop McDevitt Photos:

Despite falling to O'Hara in the regular season, McDevitt's Nyah Johnson talks about how the Lancers were able to get their offense going:

(Video by Dan McCarty)

At 6:00, 10-seed St. Hubert will visit seven-seed Archbishop Ryan. In their meeting on January 24, a first-quarter tornado in the form of a 26-4 blitzkrieg by the visiting Ragdolls basically ended the game right there and then.

Ryan’s lead increased to 45-14 at halftime, allowing generous substituting over the next two quarters. Senior Monee Moore tallied a game-high 18 and senior Shayne Glenn added 15 for the Ragdolls (7-5), who put 10 players in the scoring column.

Archbishop Ryan vs. St. Hubert - PSD Photos by Mike Gray

Archbishop Ryan vs. St. Hubert - Photos by Mike Gray

“The playoffs are always exciting to make because you never know who you’re going to play,” said Glenn. “Ryan playing Hubert’s again is a huge game, especially in the playoffs because we are rivals. Playoffs make everything more intense because everyone wants to go far to the PCL championship.”

Moore said the Ragdolls aren’t giving their earlier victory much thought.

“You have to be concerned about any team you play in the playoffs,” said Moore. “I wouldn’t say we’re threatened by Hubert’s, but we can’t overlook them, either. We just have to continue to play team ball.”

Despite being underdogs, the Bambies (3-9) are relieved that they clawed their way into a second-chance opportunity.

“I would say this definitely now feels like a new season,” said Hubert senior Sarah Hartigan. “With the new coaching staff and teammates, this season was different than the previous ones. I feel more comfortable and I love the family environment the team provides.

“I am a little nervous about the game, but my team has definitely improved and changed some mistakes around for this playoff game against Ryan. It does hurt that we lost to them in the regular season, but we know what we need to fix to defeat them in the playoff game.”

One team that has already celebrated a title is Archbishop Carroll. The Patriots’ 11-1 record tied Neumann-Goretti, but because the former took care of the latter, 57-45, on January 11, Carroll is the regular-season champion.

The Patriots will host the lowest remaining seed on Valentine’s Day while the second lowest seed visits two-seed Neumann-Goretti. Three-seed Archbishop Wood (9-3) will take on visiting six-seed Cardinal O’Hara (8-4), and four-seed West Catholic (9-3) will host five-seed Bonner-Prendergast (8-4).

Archbishop Carroll vs. Neumann-Goretti game highlight by Dan McCarty:

“It doesn't get any better than this,” said Carroll senior Mary deSimone. “It feels great, especially because it’s my senior year and I worked so hard to get where I am today. I just want us to keep our momentum up so we can win the PCL title.”

Defending champion Cardinal O’Hara is in strange territory. The Lions are usually hosting the first round, but uncommon parity (the first time that seeds three through six have been separated by only one game apiece) and inopportune losses established their predicament.

“When we played them in the regular season, we only won by three, so this game is gonna be a good battle,” said O’Hara senior Kerry Patterson, referring to a 38-35 decision.

O'Hara's Kerry Patterson talks about what attributed to their end of season victory vs. McDevitt:

“We’re hoping to play with the same intensity we did the first game, and come out and play defense first.

“Once we lock down on defense, then our offense will come. We hope that we can secure a win and hopefully go on to win the Catholic League, but we have to take it one game at a time.”

Wood vs. West Catholic - PSD Photos by Kathy Leister

*To see & purchase additional Wood vs. West photos incl. photos from Wood senior night click here.*

Wood vs. West Catholic - Photos by Kathy Leister

Archbishop Wood, which seized six of its next seven after losing to O’Hara, appears confident as well.

“We are excited,” said Wood sophomore Kaitlyn Orihel. “Cardinal O’Hara is a great team and when we played them last, it was a close game and a tough loss for us. But we’ve recovered from some injuries and have nice momentum coming off of our win against West Catholic.

“We know they will be great competition, but we feel really good about how we are playing, our chemistry as a team, and desire to play deep into the playoffs. It should be a great game.”

Archbishop Wood vs. West Catholic Highlight Video by Angelise Stuhl:

Kaitlyn Orihel says the win vs. West Catholic has given the Vikings added confidence:

Wood head coach Mike McDonald was all-around proud of his team's effort vs. West Catholic:

Wood senior Annie Whalen talks keys to success in playoffs & leaves senior advice for her teammates:

Mia Andrews who is out from injury was happy her team won on senior night & talks about Orihel's improvements:

For West Catholic, hosting a playoff game has supplied quite a boost to school morale, especially considering that early injuries could have taken their toll. The Lady Burrs, however, won nine of their first 10 league games, including a 77-63 decision January 25 at Bonner-Prendergast.

An 18-4, first-quarter lead stunned the hosts. Behind senior Maeve McCann (27 points, four blocks), the Pandas crept to within 46-37 after three. But balanced scoring (sophomore Daziy Montgomery, 23 points; senior Amiyah Edney-Holmes, 17; sophomore Destiney McPhaul, 17; senior Kyliah Singletary, 13) closed the deal.

“It was real important for us to get this home game,” said McPhaul. “The energy that our fans and family bring gets us pumped up and going.”

Teammate Montgomery remembers the time when West “would always be ranked eighth or seventh and we would never get a bye.” But times have changed.

“This year we were able to finish higher up in the standings and secure a quarterfinal home game, which has been a while since a West Catholic girls’ basketball team has done so,” said Montgomery. “Also, even though key players went down, we still managed to fight and have the regular season we had, which made it even more memorable to secure a home game.”

The Catholic League semifinals will be played 6:30 and 8:00 on February 19 at Jefferson University. The championship will be held 6:30 on February 25 at the Palestra.

(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)