By: John Knebels
WARMINSTER, PA –The two teams could meet 10 times and it would most probably result in a 50-50 split.
But in high school basketball playoffs, it’s one and done.
On February 14, Archbishop Wood defeated Cardinal O’Hara, 43-41, in a riveting Catholic League girls’ basketball quarterfinal contest between oft-bitter rivals seeded third and sixth, respectively.
Fittingly, the nail biter came down to the final possession. That’s when Wood first-team All-Catholic sophomore Kaitlyn Orihel scored the most important basket of her young career to send Wood into a league semifinal meeting with two-seed Neumann-Goretti 8 PM on February 19, at Jefferson University.
Kaitlyn Orihel's game-winning basket vs. O'Hara
Orihel steals O'Hara's final throw-in:
“Coach Mike (McDonald) called ‘open,’ so I knew that was my shot to take at the end,” said the 5-foot, 9-inch guard. “The last couple of times he had called open, I went right, so she cut off my right. So I figured I’d go left and as the clock was winding down, I knew I just had to get a shot off.”
And what a shot it was, a banker from just under the basket despite great collective defense by Cardinal O’Hara.
Orihel was mobbed by her teammates, but the referees put five-tenths of a second on the clock (replays later showed the clock at 1.1 seconds as the ball dropped through the mesh), thus giving the Lions one last chance.
After both teams huddled for a final strategy, a desperation heave was speared by Orihel at center court. The game was officially over.
“She’s been our leading scorer for two years,” said McDonald. “She plays high level basketball all-year round, and she trains very hard.”
Orihel finished with a game-high 18 points, contributing eight of her team’s 14 points in the fourth quarter. That included a pair of free throws with 1:10 left that gave Wood its first lead since the five-minute mark of the third quarter.
In fact, although there were eight occasions when the score was tied, there were only three lead changes throughout the entire game, and that includes Orihel’s game-winner. Wood led by 13-11 after one and by 21-17 at halftime. O’Hara dominated the third quarter, a 19-8 blitz that supplied a 36-29 lead entering the fourth quarter.
“It was tough stretch,” said McDonald. “Things weren’t falling for us. When we cut it to one-possession game (a three-point swish by freshman Ryanne Allen with 4:34 left), that’s when I felt like we had a good chance to climb back into it.
“We went to a different lineup strictly for defense for the most part. They dug down. They stepped up on both ends of the floor because they realized what was at stake.”
Senior Elizabeth “Biz” Fasti, who dealt a game-high seven assists, recognized that Wood was in a desperate state trailing by seven with only eight minutes remaining.
“We knew we had to get up and pressure them, and we couldn’t take stupid shots,” said Fasti. “This game meant everything. Even though we were the higher seed, we knew we had to fight as hard as we could. We knew they were going to play a great game.”
McDonald echoed those sentiments.
Kaitlyn Orihel describes her game-winning basket:
Archbishop Wood head coach Mike McDonald beaks down a dynamic playoff win:
Elizabeth Fasti talks about the Lady Viking's comeback:
Wood freshmen teammates Bri Bowen & Ryanne Allen describe their emotions after a last-second victory:
“It’s an unusual three-six game,” said McDonald. “The league is pretty balanced. Every game is a tough game within the top eight teams in the quarterfinals. Cardinal O’Hara is better than a sixth seed.”
Wood also received huge contributions from a pair of freshmen – Bri Bowen (seven points, four rebounds) and the aforementioned Allen (11 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal). That helped offset strong O’Hara performances by senior Kerry Patterson (seven points, four assists), sophomore Siobhan Boylan (team-best nine points, two assists), freshman Sydni Scott (six points, four rebounds, two blocks, two assists), and freshman Maggie Doogan (seven points, six rebounds, steal).
In the end, however, it came down to Kaitlyn Orihel, and with the hopes of a Catholic League title possibly on the brink, she delivered.
“They beat us in the semifinals last year, and we really had something to prove,” said Orihel. “I don’t think we could ask for a better, more exciting ending.”
(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)