PHILADELPHIA –Two-seed and heavily favored Neumann-Goretti received a major scare before holding off seven-seed Archbishop Ryan. The Saints outscored the Ragdolls by 13-7 in overtime, their 67-61 victory putting them into the Catholic League semifinals against three-seed Archbishop Wood 8 PM February 19 at Jefferson University.
“There’s a lot of pressure in those situations,” said N-G coach Andrea Peterson. “People forget. Even in college and the pros there is pressure, even more so for high school players.”
Junior Diamond Johnson scored 23 while senior Nia Jordan tallied 15 and sophomore Sierra Bermudez added 12.
“We say it all the time – it doesn’t matter where you are seeded in the playoffs,” said Peterson. “It was a tough game and we found a way to win. We have another tough team coming up. It’s gonna be a dogfight. We have to defend.”
Neumann-Goretti vs. Ryan - Photos by Mike Gray
Neumann-Goretti vs. Ryan - Photos by Mike Gray
Top-seed Archbishop Carroll had no problem with eight-seed Lansdale Catholic. Behind 22 points by junior Erin Sweeney, the Patriots rolled to a 53-37 victory.
“We came together as a team,” said Sweeney. “We are very excited to be moving forward to the next round because we have worked very hard to get here.”
Up next in the semis is five-seed Bonner-Prendergast, which was the only Catholic League team to defeat Carroll (47-40 in December 12 at B-P).
MBAP vs. West Catholic Highlights by Aaron Mitchell:
MBAP vs. WC - Photos by Aaron Mitchell
MBAP vs. WC - Photos by Aaron Mitchell
The Pandas upended four-seed West Catholic, 56-41, outscoring the Burrs in each of the first three quarters.
For B-P, senior Arianna McGeary, sophomore Alexis Eagan, and senior Maeve McCann each scored 12 while junior Dakota McCaughan added 10. Sophomore Destiney McPhaul’s 11 led the Burrs.
“For us, tonight was a night where we could gain redemption,” said McCaughan. “From the moment we stepped on the bus, our team energy could be felt. We wanted this win badly, and to do so, we needed to create a fierce atmosphere. Tonight was the type of game in which each player rose up and contributed to our success.
“Playing against Carroll is the next step in our PCL journey, and in order to be successful against them, we have to retain the same team energy we had tonight.”
West Catholic coach Beulah Osueke was classy in defeat.
“This year we had good game performances and an overall improved record during the regular season, only for our quest for a Catholic League title to end abruptly with an off-performance against a good opponent,” said Ouseke. “The league remains one of the tops in the area because of the amount of mental and physical preparation necessary for top play night after night. There’s no chance of not showing up fully and expecting a win.”
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. See full story here.
(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)
2019 PCL Semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 19 at Jefferson University
Game 1: No. 1 Archbishop Carroll vs. No. 5 Bonner-Prendergast 6:00 P.M.
Game 2: No. 2 Neumann-Goretti vs. No. 3 Archbishop Wood 8:00 P.M.
Tag(s): Home Schools Philadelphia Catholic Girls Basketball Philadelphia Catholic League Arch. Carroll Girls Basketball Arch. Ryan Girls Basketball Arch. Wood Girls Basketball Bishop McDevitt Girls B-Ball Bonner & Prendie Girls B-Ball Cardinal O'Hara Girls B-Ball Conwell-Egan Girls Basketball John W. Hallahan Basketball Lansdale Cath Girls Basketball Little Flower Basketball Saint Hubert Basketball Neumann/Goretti Girls B-Ball West Catholic Girls Basketball