Wood girls beat Carroll for Catholic League title

With 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining in the Catholic League girls' basketball championship game and the score knotted at 31-31, Archbishop Wood opted to run out the clock for one final shot.

With three seconds remaining, the defense divided and the lane opened. And junior reserve guard Taylor Kaminski was right on cue.

Kaminski slashed to the goal and laid in her first two points of the game, giving Wood a last-second, 33-31 victory over Archbishop Carroll Monday night at the Palestra.

The Catholic League title is Wood's first in girls' basketball since 1982.

"I just took the opportunity given to me," said Kaminski, who was 0 for 4 from the floor before her game-winner. "There wasn't much time left, so something had to be done. I had to take what was given to me. There was nothing to really to think about."

Wood (22-5) had lost three of the last four Catholic League girls' championships to Carroll (18-7). The Vikings fell to the Patriots in last year's title game, 51-37. Carroll entered the title game riding a 13-game winning streak, including a 36-31 victory over Wood on Feb. 7.

"I feel really good for these seniors - they've been around on the other side of this three times, all against Carroll," Wood coach Jim Ricci said. "It's nice to see how they feel."

Both teams played high-intensity man-to-man defense, running pressure at the ball all game. Offense, by both teams' accounts, was paltry. Wood shot 40 percent from the floor for the game, while Carroll hit on 44 percent of its shots.

Both teams averaged 56 points per game this season, including playoffs, before Monday. Carroll, though, had to be considered the clear favorite before tipoff. The Patriots had an average margin of victory of 28 points in 14 league games, and had owned Wood in title games in recent history.

Dating back to 1980, the Vikings had beaten Carroll just twice - the second win coming in the quarterfinals of last year's PIAA Class AAA tournament.

"I'm just disappointed. Our kids played hard, but they made a nice play," Carroll coach Chuck Creighton said of the decisive layup. "We just were off balance."

Eight players scored for Wood, but none in double digits. Tori Arnao had a team-high eight points. Carroll got the majority of its scoring from Sarah Hunt (10 points) and Meghan Creighton, who scored a game-high 11. Carroll senior Emily Fazzini grabbed five rebounds, as did sophomore Sarah Curran.

Things were tight throughout. There were six lead changes and five ties. No lead was greater than four points - Carroll was up by four midway through the second quarter and Wood held a four-point advantage in the fourth.

But it all boiled down to a matter of seconds, of passes - a test of patience inside two minutes of play. Either another loss for Wood at the hands of Carroll or a trend-busting victory.

Kaminski punctuated a well-executed set. And although she hit the layup, she said she could not take all the credit.

"None of the baskets can be contributed to one person. Every one has a part," she said. "It's not even my shot. Everybody throughout the game did everything to help out."

Archbishop Carroll   6 6 11 8 - 31

Archbishop Wood   6 7 9 11 - 33

AC: Meghan Creighton 11, Emily Fazzini 4, Rachel Pearson 1, Jen Carney 3, Kristie Costantino 2, Sarah Hunt 10

AW: Taylor Kaminski 2, Lauren Nealon 6, Aubrey Howland 2, Jenna Swope 5, Christine Verrelle 5, Tori Arnao 8, Steph Keyes 4, Cait McCartney 1