MORE FROM THE WEB
Even as his team's lead grew larger and larger with each passing quarter, Archbishop Wood coach Jim Ricci braced himself for the inevitable Cardinal O'Hara comeback.
"With a great team like that," Ricci said, "you know you're going to take some hits."
Cardinal O'Hara Maureen Leahy is stripped of the ball by Wood's Alex Heck,left, and Luren Nealon. ( Ron Cortes / Staff Photographer ) (Ron Cortes / Staff Photographer)
The Vikings delivered all the hits in building a 36-18 cushion after three quarters of the Catholic League semifinal game. Then, Ricci and his players gritted their teeth through a fourth-quarter O'Hara explosion, and held on for a 55-51 victory at Philadelphia University.
The win sets up a Monday night matchup at the Palestra between Wood (15-9) and Archbishop Carroll, which beat Neumann-Goretti in the other semifinal, for the PCL title.
The three-quarter prelude to the furious, late rally featured swarming Wood defense that overwhelmed the Lions (20-4), who entered the game undefeated against Catholic League opponents.
Ricci lauded his team's effort in staying in front of O'Hara players one-on-one and attacking the passing lanes for deflections and steals. Every loose ball seemed to end up in the hands of a Wood player, and the Vikings carved up the Lions' defense on the other end.
"We just looked dead," 18th-year O'Hara coach Linus McGinty said. "We got beat more to the basket tonight than we did all year."
The Lions themselves played lockdown defense during a plodding, 7-6 second quarter that gave the Vikings a 21-14 lead at halftime. But Wood, which has won the last two Class AAA state championships, opened the decisive third quarter on a 10-0 run, including three-pointers by Lauren Nealon and Jackie Pierson in the opening minutes.
O'Hara didn't record a second-half point until the 2:42 mark of the third, when forward Shanice Johnson drove for a layup.
What seemed like a harmless two points started a late O'Hara charge, led by Johnson's heroics. The junior sparked her team with 13 of its next 16 points, as McGinty's press forced a flurry of Wood turnovers.
Freshman point guard Alyssa Monaghan got hot in the fourth, pouring in 15 points. Johnson and Monaghan combined for 26 of O'Hara's 33 points in the final period, while Ricci sweated it out on the sideline.
"That's a good way to put it," Ricci said.
Monaghan's 1-for-2 trip to the line made it 51-48 with 40 seconds left, but Wood sophomore Jess Kaminski remained cool at the foul line, knocking down five late free throws.
Before each trip to the line with cheers rumbling from the stands, Kaminski's older sister Taylor, a senior guard, offered words of encouragement. Relax, Taylor told Jess. Calm down.
"I was all nervous in the first half taking free throws," Jess Kaminski said.
In the fourth quarter?
"I zoned out," she said.
Archbishop Wood 14 7 15 19 – 55
Cardinal O'Hara 8 6 4 33 – 51
AW: Jess Kaminski 11, Jackie Pierson 5, Taylor Kaminski 10, Lauren Nealon 16, Alex Heck 6, Haley Scullion 4, Colleen Young 2, Kaminski 1.
CO: Alyssa Monaghan 19, Mia Farmer 5, Shanice Johnson 17, McKenzie Rule 3, Maureen Leahy 2, Libby Lannon 2, Alex Stam 3.
Contact staff writer Brian Kotloff at bkotloff@phillynews.com.
