City of Basketball Love

By Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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HERSHEY — Alexa Windish had no idea she was starting a rallying cry.

Two years ago, the then Archbishop Wood sophomore came up with a chant after quieting a lumberjack-themed student section that wanted to “Chop Wood.” The guard didn’t play varsity that season but she did give the Vikings something that would define every big win they had thereafter.

Saturday night, in her last game as a Viking, Windish got to lead her chant in historic fashion.

“Can’t chop Wood. Can’t chop it.”

Wood made history in Hershey, defeating Cathedral Prep 37-27 for its fourth straight state title, something no girls’ team in the state had done since 2001-04. More than that, it was the program’s ninth overall PIAA title, moving the Vikings into first place amongst girls’ champions.

The Archbishop Wood girls basketball team poses together after winning the PIAA Class 5A championship Saturday night at the Giant Center in Hershey. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

“It became a thing, I think it’s super-catchy and it became a tradition,” Windish said. “I wasn’t trying to make anything of it but here we are and we sing it every time.

“That being our last one, I’m a little bit upset but I’m hoping they carry it on and hopefully there’s a new ringleader with the chant.”

Wood might have felt like it was the one doing the chopping Saturday, the Vikings matching up with a Ramblers team that had them very much out-sized. Early on, a combination of that size and the usual nerves of stepping onto the Giant Center floor seemed to have the usually methodical Vikings out of sorts.

Yet, as coach Mike McDonald told them when they got back to their locker room, for as poorly as they’d played offensively it was a 16-16 game at the break. Wood, which has one player in its rotation at 6-foot, won the rebounding battle 22-20.

The effort was there, but so was the defense and some big-time shot production after halftime.

“It’s a lot of hard days, I’m sure, especially on their end, going home from practice or days in the offseason they don’t want to show up and they do it anyway,” McDonald said. “That’s why they’re mentally tough enough to win these types of games that are grind-it-out type of games.”

Lauren Greer, Wood’s defensive ace, had her hands full covering Cathedral Prep senior Jayden McBride and came through with another outstanding effort in her last game, holding the Georgetown recruit to six points. It was Greer’s offense that had the senior frustrated at half, she’d made a couple layups but was 0-of-3 on open looks from behind the arc.

“Ava (Renninger) came up to me at halftime and said ‘don’t hesitate, shoot your shot,’” Greer said. “We stay after practice every day and get up so many shots, we have this little rotation we do and she kept saying ‘I’ve seen you make shots, just shoot your shots.’”

From left, Archbishop Carroll's Ava Renninger, Alexa Windish, Lauren Greer and Emily Knouse pose together after Saturday's win over Cathedral Prep. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

Lena Walz opened the third with a three for the Ramblers and McBride shook loose of Greer just long enough to hit a mid-range look for a 21-18 Prep lead early in the third. Emily Knouse came back with the game-tying three off a Renninger offensive rebound and after a stop, Renninger found Greer at the top of the key.

“Lauren is a true representation of what this team is,” Windish said. “She didn’t get a lot of chances before this year and she’s worked her butt off to get here. You can see it show in her game and now she’s one of the most confident players I’ve ever seen.”

Greer’s shot swished, Renninger tracked her down for an emphatic hand-slap at midcourt and the Vikings were in front for good.

“We all had this same common goal and it was to win and to keep on winning,” Greer, who had 10 points and eight rebounds, said. “We put in a lot of work, we all stayed after practice to get up extra shots, pushed each other, there’s so much that goes into it that allowed us to get to this point.”

Wood saw its lead whittled to 27-26 when Walz hit another three early in the fourth. Renninger, who only scored once after halftime, seemed to have the magic touch and went to a freshman for the game’s biggest shot.

Renninger, who came to Wood as a sophomore after her family moved to the area, called the Vikings a second family for her. The tough-as-nails senior, heading to FDU next year, wrapped her career with eight points and four assists, plus one rather large part in history.

“I did not understand anything like state championships or the PCL, I just knew they win a lot,” Renninger said. “I wanted to be a part of that, but I had no idea and now that I’ve been a part of it, I’ve loved every bit of it.”

Makayla Finnegan was in Hershey last year for Wood’s three-peat, but only as a spectator watching her older sister Delaney celebrating on the floor. When Renninger’s pass found her, there was no hesitation, she shot a three and it went in for a four-point lead and 4:14 to play.

“I knew it was a big shot but we still had to stay in it,” Finnegan said. “We needed that shot, so I just shot it. My teammates really helped me, they gave me the confidence and they passed the ball to me, so they trust me.”

Archbishop Wood coach Mike McDonald addresses his team in the locker room. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

Cathedral Prep scored one point the rest of the way, Wood refusing to yield its defensive intensity while a parade of seniors in Windish, Greer and Renninger slowly locked it up with free throws and a layup.

Renninger was like a walking billboard for the night’s accomplishment. The senior wears No. 4 and on top of that, has a tiny Roman Numeral IV tattooed on her right arm - it’s symbolic of her being the fourth of four siblings but the senior laughingly said she got it this offseason as a kind of way to call her shot.

“Seeing the other seniors get emotional, seeing Coach Mike shed a tear or two made us feel it a little bit more,” Renninger said. “I think the bus ride home is when it’s going to hit, it’s still the adrenaline rush, still exciting having the trophy and screaming in the locker room. It’s emotional but exciting at the same time, just an unbelievable feeling.”

Knouse, who scored a game-high 12 points and led Wood in scoring for the fifth straight game in states, will be back next year. The junior was a co-captain with the three seniors and the St. Joe’s recruit sought that trio’s intrinsic drive as a way to better herself as well.

“It motivates them,” Knouse said. “The girls that didn’t play varsity all four years, it makes them work that much harder. They know they don’t have to score every time, they can play their role, play great defense.

“They taught me how to be a better teammate, how to be mature and handle myself when things don’t go my way.”

Windish, Greer and Renninger were part of history at Archbishop Wood. Windish left the Vikings with something else that will continue to echo with each passing year.

Can’t chop Wood. Can’t chop it.

“It’s a mentality,” Windish said. “We want to win, we want it for ourselves.It all came within ourselves as a team, everyone was so hyper-focused on winning championships this year and I think that’s why we were so successful.”

By Quarter

ARCHBISHOP WOOD 6 | 10 | 10 | 9 || 37

CATHEDRAL PREP 7 | 9 | 7 | 4 || 27

Scoring

AW: Emily Knouse 12, Lauren Greer 10, Ava Renninger 8, Alexa Windish 4, Makayla Finnegan 3

CP: Lena Walz 8, Addie Biel 6, Jayden McBridee 6, McKenna Valone 5, Ava Lucarotti 2