City of Basketball Love

Missy Dougherty (@Missyingyou)
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Eight days. That’s how long the Archbishop Wood girls basketball team had to wait before it took the floor on Wednesday night against Mastery Charter North in the District 12 Class 4A championship at La Salle College High School.

After a semifinal loss to Cardinal O’Hara in the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs, the Vikings wound up with some time on their hands that they weren’t used to having as Wood did not participate in the PCL final for just the second time in the last 14 years. (Wood also lost to O’Hara in the semifinals in 2018).

So, what was it like for the defending PCL and PIAA Class 4A state champions to live those days, you might wonder?

“We took three days in a row off,” head coach Mike McDonald said, “and then reconvened and talked about the game. We went over some things that we thought that we could do better, and discussed we were in a spot that many other Wood teams had been  as the program had only won four PCL titles in history.”

Tipping his hat to the eventual champion Lions, McDonald said, “we recognized we lost to a good team, and realized the best thing we could do was move on and try to win a state title.”

Junior Delaney Finnegan recounted those days from the players’ perspective. “The coaches told us not to give up on the next opportunity because we were sulking over the last opportunity,” Finnegan said.

There was no sulking to be found on Wednesday night as the Vikings (18-7) raced out to a 21-4 advantage after the first quarter, and never looked back on their way to their third consecutive District 12 championship with a 72-33 victory over Mastery North.

“Our goal against Mastery was to come out with good energy and focus on us,” McDonald said. “It was nice to have this game to get back on the court to compete before states. We wanted to stay engaged and keep everything positive.”

Finnegan helped fuel the Vikings’ successful return to the court as the 5-10 guard tallied eight points in just over 15 minutes of playing time in the title contest. “I try to play with energy and make smart plays on both ends of the floor,” Finnegan said.

A Southampton native, Finnegan reflected on the days leading up to Wood being able to get back in action as they made a push towards a state title. “The coaches talked to the seniors about the idea of wanting to be remembered for winning, but also the importance of a legacy of being a good teammate and lifting each other up. They told us to keep working hard, and keep our heads up, and lean on each other during adversity.”

There wasn’t much adversity on Wednesday night as 12 people found their way into the scoring column−a byproduct of McDonald subbing freely throughout the contest.

McDonald has had a myriad of special groups during his time on the Wood sidelines, and this edition of the team brings its own strengths. “We can shoot it well,” McDonald said, which was definitely on display at LaSalle as Wood shot a scintillating 63 percent from the field (29-for-46) including an impressive 11-for-24 mark from behind the arc as seven different players hit from distance. Senior Ryanne Allen, this year's PCL MVP, paced the effort with a team-high 15 points including two 3-pointers.

“We have a lot of different weapons,” McDonald said. “If a team chooses to take someone away in particular, someone else has the ability to step up.”

It’s that talent and depth, and willingness to play as a unit, that attracted Finnegan to Wood. “I wanted to play for a talented program and this team has felt like a family since I walked in the doors as a freshman.”

Based on the results of the game, Wood will begin state play against the fifth seed from District 3 (still to be determined) next Wednesday night, while Mastery Charter North will take on the second seed from District 1, Villa Joseph Marie.

“We are going to take one game at a time,” McDonald reiterated. “We make sure to remind the seniors to leave it all out there every time they take the floor because every game could be their last one.”

The Vikings are hoping that last game doesn’t come anytime soon.

By Quarter
Mastery:     4   |   6   |  12  |  11  ||  33
Wood:       21  |  26  |  12  |  13  ||  72

Scoring
Mastery Charter: Veyoni Davis 16, Ahjae Henderson 8, Nariyah Turner 6, Aniyah Kelly 2, Teniece Harris 1

Archbishop Wood: Ryanne Allen 15, Allie Fleming 12, Brianna Bowen 8, Emily Knouse 8, Delaney Finnegan 5, Kara Meredith 5, Reynah Rattliff 5, Alexa Windish 5, Deja Evans 4, Ava Renninger 2, Lauren Tretter 2, Lauren Greer 1