City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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RADNOR — If it wasn’t Taylor, then it was Brooke and if it wasn’t Brooke, then it was Taylor.

Archbishop Carroll’s Wilson sisters - the above mentioned Brooke and Taylor - have done just about everything for the Patriots over the last three years and with a trip to the PCL semifinals at stake Thursday, that meant a lot of scoring. Taylor, a senior, poured in 33 points while Brooke, a junior, had 15 to combine for 84 percent of Carroll’s offense.

As Brooke was quick to state though, all that mattered was the number on the scoreboard, which read No. 4 Archbishop Carroll coming out ahead of No. 5 Neumann-Goretti 57-41 in a whistle-heavy PCL quarterfinal.

“Carroll scored 57 points, we’re going to keep saying that, the offense is a collective,” Brooke Wilson said. “Everyone touches the ball on a possession, it takes five people, everyone contributes to a basket, it just happened to be me or Taylor for the most part.”

Aside from Taylor and Brooke’s combined scoring prowess, the other running plot of the contest was the frequent chirping of the officials’ whistles. The teams were called for a combined 40 fouls — 23 going against the Saints and 17 against the Patriots — which led to a lot of trips to the foul line, especially for the hosts with Carroll hitting 22-of-27 free throw attempts.

Brooke Wilson did most of her work at the foul line, the junior good on 12-of-14 free throws. Taylor Wilson hit 8-of-9 at the line and 11-of-15 from the floor, the senior Army recruit scoring 21 of her 33 after halftime while not missing a shot or free throw.

“We noticed they were calling a lot of fouls,” Taylor Wilson said. “Getting down and driving was a big thing for us, we wanted to get to the line.

“You don’t want to get into a possession game with a good team like Neumann-Goretti.”

“Taking good shots and having long possessions to minimize their chances,” Brooke added. “It was really back-and-forth in the first half, we were getting tired and missing shots and they were getting a lot in transition, so limiting that in the second half was really big for us.”

Neumann-Goretti, which hit 12-of-18 from the line in the game, attacked the basket early and held an 11-11 tie after one. Carroll, which got four points from senior Courtland Schumacher and a basket from freshman Alexis Eberz in the first, opened up an 18-11 lead early in the second and later had a 23-15 edge after five straight Taylor Wilson points.

The Saints responded with five points in 20 seconds, senior Amirah Hackney getting an acrobatic finish before Amya Scott banked in a three at the buzzer to close within 23-20 at the break. Carryn Easley, who tied with Scott for a team-high 12 points, tied the game on a three to open the third quarter and the Saints took a 26-25 lead on Sanej Tyler’s triple with 6:43 left in the quarter.

“They’re a very sneaky team, if you’re just holding the ball waiting to pass it, that’s when they’re going to come take it, you can hope it’s a foul but it can just as easily be a steal so you have to protect the ball,” Brooke Wilson said. “They’re quicker than us and their IQ on the court is really strong, they’re really good at picking your pocket or cutting off a passing lane, so we had to be sure what we were doing with the ball.”

Easley converted a three for a 32-32 tie midway through the third quarter then the Saints took a 34-32 lead on a basket by Scott with a minute left in the frame. While the long ball aided Neumann-Goretti, the Saints hitting a trio of shots behind the arc, the number they were more attuned to was the 7-1 foul differential against them in the third quarter.

Taylor Wilson tied the game at the line, then gave Carroll a 36-34 lead going into the fourth when she finished down low with just a couple seconds left in the third. The senior started the fourth drawing a shooting foul just 10 seconds in and knocking down both.

“In practice, we’ll always shoot foul shots after a hard drill where we’re running a lot so it mimics the game when we’re tired,” Taylor Wilson said.

Brooke Wilson missed her first two free throws of the fourth quarter, but the junior made the next six she took to finish out the game.

“It’s mental,” Brooke Wilson added. “Everyone knows when they step up to the line, it’s on you and you’re going to make it. I think ‘how many foul shots have you taken in your life?’ and ‘you can make it.’”

Schumacher, who finished with five points, and Eberz were the only other Patriots to score - Eberz getting a basket in the first and another on a tough drive in the fourth for her four points - but the contributions were all over. Eberz pulled down eight rebounds, tying Taylor Wilson for the team lead, while Brooke Wilson had seven rebounds, seven assists and took a charge and senior Meg Sheridan was active as always on defense, adding a couple assists to her energetic play.

Eberz’s layup put Carroll ahead 42-37 with 4:55 to play and the Patriots away over the next two-and-a-half minutes by spamming one of their core plays that ended the same way all three times, with a passer hitting Taylor Wilson cutting to the rim for an open layup.

“I’ve been doing it since my freshman year,” the elder Wilson said. “It’s just something I’ve gotten used to and gotten good at.”

Carroll will face No. 1 seed Lansdale Catholic in the PCL semifinals next Tuesday. While the Crusaders topped the Patriots in the Catholic League regular season finale, Carroll had the LC on the ropes late.

“It’s a really big accomplishment,” Taylor Wilson said. “We started off a little slow at the beginning of the season, but we’ve worked so hard and made so much improvement throughout the year. I think we’re ready.”

By Quarter
Archbishop Carroll: 11  |  12  |  13  |  21  ||  57
Neumann-Goretti    11  |   9   |  14  |   7   ||  41

Scoring
AC: Taylor Wilson 33, Brooke Wilson 15, Cortland Schumacher 5, Alexis Eberz 4

NG: Amya Scott 12, Carryn Easley 12, Amirah Hackney 8, Kamora Berry 7, Sanej Tyler 3