City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The Catholic League’s down to its final four. The girls’ semifinals are this Tuesday night at the former University of the Sciences, now part of Saint Joseph’s, while the boys are Wednesday night at the Palestra. 

Here’s a look at all four games as well as my predictions:

Girls Semifinals
2) Archbishop Wood vs. 3) Cardinal O’Hara (6:00 PM)

There have been four clear contenders for the 2023 Catholic League girls’ championship this season, and they’re the four remaining in the semifinals, with any of the four perfectly capable of winning their next two games and emerging with a title at the Palestra next Monday. These two teams met at this same spot last year, a 55-48 win for O’Hara, but many of the stars of that one are gone: O’Hara’s Maggie Doogan (Richmond), Sydni Scott (Marshall) and Annie Welde (Villanova), as well as Wood’s Ryanne Allen (Vanderbilt) and Bri Bowen (Delaware), leaving it up to the next group of Lions and Vikings to carry the torch. Wood won the regular-season matchup in late January, 47-37 at Wood; a 16-1 third quarter was the difference-maker. 

There’s no doubt that Wood (18-4) is one of the best defensive teams around, something that Mike McDonald’s Vikings have had to hang their hat upon after senior guard Allie Fleming went down for the season with a torn ACL suffered in early January. Senior wings Delaney Finnegan and Kara Meredith (Holy Family), plus senior forward Deja Evans (Albany), form an imposing frontcourt, while sophomore wing and Division I recruit Emily Knouse provides scoring and shooting on the wing; junior guards Ava Renninger, Lauren Greer and Alexa Windish and seniors Lauren Tretter and Campbell McCloskey round out the rotation. It’s a group with a lot of length in the 5-10 Finnegan, 6-0 Meredith and 6-1 Evans, which is certainly a challenge for an undersized O’Hara.

The Lions (19-4), who beat West Catholic 54-29 in a quarterfinal matchup, are now focused around sophomore Molly Rullo, a 5-11 wing guard who’s an excellent post scorer with a mid-range game who takes advantage of mismatches whenever possible. Her primary offensive support comes from junior guard Joanie Quinn, a strong shooter who’s proven herself a big-play maker in tight games, plus junior guard Greta Miller, junior forward Carly Coleman and her sister, freshman point guard Megan Rullo; senior point guard Bridget Dawson, part of last year’s core, sets the table and defends at a high level but doesn’t usually look for her own shot. With so much attention sure to be focused on Rullo, who managed 13 points the first time these teams met, the rest of the Lions will have to step up to reverse the earlier-season loss. That size differential could make that quite difficult.

Prediction: Archbishop Wood, 50-45

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1) Lansdale Catholic vs. 4) Archbishop Carroll (7:30 PM)

This is Lansdale Catholic’s first-ever Catholic League semifinal appearance, but don’t let that fool you — the Crusaders have their best team in program history, and shouldn’t be awed by the moment, as they’ve been imposing their will on the league all season, aside from a two-point loss to O’Hara earlier this month. Carroll’s been here plenty before, including in last year’s semifinals, where the Patriots lost to O’Hara. These two played a tight one in the regular season, Lansdale Catholic holding off a late Carroll run to come away with a 42-39 win.

The Crusaders (21-2) are led by the best player in program history, senior Gabby Casey. The 5-10 guard and St. Joe’s commit is tough and talented, a three-level scorer who’s put up some huge numbers this season, including 40 points against Neumann-Goretti earlier this season, which have helped her become LC’s all-time leading scorer, boys or girls, and now has a chance to get the Crusaders their first-ever PCL title with a couple wins in the next week. She’s got plenty of help, though: senior wing Jaida Helm is a 5-11 inside-out presence, junior guard Olivia Boccella is a 3-point sniper, and sophomore point guard Sanyiah Littlejohn is a Division I prospect with good size (5-8) who can dribble, pass and shoot.

Carroll (11-11) is powered by the Wilson sisters — no, not Ann and Nancy, Brooke and Taylor. Taylor, a 6-0 West Point commit, is coming off a 33-point outing in the Patriots’ quarterfinal win over Neumann-Goretti, the power forward typically getting much of her production within 15 feet, though she’s also got the ability to pop out and knock down open shots. Brooke, a 5-9 guard with Division I offers of her own, is more the dribble-drive type, a high-level finisher, who also will get hot from deep. Senior guards Courtland Schumacher and Meg Sheridan are both lacrosse standouts who bring defensive intensity, and freshman guard Alexis Eberz looks like she’s next up in Carroll’s long line of DIvision I talent, the daughter of two Villanova ballplayers a 5-8 point guard who’s made big strides during the season. The Patriots will again need to keep this game in the high-30s or 40s to pull the upset; if Lansdale Catholic turns on the offense, Carroll could find it tough to keep up. This seems like Lansdale’s year.

Prediction: Lansdale Catholic, 58-47

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Boys Semifinals
2) Roman Catholic vs. 4) Archbishop Wood (6:15 PM)

The two boys semifinals are going to be big-time heavyweight battles, as not only do all four teams have a shot to win it all, they all believe they should be the favorites to win it all, even though three of them are going to be sorely disappointed by next Monday night; all four of them will also be state championship favorites in their respective brackets. That starts with this matchup of a Wood program which won its first two titles in school history in 2017 and 2021, and a Roman squad which won in 2015 and 2016 under Chris McNesby (and in 2018 and 2019 under Matt Griffin) but not in the two seasons since McNesby’s been back.

Roman Catholic took the regular-season matchup 77-56 in a Roman “home” game at Holy Family on Jan. 3, the Catholic League opener, getting 25 points from St. Joe’s commit Xzayvier Brown and 22 points from Jermai Stewart-Herring in a game that was just a three-point Roman lead at halftime before they scored 46 points in the second half to pull away. Brown, a 6-3 point guard and one of two Hawks commits on the team (along with 6-7 senior wing forward Anthony Finkley), is a four-year starter, while most of his teammates are either new to the team or an underclassman in his first year as a starter (Shareef Jackson). That includes Finkley, who transferred in mid-year from Huntington Prep (W.Va.) last season, as well as Stewart-Herring, a transfer from St. Elizabeth (Del.); Erik Oliver-Bush, a senior wing guard who was at Trenton Catholic (N.J.); and Bob Cottrell, a junior guard who was at Simon Gratz. 

Wood doesn’t have a ton of Palestra experience either, as only senior forward Carson Howard (East Stroudsburg) and high-major bound junior guard Jalil Bethea were significant contributors a year ago, with most of their rotation on the JV roster or deep on the bench a year ago. That includes junior Josh Reed, a versatile 6-2 guard with Division I offers of his own, plus sophomores Milan Dean Jr. and Deuce Maxey, who’ve made the jump from JV to become big-time scorers and potential Division I prospects in their own right. Howard, a bouncy 6-8 forward, has really bought into his role as an energy post who focuses on rebounding and defending the rim, while finishing put-backs and feeds from their variety of attacking guards. Senior guard Gus Salem is another newcomer, moving from California to Pennsylvania for his final year of high school, but he’s never experienced anything like the Palestra. Wood hasn’t scored below 66 points in any of their last seven games, and it’ll be up to Roman to slow them down to advance. Whichever group of newcomers handles the atmosphere better will advance. Roman’s are older. 

Prediction: Roman Catholic, 67-62

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1) Neumann-Goretti vs. 6) West Catholic (7:45 PM)

This was a wild one the first time around, and promises to be the same in the rematch. Neumann-Goretti took the regular-season game, 57-56, thanks to four late foul shots by Robert Wright III. The Saints, which have won 12 Catholic League titles under Carl Arrigale, have gotten used to winning tight games, including against Roman (62-60), O’Hara (61-60) and Ryan (52-50) all this month, which is a major reason they were able to finish atop the league’s regular season standings. West, which is back in the semifinals for the second consecutive season under Miguel Bocachica, is looking for its first Catholic League title since 1959, and though the Burrs have taken some lumps this season, less than 10 points this season separated them from a first-place finish.

Wright III leads the way for the Saints, the 6-0 guard and Baylor commit one of the top guards in the junior class, a masterclass ball-handler and shot-maker who makes everybody around him better, though he can take over when the moment calls. The whole N-G top six is strong: 6-8 senior forward Sultan Adewale, 6-1 senior guard Bruce Smith, 5-11 junior guard Khaafiq Myers, 6-6 junior wing Amir Williams and 6-0 freshman guard Stephon Ashley-Wright, Robert’s younger brother. There isn’t a ton of depth behind them, though junior guard Matt Guokas can give them good reserve minutes, and injuries have been a problem this season, but if they can stay on the floor it’s as tough and talented a group as Arrigale has had. 

West Catholic is led by the one-two punch of Temple commit Zion Stanford and Coppin State pledge Adam ‘Budd’ Clark, who combined for 39 points in the Burrs’ 71-51 win at Archbishop Ryan to get back to the Palestra. Clark, a 5-11 point guard, is a wizard with the ball in his hands, a mid-range pull-up expert who’s also become much more reliable from 3-point range; Stanford, a 6-4 wing, is also a marksman but has a great post game and feel around the rim to boot. They’re joined by senior guard Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui, a lefty who can also go for 20+ points, while senior Amyr Walker and sophomore Isaac Cole can provide some additional production. The whole group plays with Bocachica’s intensity and determination, and despite what my prediction says, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if they win this one. 

Prediction: Neumann-Goretti, 58-55