City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Ava Renninger’s job was simple, yet incredibly complex: manage the final seconds perfectly enough to ensure that her Archbishop Wood teammates would have enough time at a second-chance bucket, while making sure that Cardinal O’Hara didn’t have enough for an answer.

With under 10 seconds left of a Catholic League girls’ semifinal at Saint Joseph’s University City — formerly known as University of the Sciences — the Wood junior took a handoff from Deja Evans at the elbow and drove towards the right side of the lane, a defender right in her face.

“I heard the countdown at seven, and when I got the ball, so I knew I had to go, to at least give us a chance to get the rebound if I had missed,” Renninger said. “I was just thinking at the time, just go to the hoop and I knew (Evans) would be there.”

Her layup was long, but her timing was perfect. Evans, the Vikings’ senior forward, had enough time to attempt a one-handed putback — then collect that miss and, just ahead of the buzzer, somehow push the ball up and over the rim, where it sat for just a second before falling, to deliver Wood a 31-29 win and a berth in Monday’s Catholic League championship at the Palestra.

“I just saw her going up and I saw the ball coming off the rim and I just wanted to go get it,” Evans said. “It’s [an] indescribable feeling, now we get to go play at the Palestra, and I’m really excited.”

Top-seeded Lansdale Catholic won the second semifinal, 53-39 over No. 4 Archbishop Carroll. 

The game-winner was the cap on a terrific game for Evans, the 6-foot-1 post and Albany commit finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. Against an O’Hara team that doesn’t have a true ‘5,’ the Vikings tried working it inside early and often, though the Lions generally did a good job defensively in a game that was much more about which team was able to get the occasional good look than who was able to get a stop.

It took Evans 17 shots to get to her 19 points, O’Hara throwing multiple bodies at her every time she touched the ball in the low post, doing a good job of staying low and forcing her to try and finish over them, frustrating her on several possessions while she was able to win others. 

“I just knew that I had to keep my head because if I don’t keep my head then I wouldn’t be able to be there for my team,” she said. “Just talk to my teammates and keep them engaged, and the bench was able to really help us, they had high energy and kept our energy high the whole game.”

Evans wasn’t the only one who was frustrated at the gym formerly home to University of the Sciences’ programs, before USci merged with St. Joe’s last summer. Wood shot 12-of-40 from the floor (30%), missing all eight of its 3-point attempts, going 7-of-10 from the foul line. That was enough on a night where the Vikings held O’Hara to 8-of-32 (25%), including 4-of-17 (23.5%) from 3-point range, O’Hara having some possessions with strong ball movement but the open shots just not falling.

The Lions, who were the defending Catholic League champions, had the ball with 90 seconds left but turned it over on a questionable offensive foul call on Molly Rullo, the O’Hara star sophomore’s fifth on a night where she was held to six points but grabbed nine rebounds and drew all sorts of defensive attention.

“We were all talking about it earlier that whoever had the ball last might win tonight, and we've worked a lot on end of game situations last week, and we had our chances,” O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan said. “We did exactly what we were supposed to do, didn't let them get open 3-point shots — I don’t know the last time Wood didn't make a three in a game was, but that was our plan. 

“Evans, give her credit, she played a hell of a game.”

Wood senior Delaney Finnegan contributed six points, five rebounds and two assists, while sophomore Emily Knouse (4 points, 4 rebounds) and junior Alexa Windish (2 points, 4 rebounds) provided the only other points of the game for Wood, which was the No. 2 seed in the Catholic League and who had beaten O’Hara 47-37 at Wood last month.

Both sides came into this one expecting a defensive battle and got it. O’Hara’s lead was just 6-3 after one quarter and 16-14 at halftime, Wood with nary an open shot or an easy bucket. It was a 23-22 O’Hara lead after three quarters, but tied for large stretches of the fourth at 26-26 and 29-29 before Evans’ game-winner prevented what would almost certainly have been a low-scoring overtime (or several).

“We know every time we play O’Hara, but especially when you’re trying to get to the Palestra and what’s on the line, both teams are going to battle,” Wood coach Mike McDonald said. “Not the most entertaining offensive thing if you’re just a loose fan without any horse in the race, I guess, but for us, we knew that was the kind of game it was probably going to be.”

The Lions were led by 10 points from junior forward Carly Coleman, while junior guard Joanie Quinn added eight. After winning the 5A state title a year ago, O’Hara’s now in the 6A classification, and should be playing in the District 12 6A title game next week against a Philadelphia Public League opponent that’s to be determined.

Wood’s in the PCL championship game for the 13th time in the last 15 seasons, though it’s the first time since 2020 that the Vikings have been to the Palestra, as the 2021 championship game was held at Archbishop Carroll. 

That means it’s the first time there for just about everybody in the rotation —  including Evans, who was at Plymouth Whitemarsh her first two years of high school, and Renninger, who was a freshman at Central Mountain (Pa.) before her family moved three hours across the state to Bucks County.

“I know when I came here, that’s all we talked about, not even [winning a] state championship but going to the Palestra,” Renninger said. “It’s been a great year and I love this team so much, I’m so grateful that I’m able to go to the Palestra with them because that’s what we’ve been working for all year.”

By Quarter
Wood:   3   |  11  |   8   |   9   ||  31
O’Hara:  6   |  10  |   7   |   6   ||  29

Shooting
Wood: 12-40 FG (0-8 3PT), 7-10 FT
O’Hara: 8-32 FG (4-17 3PT), 9-12 FT

Scoring
Wood: Deja Evans 19, Delaney Finnegan 6, Emily Knouse 4, Alexa Windish 2

O’Hara: Carly Coleman 10, Joanie Quinn 8, Molly Rullo 6, Megan Rullo 4, Bridget Dawson 1