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PIAA 6A: Freshman Eberz a driving force for Archbishop Carroll in win over Neshaminy

03/10/2023, 11:00pm EST
By Owen McCue

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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RADNOR  — Archbishop Carroll assistant coach Erin Creighton gave a simple instruction to freshman Alexis Eberz as she made her state playoff debut on Friday night: “Be the engine.”

What does being 'The Engine' imply?

“Be all over the place, be active on defense and be confident in your shot,” Eberz said.

After veterans Taylor and Brooke Wilson got the Patriots out to a strong start, ‘The Engine’ was a driving force in the third quarter of Carroll’s 50-37 victory over Neshaminy.


Carroll freshman Alexis Eberz, right, scored 12 points in Friday's PIAA win over Neshaminy. (Photo: Dan Hilferty/CoBL)

Junior Brooke Wilson had 15 points and senior Taylor Wilson added 13, both converting big buckets in the fourth, and the freshman Eberz finished with 12 points in her first PIAA postseason game.

“States is stressful for everyone,” Taylor Wilson said. “It’s win or go home. You’re playing against teams you’ve never played before, so it’s not league when you know who you’re playing every time. It’s a short turnaround. You have a couple days to prepare. It can be nerve wracking sometimes, but she did such a great job.”

Neshaminy finished as the 11th-seed in District 1 last season and had to travel to District 12 top seed Carroll for its state opener. Head coach John Gallagher’s squad made a run to the district quarters this season and won a pair of state seeding games to grab the fifth spot. Their reward was another matchup with the Patriots, who came in as District 12’s third seed.

Friday’s matchup was a far cry from the drubbing Neshaminy took last season, both teams taking turns with the lead in the opening frame before closing the first tied, 15-15. After Brooke Wilson had nine in the first quarter, Taylor Wilson hit a pair of threes in the second to help the Patriots (13-12) grab a 29-24 halftime advantage. Neshaminy (21-7) climbed as close as three, 33-30, but Eberz drilled a long two and got a very friendly roll to put Carroll back up eight. She had six of her 12 in the third.

“No,” Eberz said when asked if there were any nerves. “My coach Erin told me to be an Engine tonight, so shout out to her.”


Carroll senior Taylor Wilson, right, drives on Neshaminy's Taylor Gurysh. (Photo: Dan Hilferty/CoBL)

Taylor Wilson ended the third quarter with a tough bucket to ensure Carroll was still in control, up 41-35, heading to the fourth. Neither team scored for about two and a half minutes until she added a deep triple off the feed from senior Courtlan Schumacher (five assists) to make it 44-35 Carroll with 5:20 to play.

“We couldn’t get a shot to fall to Carroll’s credit, nothing anything else and they hit a big three,” Gallagher said. 

“That was really deep and the girl defending her looks at me and I’m like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you.’ It was way out and to their credit, they made it.”

Carroll held Neshaminy without a field goal in the final frame, not relenting a point until a free throw by junior Lola Ibarrondo with 2:21 left. Ibarrondo was her team’s lone double-figure scorer, though classmate Reese Zemitis added 14 rebounds to go along with seven points.

“We’ve been working really hard on our defense because we know that we’re not going to outscore teams,” Taylor Wilson said. “So we need to get stops on defense and that also fuels our offense. That was our main thing going into tonight.”


Neshaminy sophomore Alena Cofield, left, attempts a shot over Carroll's Brooke Wilson. (Photo: Dan Hilferty/CoBL)

Kutztown commit Taylor Gurysh (seven points) and fellow seniors Jess Purdy and Lindsay Little, who both knocked down threes Friday, are the members of the Neshaminy rotation who won’t be back next season. They’ll certainly be missed next season, but the Suburban One League Patriot Division hope the returning core can make another state push next March.

“I’m just thrilled with Lola, Taylor, Reese, Jess, Lindsay, Ava (Irizarry) and Alena (Cofield),” Gallagher said. “They have a really good upside, the girls who return. … Overall on the season, I’m pleased. We won 21 games. Last year it was 19. We finished fifth in the district, which is a lot better than last year, so maybe we gotta finish a little higher next year.”

Carroll just moved over .500 after Friday’s win, but the Patriots know that doesn’t mean anything at this point of the season. They will enter Tuesday’s matchup against District 1 champion Perkiomen Valley — a 57-43 first-round winner over Red Lion — with the same mentality.

“We think we can beat anyone,” Taylor Wilson said. “That’s the mindset you have to have. We just have to work hard and leave everything out on the court every single game because it might be our last.”

As shone out on the court Friday, the freshman Eberz is a quick learner.

“Play like it’s your last game,” she said. “You never know. That’s the mindset that we have to have.”

By Quarter

Neshaminy 15 | 9 | 11 | 2 || 37

Carroll 15 | 14 | 12 | 9 || 50

By Scoring

Neshaminy: Lola Ibarrondo 12, Reese Zemitis 7, Taylor Gurysh 7, Ava Irizarry 3, Jess Purdy 3, Lindsay Little 3, Alena Cofield 2.

Carroll: Brooke Wilson 15, Taylor Wilson 13, Alexis Eberz 12, Courlansd Schumacher 6, Olivia Nardi 3, Meg Sheridan 1.

PIAA 1st Round
Girls 2A
(1-1) Faith Christian 45, (12-3) Belmont Charter 7
(12-2) MaST II Charter @ (11-1) Marian Catholic — Saturday
(1-2) Sacred Heart 61, (12-1) Penn Treaty 34

Girls 3A
(12-1) Imhotep Charter 60, (3-3) Pequea Valley 37
(12-2) West Catholic 46, (11-2) Palmerton 42
(1-1) New Hope-Solebury 54, (12-3) Masterman 24
(3-1) Lancaster Catholic 68, (12-4) Mastery North 11

Girls 6A
(1-1) Perkiomen Valley 57, (3-6) Red Lion 43
(12-3) Archbishop Carroll 50, (1-5) Neshaminy 37
(1-8) Springfield (Delco.) 59, (12-2) Central 41
(1-9) Abington @ (2-1) Wyoming Valley West — Saturday
11-1) Easton 55, (1-10) Unionville 42
(3-2) Central York 50, (1-7) Souderton 48 (2OT)
(1-3) Spring-Ford 55,  (3-4) Dallastown 27
(12-1) Cardinal O’Hara 50,  (1-11) Conestoga 42
(3-1) Cedar Cliff 45, (1-12) Garnet Valley 28
(1-6) Upper Dublin 47, (11-2) Liberty 36
(1-4) Pennsbury 23, (11-3) Nazareth 18
(3-5) Lebanon 48, (1-2) Haverford High 41 

Boys 1A
(12-2) City School 60, (11-3) Bethlehem Christian 36
(1-1) Chester Charter 58, (3-3) Lancaster Country Day 44
(1-2) Phil-Mont Christian 46, (3-2) Greenwood 45

Boys 4A
(12-1) Neumann-Goretti 87, (3-6) Middletown 42
(1-1) Bishop Shanahan 61, (12-4) Audenried 56 (OT)
(12-5) Eng. & Sciences @ (11-1) Allentown Central Catholic Saturday
(12-3) Cardinal O’Hara 62, (3-2) Fleetwood 50
(12-2) Overbrook 75, (11-3) Blue Mountain 58

Boys 5A
(1-1) Radnor 70, (3-8) Warwick 59
(12-3) West Philly @ (2-2) West Scranton — Saturday
(12-2) Archbishop Ryan 83, (1-4) West Chester Rustin 46
(1-5) West Chester East @ (11-1) East Stroudsburg South — Saturday
(12-4) Dobbins @ (2-1) Abington Heights — Saturday
(1-3) Chichester @ (11-2) Pocono Mt. West — Saturday
(3-5) Muhlenberg 64, (1-2) Unionville 54
(12-1) Imhotep Charter 85, (1-6) Holy Ghost Prep 33


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