Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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WARMINSTER — Reese Power grew up around the Philadelphia Catholic League, so she was naturally eager about the prospect of playing in it.

Power, a junior at Nazareth Academy, and her teammates got their first look at life in the PCL on Tuesday against perennial contender Archbishop Wood. The Pandas left District 1 and the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies over the summer, making the move to District 12 and the PCL. They accounted for themselves well in the fall, but PCL basketball is a level of its own.

After a 71-27 setback to the Vikings, Nazareth Academy knows what it’s up against.

“It’s really exciting, I’m playing against girls that I’ve played against my entire life,” said Power, who led NA with six points. “I’ve been around the Catholic League through my siblings, going from game to game. I really like it, especially getting to play with all these girls I’ve known that long.”

Last year, the Pandas won the District 1 Class 4A title and a first round PIAA tournament game and had reason to be optimistic with their whole starting lineup back. Head coach Mary Kate Magagna, a 2005 graduate of Nazareth Academy who had a strong career at Saint Joseph’s, knew it would be a challenge not only changing leagues, but going from one district to another.

Nazareth Academy, an all-girls school located on Grant Avenue and bordered by Holy Family University’s campus, seemed like a natural fit geographically. With Archbishop Ryan, Father Judge and St. Hubert’s also in the Northeast and Little Flower and Conwell-Egan not too far beyond, there was already a hub of nearby PCL schools to fit in with.

“Our coaching staff is all from Northeast Philly, so we’re all well aware of the competition and the tradition that goes on in this league,” Magagna said. “We got a taste of what the PCL is going to be like and how teams don’t give up until the last second. We need to come out ready to play every single second.”

The Pandas won PCL team titles in golf and track and field in the fall, and the soccer team made it to the PCL title game, losing to Archbishop Wood in late October. Power, a starting defender on the soccer team, said the fall season started slowly before the Pandas found their stride prior to their playoff run.

With three reigning state champions in the Catholic League, plus a few more teams that always play late into March behind them, replicating that type of run may not come in Year 1. At the same time, the Pandas’ current starting lineup is used to quick turnarounds after winning a District 1 title in their second year together.

“Our whole starting five is juniors, they’ve all started since they were freshmen,” Magagna said. “Now it’s more of changing our mindset in terms of our competition. We’re used to the Catholic Academies league, and now it’s a bigger switch over.”

With league play beginning in earnest in January, the Pandas have time to try to change their approach. By that time, Power hopes the group will be ready to show a little more of what it’s really about.

Power's older brother and sister played at Father Judge and Little Flower, respectively. She opted for Nazareth Academy in part because some of the girls she’d grown up playing with, like Abby Rock and Grace Sullivan, were also going there, and they wanted to be a part of something together.

“We know we’re Nazareth Academy coming out and trying to make a name for ourselves,” Power said. “This game showed us what the Catholic League is. There’s going to be a tough game every single night. Wood’s a great team, and this showed us how much we have to compete if we want to win.”

Nazareth Academy’s fall teams showed change can be good. While the Pandas know the basketball hill is a bigger one to climb, they’re hoping the name sticks in the PCL, too.

“We’re a winter sport, so now they’re looking at us to see what are we going to do with it,” Magagna said. “We’ve already been looking at scouting reports, and the girls will point out someone they know; that’s the cool thing about the PCL, that familiarity with everybody.”

Archbishop Wood wins rare December home game

Wood doesn’t play too many December home games. In fact, most years the Vikings’ home opener doesn’t come until January when Catholic League play normally starts.

A scheduling conflict and a handful of open days in December allowed Wood to sneak one in before the new year, and the Vikings merely carried over what had been a good start down in Virginia over the weekend. Senior Ava Renninger led all scorers with 16 points, while junior Emily Knouse followed with 14 and Lauren Greer had 11.

Makayla Finnegan had 13, the freshman already settling into a role as the first player off coach Mike McDonald’s bench.

“We’ve got some really good players and a lot of good guards,” McDonald said. “Sometimes having a lot of good guards makes things easy on the offensive end because they can all put it on the floor, they can move it and they can shoot it.”

Renninger, a Fairleigh Dickinson recruit, and Knouse, who just pledged to St. Joe’s prior to the season, are doing what’s expected as returning starters while Alexa Windish, committed to Kutztown, has made the move from top reserve to starter smoothly. Greer, the team’s fourth captain and third senior, is getting her first crack as a starter, and the tenacious guard’s play has stood out.

“Lauren Greer has been exceptionally tough,” McDonald said. “Over the weekend in those two games she made a difference defending and rebounding. She can defend guards and defend post players.

“All our kids are playing tough, and that’s what we’re going to have to be as an undersized team.”

The Vikings canned 13 3-point looks as a team Tuesday, with Knouse, Greer and Finnegan connecting on three apiece. Sophomore Sophia Topakas, who has filled the fifth starting spot after an offseason injury to forward Colleen Besachio, had six points and three assists against the Pandas.

Wood jumped out to a 20-5 lead after a quarter, which gave the team’s underclassmen-laden bench plenty of minutes after halftime.

“They can play, they know our system, so they’re ready,” McDonald said.

By Quarter

Archbishop Wood  20 | 24 | 17 | 10 || 71

Nazareth Academy 5 | 5 | 10 | 7 || 27

Scoring

Archbishop Wood : Ava Renninger 16, Emily Knouse 14, Makayla Finnegan 13, Lauren Greer 11, Alexa Windish 8, Sophia Topakas 6, Mackenize Rogers 2, Regan Przepioski 1

Nazareth Academy: Reese Power 6, Grace Sullivan 5, Natalie D’Alfonso 5, Maddie Brazukas 3, Rileigh Donahue 2, Abby Rock 2, Grace Giordano 2, Anna Kane 2