City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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RADNOR — It was Brooke Wilson's kind of game.

The Archbishop Carroll senior got the nail-biter quarterfinal playoff game she’d been hoping for, and the ball was in her hands with the outcome on the line. In a tie game, the final seconds counting down, newly named Philadelphia Catholic League MVP made the most valuable pass of the game as Wilson hit a wide-open Abbie McFillin under the rim.

McFillin converted the layup with 0.4 seconds left, lifting the No. 3 Patriots past defending champion No. 6 Lansdale Catholic 35-33 in a thrilling game Thursday night.

“I kept saying, ‘We are not losing this game, we are doing anything we can to win this game,’” Wilson said. “This was great. Philly Catholic League, first time I had a really competitive quarterfinal game, this was awesome and I’m just grateful for it, honestly.”

Sometimes, a layup that open can be the hardest to convert. McFillin admitted that crossed her mind in the fraction of a second the ball was in transit to her off Wilson’s bounce pass.

“I was just thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, if she gives this to me, I have to make this layup,’” said McFillin of what she called her first game-winning basket. “It was so in the moment, it was like, ‘I can’t believe I made that.’

“I was right under the basket, I feel like it is harder, you have more pressure to make it.”

Abbie, a freshman and the youngest of the three McFillins on the Carroll roster, certainly had a moment to remember in her first PCL playoff game. The guard, who has seized a role as the Patriots’ top bench player, scored 10 points with the last two sending Carroll to a fourth-straight semifinal appearance.

Making the semifinals at all might have seemed a tall ask 4 minutes and 40 seconds into the game. LC, which dropped into the sixth seed after a loss to Nazareth Academy in its final league game of the regular season, came out playing like a team desperate to extend its season.

The Crusaders scored the game’s first 12 points, a Wilson bucket finally breaking the run and getting Carroll on the board, and led 16-5 after the first quarter. A 3-pointer by Olivia Boccella pushed the LC lead to 19-6 with 7:37 left in the first half.

Wilson wanted a close playoff game, so she and her teammates were going to make sure they got one.

“We’re relentless,” Wilson said. “We knew we were going to win, it was just about the mindset. It was definitely a mental thing, we said, ‘Whatever that was, let’s get out of it,’ and it happens.

“We said before the game, basketball is an imperfect game and you just have to adjust to it. It was going in their favor, so we had to take a deep breath, adjust and play our game.”

Aided by six Crusader turnovers, the Patriots closed the half on a 10-0 run, a corner 3 by Alexis Eberz off a Wilson assist tying the score 21-21 just ahead of the halftime horn.

Grace McDonough posted a double-double that included a game-high 12 points and 12 rebounds while guard Sanyiah Littlejohn contributed eight points, eight rebounds and five assists for LC, which will see its season continue due to District 12’s PIAA tournament allocations.

“We controlled our fate and let it slip away, we could have easily come in here and rolled over but we didn’t do that,” Crusaders coach Eric Gidney said. “I think we can continue to be one of the top teams in the Philadelphia Catholic League, but this just wasn’t our year.”

Wilson, who had to adapt to her role as the team’s main facilitator and point guard this season, is about as team oriented as a player can be. It seemed fitting Wilson’s first stat line as a league MVP read four points, five rebounds, two steals, a block and eight assists. The Army recruit assisted on all five of Carroll’s second half baskets — six straight counting the Eberz 3 just before half — including the dishes that created the team’s final eight points.

“When you cut, you know you’re getting the ball from her,” Eberz said.

“It’s a zone, it was hard to drive to the basket, so I looked to facilitate more,” Wilson said. “I knew they were going to somewhat swarm me, I didn’t know how much, but right when I got in the lane or if I drove, they swarmed on me and that’s when I was able to hit my teammates.” 

Lansdale Catholic scored the first six points of the fourth quarter on a putback by McDonough and two slithery drives to the rim by Littlejohn, putting Carroll in another tough spot. Off a scramble play following a missed 3, Wilson was able to find Olivia Nardi for a trey that cut the lead in half to 33-30.

A deflection by McFillin led to a Wilson steal with 90 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Wilson was able to find Eberz in the left corner on a terrific pass that just eluded the fingertips of Littlejohn to find its mark.

Eberz, who is still sporting the remains of a black eye, didn’t have her strongest shooting game and despite having her previous look from the same spot tipped, proved her toughness by drilling the game-tying 3. The sophomore, who tied McFillin for the team lead with 10, never let her confidence waver.

“I wasn’t making a lot, they weren’t falling tonight but I knew that one was going in,” Eberz said. “It felt good.”

“I think she’s the greatest shooter around, she will make any shot,” Wilson said. “We have that little connection. If I see her — great hands also — wherever I throw it, she puts it in her pocket and makes it easy for me.”

Wilson has won a state title and played at the Palestra, but she hasn’t won a PCL title yet. A rematch against Delco rival and No. 2-seed Cardinal O’Hara awaits in the semifinals. After Thursday’s win, she did allow herself to recognize the magnitude of being named the league’s MVP.

“I’m really grateful, playing in the Philadelphia Catholic League is very prestigious,” Wilson said. “It’s a testament to my coaches and teammates for getting me there but for sure, when coach Renie (Shields) called me to tell me, I was very happy.”

By Quarter

Archbishop Caroll: 5 | 16 | 6 | 8 || 35

Lansdale Catholic: 16 | 5 | 6 | 6 || 31

Scoring

Archbishop Caroll: Abbie McFillin 10, Alexis Eberz 10, Olivia Nardi 6, Brooke Wilson 4, Felicity McFillin 3, Bridget Archbold 2

Lansdale Catholic: Grace McDonough 12, Sanyiah Littlejohn 8, Nadia Yemola 5, Allie Esposito 5, Olivia Boccella 3