City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) +
Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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We’re down to four teams left in the hunt for the Catholic League girls’ championship — three season-long contenders and one upstart that almost nobody expected to be here. 

Nazareth Academy’s stunning upset of Neumann-Goretti in the quarterfinals was easily the biggest win yet for the Pandas, who find themselves in the PCL semifinals in their first year in the league. All four teams will come to Bobby Morgan Arena on the campus of what used to be the University of Sciences, located on S. 43rd Street in University City.

Here’s an in-depth look at both games:

2) Cardinal O’Hara vs. 3) Archbishop Carroll (6:00 PM)
Previous Meeting: Cardinal O’Hara, 45-37 (Jan. 30, Archbishop Carroll)

It was almost O’Hara vs. Lansdale Catholic in this second semifinal, before the Patriots’ Alexis Eberz, Brooke Wilson and Abbie McFillin all combined to play hero as Carroll survived with a 37-35 win. O’Hara didn’t have nearly as much problem in its PCL quarterfinal game, dispatching West Catholic by 25 to set up a rematch of two teams who expected to be playing this deep into the season, and deeper. It’s a matchup of last year’s state semifinals, which Carroll won 31-30 on a pair of free throws by current Army freshman Taylor Wilson with five seconds to play.

O’Hara got a measure of revenge earlier this season, getting 12 points from La Salle commit Joanie Quinn in one of her first games back from a broken hand. The 5-8 combo guard and sharpshooter is back to full strength at this point, one of Chrissie Dooogan’s top options along with 5-11 junior wing Molly Rullo, a Drexel commit; the two were both First Team All-PCL selections this year. Senior forward Carly Coleman (5-11) has also had a breakout season, named to the All-PCL Second Team after turning herself into a top-notch defender who’s also given them some inside scoring presence. Rullo’s younger sister, sophomore guard Meg Rullo (5-9) and senior guard Greta Miller (5-8) round out the starting lineup, while freshman guard Brigidanne Donohue (5-9) has provided great shooting off the bench, stepping into the starting lineup when Quinn was out with her injury.

Carroll is similarly guard-oriented, led by Brooke Wilson, who’s going to follow her sister to West Point this fall. The Catholic League MVP, Wilson is a tough 5-9 combo guard who can really get downhill, and she’s the engine that makes this team go. Eberz, a 5-9 sophomore guard, has become one of the top scoring threats in the Catholic League, most often from 3-point range though she’s getting better attacking the rim and utilizing a floater. The McFillin sisters — senior Felicity, junior Maddie and freshman Abbie — have all been major pieces this season as well, with two tending to be on the floor at any one time. Junior guard Olivia Nardi, junior wing Bridget Archbold and sophomore wing Bridget Grant, all 5-9, round out the rotation.

There’s no shortage of familiarity between these two teams, not just because of their league rivalry and  relative geographic proximity, but also through plenty of AAU ties. Eberz and Meg Rullo are teammates on the Comets’ 16U team, while Donohue and Abigail McFillin are teammates on the Comets’ 15Us; Quinn and Wilson were Comets teammates for years, through their final grassroots season last summer. So expect another hard-fought contest between two teams that aren’t going to want to go home. 

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1) Archbishop Wood vs. 5) Nazareth Academy (7:30 PM)
Previous Meeting: Archbishop Wood, 71-27 (Dec. 12, Archbishop Wood)

Archbishop Wood provided Nazareth Academy a “welcome to the PCL” moment with a big win back in the early weeks of the season. It’s safe to say the Pandas are a much, much different team now after downing defending champion Lansdale Catholic to end the regular season and avenging a lopsided regular season loss to Neumann-Goretti in the quarterfinals.

The Vikings are looking for a return trip to the Palestra and for the chance to play in their third PCL final in the last four years after rolling past Conwell-Egan in the quarterfinals. First Team All-PCL selections Ava Renninger and Emily Knouse lead the way offensively, the senior point guard signed with FDU and junior wing committed to St Joe’s both able to score at a high clip. Seniors Lauren Greer and Alexa Windish (Kutztown) are high-energy players who do a lot of little things, especially on the defensive end. Wood’s also been able to build up some depth in the latter part of the season, with sophomores Emma Yogis and Sophia Topakas and freshmen Makayla Finnegan, Sophia McDonald and Regan Przepioski the core members of the rotation outside the four captains.

The Pandas are almost exclusively juniors, led by First Team All-PCL selection Reese Power, a 5-foot-10 guard who slashes well to the rim but is also improving as a perimeter option. NA coach Mary Kate Magagna, a 2005 graduate, helped the team find an identity throughout the season that relies on solid defense, patient offense and using her team’s athleticism as an advantage. Junior Gracie Sullivan provides great effort up front, the soccer team’s goalkeeper is a tenacious rebounder despite not being the tallest player. Abby Rock, the third big piece of the team’s junior core, provides plenty of help handling the ball and as an outside shooter. Rileigh Donohue and Natalie D’Alfonso have been mainstays in the starting five all season.

Nazareth Academy’s picked up some impressive wins this, including a victory against District 1 5A top seed Gwynedd Mercy Academy, and proved it could hang in the PCL. Archbishop Wood has all the motivation it needs after a three-point loss at the Palestra last year, the team’s vets setting their eyes on a chance to get back and reverse their fortunes.

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