City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) +
Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
—

Archbishop Wood girls’ basketball coach Mike McDonald never fails to appreciate the grandeur of the Catholic League’s championship games.

While the Vikings will be in the title game for the 15th time in the last 18 years and back at the Palestra for a second straight season, it’s not treated as a guarantee. Archbishop Carroll, the other half of Monday night’s championship tilt, isn’t a stranger to Penn’s campus either.

The game will last 32 minutes, but every player who has the opportunity to step on the floor will carry it with them for much longer.

“I told the kids that haven’t been there, we eight freshmen, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” McDonald said. “We’ve been fortunate to do it a lot, but every time you go down there, it’s new all over again. It’s special from the moment you walk into the Palestra and it’s empty to the time it’s packed.”

Wood, the top seed, is chasing its first PCL title since the 2020-21 season but first at the Palestra since the 2015-16 campaign. Carroll, which finished third in the regular season standings, pursues its first title since 2018-19 when it downed Wood in an overtime thriller at the historic venue.

While Wood was there last year, only three current Vikings - seniors Ava Renninger and Alexa Windish and junior Emily Knouse - actually played in the three-point loss to Lansdale Catholic. Those three, along with senior Lauren Greer, have led the otherwise youthful Vikings all season long as quad-captains.

Sophomore Sophia Topakas is entrenched as Wood’s fifth starter while the bench unit is led by freshmen including Makayla Finnegan as the first reserve in.

Renninger, who has committed to FDU, echoed McDonald in saying the championship game is an unparalleled experience.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially with the limited four years you have in high school,” Renninger said. “I was lucky enough to go last year but chasing a win this year is something we’re looking forward to doing.”

Carroll’s got plenty of Palestra experience on its coaching staff but as far as the players go, senior Brooke Wilson is the only one who played in the title game loss to Cardinal O’Hara two years ago. It fits, especially with the PCL’s MVP having been the catalyst in both Carroll wins thus far in the playoffs.

Wilson, committed to Army, did it with passing in the quarterfinals by finding Abbie McFillin for the game-winning layup at the buzzer, then by taking charge late in a semifinal win over O’Hara.

“Playoff season, everyone just brings a different attitude,” Wilson said after the semifinals. “There’s a different attitude and mindset, which starts at practice. We have to lock in, every single thing we do counts.”

Apart from Wilson, there will be a lot of Palestra debuts for Carroll including sophomore Alexis Eberz, who has been the team’s top offensive option all season. Abbie McFillin, a freshman, has been a spark off the bench in both playoff games while her older sisters Felicity, a senior, and Maddie, a junior, have solidified the starting lineup.

Junior Olivia Nardi rounds out Carroll’s first five with junior Bridget Archbold another option off the bench who has contributed some timely plays in both PCL playoff games.

~~~

Ryan aiming for history, Roman aiming to repeat

There aren’t many programs in the Catholic League with as different title game experiences as Archbishop Ryan and Roman Catholic.

In Ryan’s history, the Raiders have only been to four Catholic League championship games: 1979, 2002, 2008 and 2022. All but 2002 were held at the Palestra. They lost all four, including a 61-57 defeat to Neumann-Goretti two years back. 

Roman, on the other hand, is a regular this time of year. Since the program’s first Catholic League championship game appearance — and victory — in 1922, the Cahillites have been back more than 30 times, including in eight of the last 10 championship games. Roman’s 33 titles are more than any other PCL program, the all-boys school at Broad and Vine turning out plenty of NBA talent along the way in its illustrious hoops history.

There’s no doubt that Joe Zeglinski has the Ryan boys in one of their strongest positions ever, the former Raiders standout having his program near the top of the league the last half-decade. After coming up just short two years ago, he’s determined to get his group over the hump this time. 

“We want to get it for everyone,” he said after the Raiders beat Neumann-Goretti in the semifinals. “I’ve been looking for this ‘chip since I was in high school [...] It would mean the world to the whole alumni and the school.

“Those guys nine years ago, my first team, those guys are a big part of this, building the program,” Zeglinski added by phone this weekend. “They’re all going to be part of this win, if we get it.”

It helps that the Raiders boast the area’s top forward, Georgetown-bound Thomas Sorber. The 6-foot-10 post, in the best shape of his life, dominated Neumann-Goretti in the post in the semifinals, racking up 11 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. He’s going up against one of the league’s other preeminent big men, Roman junior Shareef Jackson. A 6-7 forward and the son of former Roman standout Marc Jackson, Shareef went for a 20-point 13-rebound effort in the Cahillites’ win over Father Judge.

Whichever of the two has the advantage in the post will give their team a huge leg up Monday night.

“There’s no doubt about it, Thomas is one of the best high school big men in the country, we’re going to give him a lot of attention,” Roman boss Chris McNesby said. “Shareef plays a different game than Thomas, it’s not exactly the same, but Shareef can do what he can do well and I think he’ll be very productive.”

McNesby, Roman’s boss, has three titles to his credit, including the 2023 championship, which saw Xzayvier Brown’s game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer help the Cahillites overcome Neumann-Goretti in overtime in a classic. But Brown is off at St. Joe’s along with Anthony Finkley, while starting wings Erik Oliver-Bush and Jermai Stewart-Herring are off doing prep years. 

Instead, Jackson’s in the middle along with a mostly-new rotation; only senior guard Robert Cottrell, who went between fifth starter and sixth man a year ago, is back from those who saw minutes at the Palestra a year ago. It’s been a mix of newcomers — seniors Travis Reed, Hunter Johnson and Kabe Goss were all at different schools a year ago — and some improved returners, like junior guard Sebastian Edwards and sophomore wing Sammy Edwards, Shareef’s younger brother.

Reed scored 13 against Judge, Sammy Jackson added nine and an assortment of other stats, Johnson eight points and Goss added six assists.

“Shareef and Bobby were there before, so their composure was what really led us and got us going early,” McNesby said. “Everyone settled in, Travis, and Hunter, and Sammy. They really all played off each other and I think that settled us down.”

Ryan counters with senior guard Darren Williams, a 6-2 left-handed Florida Gulf Coast commit, and a strong supporting cast including 6-6 senior Jaden Murray, 6-2 senior Rocco Morabito, 5-11 sophomore Matt Johnson and 6-1 senior Ryan Everett. Ryan beat Roman 64-57 in the final game of the regular season, but Roman, with the top seed in the PCL locked up, rested Shareef Jackson in that game.

“We don’t have a great sense of what it would be like with him, but it was good for the other guys to get experience,” McNesby said. “(Ryan has) a lot of pieces that can do a little bit of everything. I expect it to be a great game.”

~~~