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Carter nets season high as Archbishop Wood slugs it out with Cardinal O'Hara

01/18/2025, 12:00am EST
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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WARMINSTER >> Ryan Carter is starting to get the hang of this Philadelphia Catholic League thing.

The Archbishop Wood sophomore, in her first season with the Vikings after playing as an eighth and ninth grader at Penn Charter, knew it would be an adjustment going from the Inter-Ac to the PCL. This week was the guard’s first experience playing against the upper echelon of the league, Wood hosting Lansdale Catholic on Tuesday and then Cardinal O’Hara.

In another competitive game between the perennial league and state title contenders, it was 26 points from Carter that led Wood to a 49-38 win over O’Hara.

“It’s a more competitive game, everyone wants something in the game and everyone wants to win, so it feels more competitive,” Carter said. “I feel like I play better against better teams so it does raise my level of play, but it makes the energy level for the whole team better too."


Cardinal O'Hara senior Molly Rullo netted a team-high 21, including an 11-point third quarter. (CoBL Photo/Mark Jordan)

Carter did all her damage inside the arc, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor and 10-of-11 at the foul line as she found ways to attack and score 15 first half points. She added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals while also defending a tough cover in O’Hara sophomore Brigidanne Donohue.

Wood has only played two home games this season, but Carter said the large crowds they’ve had at both have made them feel like big games. Unlike the Inter-Ac and PAISAA, there’s also no shot clock in the PCL or PIAA, something Wood coach Mike McDonald has needed to remind Carter of a few times this year.

In general, the Vikings coach felt pace of play was going to be a key factor in the game and not something his team always controlled well.

“They were able to run a lot of clock and I was a little frustrated and a little worried with how fast we were shooting the ball,” McDonald said. “We’re chasing around for a long time and if we score, great but if we didn’t score, we just threw it back and now we’re chasing them around again. (O’Hara) did a fabulous job as always moving the ball and doing what they needed to do to get shots.”

Cardinal O’Hara trailed 23-12 at halftime but the Lions were able to get back in the game thanks to a strong third quarter from Molly Rullo. The senior Drexel recruit finished with a team-high 21 points and went off for 11 in the third frame thanks to a three and a pair of and-one drives that helped O’Hara clip the deficit to 36-30 with eight minutes left.

Wood’s Emily Knouse, who scored all six of her points in the final quarter, opened the fourth with a drive for a three-point play but Rullo answered with four straight to make it a five-point game at 39-34. It was the final regular season matchup for the two seniors, teammates on the travel level with the Comets and both nominated for the McDonald’s All-American Game earlier this week.

A hoop by Leah Hudak off a terrific pass by Rullo again got O’Hara within two possessions at 41-36 with 2:15 left. Wood answered as Knouse found Carter for a layup, her first score in the quarter and after the Vikings put together a few stops, Carter helped close out the win at the foul line.

“It was just having the floor spaced and everyone playing their role in the offense was a big part of me being able to get to the basket,” Carter said. “People set really good screens for me.”


Archbishop Wood's Ryan Carter scored a season-high 26 points as the Vikings improved to 6-0 in the PCL. (CoBL Photo/Mark Jordan)

Carter conceded it’s been an adjustment playing without the shot clock, but she credited McDonald for helping her figure out how to best pace herself and also stay locked in on the longer defensive possessions. Putting up a season high, the sophomore said she felt even more confident and was ready to roll into the next slate of games.

“I thought she was unbelievable,” McDonald said. “The way she was getting them, layups and getting closer  to the basket without forcing too many tough ones, I thought she was really good.

“I thought it was her best game with us for sure and we’re going to need that out of her.”

Wood improved to 6-0 in the PCL while Cardinal O’Hara dropped to 4-2 in the league. Both teams still have to face Archbishop Carroll and Wood hasn’t faced Neumann-Goretti yet, the Patriots and Saints the league’s other unbeatens at 5-0, so there’s still plenty of potential shuffling in the standings before the league playoffs.

McDonald also had praise for his bench, even with one of their top reserves in Sophia McDonald out with an injury. Mackenzie Rogers ended the first quarter with a big three, Regan Przepioski came up with some important rebounds and Emma Seckinger and Emma Yogis helped spell the first five in a grinding game.

“Early on, it just felt like it was going to be an exhausting game, so we really wanted to jump out and get some kids out there early so we avoided that exhaustion,” McDonald said. “You need your timeouts at the end of these games in most cases, so you don’t want to burn them. Also, with the way the Lansdale Catholic game ended, we were fouling and getting beat a little bit so I thought maybe some substitutions would keep our first five fresh.”

McDonald’s main focus after the game was on Wood junior Colleen Besachio. The forward, who fought through so much adversity over the last year with a torn ACL in her right knee to get to the court and who had her best game of the season on Tuesday, went down on a baseline drive late in the third quarter and was helped off the floor favoring her left leg.

“My mind’s just on Colleen and we’re all hoping she’s ok,” McDonald said.

By Quarter:
AW: 12  |  11  |  13  |  13  ||  49
CO:  6   |   6   |  18  |   8   ||  38

Scoring
AW: Ryan Carter 26, Colleen Besachio 7, Emily Knouse 6, Mackenzie Rogers 3, Makayla Finnegan 3, Sophia Topakas 2, Emma Seckinger 2

CO: Molly Rullo 21, Leah Hudak 7, Brigid MacGillivray 4, Natalie DiBlasi 4, Brigidanne Donohue 2


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