Guards lead Archbishop Wood over Lansdale Catholic
WARMINSTER >> Just 7.1 seconds remained in the second half when Archbishop Wood inbounded the ball to Bailey Greenberg.
The senior forward passed it to her fellow senior starter, Claire Bassetti and the guard charged up the floor to deposit a layup with 1.6 seconds before the half. It wasn’t the first time the two have combined on a play and it won’t be the last.
But it was a bit different Thursday night when the Vikings defeated Lansdale Catholic 52-28 on their senior night. Wood honored Bassetti, Greenberg and team manager Regan Gallagher, who dressed and played minutes in the fourt quarter.
“It’s a really good feeling to have Bailey next to me,” Bassetti said. “She’s one of my best friends and so it was really bittersweet but I’m glad to say I had the opportunity to play with her.
“Regan works really hard for us so we wanted to make sure she got her chance to play tonight.”
It was largely thanks to Bassetti and her backcourt running mates that the road was clear in the fourth. Wood’s guards played tough defense all night and made the task of advancing the ball up the floor extremely difficult.
“We struggled against their pressure,” LC coach Joe Mack Jr. said. “I felt that was the difference in the game, that we couldn’t handle their pressure.”
Wood’s offensive game wasn’t getting much luck in the first half but the defense more than covered for it. Between Bassetti, Cassie Sebold, Karly Brown, Meg Neher and Shannon May, the Vikings had four tenacious defenders to throw at whoever was bringing the ball up for LC.
Once LC initiated its halfcourt, things weren’t much easier. Wood keyed on Crusaders sophomore Lauren Crim and kept the scorer smothered, allowing Crim just one shot at the half.
“We have a lot of guards we can sub in there,” Wood coach Mike McDonald said. “Our other kids stepped it up defensively. I thought Meg Neher made a lot of plays defensively in the first half that led to points down the other end.”
Wood’s size inside also dissuaded LC, as Abby Ward and Brady Wassel had a tough time scoring over a sea of limbs. Crim found it tough going until the game had been decided.
Mack said that’s been par for the course with teams locating the sophomore and McDonald said Wood played that defenders on her side were not to leave her on any drives or penetration.
Wood had five steals in the first quarter, including a coast-to-coast saunter by Bailey Greenberg for a layup. After Bassetti’s steal and layup with 36.3 left in the first, the Vikings hounded LC into a five-second call and Greenberg scored inside off the inbound for a 13-6 edge.
“They’ve caught on to the fact we have three post players we can throw the ball into and score,” McDonald said. “Most teams don’t have three defenders that can stay with that. We have to figure out that we have to keep moving it on offense and not just stare at it to get it in, but they’re doing a good job.”
The second quarter saw Wood do more of the same, though its 3-point looks weren’t falling until Sebold drove base and kicked out to Brown for a trey with 59.2 left in the half. It didn’t matter as the Vikes’ defense and instant transition offense created more than enough points, with eight different players getting on the board.
“They get after it,” McDonald said. “We do a lot of ‘losers run,’ and they don’t like running. They know whether it’s this year or the following year, they need to step up at some point if they want to play minutes for this team.”
Greenberg took over in the third quarter, dropping in 10 points during the frame as Wood forced six LC turnovers and held the Crusaders to just five points.
McDonald put in Gallagher to a raucous ovation in the fourth. Though she didn’t score, the crowd went nuts anytime the senior touched the ball. With 5:15 left in the game, McDonald pulled the three seniors together, though Gallagher did get one last run late in the contest.
The victory seals up a spot for Wood in the District 12 playoffs and a state bid. The Vikings will next play at home Thursday in a PCL quarterfinal.
“It’s great to be a part of the Wood community and the Wood basketball program,” Bassetti said. “It’s just awesome and it feels really good to win tonight.”
