Archbishop Wood’s defense breaks down GMA in PIAA AAA quarterfinals

PHILADELPHIA >> Archbishop Wood guard Cassie Sebold knows how effective a structured offense can be.

She plays as part of one and practices against it daily. The guard knows how potent a well-structured offense can be, but she also knows the best way to take one apart. Saturday, Sebold and her fellow Vikings faced one of the better structured offenses around in Gwynedd Mercy Academy.

Wood threw all the pressure it had at the Monarchs and there wasn’t much GMA could do as the Vikings claimed a defensively dominant 42-33 win in the teams’ PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal held at Archbishop Ryan.

“Our plan was when (Brigit Coleman) was bringing it up, for someone to leave their girl and double so they couldn’t get into their offense,” Sebold said. “There offense always starts with her so getting them out of that helped us a lot.”

The duel between the District 1 and District 12 champions delivered on the anticipation that led up to it. Bailey Greenberg led Wood with 14 points and eight rebounds while helping to hold GMA forward Erica DeCandido to eight points.

Sebold scored seven while her starting running mate in the backcourt, Claire Bassetti, scored eight, the two of them combining for some key plays late as well as hounding defense on whoever was holding the ball for the Monarchs. Coleman led GMA with 10, including the only two Monarch hits from outside, but she had a long day of trying to shake double teams and traps.

“We’re a very disciplined team on offense and very structured,” GMA coach Tom Lonergan said. “Our players have played extremely well all year in our structured offensive sets. They took us right out of it. By them running people at us and forcing our kids react on their own out on the floor, that was the whole game.”

Wood knew that keeping DeCandido and Coleman in check would be the key factor in stopping Gwynedd on offense. The Vikings could stick Greenberg on DeCandido, with some help from Kate Connolly and Katie May while the guard were able to attack Coleman coming up the floor.

For three quarters, the Monarchs’ supporting cast wasn’t able to make up the difference. Carly Heineman is GMA’s other shooter, with the rest of the team more drivers and slashers into the lane. With their best shooter unable to get looks, the Monarchs had to attack the basket.

Waiting for them was May and Connolly, who had another strong outing with five blocks.

“One of the concentrations is also when kids drive to the basket, make sure we’re not fouling and make them take the tough shot over us,” Wood coach Mike McDonald said. “For the most part, we did a nice job with that.

“(Connolly)’s been a factor. This is three straight state games where she’s really stepping her game up which is what we hope for and expect.”

@WoodGirlsBball runs offense, Sebold hits a 3 off of it to open Q3 @PaPrepLive pic.twitter.com/NfxmBIIeRk

— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) March 13, 2016

Wood led 10-5 after one and it was evident early on that scoring would be problematic for GMA. Once the Vikings started sending a player at Coleman, the Monarchs had to scramble on offense, which isn’t their strong suit.

“We weren’t ready for it,” Lonergan said. “We knew they were going to blanket Brigit and we were ready for that. They had a backup plan and that backup plan was to go jump and run at her and get the ball out of her hands. That’s the one thing we weren’t ready for.”

Despite the offensive trouble, the Monarchs never went away in the game. GMA trailed just 20-14 at the half, but the third quarter saw Wood take more of an advantage. DeCandido picked up her fourth foul in the frame, keeping her on the bench until midway through the fourth.

DeCandido didn’t want to end her career with a loss, but she felt her team put forth its best effort and just got beat by a great defense.

“If it was anyone I’d have to lose to, I’d want to lose to Bailey and Wood,” DeCandido said. “They’re such a great and respected team. We knew it was going to be a challenge but we came out here and gave it our all so I think we should walk off with smiles on our faces knowing that we’ve had a great season, huge accomplishments. A lot of these girls are going to go far in life, it’s not just about basketball.”

GMA had a last surge, cutting the lead down to 35-29 with 2:06 to go, but Wood made three foul shots to extend the lead. After Maggie Cameron’s second chance bucket for GMA made it a seven point game, Bassetti and Sebold forced a steal with Sebold finding Bassetti for a fastbreak hoop to seal the game.

Wood moves on to face Berks Catholic in the semifinals Tuesday night at a site and time to be determined. Defense has gotten the Vikings this far and with a two-month winning streak, this isn’t the time to do anything different.

“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” Sebold said. “We might as well just stick with what we know and not change it up at all.”