Hot shooting pushes Archbishop Wood past Lansdale Catholic
LANSDALE >> A three-pointer in transition by Ryleigh Parsons beat the first-quarter buzzer and began an epic 21-0 run for Archbishop Wood Tuesday night, sending the Vikings on their way to a 61-43 victory over rival Lansdale Catholic.
“I felt like that was one of our best first halves we played in a while,” said Katie May, who hit six 3-pointers as part of a game-high 22-point effort. “We were definitely just on a roll after that.”
Wood hit 14 threes in the Philadelphia Catholic League contest, raising its overall record to 14-6 and 9-1 in the PCL.
Brady Wassel had the high for LC (14-5, 6-4 PCL) with 11.
May opened the scoring with one of her four first-half threes, pushing Wood in front.
LC would take its first lead on a drive to the hoop by Timaya Lewis, but then crisp ball movement by the Vikings created an open three for Kaitlyn Orihel, and it fell through for a an early 6-4 Wood advantage.
The two teams battled to an 8-8 draw and then Wood began its charge.
“We were definitely shooting well, which is a good thing,” May said with a smile. “Hopefully we’ll keep that up going forward.”
With the final seconds of the first quarter winding down, Wood raced upcourt in transition, with Parsons pulling up to nail a three-pointer at the buzzer, providing the Vikings an 11-8 advantage.
Then the threes began coming in bunches.
Wood was moving the ball around and finding — and hitting — the open shot. Threes by May, Orihel and Annie Whalen were part of a 21-0 Wood run, breaking the game open at 29-8.
May had 14 points in the first half alone.
“It felt really good, especially because I had been struggling recently,” said May.
Annie Whalen added eight points for Wood and Lindsay Tretter scored seven off the bench.
The Vikings defense was also more aggressive in the second quarter, with Orihel coming up with a steal and a layup to push the Vikings further in front.
A pair of free throws by Wassel ended the Viking run, and foul shots by Lauren Crim and a basket by Olivia Schneider extended LC’s point total, but Wood was firmly in front at the half, 34-14.
The Crusaders would get as close as 13 in the fourth, but threes by Tretter helped lock it up for Wood.
“I’m disappointed with how we competed in the first half,” said Crusaders coach Joe Mack. “Credit Wood — they shot the ball really well. And they’re very disciplined on offense. But I was just disappointed with how we competed in the first half.
“Hopefully it’s a kick in the butt. Hopefully it’s a little bit of a wake-up call as we move into the latter part of the season and into the playoffs.”
LC travels to Cardinal O’Hara Friday night while Wood hosts Archbishop Ryan.
