Archbishop Wood powers past Lansdale Catholic
WARMINSTER >> Annie Whalen just kept fighting.
All game, the Archbishop Wood senior was engulfed in green Lansdale Catholic jerseys, but just kept pulling down offensive rebounds. It wasn’t just Whalen either, with plenty of Wood players, especially Liv Sebold, the smallest girl on the floor, fighting for second, third or even fourth chances.
In a game that wasn’t much for finesse, it seemed fitting the Vikings’ offensive rebounding was a big part of their 54-41 win over visiting LC on Wednesday.
“It’s our main motto, we always play as hard as we can,” Whalen, who had six of her seven rebounds on the offensive end, said. “We play tough defense, we go for the defensive rebounds, we go for the offensive rebounds. That’s just our style.”
Wood (4-5, 2-0 PCL) hadn’t played since its trip to Arizona for the Tournament of Champion prior to Christmas. Vikings coach Mike McDonald also gave the team a day off on Tuesday and the collective game rust showed throughout Wednesday night. Shots fell inconsistently, the offense didn’t always run smooth and the defensive effort waned in the second half.
Still, there was no denying the effort the Vikings were putting in on the glass. Sebold, a sophomore who is the team’s shortest player, ended the game with seven rebounds. Five of them came on the offensive end where Wood tallied 15 offensive boards as a team, 11 coming from Whalen and Sebold.
“We don’t have a true post on the team, it’s basically all guards,” Whalen, a Kutztown recruit, said. “At practice, we try really hard to think as big as we can because we don’t have any big players.”
While Wood’s defense lapsed in the second half, it was pretty strong in the first half. Still, the Crusaders (6-4, 0-3) came in with the right idea as they hoped to extend a four-game winning streak that included a George Snear Tournament title over the holiday break.
Right from the beginning, led by guards Timaya Lewis-Eutsey and Maile Erwin, the Crusaders tried to attack Wood’s defense. The last thing LC wanted was for the Vikings to start smothering them, so they tried to take the advantage to the hosts.
That said, it’s still easier in theory than in practice.
“We were getting layups and shots in the paint and nothing was falling, it was so much not like us, we couldn’t even make our free throws,” LC coach Eric Gidney said. “They’re a good squad, I’m saying this standing under five state banners in the last eight years, but we didn’t want to be intimidated. We wanted to try and pressure them, a lot of teams don’t so we wanted to try and make them uncomfortable.”
Wood did use the 3-pointer to its advantage in the first quarter, with Whalen knocking down two of the team’s four makes from deep as the Vikings opened up a 20-10 lead. LC’s struggles to score – the Crusaders didn’t get on the board until 5:30 remained in the first – didn’t aid their plan to come in and be the aggressor.
As determined as Lewis-Eutsey and Riley Devitis were to do damage at the basket in the first half, they saw why Wood is usually a standout defensive team. The Vikings may be guard-heavy, but as Whalen and Sebold proved, they can still mix it up.
It felt as many players hit the floor as shots went down in a very physical second quarter that saw Wood take a 31-14 lead to the break.
“They’re really physical and they’re always looking to double(-team),” Gidney said. “Other than their point guard, they have length at every position, they have good reach and it’s constant doubles. It’s something we were prepared for and knew would happen but the physicality isn’t something you can watch on film and prepare for.”
Wood’s Kaitlyn Orihel, who plays an extremely physical brand of basketball on both ends, led all scorers with 21 points and added five rebounds. Whalen scored 12 points to go with her seven boards.
McDonald, who is still looking for some consistency from a team heavy on freshmen and sophomore contributors, felt the offensive rebounding was a positive, as was the first half defensive effort that included several five-second calls against LC.
“I mentioned Liv at halftime for going after the offensive rebounds, she’s about five feet tall and she’s in their getting hands on the ball and coming up rebounds,” McDonald said. “It’s really about heart and if you play with it, chances are things are going to go well for you. Annie in the second half did a nice job going after the rebounds.
“We just need more consistency out of all our kids with that kind of effort. They’re talented and work hard at practice but there’s still a mental toughness thing they need to develop which is natural.”
Whalen said it’s on her and the other seniors to set a tone during practice and the guard felt the defensive mistakes in the second half were correctable. The senior noted that Wood gave up too many easy drives to Lewis-Eutsey, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, and the effort would have to be better going forward.
LC returns home where it will host Conwell-Egan and look to start a new winning run. Wood travels to Archbishop Carroll on Friday in a game that has heavy District 12 and PIAA Class 5A ramifications to go with its PCL status.
The Vikings, who also face New Jersey state Tournament of Champions winner Manasquan on Sunday at Jefferson, hope Wednesday’s effort shook the rust out of their systems with an important weekend looming.
“When our shots aren’t falling, we’re not hitting our threes or something like that, we always fall back on our defense,” Whalen said. “That’s the main aspect of our team and our biggest strength. We had some weak spots, we definitely could have done things better but it’s all things we can get better at.”
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 20 11 12 11 – 54
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 10 4 10 17 – 41
Archbishop Wood: Kaitlyn Orihel 7 4-4 21, Ryanne Allen 2 2-2 7, Noelle Baxter 2 1-1 5, Lindsay Tretter 1 2-2 4, Ryleigh Parsons 1 0-0 2, Annie Whalen 5 0-0 12, Brianna Bowen 1 1-2 3, Liv Sebold 0 0-1 0. Nonscoring: Caroline McSorely, Liz Fasti, Shannon Morgan. Totals: 19 10-12 54
Lansdale Catholic: Timaya Lewis-Eutsey 6 4-8 16, Maile Erwin 2 0-0 4, Emily Smith 1 2-2 5, Riley Devitis 3 4-7 10, Caitlin Rosenberger 1 0-0 2, Kris Finkelston 1 0-0 2, Mia Rosenberger 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 10-17 41
3-pointers: AW – Orihel 3, Whalen 2, Allen; LC – Smith.
