Archbishop Wood heartbroken but emboldened after falling to West Catholic in PCL title game

PHILADELPHIA >> For Kaitlyn Orihel, it was an all-too familiar feeling while for Izzy Larsen, it was one she had desperately hoped to help her team prevent experiencing again.

For the second straight year, the Archbishop Wood girls basketball team proved what it is all about but ultimately fell a few plays short of its goal of winning a PCL title at the Palestra. There wasn’t one thing the Vikings could point to as their downfall and as much as an accumulation of little things matter, so did West Catholic’s ability to make big plays.

Behind a brilliant 30-point game from Destiny McPhaul, the No. 3 seed Burrs knocked off No. 1 Wood 65-60 in overtime Monday to win their first PCL title since 1998.

“It was a great game overall, basketball is a game of runs, they had a few more runs and they had the last run,” Orihel, who led Wood with 23 points, said. “We just need to stay composed in a big game like this but at the same time, a game like this prepares us for the rest of the season.”

West Catholic (19-6) had been the only team to beat Wood (18-7) during the league’s regular season so it wasn’t a case of the Vikings overlooking the Burrs.

The stage at the Palestra, with a good-sized crowd that only grew larger as the game went on, has an effect on anyone playing on it if they want to admit it or not. Wood coach Mike McDonald felt his team might have been a little too energetic at the start with a couple turnovers and misses leading to an 8-0 open run for the Burrs.

“They’re just a really good team, we’re a really good team and the ball didn’t bounce our way a couple times we needed it to,” McDonald said. “They’re really hard to stop and defend and Destiny showed that, she hit big shots.”

Wood settled in despite trailing 19-10 at the end of the first and ripped a 12-0 run to start the second quarter with a three from Larsen giving the top seed a 22-19 lead. Ciani Montgomery, who played a strong second chair to McPhaul, closed the first half with four straight and West Catholic took a 26-24 lead into the half.

The Burrs played a strong defensive game, limiting the looks Wood snipers Lindsay Tretter and Ryanne Allen were able to get throughout the game. Enter Larsen, the senior forward who joined the program this offeseason, as the answer.

Larsen played tremendously, scoring 20 points with 12 rebounds, but all she could think about afterward was not being able to deliver a title for her teammates.

“I love them all so much, I wouldn’t want to lose with anyone else if that makes sense, I can’t look at any of them and be anything but proud,” Larsen said. “I’m so thankful I got to play with them this year and I still get to.”

Last year, Wood fell to Archbishop Carroll in overtime at the Palestra in a game that Orihel said took her more than a month to even be able to stomach watching the film. While the guard, who scored 19 of her 23 after halftime, had that same sense Monday night, she believed the Vikings would come out of it better.

“Games like this only make us stronger as a team,” Orihel said.

“I love to win and I love my team,” Larsen said. “I wanted to win for my girls and as a senior, especially for Lindsay, I wanted to close it out for her.”

Wood had a strong third quarter, with Orihel and Larsen combining for 11 of the team’s 13 in the frame but a couple of late turnovers proved costly. After taking a 37-36 lead, the Vikings allowed a Montgomery layup and in the final seconds, a steal turned into a three for Tamiah Robinson that handed West Catholic a 41-37 edge.

Orihel responded by scoring the first six of the final quarter and a trey by Larsen with 3:55 to go put Wood ahead 48-43 as the Vikings seemed to level off. But McPhaul wasn’t ready to give in either and the junior ripped off nine straight for the Burrs and her free throws with 8.2 on the clock knotted the game 56-56.

“It’s her finishing, but she can also shoot it, her ball-handling and her ability to understand how to attack one-on-one, she’s very, very good one-on-one with the basketball,” McDonald said. “My hat’s off to West Catholic and the job (coach) Beulah (Osueke) has done to take them from where they were to where they are now.”

There was plenty of evidence it wasn’t Wood’s night at the end of regulation. After a timeout with 3.2 left, the Vikings inbounded and got Orihel isolated for a drive on the baseline only to have a West Catholic defender knock the ball out with 0.5 left on the clock.

McDonald admitted he was ready to rush the court on what he thought was going to be a make but Wood had to re-adjust. The Vikings were able to get a shot off, as Allen’s desperation three at the horn agonizingly rimmed out to force an extra four minutes.

Once McPhaul opened the overtime with a three, things kept going in West Catholic’s favor.

“I’m going to look back at a missed free throw of my own for probably months, a missed layup here, I think I’m going to go absolutely crazy up until states trying to perfect every little thing I messed up,” Larsen said. “I know everyone else on the team does the same thing, we hold ourselves super-accountable.”

McDonald had nothing but praise for his team’s effort and was eager to look at the tape to see where he could improve or get players in better positions. While noting hindsight is always 20/20, he didn’t think his team would emerge as anything but stronger from Monday’s performance.

“This was really hard for us but once we take a day or two and start to get back to where we want to be, this will only make us better,” Orihel said.

Wood will play for the District 12 5A title later this week, then turn its attention to the state tournament. After falling in the state quarterfinals last year, the Vikings are committed to returning to the Giant Center.

So don’t be too surprised if there’s a bunch of players in the gym Tuesday even if they don’t have to be.

“He might tell us to take a couple days but knowing this team, I don’t think a single person will,” Larsen said.

WEST CATHOLIC 65, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 60 (OT)
WEST CATHOLIC 19 7 15 15 9 – 65
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 10 19 13 19 4 – 60
West Catholic: Tamiah Robinson 5 1-3 15, Destiny McPhaul 10 7-8 30, Ciani Montgomery 6 4-5 16, Safara McIntyre 2 0-0 4. Totals: 23 12-17 65.
Archbishop Wood: Izzy Larsen 8 1-2 20, Kaitlyn Orihel 9 4-6 23, Ryanne Allen 1 2-3 5, Noelle Baxter 1 0-0 3, Lindsay Tretter 1 0-0 2, Bri Bowen 3 1-2 7. Totals: 23 8-13 60.
3-pointers: WC – Robinson 4, McPhaul 3; AW – Larsen 3, Orihel, Allen, Baxter.