Archbishop Wood turns it on in the second half, beats Neumann-Goretti in PCL clash
WARMINSTER >> A delayed start to the season along with cancelled practices due to a winter storm will make even the best teams appear as sluggish and sloppy as a snowdrift.
But Archbishop Wood began Thursday night’s second half the way it knows how.
“The first half wasn’t great so we came together and we made sure we shared the ball and knocked down open shots,” the Vikings’ Ryanne Allen said. “We just played as a team the way we know how to.”
Perennial power Archbishop Wood began the third quarter with a 9-0 run, breaking the game open and pulling away to a commanding 63-50 win over Neumann-Goretti in a Philadelphia Catholic League contest.
“We moved the ball better. We started to hit shots, find the open man,” Allen said of the second half. “But we need better accuracy on our passes to make sure our teammates can finish better.
“We need an overall better performance on defense, boxing out.”
Allen had a game-high 17 points and Kaitlyn Orihel added 16. Bri Bowen went 8-for-8 at the foul line and contributed 12 points.
A three by Allen was part of that key 9-0 run that turned a 34-26 halftime edge into a 43-26 cushion.
“It wasn’t my best shooting performance. I missed a lot I know I should have made, but knocking those shots down for my team and getting them shots too definitely felt good,” Allen said.
The Vikings raised their PCL record to 2-0. Wood led by double digits for the majority of the second half.
“It’s a short season but there’s still gonna be some ups and downs and I think that’s what we’re facing right now,” Vikings coach Mike McDonald said. “We (began the second half strong) against Archbishop Carroll the other night that way too. We came out (after halftime) with a little bit more of a sense of urgency.
“We knew we could get better possessions than what we were getting and we could get better defensively.”
The Vikings didn’t allow a single Saint to reach double figures. Mihjae Hayes and Brooke Barnes each had nine points to lead the way for Goretti.
Barnes had six points in the first half to help bring Goretti within eight, before Wood’s big burst in the pivotal third quarter.
Neumann Goretti (0-2 PCL) travels to Conwell-Egan Wednesday at 7 p.m. Wood is in action Tuesday night, hosting Cardinal O’Hara at 7.
Archbishop Wood 63, Neumann-Goretti 50
Neumann Goretti 12 14 7 17 – 50
Archbishop Wood 19 15 17 12 – 63
Neumann-Goretti: Jonelle Price 2 0-0 4, Mihijae Hayes 3 3-6 9, Omoiye Jordan 2 2-2 7, Sierra Bermudez 1 4-8 7, Brooke Barnes 2 5-6 9, Camryn Graham 1 0-0 2, Christa Ricks 4 0-0 8, Amirah Hachney 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 14-22 50.
Archbishop Wood: Kaitlyn Orihel 7 1-2 16, Ryanne Allen 7 0-2 17, Bri Bowen 2 8-8 12, Allie Fleming 1 0-0 3, Dana Kiefer 1 2-2 4, Noelle Baxter 2 0-0 5, Delaney Finnegan 1 1-3 4, Shannon Morgan 0 2-4 2. Totals 21 14-21 63.
3-pointers: NG-Jordan, Bermudez; AW-Orihel, Allen 3, Fleming, Baxter, Finnegan.
