Archbishop Wood earns sweet reward after beating Scranton Prep in PIAA-4A semis
WARMINSTER >> It had been three years, but the wave of incoming Hershey Kisses was still just as sweet to Noelle Baxter and Kaitlyn Orihel.
It was a new experience for all but two of Archbishop Wood’s players, but one eagerly awaited by all as it signaled their goal of reaching the state title game had been attained. The formula was much the same as it’s been in recent games with a barrage of 3-pointers, a lot of assists and pragmatic defending that Scranton Prep couldn’t keep up with.
A balanced effort paced by Dana Kiefer carried the Vikings to a 56-39 win over the District 2 champion Classics to earn a spot in Saturday’s PIAA 4A title game, Wood’s first trip to Hershey since 2018.
“I’m so excited,” Baxter said. “Sophomore year, we lost to (Archbishop) Carroll in the quarterfinals and last year, I thought we were going to make it and win only to get cut off because of COVID so it’s good to finally get those Hershey Kisses back on the court.”
Baxter and Orihel were freshmen in 2018 when the Vikings lost to Mars in the Class 5A final. Last year, the team was in top form going into another quarterfinal against Carroll when the season was shut down due to the coronavirus, leaving a lingering question of “what if” and no shortage of motivation for this this winter.
What’s been a bucket list season for the two co-captains is now down to winning in Hershey, the only thing they have yet to accomplish at Wood.
“It feels awesome,” Orihel said. “To get there freshman year only to lose, it just makes you want to get there even more and we’ve been having such a good season, we won the Catholic League championship so getting this would be the perfect way to end it.”
It won’t be a traditional trip to Hershey with COVID restrictions in place, but the bottom line is Archbishop Wood will be playing for a state title. The Vikings will face District 10 champion Villa Maria, a 47-39 winner over Delone Catholic, at noon Saturday from the Giant Center.
Wood’s last state title came against Villa Maria in the 2016-17 season.
“I’m just grateful these kids who haven’t experienced it yet get to experience it,” Wood coach Mike McDonald said. “The seniors that were there as freshmen get another chance to capitalize and can end their careers with a state championship, so that’s an unbelievable thing to be able to go out from high school on a win. I want them to be state champs.”
No matter how many people are in the stands on Saturday, playing in Hershey is a different experience. The Vikings have big game experience, playing at the Palestra the previous two years and winning the PCL title a few weeks ago, but Orihel noted the Giant Center is something that’s hard to prepare for.
“That gym is so big, so it’s all about adjusting to the environment you play in,” Orihel said. “You can’t get too in your head about it. Yes, we’re in the Giant Center but the court’s still the same size, so we can just worry about playing our game.”
Baxter echoed the size of the arena as the most glaring obstacle to overcome but she planned to spend the next few days emphasizing to her teammates that haven’t been there to just keep doing what they have been. This group’s focus is so linear the co-captain admitted she wasn’t ready to relax until the final horn even with her team holding a substantial lead.
“We had a lot taken away from us last year so we’re so focused and just want to win,” Baxter said. “When the Hershey Kisses hit the floor, that’s when we could stop to feel it.”
DYNAMITE DANA >> Kiefer, the third senior on the team, has only been at Wood for two years but her big game Tuesday was a major reason why her classmates are checking off a return to the state final.
The 6-foot-2 post, a Bryant recruit, started the game by drilling a 3-pointer from the left corner off a dish by Baxter. The pair, who were also teammates on McDonald’s Mid-Atlantic Magic AAU team, opened the third quarter the same way.
By the end of the game, Kiefer had a team-high 14 and paced Wood’s long-range bombardment with a 4-of-7 mark behind the 3-point line.
“We know this is the grind part of the season and we just need to push through,” Kiefer said. “It’s almost over, so we have to cherish it and continue to work together. There’s only one more left, so we have to leave it all out there.”
Kiefer was also an impact player defensively. She blocked two shots, but her size led to plenty of alterations by Scranton Prep’s hard-driving guards that ended with difficult shots clanging off the rim for her teammates to rebound.
The senior also doled out three assists, all going out to 3-point shooters, giving her a hand in 23 total points for the game. Her trey with 6:59 left in the second quarter kicked off a 12-0 run of four different Vikings connecting from outside that broke open a close game.
After setting up a Shannon Morgan three then burying one off an assist from Morgan, Kiefer sank a driving layup late in the third that put Wood ahead 41-16.
“My confidence is built from my teammates,” Kiefer said. “When they give me the ball and tell me to shoot, I feel like I’m in the zone.”
Kiefer is willing to accept whatever role she needs to in a given game, but her teammates see her as just a key a contributor as anyone else.
“I felt like Dana had a million threes,” Baxter said. “I think I told her just to stand at the 3-point line and we’d get it to her. She was a game-changer for us.”
SHARE THE WEALTH >> Wood’s 3-point shooting has been rolling over the past four games.
After hitting 11 shots from beyond the arc in Saturday’s state quarterfinal against Gwynedd Mercy Academy, the Vikings followed that up with nine long-range hits on Tuesday night. Aside from Kiefer’s four, no other player hit more than one but six different Vikings connected from distance.
Having good shooters helps, but so does having good passes and Wood assisted every one of its threes, plus 13 of its 18 made shots overall.
“We trust our teammates,” Baxter, who assisted four baskets, said. “If we move the ball, somebody’s going to knock down a shot. It doesn’t matter who it is, as long as we move it and play unselfishly, we trust someone is going to knock one down.”
Wood used its 12-0 run on four assisted 3-pointers to turn a two-point game into a 24-10 lead in the second quarter. After Bri Bowen beat the halftime buzzer for a 26-16 edge, the Vikings ripped off an 11-0 run to start the third quarter and scored the first nine of the final frame for a 50-25 advantage.
Five players had at least two assists for Wood in the win.
“Getting everybody involved is what gets us open,” Kiefer said. “When certain people are being overplayed, that just gets the rest of us shots. When we force the other team to play all of us as a whole instead of individually, it only makes us better.”
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 56, SCRANTON PREP 39
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 12 14 15 15 – 56
SCRANTON PREP 8 8 9 14 – 39
AW: Katilyn Orihel 4 2-2 11, Ryanne Allen 3 5-5 12, Bri Bowen 1 4-6 6, Noelle Baxter 2 0-1 5, Dana Kiefer 5 0-0 14, Shannon Morgan 1 0-0 3, Delaney Finnegan 2 0-0 5. Totals: 18 11-14 56.
SP: Cecelia Collins 5 2-3 13, Lizzie Neville 0 1-2 1, Rachel Rose 8 3-4 22, Maggie Mills 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 6-9 39
3-pointers: AW – Kiefer 4, Allen, Baxter, Orihel, Morgan, Finnegan; SP – Rose 3, Collins.
