Wood’s Baxter to Orihel combination comes home with state title
HERSHEY >> Noelle Baxter and Kaitlyn Orihel started the day looking for a pen and finished it holding back tears.
Teammates for nine years and best friends just as long, the Archbishop Wood seniors had one thing left to win for their careers as Vikings to be complete. Back in Hershey playing for a PIAA title for the first time since they were freshmen, Saturday was not only their last chance to get it done but their last game as part of the same team.
The connection between the duo played a pivotal part in the Vikings’ 44-34 win over Villa Maria that allowed them to hold the PIAA Class 4A championship trophy Saturday afternoon.
“It was the same thing we’ve done since fourth grade,” Baxter said. “It’s just Kaitlyn cutting really hard to the basket and me giving it to her on the backdoor cut. We’ve done it since fourth grade and I really do think it worked every time, I don’t know how people never picked up on it.”
“It’s what we do and what we’ve been doing for nine years,” Orihel said. “I trust her to get me the ball. To be able to do it three or four times in our last game was incredible.”
There was some dispute between Orihel, Baxter and Wood coach Mike McDonald on the exact playcall but the general idea was pretty concrete.
Baxter would pass the ball to Orihel and Orihel would score.
McDonald said it was a play the Vikings had in their arsenal but hadn’t gone to in a game yet this season. Needing to get scorers going to the basket and with two players as in-sync as Baxter and Orihel running it, there really wasn’t a better time.
Wood ran the play four times in the third quarter and Orihel scored all four times, scoring 10 points on four layups and two foul shots. The final two scores, which each brought a whistle calling for the and-one, put the Vikings up 28-21.
“That was the win for us, that run at the end of the third quarter,” McDonald said. “It gave us momentum, you start to feel good and it put a little more pressure on them to score. I think they were trying to keep it a one-possession game until they got something.”
When the team first took the floor for warm-ups, Orihel and Baxter needed to find a pen. Orihel’s younger brother has Down Syndrome and before every game, the two seniors have drawn a set of three arrows on their wrists.
The symbol represents the third 21st chromosome that results in Down Syndrome and inking it on their arms became a pregame tradition for Orihel and Baxter last season.
“We were going to get it as a tattoo but never had a chance due to COVID,” Orihel said. “So we’ve just done this instead.”
Orihel, holding the PIAA trophy and Baxter, clutching the five-pound Hershey bar given to winning teams, were almost in tears before they started answering each other’s questions in the arena Saturday. All they wanted this winter was a chance to compete and it played out in a dream senior season that saw them bring PCL and state titles back to Wood.
“It was like fate,” Baxter said.
“This and the PCL were our goal, so to go out like this is pefect,” Orihel said.
With two trophies to call their own this season, the seniors had to figure out the all-important detail of which one went where on their cell phone screen heirarchy.
“Lock screen PCL, home screen is states,” Baxter said.
Orihel, who had been asked the question just before Baxter came over from taking some photos, answered the same way.
A journey that started with the Upper Makefield Heat nine years ago came to an end Saturday in Hershey. With Orihel off to Villanova and Baxter to Kutztown to continue their careers next year, their time as teammates may be done but they’ll never be too far apart.
In fact, they’ll always be together on the state championship banner that will eventually hang in Wood’s gym.
“Everything the past year was so hard, so I’m just proud of our team,” Baxter said.
“The resilience it took to get through this season and get to this point, let alone win it, it’s an awesome legacy,” Orihel said.
