Archbishop Wood strong across the board against Long Island Lutheran

WARMINSTER >> The Archbishop Wood girls basketball team’s early season schedule doesn’t offer a lot of home comforts.

Saturday was the Vikings’ lone home game before Jan. 11 and while they were facing a top-notch opponent in Long Island Lutheran, it was one they really wanted to win. Even though they technically weren’t in their own gym, with a road-heavy schedule that only features one other game in Pennsylvania before they next return home, the Vikings made the most of the opportunity.

Wood got plenty of contributions down the lineup to down the Crusaders 58-43 in the opening game of the Diane Mosco Foundation showcase.

“This is one of my favorite events to play in to begin with,” senior Ryanne Allen said. “So with that and just to have the energy of getting that bounce-back win at home after two tough losses, it means everything.”

Wood’s early season schedule is meant to firm up the Vikings for the PCL gauntlet and the postseason that comes after but it also means wins don’t come easily. After dropping back-to-back games in the She Got Game Classic down in the Washington, D.C. area last weekend, Wood wasn’t getting a step down in competition with the Crusaders.

While LuHi’s top player Paris Clark, a senior guard committed to Arizona, didn’t play due to a minor injury, the Crusaders still had plenty of firepower. Wood’s defense was up to the task, led by a great effort from senior Bri Bowen that involved the Delaware recruit out on the perimeter pestering guard and in the paint against 6-foot-5 sophomore Kate Koval.

“I always put defense first and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win,” Bowen said. “I like to say I’m versatile when it comes to my game on the defensive end.”

Long Island Lutheran scored the first basket of the game but after Ryanne Allen put Wood on the board with a 3-pointer, the Vikings didn’t trail the rest of the way. The Vanderbilt-bound senior led all scorers with 19 points and had eight in the opening frame as she and Bowen paced the Vikings out to a 17-10 lead eight minutes in.

While the hosts led most of the game, it took them a little bit to get into quality offense. Early, the Vikings seemed content to settle for jumpshots but after coach Mike McDonald implored his players to start going at the rim, the ball started to move a little better and shots started to fall a little easier.

“They were bringing a lot of pressure and if you continue to pop, drift and float out to the three-point line, you’re not taking advantage and allowing the pressure to get to you,” McDonald said. “If you can back cut, post up or go toward the basket, you can get the help defense to collapse and that opens up better shots on the perimeter.”

Bowen and Deja Evans were able to challenge most of Koval’s shots and on the perimeter, Allie Fleming and Delaney Finnegan helped limit the looks Hofstra-bound Emma Van Essen was able to get and everyone else who got in filled in well on their assignments. Fleming added eight points while Ava Renninger had six off the bench and was good at going toward the basket to get the offense moving the right way.

The nine players who rotated in and out for Wood until the final minute of the game all scored at least one point and the Vikings had 11 assists on their 18 baskets. A Fleming hoop off an assist by Allen gave Wood its largest lead at 38-19 with five minutes left in the third quarter but the Crusaders, led by Diora Ressaissi, were able to chip the lead all the way down to nine.

Fortunately, the Vikings had Allen and the senior buried a wing three off a dish by Bowen in the final minute of the quarter to stem the tide and put the hosts up 43-31.

“We didn’t do a good enough job sharing the ball last weekend so once we started running offense and finding the open person and setting up drives to the basket, that was the key to the game,” Allen said. “Playing these games is all about preparing us for January and the PCL so if we’re learning from our mistakes and the physicality of these teams, it prepares us for what’s coming. We may lose some games, but it’s all learning experiences.”

Bowen finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, including one that led to a Fleming three in the fourth that snapped a short cold spell and gave the Vikings a 15-point lead.

The Vikings are still trying to define roles for this season’s team and that’s another benefit of all the out-of-area games in the early part of their schedule. Different players are going to be put in different situations in each game but with a deep and unselfish group, Allen is confident the team is far from its peak.

It’s right back on the road for the Vikings, starting with a Sunday trek over to New Jersey and a trip to Virginia over the holiday break but they can head out re-invigorated with a win on their ledger and a little boost of energy from a stop home.

“It’s just good to have a crowd again and any time you’re in your home gym, you want to win,” McDonald said. “It was good for them, not having to travel three hours with nobody else that really knows them and especially after the last two years, having this environment again was awesome.”

Archbishop Wood 58, Long Island Lutheran 43
Archbishop Wood 17 13 13 15 – 58
Long Island Lutheran 10 9 12 12 – 43
AW: Ryanne Allen 4 7-8 19, Bri Bowen 4 5-6 14, Deja Evans 1 0-0 2, Allie Fleming 3 0-0 8, Shannon Morgan 0 1-2 1, Ava Renninger 3 0-0 6, Delaney Finnegan 1 2-4 4, Kara Meredith 1 0-0 2, Emily Knouse 1 0-0 2, Reyna Ratliff 0 0-2 0. Totals: 18 15-23 58
Long Island Lutheran: Uta Nakamura 1 0-0 2, Emma Van Essen 2 0-0 6, Kate Koval 7 1-2 15, Diora Ressaissi 6 1-1 15, Lena Rodriguez 2 0-0 5. Totals: 18 2-3 43.
3-pointers: AW – Allen 4, Fleming 2, Bowen; LIL – Van Essen 2, Ressaissi 2, Rodriguez