PIAA Girls Basketball: Grant provides spark to get Archbishop Carroll to second round

RADNOR – Although she had a couple of good looks, Maggie Grant did not attempt a shot in the first quarter of Archbishop Carroll’s 53-25 victory over Neshaminy in the opening round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament Tuesday night.

The Villanova-bound senior did not hesitate when the opportunity came her way in the second period.

Grant scored 11 of her 13 points in the period to send the District 12 champions into Friday’s second round against Cedar Cliff, the third-place team out of District 3, at a site and time to be determined. The Colts knocked off Haverford, the No. 7 team from District 1, 36-27, to advance to the second round.

“My teammates were finding me and I was relocating into the gaps in the zone,” Grant said. “We were doing a good job of moving the ball and my teammates did a nice job finding me when (Neshaminy) collapsed on the post.”

Senior Grace O’Neill led the Patriots with a game-high 16 points. She had 11 points in the second half and also handed out three assists. Junior Taylor Wilson scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half and also led the team with six rebounds.

But it was Grant who got the offense going. She was an efficient 4-for-7 from the field in the period, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. She only took two shots after that, making one on a layup in the third quarter, but her second-period barrage enabled the Patriots (21-5) to take a 22-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

It was just the offensive lift Carroll needed after being held scoreless for the first six minutes of the game before getting its offense going.

“She was great,” Wilson said of Grant. “She was hitting all of her shots, driving the lane, I’m so proud of her. She played so well tonight. She really helped us win this game.”

Added Carroll coach Renie Shields: “She really put us on her back and really carried us with how aggressive she was in the second quarter.”

Behind Grant, Carroll was able to withstand a determined charge from the Redskins (19-10), the 11th-place team out of District 1. Neshaminy managed to hang tough for the first 16 minutes, largely behind the offense of Reese Zemitis. The sophomore scored six of her team-high 10 points in the second period to help Neshaminy cut a 10-point deficit in half at the break.

“Everyone played their game,” Zemitis said. “I thought we did a really good job of that. Coming out of the first half it was really close, neck-and-neck. Then they really made it tough on us offensively in the second half.”

Carroll made it nearly impossible for Neshaminy to score in the final two periods. The Patriots held the Redskins to eight points in the second half on 3-for-17 shooting overall (17.6 percent) and 0-for-9 from 3-point range. Carroll also forced six turnovers after the break.

“The first half we were doing too much pushing and fouling,” Shields said. “We told them we had to go back to playing basic defense, move your feet and make sure you’re in the right position and I thought the girls really responded very well to that in the second half. “

Grant played a key role there, too.

“I thought she carried us in the third and four quarters with her defense,” Shields said. “I thought her help defense and her positional defense was really good.”