Evans beats buzzer to tip Archbishop Wood past Cardinal O’Hara in PCL semifinals

PHILADELPHIA >> Deja Evans knew.

The Archbishop Wood senior knew there wasn’t much time left. She knew her first attempt at a tip-in after Ava Renninger’s miss on a drive was way off and she knew she’d get one last chance. As the Albany recruit put up her last-ditch effort, the ball hit the rim, then the backboard and spun on the iron.

That’s when Deja Evans knew it was good.

Evans’ improbable put-back lifted No. 2 Archbishop Wood to a 31-29 win over No. 3 Cardinal O’Hara in a defensive slugfest of a PCL girls basketball semifinal Tuesday night at St. Joseph’s University City campus (the venue formerly known as USciences).

“I didn’t know for sure until it hit the second spin,” Evans, who had a game-high 19 points, said. “Amazing. It’s an indescribable feeling, now we get to go play at the Palestra and I’m really excited.”

Wood (19-4) will face No. 1 seed Lansdale Catholic, a 53-39 winner over No. 4 Archbishop Carroll, in the PCL title game on Monday. It’s Wood’s first title appearance since 2020-21 but first trip to the Palestra since 2019-20, with the ’21 title game being played at Carroll.

Evans, who transferred to Wood last year after two seasons at Plymouth Whitemarsh, was on the other side of the agony last season when O’Hara ousted the Vikings in the semifinals on their way to a PCL title. In a game that felt like two teams playing against a mirror, both defenses stay step-for-step with the opposing offense, seemingly knowing where the next cut or downscreen would emerge from, it wasn’t surprising that it came down to the last possession.

Actually, Wood coach Mike McDonald said, it was by design. With the already low score being held at 29-29 for almost four and a half minutes to close the game, the Vikings held with a shade more than 12 seconds left and opted not to go for one of their quick-hitters after calling a timeout.

“We knew we didn’t want to score on the inbounds play, unless it was something really easy, we were looking to take the last shot, not shoot with 10 seconds left…not give them a chance to rebound and go down the other end,” McDonald said. “We didn’t mean it that close, Ava’s shot was close to what we were looking for, we were hoping they hedged off and we got Deja rolling on that.

“They let her get downhill, she just didn’t quite get close enough to the basket but luckily Deja was Deja and she was there for a couple putbacks and finished the one that mattered.”

The Lions (19-5) led for much of the game, giving up a few inches here, a few years of experience there but they did one thing extraordinarily well. Archbishop Wood, with its multitude of options, did not hit a single three-point shot for the entirety of the game, something they had done in every other game this season, usually with multiple players getting multiple makes from deep.

About the only thing O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan could lament, other than a foul here or there like the one that fouled standout sophomore Molly Rullo out with 39.7 seconds left, was that her team didn’t make enough of its own shots. O’Hara hit just 8-of-32 from the field, but they weren’t forcing up bad shots and if anything, had a steady, consistent diet of quality looks that didn’t go in.

“We got whatever shot we wanted and I tell the girls to keep shooting,” Doogan said. “If you’re on the floor we want you taking open shots and that’s what they did, took open shots and we gotta believe the next time they go in.”

Carly Coleman continued her late season surge for O’Hara, scoring a team-high 10 points that included a big three with 4:30 to play that gave the defending PCL champions a 29-28 lead after Evans had scored to give Wood a brief lead. The junior also connected from deep in the third, putting O’Hara ahead 20-14, a six-point lead seeming at least double with the level of defense being played on both sides.

Wood, which started slow and lacked energy going after rebounds at times, got a needed boost off the bench from junior Alexa Windish. The guard grabbed two critical offensive boards in the third quarter and ended the period with a bold take down the lane to cut the Lions’ lead to 23-20.

McDonald said he considered subbing Windish in at times in the fourth for a look on offense but agreed that third quarter shift helped turn the game around.

“I told Lex immediately after the game that the play at the end of the quarter was the momentum-changer we needed to have energy that was positive going into the fourth quarter,” McDonald said. “She did that the last time against O’Hara, made a couple plays where she got baskets and it was game-changing for us. Same thing tonight, she’s had a great attitude all season.”

Aside from her teammates and coaches, Evans had another voice in her ear Tuesday night. Her older brother Chris, an assistant coach at Chestnut Hill College, has been her mentor and driving force for years and was in his usual spot courtside offering his sister encouragement and advice.

One message rang louder than the others for Deja, who played her 6-foot-2 biggest in the fourth with all nine of Wood’s points.

“He was just really saying do I want to be great and to go after it,” Evans said.

After Evans leveled the score 29-29 at the foul line, both teams exchanged missed opportunities to take a lead. What felt like the inevitable came to fruition after the offensive foul call on Rullo – who had six points and eight rebounds while playing tough defense on the taller Evans – gave Wood a likely final possession.

“We were all talking about it earlier that whoever had the ball last might win tonight and we’ve worked a lot on end of game situations last week and we had our chances,” Doogan said. “We did exactly what we were supposed to do, didn’t let them get open three point shots – I don’t know the last time Wood didn’t make a three in a game was but that was our plan. Evans, give her credit, she played a hell of a game.”

O’Hara will regroup for the District 12 6A title game next week. Doogan planned to give her team Wednesday off but wanted everyone back in the gym Thursday, citing the terrific bond this group has developed and not wanting them to dwell on the setback for too long.

Wood called a timeout with 12.9 left to set up it’s would-be final play. When the teams returned to the floor, Doogan called a timeout, the O’Hara coach explaining it was just to make sure everyone knew their matchups and what to watch for.

McDonald ceded the second timeout helped him too, as he was able to collect his thoughts and make sure holding for the last look was the right move. The idea was to get Renninger going to the rim and in the event she couldn’t finish, they would at least have a 6-foot-2 chance to clean it up.

“It’s an amazing safety net, I was just thinking at the time, just go to the hoop and I knew she would be there,” Renninger said. “I either had a dish to her or I would take it myself, and I took it myself and luckily she’s longer and able to out-rebound everybody and put it back up, and she did her job, she won the game.”

Evans’ first attempt was a one-handed tip that didn’t come close to the rim, but hit the backboard in the right spot to come right back to her as she got off a cleaner look with 0.5 on the game clock.

“I just saw her going up and I saw the ball coming off the rim and I just wanted to go get it,” Evans said. “I was trying to score there, and then I got it back and I was able to score it.”

ARCHBISHOP WOOD 3 11 8 9 – 31

CARDINAL O’HARA 6 10 7 6 – 29

AW: Deja Evans 7 5-8 19, Delaney Finnegan 2 2-3 6, Emily Knouse 2 0-0 4, Alexa Windish 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 7-11 31

CO: Joanie Quinn 3 1-2 8, Carly Coleman 3 2-2 10, Molly Rullo 3 3-4 6, Bridget Dawson 0 1-2 1, Megan Rullo 2 0-0 4. Totals: 8 9-12 29

3-pointers: CO – Coleman 2, Molly Rullo, Quinn