Evans, Meredith lead Archbishop Wood past Villa Maria, into PIAA 5A quarterfinals
BENSALEM >> Every PIAA playoff game Deja Evans has played in with Archbishop Wood has ended the same way.
Every time Evans has taken the court with the Vikings in a state playoff game, her team has won while she’s recorded a double-double. Wednesday night, the 6-foot-2 senior forward ran that streak to seven in a row, with the Albany recruit doing a lot more than hit double-figure points and rebounds as Wood’s defense locked up a solid Villa Maria Academy team in the PIAA-5A second round.
Evans’ streak is not lost on her teammates, especially after the Vikings’ 42-29 win over the Hurricanes at Bensalem High School.
“She’s insane,” Wood senior Kara Meredith said succinctly.
Evans, who posted 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals in an impressive all-around effort, merely laughed. At the time of year the Vikings put all their focus on at the onset of each season, this is a team still having a whole lot of fun. Of course, the winning helps, as Wood reached the state quarterfinals for the tenth straight year and still has its goal of a third straight state title in reach.
It’s not like Evans doesn’t get double-doubles outside the state tournament but there’s always an extra amplification when the only thing at stake is whether the team’s season gets to continue or not. Facing a Hurricanes team that was solid and well-rounded across the board but didn’t quite a matchup for her, Evans hit both sides of the glass hard by grabbing five offensive and seven defensive boards.
“My teammates were able to give me a lot of energy and I was able to feed off that,” Evans said. “It’s something about this time of year, I just want to win and we just want to win as a team. I feel like I have to step up my level of play and be a leader for the team.”
Seniors playing their best this time is nothing new for Wood and with seven players on the team in the Class of 2023, it’s even more apparent. Meredith has embodied that closing stretch elevation in play, the senior wing in a strong run of form offensively and maintaining her usual high level of defense.
On Wednesday, the Holy Family recruit came out firing, scoring Wood’s first five points in a 7-0 Vikings start and eight total in a 13-2 run to open the game. Aside from all that, Meredith started out as the primary defender on Villa Maria Academy’s top player in senior Marah McHugh, the 6-foot Wood senior denying the AACA’s co-MVP and Gettysburg College recruit the ball at every turn.
“We just wanted to apply as much pressure as we could to take the structure they use to get baskets out if it,” Wood coach Mike McDonald said. “Kara Meredith did a nice job being aggressive to deny her the ball, just so she couldn’t catch it or get anything in those easy spaces. That kid is really hard to stop in the midrange and around the basket so it really starts with Kara Meredith but across the board defensively I thought we did a really nice job setting the tempo.”
For every team that gets to enjoy the moment of buying more time together with a state playoff win, another has to see it all come to an end. Wednesday, that was the Hurricanes, who didn’t let the final score define what’s been an overall terrific year and for their own large senior class, an extremely accomplished run.
This year, they led the Hurricanes to an elusive AACA title and carried the team back to the District 1-5A title game at Temple. Last year, they were the heart of an underdog team that won a district championship and they went out in their final game playing the same brand of Villa basketball they did in any of their triumphs.
“You have to look at the whole body of work,” VMA coach Kathy McCartney said. “I felt we had more in the tank, I think we might have left a little bit on the table this year but they gave it all they had. They didn’t quit.”
VMA got within five in the second quarter, but Wood pulled away again with seniors Delaney Finnegan, Evans and Meredith scoring all but one point of a 12-0 run that gave the Vikings plenty of room to work with. Between that and their ability to rotate defenders, with the similarly-sized and ably-skilled Finnegan and Emily Knouse able to rotate onto McHugh or any of the other VMA options on the floor, shots were hard to come by.
Meredith finished with a team-high 13 points, all of them in the first half. Evans had seven points in the second half, getting her double-double with an and-one layup early in the fourth quarter while Ava Renninger added seven points to pace Wood’s offense.
Evans had at least three rebounds in every quarter save for the fourth, the senior exiting the game with a few minutes left alongside the other starters and the outcome in hand. Possessions matter in the postseason and even if she’s not scoring, Evans has a way to impact a game with her rebounding that leads to extra possessions for her teammates, who certainly appreciate the benefits.
“With all the shooters on our team, it’s comforting knowing we have such a good offensive rebounder down there getting the boards,” Meredith said. “If it’s a close miss, it can still end up being a positive thing because we have a chance to get an offensive rebound.”
Elaina Guerzon led Villa Maria Academy with eight points, the guard one of six seniors who the Hurricanes will say farewell to. Ava Irvine had five points, Claire Cronley had four and McHugh two as she battled Wood’s defense all game.
All six of them played on Wednesday and McCartney had plenty of praise for what Guerzon, McHugh, Irvine, Cronely, Ella Iacone and Sophia Broadhurst brought to the program.
“They’ve got a little fight in them,” McCartney said. “I came into this game thinking we could win, I didn’t just want to be close, cut it to seven, I wanted to win so that’s why it’s frustrating right now. But when you look at the body of work, it was a good year.
“They were great role models and where the bar is set, they set it pretty good for us.”
Wood advances to face another District 1 opponent in Bishop Shanahan in Saturday’s round of eight.
“I love this team,” Evans said. “We’re always having fun. We have a good chemistry and I think that’s what makes us want to win every game, to do it for each other.”
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 15 12 8 7 – 42
VILLA MARIA ACADEMY 6 6 7 10 – 19
AW: Ava Renninger 3 1-2 7, Deja Evans 4 3-6 11, Delaney Finnegan 2 0-2 4, Kara Meredith 5 0-0 13, Emily Knouse 2 0-1 5, Alexa Windish 1 0-0 2, Lauren Tretter 0 0-2 0. Totals: 17 4-13 42
VMA: Ava Irvine 2 1-2 5, Marah McHugh 1 0-0 2, Carly Catania 1 0-0 2, Ella Iacone 1 0-0 2, Claire Cronley 2 0-0 4, Elaina Guerzon 3 0-0 8, Alice Nash 1 0-0 2, Sophia Tray 0 2-2 2, Sierra Dean 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 3-4 29
3-pointers; AW – Meredith 3, Knouse; VMA – Guerzon 2
