RADNOR >> Brooke Wilson only took one shot in the fourth quarter of Archbishop Carroll’s Philadelphia Catholic League quarterfinal against Lansdale Catholic Thursday evening and that shot did not go down.
The Patriots senior was named the PCL’s Most Valuable Player earlier this week because she can do a lot more than just score. She headed a defensive effort that forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter, including one in the final 30 seconds, and she assisted on all three of Carroll’s field goals in the fourth quarter, including one as time expired.
Wilson forced a backcourt violation when LC was trying to hold for a final shot with 30 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, she found Abigail McFillin under the basket for the game-winning layup to lift the third-seeded Patriots to a 35-33 win over the sixth-seeded Crusaders at Archbishop Carroll High School.
“My game revolves around driving, dishing, getting to the basket,” Wilson, who finished with four points, five rebounds and eight assists, said. “Against zone it’s a little tougher. I’ve got to look for my shot more and move more to get shots. In the first quarter my offensive game just wasn’t there… I found my teammates. I knew they were guarding me heavily, so when I drove in the lane a ton of people collapsed. I noticed that, took a deep breath and found my shooters. I credit my teammates for making those big-time shots.”
After Archbishop Carroll tied the game at 33 with 1:20 remaining, Lansdale Catholic tried to hold for the last shot. Wilson kept pressure on the ball, almost drawing a five-count multiple times, before the Crusaders called timeout with 32.6 seconds to go. Wilson was right on LC point guard Sanyiah Littlejohn on the ensuing inbound pass and the ball crossed the midcourt line for a turnover.
“Defense is all about locking in and effort,” Wilson said. “I know that’s something I can control. It was unfortunate, the backcourt. I saw that Sanyiah had her hand out so I knew she was going right. I thought she was going long and thought I’d beat her to the ball, but it was a little lob and she caught it right at the halfcourt line. I just had to pressure her.”
“I was having Palestra-esque moments from last year,” LC coach Eric Gidney said, referencing the 2023 PCL championship game that came down to a final shot against Archbishop Wood. “Holding the ball, holding the ball, holding the ball. I decided this year to call the timeout. Obviously no coach in this country is ever going to call a timeout and expect there to be a turnover, backcourt violation. It wasn’t what we were looking for.”
Carroll crossed midcourt and called timeout with 28.7 seconds to play. After wasting some time, Wilson started the final play with eight seconds left. She passed to Bridget Archbold at the top of the key and she relayed it to Alexis Eberz along the left wing. Eberz sent it inside to Wilson with three seconds left. She took two dribbles before delivering a bounce pass to McFillin, who went off the glass for the game-winner.
“The message was pass it around, cut, find openings and make the shot when you get it,” Wilson said. “Saw (Eberz) on the perimeter, saw an opening, just flashed and I saw (LC forward) Grace (Mcdonough) come step at me. That’s when Abbie cut. It’s all a blur, to be honest.”
“This game, like most sports,” Gidney said, “it’s always ironic to me, it’s never lost on me, how a lack of execution on one end turns around into a well-executed play on the other end and costs you the game and lets them win it. Hats off to them. This was a heck of a battle for 31 minutes and however many seconds that was. We could have went into overtime. We could have done a better job on that last possession, but really when I think about it, it didn’t just come down to that. It came down to some moments where we haven’t been able to put together 32 solid minutes.”
The PCL rivals traded runs early. Lansdale Catholic scored the first 12 points of the game and led 19-5 early in the second quarter. Carroll responded with a 19-2 run to pull in front, 24-21, in the first minute of the third quarter.
The teams were tied at 27 through three quarters. Mcdonough, who led LC with 12 points and 12 rebounds, opened the fourth with a putback layup before Littlejohn (eight points) added two more layups to give the Crusaders a 33-27 lead with 4:30 remaining.
Wilson found Olivia Nardi for a three-pointer to cut their deficit in half with 3:25 on the clock before assisting Eberz’s triple to tie the game, 33-33, with 1:20 to go.
Eberz and McFillin scored in double figures for Carroll, pouring in 10 points apiece.
Archbishop Carroll advances to face No. 2 Cardinal O’Hara in the PCL semifinals on Feb. 20 at Saint Joseph’s University – University City campus.
Lansdale Catholic’s season ends with the loss. The defending PCL and PIAA-4A state champions will graduate one senior – Olivia Boccella, who made the game-winning shot in last year’s PCL final.
“Liv was our starting point guard as a freshman in a COVID-shortened 2-11 season when the Catholic League was still in two divisions,” Gidney said. “We chose and got to be in that Red Division. I think that players like herself and that experience are why we’ve been able to be in the position we’ve been in the last three seasons. Whether that was competing and battling with some of the PCL’s best this year, winning everything that we could wildly imagine last year and then losing in the state final (in 2022) – sure I think that Liv would have liked some different results along the way, but I still think that this journey for her – having an opportunity to go to a program (Catholic University) that I know she’s just going to absolutely love and they’re going to love her – I don’t think that you change any of it. I told her tonight when we were down in the locker room – I said, ‘I’m not saying anything about the other players from last year’s team, but I’ve got a lifetime of memories watching that shot from the Palestra last year over and over and over again.
“We’re not the program that we are without a player like her.”
Archbishop Carroll 35, Lansdale Catholic 33
Lansdale Catholic 16 5 6 6 – 33
Archbishop Carroll 5 16 6 8 – 35
LC: Sanyiah Littlejohn 4 0 0-2 8, Nadia Yemola 1 1 0-0 5, Olivia Boccella 0 1 0-0 3, Allie Esposito 1 1 0-0 5, Grace Mcdonough 5 0 2-4 12, Kyara Benjamin 0 0 0-0 0, Aubrey Mobley 0 0 0-0 0. Total 11 3 2-6 33.
AC: Felicity McFillin 0 1 0-0 3, Brooke Wilson 1 0 2-2 4, Alexis Eberz 2 2 0-0 10, Olivia Nardi 0 2 0-0 6, Maddie McFillin 0 0 0-0 0, Abigail McFillin 2 2 0-0 10, Bridget Archbold 0 0 0-0 0. Total 6 7 2-2 35.
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