When the final seconds ticked away on Archbishop Wood’s win over the Bethlehem Catholic in the PIAA-5A state semifinals Tuesday, the Vikings saw a familiar sight – Hershey’s Kisses flying onto the floor.
The stream of bite-sized chocolates signifies a trip to Hershey for the state championship. (12-1) Archbishop Wood will face (10-1) Cathedral Prep in the 5A final at 6 p.m. Saturday at the GIANT Center.
The Vikings have won the last three state championships and are trying to become the first team to win four straight since Allentown Central Catholic did it 20 years ago. A win would give Wood its record ninth state championship.
“It’s always a huge goal for us,” Wood junior Emily Knouse said, “first to win PCLs then to win states. It’s just so much fun, we were talking to the girls about everything we get to do leading up to it, you could tell they were excited having not experienced it yet.
“I think the biggest thing is keeping our composure. Yes, it’s a fun experience, we get to do all those fun things like going to Chocolate World but once it comes down to game time, we need to lock in and get our assignment done.”
The Vikings typically have no problems locking in when they play for state titles. Since 2010, they’ve played in 11 state championship games and are 8-3. They’ve reached the final game in every season since 2010 except 2013 and 2019. They were still alive in 2020 when the season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Lauren Greer, Ava Renninger and Alexa Windish are the only three seniors on Wood’s roster, looking to close their careers with four state championships.
“It’s still exciting every year because the work you put in,” Greer said, “it takes so much out of you and it’s so much commitment so knowing that hard work is paying off is very rewarding.
“We all know what we’re playing for. For us seniors, it’s going to be our last game playing together, so we know we’re going to have a ton of fun but it’s all about winning it and bringing it home.”
“The seniors don’t want it to end,” Wood coach Mike McDonald said. “They wanted to get to Hershey and do it and they play like it. It’s just a great group, everybody is bought in. They’re confident, they’re engaged, they’re doing whatever it takes to play an extra game and I expect the same thing come Saturday in Hershey.”
The Vikings (25-5) won their four state playoff games by an average of 20.5 points per game. They beat Radnor 55-43, Dallas 66-32, Scranton 48-35 and Bethlehem Catholic 53-30.
In the semifinal win over Bethlehem Catholic Tuesday, Knouse provided most of the offense. She scored 20 of her game-high 26 points in the first half, including 12 straight points across the first and second quarters to turn an 8-6 deficit into an 18-8 lead. Wood’s advantage never dropped below eight points the rest of the way and ballooned to 25. Renninger added 14 points.
Cathedral Prep, located in Erie, has also had a dominant run through the playoffs, winning its four games by 18.5 points per game. The Ramblers (23-3) beat Trinity Area 53-29, Northern York 61-36, Oakland Catholic 39-29 and McKeesport 35-20.
Addie Biel posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the semifinals against McKeesport and Lena Walz added 12 points.
“Every game, you go into it, you watch a lot of video but you think this could be the one we don’t come out on top because it’s a very good team on the other end,” McDonald said. “Our kids just continue to show up and continue to impress. It always starts with our defense and rebounding the basketball, taking care of the basketball and shots will fall eventually if we move the ball and get open looks.
“I know this team is going to play together, they’re going to defend, they’re going to rebound and win or lose, I know they’re going to be happy with each other.”
This will be the third state championship game between the two schools. Wood defeated Cathedral Prep, previously known as Villa Maria, in 2016 and 2021.
MediaNews Group freelancer Andrew Robinson contributed to this report.
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