Carroll’s O’Neill has breakout game at right time

PHILADELPHIA — Grace O’Neill comes from a family with strong ties to Archbishop Carroll.

Her uncle, Chuck Creighton, coached the Patriots girls basketball team to Catholic League and PIAA championships. O’Neill’s cousin and Creighton’s daughter, Meghan, was an All-Delco at Carroll and a star shooting guard at Drexel University.

“I grew up watching my cousin play,” O’Neill said. “I learned a lot just from watching her games.”

O’Neill has the pedigree and upside to be a great player for years to come.

“It’s an awesome feeling, just being able to play at Carroll,” O’Neill said. “My teammates have really helped me, they’ve really motivated me.”

The freshman guard checked all the boxes in a 49-36 victory over Bonner & Prendergast in the Catholic League semifinal round Tuesday night at Jefferson University. O’Neill got her points (15), made her foul shots, played stingy defense, grabbed a few rebounds, dove after loose balls, and handed out a few assists. Her all-around performance helped the Patriots punch their ticket to the Palestra. Carroll will face Archbishop Wood in the final.

“Grace really gets us going, both on offense and defense,” said junior Erin Sweeney, who led all scorers with 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor. “She really gets our energy up.”

Arguably the best player in Delaware County this season, Sweeney contributed seven rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. Meanwhile, O’Neill scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half. She banked a 3-pointer to fuel Carroll’s 13-4 run in the third quarter, then converted five attempts at the free-throw line to help the Patriots pull away in the fourth quarter.

“We really prepared for this game,” O’Neill said. “They’re a great team and we knew we had to step up. (Bonner & Prendergast senior) Maeve McCann guarded Erin really, really well, but we realized we had to get her open and she was able to score.”

Carroll (18-5) wanted to avenge a 47-40 loss to Bonner & Prendergast (15-9). The Pandas were the only team from the Catholic League to defeat the Patriots in the regular season.

“We were really excited that we got to play them again,” said senior Harlem Jennings, who collected nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Jennings was sidelined with an injury for the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 18

“We wanted to prove a point and to show them that we have matured as a team since then,” Jennings said, “and to show them that our offense and defense is a lot better. Our teamwork, right now, is really good.”

After a back-and-forth first quarter, featuring eight lead changes, Carroll grabbed a 15-14 lead on a Sweeney foul shot early in the second quarter and never trailed again. In the final minute of the first half, Sweeney drilled a 3-pointer to give the Patriots a 22-16 lead.

Meanwhile, Bonner & Prendie struggled to a 2-for-10 performance from the field in the second quarter. The Pandas’ woes on offense continued in the third period, when they shot 1-for-8.

“We were extremely focused with our defense … and we wanted to try to stop Erin Sweeney as best as we could,” McCann said. “We didn’t focus as much on offense as we did on defense. We missed a lot of easy shots, too.”

Carroll closed the third quarter on a 13-2 spurt. O’Neill’s baseline jumper gave Carroll a 35-20 advantage at the end of three.

Despite their problems offensively, the Pandas didn’t go down quietly. Junior guard Dakota McCaughan made a 3-pointer, then Ariana McGeary scored from inside the paint to cut the Pandas’ deficit to 37-29. Later, McCann got a steal and a layup to pull Bonner & Prendie within five points at 38-33 with 3:27 left. Ultimately, 10 second-half turnovers and nine missed shots from the floor in the fourth quarter would doom the Pandas.

“I thought we played OK defensively, I thought Maeve did a great job on Sweeney. She’s going to get her points. The X-factor, for them, is Harlem Jennings,” Bonner & Prendie coach Tom Stewart said. “We just weren’t good enough on offense. We had a bunch of 3s that didn’t go in. Sometimes they go, sometimes they don’t.”

Stewart said the team missed Reagan Dolan in this game. The sophomore guard/forward, known for her defensive prowess, was unable to play due to injury.

McGeary was a force in the low post for the Pandas. The senior forward recorded team highs in points (14) and rebounds (seven). McCaughan had eight of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, and McCann finished with nine points.

Bonner & Prendergast has 10 days off before its District 12 play-in game. The Pandas are looking forward to making another deep run in the Class 4A playoffs.

“We’ll regroup, get ready for states and see what happens,” Stewart said. “They’re not happy right now, it’s a tough one to swallow, but they’ll get back at it.”